Brian Pratt - The unsuspecting mage

Concentrating, he takes one of his stones and throws it as he casts his spell. It flies unerringly toward the rear rider and hits, causing him to fall backward off his horse.

Taking another stone, he does the same to a second rider. This time the rider’s foot gets caught in the stirrup as he falls and is dragged along the ground before the horse comes to a stop.

By this time, the remaining rider has seen James and Miko and are making straight for them. James throws a third stone and this time nails the horse not the man, knocking the rider to the ground.

The man hits the ground at a roll and is on his feet not far from where James is standing. He looks at James and then glances back at the cavalry rapidly approaching. The man reaches into his shirt and then puts something into his mouth. A second later he grips his stomach and falls over to the ground, not moving.

“What happened to him?” Miko asks.

“He’s poisoned himself,” says James. “Guess he didn’t want to be taken captive.” They stand still and wait until the cavalry approaches.

“Stay where you are!” one of the men commands as the riders approach. Several hold lances and lower them, covering James and Miko. The riders encircle the pair, leaving an opening to allow another rider to pass through their ranks. This rider is an older man, with hair turning slightly gray at the edges. His uniform is of better quality than those of the others. Must be an officer, James thinks to himself.

“Now, who might you two be?” he asks when he draws close, looking down from the back of his horse.

James answers, “My name is James and this is my friend Miko.”

When he hears their names, he nods and says to one of his men on his right, “Lieutenant, see to the dead riders and send out scouts. I want to know where they are and fast.”

“Yes, sir,” replies the man next to him who then turns and begins to bark out orders.

Turning back to James and Miko, the leader dismounts and hands his reins to another rider. “Greetings James, I am Captain Varos of the King’s cavalry.” He extends his hand and James shakes it. “So, would you happen to know someone by the name of Rylin?” he asks.

“As a matter of fact we do, Captain,” James replies. “We helped him rescue two ladies from bandits earlier.”

“Thought you might be them,” he explains. “We ran into him and the ladies back at the caravan. They said you had gone in pursuit of another group of bandits that had taken off with their horses.”

Nodding, James says, “That is correct. We found them too, but they had met up with a larger band and any chance of recovering the stolen horses was gone.”

“Oh? How many were there? Where did you see them?” he asks intently.

“There were over fifty men and their camp was further south, about ten miles or so,” James explains. “But they had begun breaking camp about the time when we began to follow them.” He gestures to the dead men. “I think the main body was probably going to head south, though I am not positive.”

”Lieutenant!” the officer bellows.

The lieutenant comes over to him, “Sir!”

“These men say their encampment was about ten miles to the south and that they broke camp not too long ago, possibly heading south. Send the scouts out in that direction and have the men ready to ride in five minutes.”

“Yes, sir, Captain!” the lieutenant salutes and proceeds to carry out the orders.

Another rider comes up and salutes, “Captain, we searched the bodies but found nothing on them. One looks like he was poisoned.”

“Very good,” the captain replies and the man goes back to his duties. “Poisoned?” the captain asks when he turns his attention back to James.

“When I knocked his horse down with a rock, the man came to his feet. He glanced at you and your men coming and then reached into his pocket and ate something. Shortly after that he fell over dead.”

“Too bad, would have liked to have questioned him,” the Captain says.

The lieutenant returns and reports, “Captain, the men are ready.”

The man who was holding the captain’s horse brings it and the captain mounts. Turning to James he says, “Thank you for your help.” To his men he says, “Let’s ride!” and they race southward at a gallop.

Watching them ride out of sight, Miko asks, “Should we follow?”

Shaking his head, James replies, “I don’t think so.” He glances over at the dead bodies and then mounts his horse, Miko does the same. “There is likely to be a battle when they meet and I would rather not be around when it happens.” Getting up to speed quickly, they head northward until the sun starts dipping below the horizon.

Once the light begins to fade, they make camp. After having a quick dinner of rations and then lay out under the stars as they watch the night sky slowly darken, until only the light from the fire is all that remains to keep the darkness at bay. The stars form a brilliant pattern in the heavens above. “Look!” Miko cries out as a shooting star leaves a blazing trail across the night sky, slowly dissipating into nothingness.

“That’s an omen,” he says.

“Hardly,” James rebuts. “That is simply a rock falling out of the sky, hitting the atmosphere and the friction caused by its speed through the air burns it up which causes a blazing trail.”

“What?” Miko asks, confused.

Chuckling, James says “It’s just a rock falling out of the sky. There is nothing mystical about it.”

“I don’t know,” Miko insists. “They are supposed to herald that something of import is about to happen or has.”

“For who?” James questions.

“I don’t know, somebody somewhere I suppose,” Miko reasons. “It’s got to mean something.”

Turning on his side, James says, “Not everything has to mean something. Sometimes things occur and that is all there is to it. I am sure that something somewhere is happening to someone that could be called extraordinary. But I am sure that it would be happening even without a sign from above.”

“Don’t you believe in signs and omens?” Miko asks him.

“No, not really,” James explains. “Everything has an explanation, if you just know all the facts about it. It’s when you see only part of whatever is happening that you create mystical and often implausible meanings behind them. I know that rocks are flying through space out there all the time and that they do occasionally fall to earth, creating a blazing trail across the heavens.”

Not looking very convinced, Miko argues, “The gods are always sending omens and portents, we just have to be alert and understand them when they are happening.”

Thinking about magic and the things he’s seen since coming here to this world, he says, “Perhaps you do have a point, and I’ll concede that it may actually be a sign sent from above for a specific purpose. But since we have no way to know what, where, or who, I doubt if it’s going to do us much good.”

“I suppose you’re right about that,” Miko agrees. Changing the subject, he asks, “Are we going to see how Rylin and the women are making out?”

“I think so,” James replies. “At least we will tell them what is happening with their horses. They may get them back if the Captain is successful in battle. At least he knows who they belong to.”

“Do you really think there will be a battle?” Miko asks.

“Perhaps,” James answers. “The Captain can’t just let them get away with attacks on civilians within their borders, so if he thinks he can win the day, then I’m sure he will attack. And if not, then who knows what he will do, maybe send for reinforcements so he can launch a successful attack. We may never know.”