Fires of Prophecy_ Book Two of the Morcyth Saga - Brian Pratt [156]
“I’m sure she’ll like it,” he says.
They bring the horses out and mount, James checks the mirror before they leave and finds no enemy soldiers in the immediate vicinity or further to the south. He keeps the mirror out so he can check it periodically as they make their way along the shoreline.
After traveling for over an hour, James asks, “You got any water?”
Jiron shakes his head and says, “No, I used up the last of it this morning.”
“We’re going to need to find some soon, or we’re not going to last long under this sun,” he tells him.
“I know, my horse really could use some too,” he says. “Can you find a source close by?”
“Maybe,” he replies as he again gets out his mirror. After concentrating on water, the mirror opens up on a great expanse of water, “Think I may have found something.” He expands the view and the edge of the water comes in and he sees two men on horseback riding along beside it. His excitement ends when he realizes that it’s Jiron and him that he’s seeing and that the body of water is the ocean.
Frustrated, he begins concentrating on ‘fresh’, drinking water. The image blurs and then focuses in on a small pool with several palm trees around the edge. “Got it!” he exclaims.
“Where?” asks Jiron.
Adjusting the view and scrolling the image, he determines it to be several miles off to the southeast.
“Anyone around?” he asks.
“Several people,” he replies, “but no soldiers. They look to be just travelers stopping to get water.”
Jiron nods his head, “We’ll have to chance it.” He turns his horse to the southeast and they soon cross the main road. One lone traveler sees them crossing but doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to them.
As they ride, Jiron says, “That’s a handy thing, your mirror.”
“Yeah,” replies James. “The more I use it, the easier it is to find what I want.”
“Can you use anything?” he asks. “I mean, like a pool of water or something?”
“I would think so,” replies James. “It would be the same principle, so yeah, I could.”
About that time they begin to see palm trees coming into view on the horizon. They slow their approach when they see a dozen or so people around the water. “Must be a caravan of some sort,” guesses James when he notices several wagons pulled up around the oasis. A road stretches in the distance on the other side of the oasis, going east to west.
“Looks like it,” Jiron agrees. “Let’s be careful, get in and out quickly.”
“I’m with you on that,” states James.
They approach the oasis, making a beeline straight for the water. When the others see them coming, they watch, but don’t say anything.
Upon smelling the water, their horses quicken their pace, eager to reach the pool. While their horses begin drinking, they get down and fill their water bottles. Glancing over to the others who share the oasis with them, they notice that they’ve huddled together and are talking amongst themselves, occasionally peering over to them.
James also notices that a couple of the caravan guards have gone over to a wagon and are beginning to get out crossbows. “Jiron!” James cries out. “Time to leave!”
Jiron looks over and sees the guards preparing their crossbows and leaps into the saddle, James mounts quickly as well. As the guards are winding their crossbows, they turn their horses and head out of the oasis as fast as their horses will carry them. They turn to follow the road westward.
“Wonder what that was all about?” Jiron asks once they’ve put some distance between themselves and the oasis.
“Rumors must be circulating about us by now, I would imagine,” James replies. “Two men, of obvious northern stock ride in out of the desert,” he continues. “I’d be cautious too, maybe even be looking for a reward for taking us down.”
Jiron laughs.
“What’s so funny?” he asks.
“After all we’ve been through,” he says, grinning, “escaping first Azzac and then Al-Kur. The thought of us being brought down by a bunch of caravan guards, it just seems funny.”
“I suppose,” replies James, not seeing the humor in it. He pulls out the mirror and checks for hostiles in the area,