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A month ago the Empire stood on the verge of taking the rest of Madoc. Now it’s in retreat back to its border. The army at Lythylla which had contained the bulk of its northern strength has been all but destroyed, an army roams at will in its northern provinces, and a mage is loose that no one seems to be able to find.

Sighing, he turns from the window and crosses the room to his bed. Tomorrow night at midnight they will summon forth Aekion and he will require all his strength for the ordeal. Lying down, the last thing that crosses his mind is the question of where the mage is and what he’s up to.

Sleeping in late, James and the others don’t leave the inn until well past noon. As they make their way through the inn, James puts on a grim expression like he’s mulling over some unpleasant thought. One worker doesn’t see them coming until they’re almost upon him. When he turns and realizes how close he is to ‘his lordship’, his face turns pale and makes a hasty withdrawal out of their way.

Leaving the inn, Jiron leads them through town toward the road that leads up into the mountains and to the mine. Word must have spread about his being in town for as they make their way through town, those who take notice of their party quickly put distance between them.

Before they turn onto the road that leads up to the mine, Jiron notices from the corner of his eye an officious looking man exit a building on the far side of the street. When the man moves to cross to their side and looks to be heading directly for them, Jiron quickly turns into an alley between two buildings.

“What are we doing in here?” Jared asks.

Jiron gestures with his head to the man coming up behind them. Stopping, they turn to face him.

As the man nears, Jared moves in front of the others and waits for the man to speak first.

Ignoring Jared, the man looks directly at James and says a brief sentence. From the tone of his voice it sounded like a question.

Jared attempts to respond but the man barks a command and holds up his hand. Face growing grim, he glances to Jiron and raises his left hand to scratch behind his ear.

Seeing the signal, Jiron lashes out with his fist and connects with the side of the man’s head knocking him unconscious. As the man begins to fall, Jiron grabs him and quickly pulls him to the side of the alley.

James scans the alley for anyone who may have witnessed it and finds the alley empty. He then looks to Jared for an explanation.

Taking his eyes from the unconscious man on the ground, he looks at James and says, “He asked what business you had here in Ki and why he wasn’t told of your coming. When I tried to respond, he stopped me. He wanted to hear it from you.”

“You did the right thing,” states Jiron. “Now, what are we to do with him?” He glances to James and asks, “Kill him?”

“Must we?” responds James. “After tonight they’ll know where I am anyway.”

“If he’s discovered it’s what he may do before tonight that I’m worried about,” argues Jiron.

“He’s right,” adds Jared. “He’s the enemy and I think is of some importance.”

Jiron begins going through his pockets and pulls out a rolled letter secured with a piece of string. Removing the string he opens it up and after a brief glance hands it to James.

James takes the letter. Unable to decipher the writing, he scans to the bottom and to the symbol inscribed there, three dots forming a pyramid with lines running between them yet not touching them.

Sighing, he hands the letter to Jared and asks, “Can you read this?”

Taking the letter, Jared looks at it and shakes his head. “No, I can only speak the language,” he replies. Then his eyes widen when he see the symbol at the bottom. Looking up at James he says, “This…”

“Is the symbol of the warrior priest,” he finishes. Pointing to the man on the ground he adds, “Whoever that is either is one, or works for one.”

“Most likely an agent,” guesses Jiron. “Never would have taken an actual warrior priest out so easily.” Pulling