The Unsuspecting Mage - Brian S. Pratt [138]
“Alright, James,” Miko says as he turns to go over to where the tent is lying in the mud.
Rylin, having already assisted the ladies to mount, comes over to James and says, “Thank you for your help in rescuing them.”
“We couldn’t leave them to their fate,” he replies. “I just hope Miko and I are able to get the horses back for you.”
“So do I,” he says. “We’ll wait on the road for a day or so before continuing on toward Trademeet. If you manage to get them, try your best to find us.”
“We’ll find you,” James assures him. They walk over to Rylin’s horse and James gives him a hand mounting.
“Goodbye ladies,” James says as he turns toward them. “We’ll see you in a couple of days.”
As Rylin gets the line moving, the mother says, “Thank you again, James. I can’t begin to express my gratitude for you helping Rylin to save us. Should you ever need anything, the House of Ellinize will help you.”
“Thank you ma’am,” James replies. He stands back a bit and waves as they begin moving northward to where the caravan was abandoned back on the road.
Miko waves to them as they begin to leave. “Everything set?” James asks him.
“Yeah, I got the tent on the mule,” he answers.
“Then let’s go,” James says and then walks over toward their horses.
“What is that?” he asks as they approach the horses. On the back of the pack mule is the tent all right, but it looks like it was stuffed and tied up there without any effort made in compacting it.
He looks over at Miko and asks, “Ever folded a tent before?”
Shaking his head, Miko answers, “No, I’m a city boy.”
James begins to untie it from the horse, and then lays it on the ground. “Here, give me a hand and I’ll show you how to do it properly so it will be a much smaller package to handle.” Having never folded this particular type of tent, it takes him a couple of tries but they eventually get it down to a manageable size and secure it on the mule.
Then they mount up and begin to ride after the other band of bandits.
Chapter Eighteen
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The rain continues to lessen throughout the morning until shortly after noon, when it stops altogether. Not long after the sun breaks through the clouds to bring a much welcomed relief to the sodden pair. James and Miko manage to maintain a quick pace as they try to catch up with the remaining bandits, only stopping for brief periods to rest the horses before continuing the search.
They pick up the trail about mid afternoon when they encounter a swath of grass that has recently been trampled. “I think we found their trail,” announces James.
“Looks like it,” Miko agrees. “What are we going to do when we find them?”
“Play it by ear,” he answers. “We won’t know what our options will be until we do.”
“I suppose,” he says. “Are you feeling any better?”
“Some,” replies James. “I should be recharged somewhat by the time we find them.”
“Recharged?” queries Miko.
Chuckling, James clarifies, “It’s a word from where I come from. It means that I will be able to do magic again.”
“Oh, that’s good,” says Miko.
A large group of tents with a makeshift corral set off to one side appears out of the horizon not long before dusk. The number of tents indicates a far larger group than they had anticipated. James has them enter a copse of trees from where they will be able to observe what’s going on inside the camp, yet will still be far enough away so they won’t be discovered.
“I think those are the horses,” Miko says, indicating the herd inside the corral.
“You are probably right,” agrees James. “But this is a far larger group than I anticipated. It looks like an army camp.”
Glancing questioningly to James, Miko asks, “How do you figure?”
“Several things,” James replies. “First of all the tents are lined up uniformly, in rows with the larger tents in the center. Second, they have patrols walking a perimeter around the encampment,” he points out three men who appear to be walking