The Unsuspecting Mage - Brian S. Pratt [72]
“Get away from our boat!” one of the two men yells as they advance.
“We’ll kill you if you try to take it,” the other threatens. Brandishing his club, he menaces James and Miko with it.
Seeing their pursuers coming up fast, James says, “I’ll buy it!”
The club wielding men pause as they draw close to James. One of the two men asks, “How much?”
“Ten golds,” James offers as he pulls out his pouch.
“Ten golds!” one man exclaims incredulously. “You’ve got yourself a boat.” They lower their clubs and one holds out his hand for the money.
Miko jumps into the boat and grabs the oars, preparing to row. James doesn’t even bother to take the time to count out the exact amount, merely throws the money pouch at the two men and then pushes the boat into the water before jumping in. Once the boat clears the sandy bottom, Miko pulls hard on the oars to put as much distance between them and the shore as he can.
The two men start congratulating themselves on their good fortune, that is until they see James and Miko’s pursuers, swords gleaming in the starlight. Turning fast, they race back to their shack where they slam the door shut.
Thunk!
Something embeds itself into the side of the boat, “Get down!” James yells. They both crouch down in the boat, trying to stay below the edge for protection. He peers over the side and finds the tail end of a crossbow bolt protruding out of the wood. Somewhere on the shore the crossbowman takes aim again, but this time the bolt splashed into the water several feet away.
Their boat continues drifting toward the middle of the river as they put more distance between them and the men on the shore. A glance over the boat’s side reveals several of the men running along the shore attempting to keep pace with the boat. Suddenly, one of their number breaks away from the group and races up a side street heading back into town. The boat continues to slowly outdistance the men as it’s carried along in the fast current.
When the threat from the crossbowman disappears behind them, James has Miko move out of the way and takes his place between the oars. “I think we made it,” he says with relief as he commences to row.
“Maybe,” doubts Miko, “but we’re not out of the city yet.” He reaches over and pulls the crossbow bolt out of the side of the boat.
“That was close,” he says as he shows it to James.
Nodding agreement, James puts his back into it and rows with great diligence.
Between James’ efforts with the oars and the current, they steadily pull away from the men on the shore. When the men realize they are not going to be able to catch the boat, they give up the chase and disappear up a side street, quickly disappearing back into the city.
“Think they’ve given up?” James asks.
“Doubt it,” answers Miko, “they are probably heading for their horses to continue the chase.”
“You’re probably right,” he agrees.
Suddenly the boat turns and begins to pull over toward the opposite side of the river, heading for the shore. “What are you doing?” asks Miko.
“I’m letting you out,” explains James. “There is no point in you continuing on. They are after me, not you. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt on my account.”
“No way,” objects Miko, “I’m coming with you. Besides, it won’t take them long to figure out that someone had to warn you about them coming for you. Who else in this city could have done it but me? I’m dead once they make the connection. I’ve gotta come!”
“You could end up in far more danger being with me,” warns James.
“What do you mean?” he asks.
“It’s kind of hard to explain,” James says.
“Look,” pleads Miko, “I’ve got nothing here. I beg for a living, take menial jobs for little pay, life with you can’t be any worse than what I have already lived through so far.”
James can hear the desperation in the boy’s voice. Using the oars, he turns the boat to head once more out toward the middle of the river, signaling that he’s made the decision to take Miko with him.
.“Thank you,” Miko says.
James can hear the relief