Brian Pratt - The unsuspecting mage

“I didn’t wait to find out,” explains Miko. “I came here as fast as I could to warn you. It’ll be soon though.” He paces impatiently by the door while James finishes getting dressed.

“I had better get out of the city now,” he decides. “I planned on leaving in the morning anyway.” Once he’s dressed, he grabs his backpack and hands his other pack to Miko. Moving carefully in the dark he makes his way over to the door where he slides back the bolt. Opening it slowly, he peers down the hallway in both directions.

The hallway is dark and quiet as a tomb. Leaving the room, they make their way to the stairs and descend quickly and quietly to the ground floor. There they find the common room dark and deserted, the small amount of light coming in through the windows casts an eerie pall to the place. The floor boards creak as they make their way silently across the room to the door leading to the stables.

Upon reaching the door, James pauses a moment to look out a window to the rear courtyard. About to open the door, he stops when he sees shadows moving near the stables. Part of them break off and approach the inn, heading for the door near which he’s standing. Only the dark of night prevents him from being seen by those approaching. Turning about, he silently indicates to Miko that they should leave through the front door. He takes but two steps toward the front door before it slowly begins to open.

James immediately ducks under one of the tables, pulling Miko down under it with him. Staying as quiet as they can, they watch as several shadows enter through the front door while two more come in through the door to the stables.

The two groups meet at the base of the stairs. James can hear whispers but is unable to make out any of the words. Four of the shadows head up the stairs after pausing only momentarily, while two of them remain in the common room, just a few feet from where James and Miko are hiding.

From upstairs comes the sound of a door opening, then the inn is silent for a few seconds before the door closes once again. The four shadows return down the stairs and cross to where their two fellows are waiting near James and Miko. “He’s not up there,” one of them whispers.

“We can’t stay here,” another responds.

“Rolin,” the first one says, “tell the boys at the stables we’re out of here.”

“Right,” James hears the reply. One of the shadows detaches itself from the others and makes its way out the back door.

“Let’s go,” the first voice says, “we’ll find him eventually.” The shadows then turn and walk quietly out the front door.

James waits for several minutes to be sure they will not be coming back before he emerges out from under the table. “Check the front door,” he says quietly to Miko.

Miko gets up and goes over to peer through a window by the front door while James checks the back.

James doesn’t see anybody out in the courtyard by the stables so he quietly goes and checks with Miko.

“Anything?” he whispers when he reaches Miko’s side.

“They left in two parties, one to the right and another to the left,” replies Miko. “I think two of them went into that alley across the street. They may be there as a lookout to see if we show up.”

“Probably,” James agrees as he stares out into the street.

“How are we going to get out of here?” asks Miko, nervousness evident in his voice.

“I’m thinking,” he says. Considering the situation for a moment he comes up with a plan.

Pulling Miko close so his voice won’t carry far, he says, “When I tell you to, I want you to close your eyes tight and keep them closed until I tell you to open them again. Do you understand?”

“Why?” Miko asks.

Sounding impatient, he says “Just do it! I don’t have time to explain, okay?”

“Alright,” agrees Miko, though he doesn’t sound very sure that he does.

James begins casting a spell and directs Miko to look down the street. A small, dimly glowing ball, appears. It rolls down the street toward the alley where the men are waiting and comes to rest in front of the alley. They see the two men detach themselves from the darkness of the alley as they come to inspect it.

“Close your eyes,” James whispers. James silently counts to himself, “One, two, three…” and then closes his own eyes, turning his head away. The glowing ball suddenly flashes into a blinding brilliance, lasting only a second.

“I’m blind!” can be heard coming from the ally.

When the light disappears, James says, “You can open your eyes now, let’s go.” They hurry through the front door and leave the inn, turning down the lane to the right. Even though their eyes were closed, spots still swim in their vision.

The two men who were across the street continue to cry out and one has even fallen to the ground, holding his eyes.

“What did you do to them?” asks Miko, a slightly awed tone to his voice.

“I just ruined their night vision is all,” chuckles James. “Maybe given them a headache as well, I’m not sure. They should realize that nothing serious was done to them when their vision readjusts again to the dark. I don’t think I did anything permanent, though it’s possible.” Pausing for a moment he asks, “Now, what’s the best way out of town at night?”

“The main gates will most likely be watched,” Miko tells him. “Maybe the river. We could take a boat and drift downstream till we were out of sight of the walls.”

“I don’t like stealing but we may have no choice,” James says. “To the river then.”

Miko leads the way quickly with James close on his heels. It isn’t long before they hear the sound of several men coming up quickly behind them. Picking up their speed, James and Miko break into a run, making with all speed for the river.

The pursuit is gaining but they still have a lead over them. Miko cuts across one street and then quickly darts down another. Glancing back over his shoulder, James sees that the men are gaining. The outlines of those in the lead are now more pronounced. A glint of metal reveals a naked blade in the hands of one.

From up ahead Miko shouts, “Come on, I found a boat.”

Looking forward to where Miko called, he sees moonlight reflecting off the water. Near a shack situated close to the river’s edge, Miko stands beside a small boat. As James approaches the boat where Miko waits, the door to the nearby shack opens and two men emerge. Both men are wielding clubs.

“Get away from our boat!” one of the two men yells as they advance.

“We’ll kill you if you try to take it,” the other threatens. Brandishing his club, he menaces James and Miko with it.

Seeing their pursuers coming up fast, James says, “I’ll buy it!”

The club wielding men pause as they draw close to James. One of the two men asks, “How much?”

“Ten golds,” James offers as he pulls out his pouch.

“Ten golds!” one man exclaims incredulously. “You’ve got yourself a boat.” They lower their clubs and one holds out his hand for the money.

Miko jumps into the boat and grabs the oars, preparing to row. James doesn’t even bother to take the time to count out the exact amount, merely throws the money pouch at the two men and then pushes the boat into the water before jumping in. Once the boat clears the sandy bottom, Miko pulls hard on the oars to put as much distance between them and the shore as he can.

The two men start congratulating themselves on their good fortune, that is until they see James and Miko’s pursuers, swords gleaming in the starlight. Turning fast, they race back to their shack where they slam the door shut.

Thunk!

Something embeds itself into the side of the boat, “Get down!” James yells. They both crouch down in the boat, trying to stay below the edge for protection. He peers over the side and finds the tail end of a crossbow bolt protruding out of the wood. Somewhere on the shore the crossbowman takes aim again, but this time the bolt splashed into the water several feet away.