Brian Pratt - The unsuspecting mage

“Six?” James asks. “I only wanted five.”

“I know” the farmer said, “but six is what a copper is worth and I wouldn’t want to cheat you.” He gave James a wink, “Besides, since there is but the two of you, six is easier to divvy up than five.”

“I appreciate that,” James says as he gives three of the fruits over to Miko. Eyeing the fruit longingly, he says, “And thank you for allowing us to purchase them from you.”

“No trouble at all sir,” the man assures him. “Actually it happens quite often. There are many travelers on the road to Lornigan, it’s the last large town before the long road to Trademeet.”

“Would you know of a place in Lornigan where we could get a bite to eat?” James asks.

“Sure,” the man replies, “try the Grinning Specter.” When he sees the look on Miko’s face at the name, the man continues. “Don’t let the name bother you boy, there’s nothing scary about it. The food there is good and fairly priced. You’ll find it along the road a little after you enter the town. Look for the sign with the smiling ghost.”

“Thank you, we’ll do that,” James says appreciatively. “You have a good day,” he says as he begins turning his horse back toward the road.

“You too, sir,” Hemdal replies before returning to aid with the harvesting.

Finishing his first fruit, Miko says, “Thanks for the fruit.”

Smiling, James says, “No problem, fresh fruit is at times hard to come by. Besides, you never know what you are going to find out by talking to the locals.” He takes a bite out of one and enjoys the sweet firm flesh of the fruit. “Reminds me of a nectarine,” he says.

“Nectarine?” Miko asks.

“It’s a popular fruit from where I come from,” he explains. “My grandfather always had some in the house whenever they were in season.”

“They are good,” agrees Miko, as he bites into his second.

They continue on toward Lornigan, munching on the fruit as they gradually approach the outskirts of town. The buildings here have been kept up well overall, though a few do show signs of their age and neglect. The usual hawkers are there to greet them as they pass the first several buildings. They crowd around trying to get James and Miko to buy their goods, but when they show little interest, relax a bit. Despite the lack of interest from James and Miko, some do continue to exclaim the virtues of their wares to the annoyance of both.

Passing several more buildings, they come to a three story structure with a sign out front upon which was painted a grinning ghostly apparition. “This must be the place,” James says.

“Yeah,” agrees Miko, “not what I expected though.”

Turning to Miko, he asks, “And just what were you expecting, a creepy, scary place?”

“Sort of,” Miko admits.

James chuckles at him, “Never let the name of a place give you the wrong impression.”

They hitch their horses out front and then go inside. The interior of the place is neat and clean, with a good aroma of cooking food coming from the kitchen. Most of the tables are filled with midday eaters, several servers scurry from table to table, delivering their orders and otherwise being helpful.

James spies an empty table to the side and they make their way through the crowd. Sitting down with his back to the wall, James signals to a server and he comes over.

“Good day gentlemen,” greets the server as he approaches the table. “How may I help you today?”

“What’s the special?” asks James.

“Today we have a roast goose with lemon sauce that is extra good,” he replies. “Or you can have the chicken stew. The goose is five coppers and the stew three, each comes with a half loaf of bread.”

“I’ll have the goose,” James replies, “and some ale.”

The server turns to Miko, “And you?”

“I’ll have the goose as well,” Miko tells him.

James takes the coins out of his pouch and hands them to the server who pockets them before heading off to the kitchen to place their order.

While they are waiting for their meals to arrive, James watches as eight men dressed in uniforms enter and head their way, taking the long table next to theirs.

A serving girl comes over and takes their orders. When they are done with placing their order, the leader says to her, “And make it quick please, we need to leave quickly.”

“Yes, sir,” the girl replies and hurries back to the kitchen. She returns quickly with a tray carrying eight large bowls of stew and four loaves of bread. Another girl accompanies her with eight mugs and a pitcher of ale. The soldiers set to with gusto, not taking the time to talk to one another, just intent on their meals.

“In a hurry?” James leans over and asks the leader of the group.

“You could say that,” the leader replies between bites of stew. “We need to be to the Merchant’s Pass as soon as possible.”

Curious, James asks, “Why?”

The leader breaks a chunk of bread off the loaf and dips it into his stew before shoving it in his mouth. “The siege of Saragon is going badly we hear. We’re on our way to the Pass to inspect the defenses in case the Empire’s army decides to wander in that direction.”

“Are you worried that we may be attacked?” James asks.

“Not really,” he says. “Madoc is putting up stiff resistance and it’s unlikely that the Empire will have the additional manpower to attack us directly. I hear they don’t have the inner stability that would enable them to release more troops for battle.”

“You mean they must keep the bulk of their troops inside the Empire to keep it together?” James wonders.

“Not the bulk to be sure,” he replies. “But I hear they need troops to keep some of their more recalcitrant provinces in line. If they were to pull too many troops north to fight Madoc or us, then the southern and eastern sections might become rebellious and cause them no end of trouble. Of course, I am just repeating barrack’s gossip, I don’t know any of this to be true.”

“If they are so unstable,” James asks, “then why the push into Madoc?”

Shrugging, the leader says, “Who knows? Maybe things have changed that has freed up a large section of their armies, no way to really know. I am sure we have spies within the Empire that may know, but I doubt if that knowledge would become available to the general population.”

“True,” James agrees.

“One thing is for sure,” the leader continues, “it has strained relationships between Cardri and the Empire. We are not at war with them, but I hear that we are helping Madoc in these dire times with supplies and possibly some troops, though that is only rumors.”

“Do you think we would go to war with the Empire?” James asks.

“Not unless directly attacked, I wouldn’t think so,” he replies. “Cardri has a fair sized army but nothing compared with the might that the Empire could put into the field. Now keep in mind, the troops they are keeping in their southern territories to keep rebellion in check, would be released to fight if we were to enter the conflict. The only hope Madoc has is if they overextend themselves and one or more of their southern territories were to think this would be a good time to rebel. Not likely to happen, but you never know.”

“Thanks for the information,” James says. “Maybe we’ll see you again, we’re planning on taking the Merchant’s Pass over into Madoc.”

“Then you better hurry,” he replies. “From what I understand, if Saragon falls then the Pass is to be closed and all traffic diverted north through Dragon’s Pass.”

“Why would they close it, if we’re not at war with them?” James asks.

“For safety,” the leader replies. “With both sides having armies in the field, it wouldn’t do to have our citizens traveling through the middle of it.”