Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li - Brian Pratt [130]
“If he pushed on through the night, he’d be pretty close,” agrees James. “At least from what Miller said.”
“What’s our plan?” Jiron asks James.
“Keep on as we have been,” he replies. “Once we’re down off the mountain, try to nab us some horses and then ride like hell to the north.”
“Won’t they know we’re not in the mountain when we steal the horses?” Fifer asks.
Nodding, James says, “Most likely, but at least we’ll be on open plains and should be able to keep ahead of them. If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to make it through the lines before those at the lines know we’re there.” Turning to Fifer, he adds, “That’s where you come in.”
“Me?” asks Fifer.
“Yes, you,” James tells him. “We don’t know the area, you do. Also, if we run into Madoc patrols, it’ll be your job to convince them not to attack.”
“What if they don’t know me?” he asks.
“Then we have a problem,” answers James. “But let’s just hope that isn’t going to happen.” He checks the roasting meat and finds it ready. Cutting off hunks, he distributes them to the others. Wrapping his in a leaf to prevent his hands from being burned, he walks over to the edge of the cliff and gazes down at the village below.
The army seems to be pulling out. He can see columns of men marching back along the road as they make their way out from the mountains. A sizeable force still remains within the village, probably on the off chance they somehow manage to make it out of the mine.
After they’re done eating, James has them dig up dirt to smother the fire, so it won’t produce a lot of smoke and alert everyone to their position. With Jiron again in the lead, they begin heading north as they make their way across the mountains.
They stay in the higher elevations as best they can, going down one side only to come up the next. Crossing streams and forging through ravines, they spend the day pushing on to the north. By the end of the day, they’ve managed to come a fair distance, the mountain they started from earlier in the day is far behind them.
Before the sun completely goes down, James takes down a large deer like animal, giving them plenty of meat that should last a couple of days. They cut strips off the carcass and cook them so it’ll be ready to take with them when they leave in the morning.
All through the night, the one on watch continues to feed the fire and cook the meat. By morning, they have most of the meat cooked, some of it cooked too much, but enough to last them several days.
Each puts as much as they can in the various pouches and packs they’re carrying, except for the pouch with the Fire that Miko is carrying. They leave that one alone.
Jiron again takes the lead as they push for the next ridge in the distance ahead of them. It takes them the better part of the morning to reach it, and when they reach the top, they come to a halt.
The view is breathtaking on the other side of the ridge. The mountain gradually makes its way down to the rolling hills at its base, where they extend several miles further before turning into grass covered plains. Far off to the north they see a green forest that stretches to the horizon. A couple riders are moving along the plains between the hills and the forest. From this distance, they look little more than specks.
“The trees will give us some cover as we move down to the hills below,” announces James.
“But past the hills, there’s nothing to hide us from the enemy,” says Fifer. “Not until we make it to those trees way over there.”
“Then we better make it down to the hills before dark,” suggests Jiron. “And then we could try to cross over to the trees before dawn.”
“Alright then, let’s move,” James says.
They begin to move down the side of the mountain toward the hills below. Keeping within the cover of the trees, they’re able to avoid detection during their descent. It takes them until late afternoon to make it all the way down to the low lying hills.
The trees begin to thin among the hills