Brian Pratt - The unsuspecting mage

“Did you find out anything?” Miko asks expectantly as James approaches.

“I’ll tell you later,” he says. “Let’s find a place to eat and then get out of here before the Empire shows up.”

“Good plan,” says Miko.

With Miko leading the horse, they travel through the crowded streets until they see an inn. Not wanting to leave their horse out front where someone fleeing may try to help themselves to it, they go around back and secure it near the back door before proceeding inside.

The inn is deserted save a lone serving girl who sits at a table near the front window watching the people making their way to the gates to get out of the city.

She fails to take notice of them until they get close and James says, “Excuse me.”

Startled, she jumps from her seat and turns around, “Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in. What can I do for you gentlemen?”

“Are you open for dinner?” James asks.

“Yes,” she affirms, “we are, though there is limited choice. You see we are leaving first thing in the morning.”

Taking a seat near the front window he says, “Just give us two large helpings of whatever you have and some ale.”

Before she goes to the kitchen she pauses and says somewhat guiltily, “That’s going to be three silvers, each.”

“What?” James asks incredulously.

“That’s outrageous!” Miko says, obviously mad.

Looking embarrassed, the girl says, “Sorry but that is what I am told to charge today.”

James nods his head and says “Here,” as he hands over six silvers. Then adds, “I understand.”

Looking relieved the girl takes the money and then goes into the kitchen to get their food and drinks.

“How could you pay that much?” Miko asks as the girl disappears into the kitchen.

Shrugging, James says, “We’re unlikely to get anything cheaper,” he gestures to the people going by outside, carrying bundles or pulling carts. “Besides, we’re lucky to be able to get anything at all. I’m surprised they’re even open.”

They sit back and relax as they wait for their food. James begins watching the people going by, mother’s carrying babies alongside fathers pulling carts loaded with belongings and children. “Kind of makes you sad doesn’t it?”

“What does?” asks Miko.

“The senseless destruction that war brings,” he explains. “The ones who always pay the price of another’s greed is the simple man who just wants to go about his life, take joy in his family, and find peace at the end. They didn’t ask for it, don’t understand why it’s happening, but theirs are the lives ruined, turned upside down, families destroyed.”

“I see what you mean,” Miko says, reflecting on what James said.

The girl returns from the kitchen balancing a platter with heaping slices of meat smothered in thick gravy in one hand and a pitcher of ale with two mugs gripped in the other. She sits it all on the table and then returns to the kitchen only to emerge with a large loaf of bread. “Here, this is extra,” she says as she sits the bread on the table. “We’ll probably just throw it away anyway.”

Taking the bread James says, “Thank you.”

Smiling, the girl begins to putter around the room, wiping down tables and keeping busy.

Starved from having little food the last couple of days, it doesn’t take long before they completely devour their meal.

“Would you like anything else?” she asks when she comes over to remove the dinnerware.

“No nothing,” James replies. “That was very good.”

Miko nods agreement as he lets out a loud belch.

“Glad you liked it,” she says before heading back to the kitchen with the dirty platter.

“Feel better?” James asks Miko as he relaxes back into his chair.

“Much better,” he says contentedly, patting his stomach.

They sit and rest a little longer as they allow their food to digest. Continuing to watch the people going by, James spies a little girl running away from her mother, giggling and laughing, unaware of the gravity of the situation. Her mother calls her back but the girl keeps running around, thinking it’s a game. The girl would slow down and her mother would almost get her only to bolt off through the crowd again.

The mother is getting extremely agitated and James feels sorry for the girl when she finally gets a hold of her. The little girl is racing again through the crowd, giggling and laughing when she runs into another of the mass of people on the street.

The little girl doesn’t even realize she’s bumped into someone until he grabs her by the arm. She gazes up to see who has a hold of her and looks into the face of a man with a patch over the right eye and a long angry welt running from his hairline to his jaw.

She looks like she’s about ready to scream when her mother comes and words are exchanged with the man who let’s go and the mother drags the child away, obviously yelling at her.

James goes cold when he sees the man, his memory flashes back to a man with a crossbow in a window and the snapped crosswire catching him in the face.

“Miko!” James says as he starts to get up. “I think I see the man who escaped when I rescued Perrilin.”

“Are you sure?” he asks as he gets up too, grabbing their bags.

“Pretty sure,” James replies. “You see, his crossbow wire had snapped catching him in the face, along the right eye.” Pointing to the man in the road, he says, “And that man has a welt running in about the same area.” He then moves to the front door and leaves the inn.

“Goodbye,” they hear the serving girl say.

As Miko follows James out the front door he asks, “What are we doing?”

“I want to follow him and see what he’s up to,” James replies.

“I thought we were leaving?” Miko asks nervously. “You know, before the Empire gets here?”

“We are, this should only take a few minutes,” he assures him.

Not exactly happy about staying in the City longer, Miko says, “I hope so,” and continues following James as he follows the man.

They keep the man in sight as he continues down the street, then turning right at a main intersection. They briefly lose sight of him when he turns the corner but hurry to the edge of the building and peer around it, again catching sight of him as he makes another turn down a smaller side street. Running, they enter the side street and again pick him up as he continues walking down the road.

The road he is taking eventually leads to the docks where a veritable mob of people are trying to gain passage on the few vessels remaining in the harbor. All the ships have armed guards keeping the people at bay. Near the far end of the dock, in the opposite direction the man is going, a riot is in progress at the base of a gangway leading onto a ship. James can see guards using clubs and swords on the people as they surge toward the gangway.

“There he goes,” Miko says as he directs James’ attention back to the matter at hand. The man had just entered a warehouse standing back from the docks. It looks well maintained but closed at the moment. Seeing a window in the side of the warehouse, they quickly make their way over to it and peer inside.

Within, the man is talking to what looks to be two men in uniforms of the city guard. They see him handing a small vial to one of the men followed by a small sack, possibly heavy with coin.

James hears a noise behind him and as he quickly turns to see what it is, something strikes him hard in the side of the head and everything goes black.

Gasping, James comes to as his head is deluged with a bucket of water. Next to him Miko sputters as he is treated similarly. His eyes are open but his vision is blurry. The side of his head throbs immensely from where he had been struck. He tries to move but finds himself to be tied to a chair with his arms secured behind him.