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The river continues to take them through the encampment, and they see a large series of tents on the pass side. These tents are much grander and on a larger scale than the hundreds of others that dot the landscape. These must be the tents of the commanders of this force.

At the rear of the encampment is a great host of horses, at least five hundred strong. What would they need with such a large force here? It doesn’t make sense, the fighting with Madoc is much further north.

At last, the river takes them past the end of the encampment and they pull themselves more out of the water as they watch the light from the campfires slowly disappear behind them.

Chapter Sixteen

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“Why do you suppose they have such a large army back there?” asks Jiron once they’ve put sufficient distance between themselves and the Empire’s forces.

“I don’t know,” replies James. “It doesn’t make much sense though.”

“Think they’re planning to invade Cardri?” he asks.

“I don’t think so,” he says. “From everything I’ve seen and heard the last few weeks, I don’t believe they would be able to sustain a war with Cardri. They’re spread way too thin.”

After floating another few minutes, James indicates the north bank, “Let’s get out of the water.”

“But isn’t Saragon further south along the river?” asks Jiron.

“Yes,” he replies. “But we’re too exposed here in the river. When morning comes, anyone glancing in this direction is sure to see us.”

“Good thought,” says Jiron and they commence angling toward the northern bank. Dripping wet, they leave the river and do their best to wring the water out of their damp clothes.

“Shall we follow the river?” Jiron asks.

“I was considering it,” he says. “Though let’s stay some distance away to avoid being seen. And first chance we get, we’ll need to acquire some horses.” Looking to Jiron, he asks, “How far is it to Saragon?”

He shrugs as he says, “Don’t know. Never went very far out of the City of Light.”

Finished with emptying the water out of his boots, James laces them back on before getting to his feet. The squishing in his boots is a real problem. Besides being uncomfortable and annoying, he’s afraid of getting foot rot.

“You ready?” he asks Jiron.

“Just a moment,” he says as he goes over to their raft and begins untying the rope. Once he gets the logs untied, he pushes them back in the river where the current takes them and they soon disappear down the river. He ties the rope back around his middle again and then turns to James, “Now we can go.”

Setting out, they begin to move along the bank of the river, steadily moving away until they can just barely see it in the moonlight. Keeping the river on their right, they make their way to the south for several hours before the lights of a town appear ahead of them.

As they approach, they’re able to tell that the lights they are seeing are coming from campfires spread throughout what’s left of the city. The light reveals the city is all but destroyed. A once sizeable town has been reduced to a broken, charred remnant of its once former glory.

“Pleasant Meadows,” James tells Jiron in a hushed whisper.

“What?” he asks.

“Pleasant Meadows,” he repeats. “At least I think it is. Miko and I had come across people fleeing the Empire’s sacking of the city before coming to the City of Light. This town ahead of us could very well be it.”

“I’ve heard of it,” Jiron tells him. “They used to make good knives there, though it doesn’t look like they do anymore.”

“No,” agrees James.

Patrols are riding the perimeter and sentries can be seen positioned throughout the town. “Why would they need all that for a town so far behind their lines?” asks Jiron. “Unless there’s something there they’re protecting?”

“I don’t know, maybe” agrees James.

“Perhaps we should investigate,” suggests Jiron. “It might be important.”

“It could also prove dangerous,” counters James. “We don’t need to get ourselves killed without a good reason. Besides, how would we even get in there?