Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li - Brian Pratt [23]
Miko nods his head in agreement.
“Then lets try to maintain a northerly direction, staying on as firm a ground as we can,” he suggests.
“Sounds reasonable,” Jiron says a he studies the ground ahead of them and then heads out, leading the way.
James goes next, still hobbling with his stick. His leg continues to throb and he’s beginning to feel weak and tired from the loss of blood, not to mention the magical exertions during the battle with the witch doctor.
“Ahhhh!” Miko screams from behind them.
Turning quickly, they see him staring at a little furry creature sitting at eye level in one of the trees close to the road. It’s just sitting there, staring at him as he stares back at it.
To James it looks like a little monkey, similar in nature to the one that had enthralled Miko back in Willimet. “It’s a monkey,” he tells him.
Turning red in embarrassment, Miko turns a sheepish look to James and says, “A monkey, I knew that.”
“Leave it alone and let’s get going,” Jiron tells him as he resumes trying to find a halfway decent way through the swamp.
As Miko catches up to them, he says, “It just popped out of nowhere and startled me is all.”
“I know, we’re all on edge,” replies James as he pats him on the back, trying to reassure him.
They continue for a while, at times having to force themselves through the dense, tangled undergrowth. The stench of decay and stagnant air is at times almost overwhelming, but they cover their noses and press on.
It starts getting dark and that’s when Miko begins to realize that they’re going to have to spend the night here. The thought of being here in the dark totally terrifies him, thoughts of rhino-lizards having him for a midnight snack keep running through his mind.
Jiron brings them to an area that will do for a campsite. It’s not very large, but it’s on dry ground and wide enough to accommodate them.
As he goes out to try to get some food, James and Miko clear a spot for a fire and begin gathering wood. “Let’s make sure we get enough to last the night,” James tells him as he brings in a load. “Try to find the driest pieces you can.”
“It’s all soaked from the rain,” complains Miko, “but I’ll do what I can.” He continues gathering wood and then says, “All the trees in this area seem to be either dead or dying.”
“Yeah,” James replies, looking around at the wilted vegetation. “I noticed that too.”
“What do you suppose happened to them?” he asks as he deposits an armful of wood. Near the edge of their campsite lies a pile of dead wood. He moves the top ones to the side as he tries to see if there are any dry ones at the bottom, but isn’t having much luck. Picking out the driest, he collects another armload before returning and adding it to the pile of wood already collected.
“I don’t know,” admits James. “Several possibilities come to mind, like too much water in the root system causing rot. Who knows?” Taking some of the wood Miko had already collected, he begins stacking several of the smaller pieces together. Once they are set to his satisfaction, he makes a small fire starter spell and catches the wood on fire. Feeding the flames with more of the smaller sticks, he gets a good sized fire burning.
Jiron returns with a trio of animals that James has never seen before. “What are they?” he asks as Jiron brings them into the camp.
Shrugging, Jiron says, “Don’t know, but roasted they should taste good.” He then proceeds to skin them and places each upon a skewer which he fixes upon a makeshift roasting spit over the fire.
The smell of fat dripping into the fire makes their stomachs growl in anticipation of the meal to come. The light from the fire seems hell bent on attracting every bug in the vicinity. Not only that, but the bug repellent has begun to lose its effectiveness. So James redoes it, only this time he coats the entire area; ground, trees, as well as themselves. When the spell is over, the bugs are gone.
“Thank god!” Jiron says when they’re finally left alone. The incessant buzzing in his ear had begun to drive him crazy.
“I know,