Fires of Prophecy_ Book Two of the Morcyth Saga - Brian Pratt [58]
“Now,” Tinok says, “what happened?”
“Well…” he begins as he relates to them all that had happened, up to the point where he ran out of the burning house and was captured. “When they took me back to the jail, the Commander had someone begin interrogating me.”
“How?” Cassie asks, wide eyed.
“The usual, I’m sure,” he replies. “Anyway, this messenger comes in and gives him a letter. When he’s done reading it, he barks out some orders and before I knew it, I was being tied on a horse and we all began riding hard to the south. We eventually stopped here, fortunately for me, and the rest you know.”
“What were they asking you?” James inquires.
“Mainly, they wanted to know what happened to the men that were garrisoned at Mountainside,” he explains. “Since I was hiding there and had killed a couple soldiers, they felt I obviously knew something.”
“Of course you did,” interjects Tinok.
“Of course,” agrees Jiron. “But they didn’t realize that.”
“What about the backpack?” James asks.
“I left it in the building that was on fire,” he says. “I saw it catch fire myself so there should be no more worries from that.”
“Thanks,” James says. “I’m sorry you got hurt, though.”
Looking at James tiredly, Jiron says, “So am I.” He then turns his attention to Roland and says, “Just who are you and why did you untie me? Not that I’m complaining or anything.”
They relate the events which led up to Roland and his family joining them. When Tinok explains the devilish monster walking out of the dried up Oasis, he breaks into a laugh, “Wish I could’ve seen that!”
Leaving Jiron with the girls and the wagons, the other three return to the oasis. There they drag the dead bodies of the soldiers out into the desert and bury them. Once they’ve hidden and removed all traces of the battle which had raged there, they return to the wagons and resume their trek to Korazan. Jiron sits in the back of the wagon with the girls and Arkie in order to rest, soon falling asleep.
Everyone becomes quiet for awhile as they let him sleep, understanding that he really needs it. For his part, James is relieved at having Jiron back. Now if we can just get Miko and Jiron’s sister!
They ride on until late in the afternoon when they begin to see the outlines of a fairly sizeable city coming up ahead. With Tinok and Roland out front, they approach the town. Off to the east they see an area where several caravans have made their camp.
“Looks to be a caravansary,” Roland says, indicating the groups of wagons.
“Should we stop there for the night?” James asks him.
“It’s what it’s there for,” he explains.
“Alright then,” agrees James. “Let’s find a spot for the night.”
As they near the caravansary, a man comes over to them and says, “Good day to you sirs.”
“You speak our language?” James replies, astonished.
“I speak many,” the man explains. “I am Ahlim, the Caravansary Master.”
“I am James,” he replies, “and we are looking for a spot to stay the night.”
“To stay here will be a silver a day,” he says.
James looks to Roland who shrugs his shoulders. Turning back to the man, he digs out a silver and hands it to him, saying, “Very well.”
Ahlim takes the coin and says, “Find any spot around here that suits you.” He then turns and hurries off toward town.
They find a suitable spot that’s not too close to any of the others and start settling in, when another man comes over. “Greetings, fellow traders.”
“Greetings,” replies James.
“Ah, I’m not one to cause trouble,” he says, “but I saw you talking to Ahlim just a moment ago?”
“Yes?” James replies, nervous.
“Did he say that he was the Caravansary Master? And that you had to pay to stay here?”
“Yes, he did,” James replies. “Why?”
The man starts laughing, “You didn’t pay him did you?”
“A silver,” admits James.
The man starts laughing harder.
“What’s so funny?” James asks, getting a little mad.
“He’s not any kind of a Caravansary Master,” the man explains, wiping tears from his eyes as his laughter calms down. “He’s a beggar who does this from time to time with