Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li - Brian Pratt [150]
Once he’s in the saddle, they resume following the wall as it continues around the city. They find more houses built against the side of the outer wall, all fall short of the top by at least twenty feet. Jiron figures this might be due to a city ordinance designed to prevent unauthorized access to the top of the wall.
The northern gate is crowded with people leaving as well. Not too surprising, there’s no one here trying to enter. Anyone to the north of the city is moving deeper into Madoc, away from the enemy.
“It doesn’t look like there’s any other way out of here,” Miko says when they start to return to the warehouse.
“No,” agrees Jiron, “I didn’t figure there would be. At least we now have a fair idea of the city’s layout.”
“Hopefully James will be able to see Lord Pytherian soon and then we can get on our way back to Cardri.”
“Let’s hope so,” says Jiron.
They continue down the street, making as good a time as they can in the press of people. The crowd begins to grow thicker as they approach an intersection of streets. A wagon sits crooked with a broken wheel, effectively congesting the traffic flow down both streets.
Several men are trying to replace the wheel, all the while those passing by shout obscenities at them. Jiron feels sorry for those guys as he slowly moves forward, creeping closer to the blockage.
From where he sits next to him, Miko suddenly gasps and grabs his arm. “What?” he says as he turns to see what’s the matter. A shiver runs down his spine when he sees Miko’s pale face staring down the side street.
He never takes his eyes from where he’s looking as he whispers, “Look there!”
Jiron gazes where he’s indicating but doesn’t understand what he’s trying to show him. “I don’t see anything,” he tells him. Then he notices a group of men standing outside a store, talking among themselves. “That group of men there?” he asks, pointing to them.
Nodding his head, Miko says, “See the one there, the one with the patch over one eye?”
Giving the men a closer look, he nods his head, “You mean the one with the scar running across his face?”
“That’s him,” Miko says breathlessly. “He’s the one who poisoned the guards back at the City of Light and opened the gates for the Empire’s army.”
“Are you sure?” he asks.
“Positive,” he replies. He glances at Jiron as he says, “He had me and James captured and was torturing James before we managed to get out.” Lowering his voice, he continues, “He’s definitely an agent of the Empire.”
The crowd finally begins moving again and they make it around the blockage. Getting down from their horses, they take them to a post out front of an inn where they secure them. Jiron pulls Miko close and says, “We need to tell someone.”
“But who?” Miko asks. “When James gets back, we can tell him and then go to Lord Pytherian. He needs to know about this.”
“James might not be out for hours,” he says to Miko. “We should follow them and see what they’re up to. If we lose them, we might never find them again before whatever they’re planning comes to fruition.”
“Alright, but let’s be careful,” Miko says. He then follows Jiron as they move back to the corner of the street where he peers around to watch the group of men. The group is breaking up and most of them are moving together down the street away from where he’s watching.
“They’re moving,” he says just before stepping around the corner as he proceeds to follow them. With the amount of people on the streets, it’s fairly easy to keep them in sight without being spotted.
Ol’ One Eye and the others are moving deeper into the city. As the group progresses down the street, the others with him begin to break off as they go down various side streets until finally only One Eye is left. When they come to realize where he’s heading, they can’t quite believe it. As he approaches the gate to the castle area, the guards on duty nod to him in acknowledgement before passing on through.
Jiron indicates an alley and they move into it, all the while keeping the gate in sight. “This can’t bode well,” he says to Miko. “If he has access