Shades of the Past_ Book Six of the Morcyth Saga - Brian S. Pratt [119]
They leave the inn’s courtyard and make their way through town to the road leading up to the mine. The streets are dark with only the moon overhead lighting their way. Once on the road leading to the mine, they waste no time in hurrying along.
A cool wind blowing off the mountain feels good after the heat of the day. The sound of their horses’ hooves reverberates in the quiet as they proceed further up the mountain.
It doesn’t seem all that long before the wall enclosing the mine complex appears before them. Torches are spaced at twenty foot intervals along the top of the wall and several guards are visible in the light.
“That’s dumb,” comments Jiron.
“What?” James asks.
“With those torches up there they won’t be able to see much of what’s on the outside,” he explains. “Will ruin their night vision.”
“I doubt if their greatest concern is what’s on the outside,” James replies.
Jiron nods in agreement.
They pull off the road a ways and leave Jared with the horses while Jiron and James work their way closer to the wall. In the darkness they are able to come fairly close without fear of the guards seeing them.
“I think this will be close enough,” James says as he comes to a stop. The place he stops is a dozen or so yards from the wall and twice that from the gate. He settles down on the ground and Jiron comes to stand next to him.
At his belt is the pouch containing power crystals, similar to the ones he used when the enemy tried to locate him. He takes a few deep breaths to settle his nerves and then glances up to Jiron standing next to him. “Get me out of here if things go bad,” he says.
Jiron grins. He knows what he means by bad. “Don’t worry, I will,” he assures him. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s had to carry an unconscious James to safety after he expended himself doing magic. Fortunately though, those times are becoming fewer and fewer.
Closing his eyes, James brings forth the magic and sends his senses into the mine. The mine is on a single level that extends deep within the mountain. A moment’s hesitation comes when he finds slaves still within the mine, but not nearly the number that would be there during the day.
Jiron hears him sigh and asks, “What’s wrong?”
“There are still slaves within the mine,” he tells him.
“A lot?” he asks.
“No, just about a dozen or so,” he replies.
“That going to be a problem?” he asks, afraid of the answer.
James shakes his head and then returns to what he came for. He takes his time in examining the stone encompassing the mine. What he’s looking for are points where he can take advantage of unstable sections of rocks to collapse the mine.
As he searches, his mind keeps returning to the slaves still within the mine. It doesn’t look as if they are doing anything, might be sleeping. From what Miko had told him of his time as a mine slave, these slaves may be undergoing punishment for one thing or another and that’s why they are still in there.
Then an idea comes to him. Searching for just the right spot, he begins weakening support beams and widening cracks in an area further into the mine than where the slaves are. If he creates a cave-in, they may just run out.
After a few minutes, he can feel the rock above the tunnel shift and begin to rumble. Then suddenly, rock begins falling as the ceiling caves in. Moving his senses to the slaves, he’s relived to discover they are now further toward the entrance.
When Jiron initially had returned and described the box canyon, he thought about bringing the side of the mountain down to block the mine. But then when he came and saw the complex in his mirror, he realized that if he did it would bury the entire place and kill everyone. Sometimes he wishes he was a bit less concerned with the welfare of others, sure would make life easier. But he is, so now he’s trying to bring it down from the inside.
They begin to hear noise coming from the other side of the wall as