Trail of the Gods_ The Morcyth Saga Book Four - Brian S. Pratt [98]
Sitting down against the wall, Jiron looks to James and says, “I don’t think we are going to find anything.”
“We can’t give up,” he insists. Taking out a portion of his remaining rations, he takes a bite before continuing. “Somewhere in this town, there has to be something which will tell us where the priests went.”
“Why?” Jiron asks. He’s asked this same question daily since the first night turned up nothing. “Just because the last high priest was born here doesn’t mean he came back here.”
James just gives him a look of frustration, “There just does.”
“We’re running out of food,” he tells him. “And I just hope no one discovers the bodies of those guards we left in that cellar, the hunt will be on for sure.” Yesterday, while they were searching through an old building, three soldiers had stumbled upon them and were disposed of quickly. They stashed their bodies in the building’s cellar and then stacked old boxes and crates around them to better hide them.
The morning light continues growing as the sun peeks over the horizon. Shortly the sound of the slave gang can be heard approaching as they come to continue working to clear the streets.
Today, the work gang comes to just in front of the building where James and Jiron are hiding. Jiron glances out the window and sees them beginning to clear the rubble away from where the wall from the building next to them has fallen out into the street. It had been one of the ones gutted when the fire had raged in this area.
They decide to move upstairs to avoid accidental detection should anyone wander into their building. Directly above them they find a room with a window which overlooks the area where the slaves are clearing away the debris.
Taking turns at watch, they settle in to await the coming of darkness when they can once more resume their search. As Jiron had taken the first watch yesterday, James takes it today.
There are times when it’s hard to keep yourself awake when you have nothing to do, especially when you are unable to do anything for fear of being discovered. James sits near the window taking advantage of the slight breeze coming through. His mind wanders to a life which now seems so long ago.
He thinks of his grandfather and grandmother, both had always tried to do their best, but he was at that age when nothing anyone told him meant anything. Homesickness strikes him and he wonders if he’ll ever go home.
Dave. Just what is Dave doing? He must be worried sick about him, as he supposes everyone who knew him is right now. If he ever does make it back, will role playing games ever mean the same to him again? After having lived it? He wishes that some day he’ll get the chance to find out.
The sound of the men outside working continues to give him some added distraction, albeit not very much. There’s only so much rock clearing you can watch at a time. Every once in awhile he can catch a snippet of what they’re saying, for the slaves are the former citizens of Saragon and thus, he can understand them.
From down below, he can hear one of the men sneeze. Such an occurrence has been common, what with all the dust being raised by the removal of the rubble.
“Gesundheit,” he hears another of the slaves reply.
He continues to reminisce about home when his mind turns to Meliana. Oh, Meliana. The way he felt when she had held his arm while he walked her home is still strong. How she swayed while they danced, her laugh when he said something whimsical. She’s been in his mind a lot lately, perhaps when he gets back to Cardri and all this Morcyth business is concluded, maybe he’ll find a way to return to Corillian and find her. See if there’s actually something between them.
Suddenly, his mind snaps back to the here and now. Gesundheit? Did he hear that correctly? A chill runs through him at the realization that that is not a word native to here. That’s a word from home! Since coming to this world he’s not once