The Unsuspecting Mage - Brian S. Pratt [174]
James watches him as he begins putting the fuel for the fire together and says, “Make sure you have a bare area around the fire, we don’t want to start a wildfire.”
“Wildfire?” Miko asks.
“If you catch some of the grass on fire, the wind can blow it along and before you know it the entire grassland is aflame,” he explains.
“I’ll be careful,” says Miko as he strikes flint making a spark and then blows gently to coax it into a flame. When he gets a small flame going, he gradually adds more fuel until a sizable blaze is burning.
James notices with worry at the smoke rising like a signal to all in the area that they are there. “We better eat fast and leave before someone comes to see what this fire is all about,” he says.
Miko glances up and sees the smoke rising like a beacon, “Should I put it out?” he asks.
“No, just use the driest grass you can find and that should minimize the amount it emits,” James replies. “Besides, we need to eat or we’ll be too weak to defend ourselves in an emergency.”
James finds a fair sized stick and impales the rabbit upon it, using it as a skewer to cook the rabbit over the fire. When the rabbit is done, he quickly extinguishes the fire by kicking dirt over it until the smoke stops.
They eat in silence, all the while keeping watch for anyone approaching. Once finished, they remount and proceed on again, riding quickly until it gets too dark to see. They make camp, staking the horse out near them.
“We’ll take turns keeping watch tonight,” James says.
“Alright,” agrees Miko. “Do you want me to go first?”
“No, I’m not that tired,” he replies. “You go ahead and sleep. I’ll wake you when it’s your turn.”
Miko settles in and is soon asleep.
James lies back and watches the stars overhead, marveling how different they are from the ones at home. At midnight he wakes Miko for his turn.
“Now don’t fall asleep,” he tells Miko who seems to be having a hard time keeping his eyes open.
“Don’t worry,” Miko assures him, as he stifles a yawn, “you just get some sleep.” He then gets up and begins pacing around the camp, keeping himself awake.
James lies down and listens to Miko’s steps for a few minutes before sleep takes him.
As the sky begins to brighten, James awakens to find Miko asleep a few feet away. Shaking his head, he goes over and nudges him in the side with his foot. “Wakey, wakey sleepyhead,” he says as Miko begins to stir.
Miko’s eyes shoot open and he sits up quickly, “I fell asleep!”
“Yes you did,” James says to him. “Luckily nothing happened, this time. Let’s get going.”
Feeling bad, Miko gets the horse ready and soon they are once again mounted and making good time northward.
They keep alert for others on the plains and once during the late morning have to veer more to the north when they encounter a force over three hundred strong marching from the southeast. They push the horse hard for a short time to put distance between them and only slow down to a canter again once the forces vanish from sight.
They again come across forces on the move in the afternoon, but this time they are moving from the northwest going generally eastward. “Must be reinforcements on their way to the City of Light,” observes Miko.
“I think you are right,” James agrees. “Still, let’s give them a wide berth, we don’t want to be mistaken for the Empire again.”
They backtrack half a mile before proceeding to the northwest for another two miles. Once they figure they have put Madoc’s army behind them they again turn more easterly. Moving quickly, they press on for several more hours.
When the sun begins to dip toward the horizon, a great body of water appears to the east. A road runs along the shoreline upon which many people are coming from the south. Most are on foot while some ride in wagons or pull carts. Those on foot carry bundles while the wagons and carts are filled to overflowing with belongings.
Coming to the road, James inquires of one traveler, “Where are you all