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The soldiers turn as one and race toward James, intent on seeking retribution for the death of their comrades. Their swords in hand and war cries on their lips, they ride to kill this lone man standing by the burnt out farmhouse.

Jiron races behind them, falling behind as he sees them rapidly closing the gap between them and James. Another soldier is taken out as a slug exits what used to be his skull, his companions don’t even stop. Hell bent on James’ death, they kick their horses into even greater speed.

Crumph!

The ground under them suddenly erupts, horses scream in terror as they’re thrown into the air. Bones snap and break as the horses fall back to the ground, smashing their riders beneath them.

Jiron reaches the scene, but the battle is over. The soldiers lying under the horses no longer move as the animals thrash and cry out. Taking up one of the soldier’s swords, he’s quick to put the injured horses out of their misery.

He looks up to see James approaching. “You okay?” James asks him.

Nodding, he replies, “I’m fine.” Looking around at the dead men, he continues, “Wonder what brought them into this orchard?”

“Who knows?” replies James. He goes over and takes the reins of one of the remaining horses and says, “At least we have horses now.”

“True,” agrees Jiron. Going over to another horse wandering around, he takes its reins and walks back over to where James is going through the pouch of one of the soldiers. “Looking for something?” he asks.

“Never know,” he says as he gets up and moves to another lifeless body where he opens its pouch as well. “Could be something that may tell us what they were doing here.”

Jiron walks over to another one and goes through its pouch, but all he finds are some coins which he adds to the ones he’s already carrying.

When James finally stands up from inspecting the last of the dead soldiers, he says, “Nothing.”

“Really didn’t think you’d find anything,” comments Jiron.

“Me either, actually,” he admits. “I just couldn’t leave without checking.”

“Right, you never know.”

The sun is almost to the horizon, so they decide to wait until it becomes darker before they head out through the orchard. Back at the farmhouse, they have a meal of apples and some cheese they found in a sack with other food items behind one of the saddles. Each now has two canteens and some rations, though neither has much.

As twilight settles in, they mount and begin riding through the orchard, once again on their way to Saragon. Traveling by horse allows them to put miles behind them much quicker than they had been able to on foot. James worries about the soldiers killed back at the farmhouse and what that may mean when their bodies are found. Hopefully, they won’t think to look further into Empire controlled areas for the killers, but rather search in the other direction.

Throughout the night, the stars shine bright, giving them some light with which to see. The moon rises several hours later, allowing them even better visibility.

To their right, the river turns to follow a more southerly direction than it had north of Pleasant Meadows. Though the road beside it remains empty, they dare not trust that it will remain so. Keeping a wide distance from the river, they ride parallel to it as they continue south.

Several times they encounter lights ahead of them, forcing them to circle around before continuing on. Camps of soldiers, none with more than ten, are scattered about the countryside. Makes no sense to James, but who knows why anyone does anything.

Near dawn, they come across another farm that had been abandoned when the Empire entered this area. The farmhouse is still in good condition so they bring the horses into the front room to keep them out of sight. In one of the rear rooms, they find beds to sleep on while awaiting the coming again of night.

Sitting around the table in the kitchen, they have a dinner of rations and apples. They did find a loaf of bread left behind when the farmers left. But