Brian Pratt: Fires of prophesy

“Yeah, who would be stupid enough to come visit?” James reasons.

“Exactly,” Jiron agrees. “Last night, there were horses picketed in the courtyard that we may be able to appropriate if they’re still there.”

“Alright,” James says, “you sold me. Let’s not spend the night here jabbering. Let’s get the heck out of here!”

“Follow me,” Jiron says as he takes one last look around and then cautiously makes his way over to the gate. The rest of them quickly follow until they’re all huddled by the gate. Jiron pulls on the gate and it swings open, squeaking slightly on rusty hinges.

He pulls it open just far enough to allow them to squeeze through and holds it open until everyone else has made it to the other side. He follows the last person through and closes it again until it once more appears shut.

James looks around the courtyard but the horses that Jiron had mentioned are no longer there. The courtyard is not completely empty either, there are four cook fires spaced around the courtyard, each with several soldiers hanging around them. Pulling Jiron close, he points to the enemy soldiers and says, “There’s no way we’re going to make it across there without them seeing us.”

“Maybe we need a distraction,” he suggests.

“Like what?” James asks.

“I don’t know,” he shrugs, “what can you do?”

“How about a big explosion with lots of fire and noise?” offers James.

Jiron breaks out into a big smile and says, “I think that may do.”

“All right, you guys wait here and I’ll be right back.” James slips back out the gate and runs up the street several blocks and enters a vacant building.

After several minutes, Jiron sees him coming back and holds open the gate for him. “You okay?” he asks when he sees how he’s not walking quite straight.

“The spell took a lot out of me,” he says, pausing before passing through the gate. “I should be okay in a little bit.” He then passes through to the other side and Jiron once more shuts the gate.

They wait several minutes and nothing happens. They wait several more and still nothing happens.

Jiron looks to James and asks “Are you sure you…”

Crumph!!!!!

The concussion of the blast knocks them down and a giant plume of fire reaches toward the sky. Several buildings surrounding the explosion begin to collapse from the sheer force of the blast. The soldiers in the courtyard are knocked to the ground and James can hear their cries of shock as they see the sky light up with fire. Once they regain their feet, they race off toward the sound of the explosion, leaving the courtyard empty.

“Damn!” Tinok says as he looks at the fireball reaching to the sky.

“Let’s go,” James says in astonishment as he races to the gates leading to the outside of the city. His legs are a little shaky but are able to keep up the pace. Debris begins to hail down upon them as they make for the gates, dirt and stones falling from the sky pelt them as they cross the courtyard.

Delia cries out when a sizeable stone strikes her in the left shoulder, knocking her to the ground.

Tinok comes to her aid. “Are you okay?” he asks as he helps her to her feet.

“Not really, but I can make it,” she says with determination as they hurry to follow after the others.

When they reach the gates, they discover that there’s a section still missing, allowing easy access to the outside. They hurry quickly through to the other side, where they pause momentarily as they see men racing toward the city from all over the countryside in response to the blast.

Staying close to the wall, they hide in the shadows as they begin making their way away from the gates. Jiron grabs James’ shoulder and says, “Look, over there.” He points to a section of the enemy’s camp off to the south.

Scanning the direction Jiron’s indicating, James sees several horses tied to a tree near a group of tents. Fortune! They’re all saddled. A large campfire is burning in a pit near them, bathing the entire area in light. They’ll have to make their way through some of the camp in order to get to them.

“With everyone running to see what’s up in the city,” Jiron says, “we should be able to get the horses with little trouble.”

“Let’s hope so,” James says apprehensively. “If anyone’s looking when we enter the light, we could have problems.”

“We’ve got little choice,” Tinok says when he joins them. “We’ll never get far on foot.”

Turning to Tinok, James says, “Jiron and I will get the horses, you stay and protect the ladies until we return.”

He waits for Tinok’s nod and then he and Jiron run toward the horses. When they get close, James sees that there are a total of seven horses. They slow down and approach more cautiously when they’re close to being illuminated by the fire. They edge around the fringe of the light, trying to get as close to the horses before entering the light and risk being seen.

When they’re as close as possible, James looks around and sees that no one’s in the vicinity. Signaling Jiron, they both hurry over and begin untying horses as fast as they can.

The horses begin making noises as they hurry about their work and all of a sudden, the flap of the closest tent opens up and a man peeks out. “What are you men doing with my horse?” he asks with an edge to his voice as he exits the tent and begins to approach them. He’s wearing a plain cowled robe with the hood thrown back revealing shoulder length red hair. His eyes are dark and James can see anger smoldering behind those eyes.

James glances to Jiron and they both come to the same decision. Jiron’s knives flash in the firelight as they spring to the ready. James takes a stone he had in his pocket and casting his spell, unleashes the magic as he throws it at the approaching man.

The instant before the stone leaves James’ hand, the man flicks his wrist. When the stone nears him, it hits a barrier and ricochets away into the night.

Startled by the ineffectiveness of the stone, James hesitates a moment, trying to understand what had just happened.

“The mage!” the man cries out in shock, then his eyes get a calculating look.

Jiron launches himself at the man, knives flashing in a whirling pattern. As if he was dealing with an annoying fly, the man waves his hand toward him.

James feels a prickling along his skin as he watches Jiron being lifted off the ground and thrown a dozen feet away. Understanding comes, He’s a mage too! James directs his magic to the ground under the mage’s feet and lets it flow.

Crumph!!!!!

The ground explodes upward with incredible force. When the dust clears enough, James sees the man still standing there untouched. A three foot diameter of ground remains undisturbed beneath him.

“Is that all you have?” the man asks with contempt, words heavy in accent. He swirls his hand and it begins glowing red then he flicks it at James. A red light flashes toward him, striking him hard in the chest, knocking him backward onto the ground.

As the man makes his way through the crater that surrounds him, he says to James, “I was expecting more of a challenge, how disappointing.”

James lays there unable to breathe, gasping as he tries to take in a breath. He sees a knife fly through the air out of the dark toward the mage, but it hits an invisible protective shield and bounces harmlessly away, landing on the ground.

Once the mage clears the crater, he gestures with both hands while staring intently at James. Suddenly, James’ legs begin to cramp, he can feel their muscles knotting and twisting causing him great pain. He cries out from the pain and in desperation casts a spell, one he used many times back home, role playing. He feels it using up the remaining power within him, leaving him weak, barely able to move.