Fires of Prophecy_ Book Two of the Morcyth Saga - Brian Pratt [87]
Several hours later, when the sun begins to dip toward the horizon, Delia returns. Tinok is carrying a large sack full of food, “I thought everyone could use one last good meal before we hit the road tomorrow,” she explains.
“Good idea,” he says.
“I did manage to acquire a couple consignments, nothing major, that are to be delivered at a few towns along the road,” she tells him. “They’ll be bringing them out to us in a little while.”
When the smell of the roasted meat contained within the sack hits the guys practicing, all practicing halts as they hurry over to get some. Ravenous for some real food, they pretty much consume it all, but not before everyone else was able to get some for themselves.
Over the next hour, three different wagons come and deliver the goods for transport, transferring them to their wagons.
Delia comes over to James and sits down, saying, “I neglected to mention to you that the road your friend is traveling on leads to the capitol of the Empire.”
“Oh?” he replies.
“Doesn’t that make you nervous?”
“A little,” he admits, “but there’s not much I can do about it, is there?”
“No, I suppose not.”
When they all settle down for the night, there is one thing that James realizes that he forgot to get for the new arrivals, bedrolls. But they don’t seem to mind, sleeping free is good no matter what.
Chapter Sixteen
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The next morning they begin rolling with the rising of the sun, everyone is anxious to leave Korazan and the slave market behind.
With Jiron riding lead, the rest of the guards space themselves along the caravan with Potbelly at the rear. Getting them into the saddle that morning brought back the time when he first started riding back in Trendle. Smiling at the memory, he watches as Jiron and Tinok attempt to show them the proper way to mount a horse.
After several attempts, which remind James of an old Three Stooges’ episode, they manage to get everyone one into the saddle. The first couple of miles are the worse as the novice riders begin to get the hang of commanding their horses, as well as staying upon them. By the end of the first day, they’re all sore and stiff; oh the complaining that was heard around the campfire that night. You would’ve thought they had just fought a hard and long campaign and suffered grievous wounds.
“You poor little babies,” Tinok says mockingly as they sit and moan about their sore posteriors. “Do you want me to rub your bum bums for you?”
“Shut up!” Scar says to him.
“Yeah, or we’ll beat your head in,” adds Potbelly as he gingerly sits down near the campfire.
Tinok just laughs and says, “By this time tomorrow, you should be really stiff and sore.”
They just give him an ugly look and say nothing.
“It takes a few days for you to get use to sitting on a horse,” Jiron assures them. “It does get better, once your muscles become accustomed to it.”
“I hope so,” says Qynn, the quarterstaffer.
Delia sees James sitting a little ways off by himself and goes over to him. “You okay?” she asks him.
“Just worried about Miko is all,” he tells her.
“Did you check the mirror again?” she asks when she sees it lying next to him.
“Yeah, it just shows him still traveling,” he replies. “I think they’re making better time than we are.”
“Not too surprising since they don’t have wagons slowing them down,” she reasons.
“It just seems like we’re getting further and further behind,” he says despondently. “Sometimes I feel like I’ll never be able to catch up with him.”
“They’ve got to stop some time,” she assures him.
Sighing, he says, “I know, it just gets to me once in a while.”
“Come on over to the camp and join the rest of us,” she suggests. “It’ll take your mind off your worries for a time.”
Nodding his head, he gets up and comes back over to the campfire, where Scar and Potbelly are regaling everyone with their exploits at the fall of the City of Light.
“…and then when the last one fell,” Scar is saying, “we ran, trying to find a way out of the City.”
“Yeah,” Potbelly joins in, “by that time there was only four of us left.