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“I know,” replies Uther. “Maybe we can get Miko again later.” Chuckling at the thought, he makes his way upstairs with Jorry right behind him. The building they find themselves in used to be an inn.

He and Jorry met shortly after the fall of the City of Light when they joined with Miller and his band. Both having gone through hardship and sorrow, they felt a bond between them almost from the beginning.

“It wouldn’t be so bad if there was something to find once in a while like coins or something,” he says. They have found some, but not nearly enough to satisfy his need for diversion.

Jorry stops at a door while Uther continues on to the next. Opening it, he walks into a room with several beds and over to the side is an upright wardrobe. He gives the room a casual once over and then moves to the wardrobe.

Just before his hand connects with the handle, the doors swing open and two figures leap out at him with a roar. Clothed in tattered remains with faces black as coal, they give him such a fright that he cries out and staggers backward. His leg hits one of the beds and he falls over, his back hitting the floor.

Getting to his feet quickly, he bolts for the door just as Uther comes running to see what the problem is. Bam! He runs right into Uther and they both collapse to the floor in a heap.

“What happened?” cries out Uther as he and Jorry quickly untangle themselves and get to their feet.

“Ghosts!” cries Jorry in fright.

Just then laughter can be heard coming from the room he just fled. “Ghosts huh?” Uther says as he draws his sword and approaches the room. Coming to the door, he glances through and there sitting on one of the beds are Jiron and Miko laughing hysterically. Turning back to his friend, he says, “It’s just Miko and Jiron.”

Jorry comes to stand in the doorway beside Uther and looks on them in anger. Miko sees his expression and doubles over in a more intense spasm of laughter.

“Payback huh?” Uther says, sheathing his sword.

Jiron grins at them with tears in his eyes. “You could say that,” he says.

From below the sound of feet running across the floor and then hitting the stairs comes to them. In a second, James appears at the top of the stairs, out of breath. He sees Jorry and Uther standing in the doorway and as he approaches sees Jiron and Miko sitting on the bed. He takes in the way Miko and Jiron are dressed, old tattered clothes and face blackened with what looks like soot. The fact that they’re just recovering from laughing tells him all he needs to know.

Putting the stone back into his pocket, he glares at them and says, “If you all are quite through, we have some serious searching to do.”

“Sorry James,” Jiron says from the room. Uther glances to him and sees he’s not sorry in the least.

To Jiron and Miko he says, “Get cleaned up. We still have a while before lunch and I would like to cover at least some of the city by then?”

“Okay,” replies Jiron as he gets off the bed.

“But they started it,” accuses Miko.

James glances from one pair to the other. Dave comes up the stairs behind him and stops as he takes in the situation. “I don’t care who started it,” he states. “I want it finished now. Understand?” Four heads nod affirmative. “Good.” Turning his back on them, he sees Dave there and rolls his eyes heavenward. With Dave beside him, he leaves the inn.

Once James and Dave are on the stairs and out of sight, Uther gives Miko and Jiron a look saying ‘This ain’t over yet’.

After another hour of searching, they meet back at the inn where they have lunch before setting out once more. The sun continues its path across the sky and begins to drop toward the mountain peaks to the west. When the sun is close to passing behind the peaks, they decide to go out once more before calling it a night.

“Maybe we should stop now?” suggests Miko. Eyeing the sun’s proximity to the top of the mountains he’s worried about being within Ironhold when the sun disappears.

“Just a quick search,” James tells everyone. “Check two more buildings and then return here. We’ll