Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li - Brian Pratt [89]
The lad says, “We must hurry.” He leads them back to their hut where their horses are still tied. Mounting, they turn to follow the lad who goes over to where several other lads are mounted and waiting. A couple of the boys call out greeting to Miko, obviously they’ve met earlier. He mounts the remaining horse, and then they move to the rear of the village.
The lads take an almost hidden path through the trees as they lead them away from the village. They ride single file as they follow the path among the trees and around the sides of the mountains.
After a couple hours, the path takes them near a small lake nestled in among the trees. Winding their way around it, they come out upon the road and quicken their pace as they turn north. They don’t travel far before a band of a hundred Parvati warriors passes them as they run south. “They’re gathering the warriors in case of war,” Jobi tells them.
“Think there will be?” James asks him.
“Probably, there is little love between my people and the Grey Wolf Clan,” he tells them.
The road suddenly branches and Jobi takes the road to the west which crosses a river coming from a larger lake to their right. Shortly after they leave the lake behind them, another band of warriors, well over two hundred strong, pass them heading south.
James almost feels sorry for the Grey Wolf Clan if they should fight the Parvatis. Almost. They continue down the road, making as best time they can in the moonlight. An hour after the warriors had passed them, a smaller road branches off to the right, but Jobi continues leading them north along the main road. The other boys with them trail along behind, perhaps acting as guards.
The sky to the east is beginning to lighten with the coming of the dawn. As they continue down the road, the mountains begin to smooth off into rolling hills again. By the time the sun can be seen in the sky, they’ve completely passed out of the mountains and are among the foothills.
Jobi brings them to a stop and says, “This is where we must leave you.”
“Thank you for bringing us through your lands safely,” Jiron says.
“It was our pleasure,” he replies. “To the north is the keep which guards the borders of the Empire and the Kirken Federation. It’s to the east of the main road, so stay on it and you should be fine.”
“Kirken Federation?” asks James.
“Several kingdoms to the east have banded together to keep the Empire from conquering them,” he explains. “Alone, they could never have halted the Empire, but together, they’re very formidable. Hostilities have broken out between the Federation and the Empire recently, but if you stay to the main road, you should be able to stay clear of it.”
“Thank you again,” James tells him.
“You’re welcome,” Jobi replies.
“May your swords drink deep,” Jiron says.
“May your knives drink deep,” replies Jobi as he turns his horse as he and the other Parvatis gallop back the way they’d come.
“Think this Kirken Federation would help us out?” Jiron asks.
“The enemy of our enemy isn’t always our friend,” James replies. “We’d better stay clear of them as well.”
“Alright,” says Jiron. “Let’s move, we’re getting closer to the northern boundary of the Empire.”
“I know,” replies James. “I’m a little surprised to have made it this far.”
“Me too,” adds Miko.
They break into a gallop as they head down the road to the north.
Chapter Sixteen
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As the road continues northward, it stays among the hills for several miles before beginning to ease back into the grasslands. From up ahead, they see a group of riders coming toward them.
Miko begins to turn off the road, but James stops him. “They’ve already seen us,” he tells him. “If we run, they’ll chase us just to find out why.”
He then turns to Jiron and says, “If we just ride like we belong, maybe they’ll go right past.”
“Either way, they’re going to be here in a few minutes,” Jiron replies.
“Just continue on and stay calm,” James says.
Miko moves closer to James, with Jiron just a few feet in front