Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li - Brian Pratt [129]
“Sorry!” they hear Jiron holler from up above.
James is wondering just what is going on when a dead snake falls across his shoulders. Startled, he loses his grip and begins sliding back down the vent. Trying to stop his fall, all he manages to do is scrape some skin off his arms and legs. Fifer sees him coming toward him and braces himself for the impact. Holding tight to his handholds and having one good solid purchase for one of his feet, he’s able to maintain his grip when James slides into him.
“What’s going on?” Fifer hollers after James once more has a secure purchase on the sides of the vent.
“A snake,” James says to him. “Jiron must’ve killed one and dropped it on us.” Yelling up the shaft, James says, “Warn us next time!”
From way up he can hear a chuckle come down to him.
As Fifer maintains his hold, James begins to work his way further up. A few minutes later they hear Jiron holler down to them, “We got a problem!”
“What?” they all three ask at the same time.
“I gotta pee!” Jiron says.
“Don’t you dare!” Miko yells back up to him.
They hear his laughing as he replies, “Just kidding, I couldn’t help myself.”
James begins laughing too, as does Fifer. Even Miko begins chuckling at the thought.
They continue up for a while longer, just how long James has no idea. The pain in his hands, arms and legs is growing by the minute. The raw scrapes from his earlier slide down the vent throbs with every handhold and toehold.
Finally, they hear Jiron holler down to them, “I’ve reached the end! It’s not much further.”
Knowing the end is near gives them an added burst of energy and they climb with renewed vigor.
Another ten minutes finds Fifer finally climbing out of the hole and collapsing upon the ground under the stars next to the others. Night had fallen since they entered the mines and it was getting cold. They find themselves high in the mountains, far off to the west below them, they can see the lights from the village.
Around the village they can see hundreds of fires from the soldiers camped in and around it.
They set up a watch schedule for the night, James takes first watch. He manages to get a fire going, a small one so as not to attract attention, so they won’t freeze during the night. The others lie down and quickly fall asleep, the rigors of the climb leaving them weak and tired.
Chapter Twenty Two
_________________________
When the sun begins to rise the next morning, Jiron, who’s taken the last watch, allows everyone to sleep in. He’s kept an eye on the activities of those in the town below and it doesn’t look as if they’re coming in their direction. Must think we’re still trapped in the mine.
Smiling in satisfaction, he returns to the camp and sees James coming back from where he’d answered nature’s call. Speaking softly so as not to wake the others, he says, “It looks like they don’t even realize we’re out of the mines yet.”
“Good,” replies James. “Let’s hope they hold to that belief for a long time.”
“We’re going to need something to eat pretty soon,” he says. “There’s not much left.”
Nodding, James says, “Build up the fire a little more, and use the driest wood you can and no leaves. That way there shouldn’t be much smoke and from this distance it’s unlikely they’d notice it.” He begins making for the edge of camp as he continues, “I’ll see if I can’t scare up some rabbits or something.”
Jiron gathers wood that looks fairly dry and takes them back to camp. By the time James returns, he has the fire going well enough to roast the three small animals he’s returned with. They soon have them dressed and roasting over the flames.
The smell of the roasting meat wakens Miko, just as James thought it might. He comes over and joins them. He holds up his right arm and showing them the long scratches from his wrist to his elbow as he gives Jiron an accusing glare.
“I said I was sorry,” Jiron apologizes. “That snake startled me and when I killed it, it fell.”
By