Brian Pratt - The unsuspecting mage

Turning to Miko, James says excitedly, “My god! Was that some ride or what?”

“Yeah,” says Miko miserably. “It was great.”

“Oh come on!” James exclaims. “Where I come from people would pay top dollar to go through that, again and again.”

Miko just looks at him like he’s insane and shakes his head.

His lack of enthusiasm somewhat dampens James’, but he can still feel the thrill of it when they went sailing over the waterfall and landed on the lake. Grabbing the oars, he begins to row in the direction the boat is currently going.

To Miko he says, “Keep a lookout behind me and make sure I don’t run into anything.”

Miko just nods his head and keeps an eye out for anything in the lake ahead of them.

After rowing for a few minutes, Miko points behind James and says, “There’s something in the lake ahead.”

He glances over his shoulder and sees a small island poking out of the surface of the water directly in their path. He turns the boat a little to the right and they sail around the island, which isn’t very large, and continue on their way. For a brief moment he has visions of riddles and rings.

He continues rowing for a little longer before Miko suddenly exclaims excitedly, “James, there’s light coming from up ahead!”

Looking over his shoulder, he can see a small patch of light in the distance ahead of them. He angles the boat toward the light and rows harder. “Maybe it’s the way out?” he says.

“I hope so,” Miko replies. “I want to get out of here!”

Pulling on the oars with renewed vigor, he rows toward the patch of light, which continues to grow as they approach. When they’re closer, they can see that it’s an opening in the cavern wall, allowing a small stream wide enough to accommodate the boat to flow through.

“Should we take it?” James asks, knowing the answer even before he hears it.

“Yes!” exclaims Miko.

James heads for the opening and as they get closer, begins to see trees and bushes on the other side. Excited, Miko gives a whoop and holler as they enter the sunlit world, leaving the underworld behind them.

The stream flows through a tangle of trees and undergrowth, flowing steadily and smoothly. As it turns out, the stream is barely deep enough for the boat to keep from scraping the bottom. Twice, they become stuck when the boat runs aground where the stream becomes too shallow. Using the oars, they push off from the bottom until they are once more in deeper water and the boat is able to float free.

It isn’t far until the trees open up and they realize that they are now at the bottom of the gorge. Through the trees ahead they can see where the stream will be joining the river as it flows on its way into Madoc. Having no more need of the glowing orb, James cancels the spell.

As they join the main river, they look up and can barely make out the road that they had been on earlier in the day, way up the side of the mountain. “Hard to believe that we were way up there just a few hours ago,” Miko says.

James looks at the shadows on the mountain and realizes that they had been in there far longer than a few hours. “I think that we were in there most of the day,” James corrects him. “Gauging by the shadows the sun is casting on the mountain, it’s more likely early evening. We left the way stop just after sunup.”

“Guess that’s why I’m so hungry,” Miko says, looking at James.

“Let’s find a good spot for a brief camp and we’ll see what we can do about that.” He maneuvers the boat to the center of the river and doesn’t worry too much about rowing, except in maneuvering them around obstacles, the current here is fairly fast. He sits back a bit and rests his arms, which have been growing tired from all the unaccustomed rowing.

The river makes a turn up ahead and on the inner bend of the turn, there’s an open area, a sandbar really. As likely a spot as any to make camp, James uses the oars to bring them closer. When they get near and are about to be carried past by the current, he signals to Miko and they both leap from the boat. James keeps hold of the side until he’s regained his balance.

Miko on the other hand didn’t fare nearly as well. For when he jumps from the boat, his foot slips on a submerged rock and falls into the icy, cold water. He starts splashing and yells, “James! Help me!”

James looks over as he steadies himself and says, “Its not deep, just stand up.”

Miko’s thrashing begins to calm down and with a face red with embarrassment, he stands up and realizes he was only in a couple feet of water. Dripping wet and frozen, his clothes are soaked through and through. And with the sun behind the mountains, there is little to help him get warm.

With the bedraggled Miko’s help, they get the boat far enough up onto the sandbar so the current will be unable to drag it away. By the time the boat comes to rest, Miko is shivering quite badly and his teeth have begun to chatter.

Seeing his predicament, James collects some of the driftwood lying around and stacks it together. He uses a fire starter spell, catching the wood on fire and then begins placing larger pieces on top. Soon he has a fair sized fire going and Miko gets close, holding his red hands as near the flames as he can stand.

Now that Miko’s plight is beginning to improve, James hunts the sandbar until finding a stick approximately three feet long. He then takes his knife and sharpens one end of the stick to create a makeshift spear. Once it’s finished, he wades into the river and stands patiently waiting for a fish to swim by.

Miko shivers by the fire, its warmth slowly seeping back into his body. Not far off in the river, James stands motionless, his face a study of concentration as he searches the water for movement. Then, in one quick movement, James thrusts the stick into the water and pulls out a large wriggling fish impaled upon its end. Bringing his catch over to the campsite, James uses his knife to gut and scale the fish, then uses the same stick he used to catch it to roast it over the fire.

“How long are we going to stay here?” Miko asks after sitting quietly listening to the spit and sizzle of the juice dripping from the fish into the fire.

Thinking a bit, James turns the fish before answering. “Probably not until after dark and our clothes are a little drier,” he replies. “I want to get through the gorge and past any patrols that Cardri may have at the other end of the Pass.”

“Isn’t it going to be dangerous riding the river in the dark?” questions Miko.

“Probably, but if we keep our wits about us and listen for any changes in the sounds of the river, then we should make it through,” he says.

“Once through, we head for the City of Light?” he asks.

“That’s right,” answers James. “Unless of course the Empire’s army is in our way, then we’ll just have to see what choices present themselves and go from there.” He takes the fish off the fire and inspects it, deciding that it still needs more time and puts it back over the fire to cook longer.

“The first town we come to, we shall see about getting a couple of horses,” he tells Miko. “We’re going to need speed if we want to keep ahead of the Empire’s forces. Hopefully, they will not venture into the same area where we are planning to travel.”

“Yeah, let’s hope so,” agrees Miko.

Checking the fish one more time, he decides it’s fit to eat. Grabbing a couple large leaves from a nearby plant for makeshift plates, he divides the fish between them and hands Miko his share. While they eat, the sunlight continues to dim as the sun sinks lower and lower behind the mountains. By the time they finish eating, the first stars begin to appear in the sky and Miko announces his clothes are fairly dry, at least the part that has been facing the fire.