Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li - Brian Pratt [98]
“Man, can we stop?” James hears Miko ask in a tired voice from behind.
“Give us a minute or two to find a good spot,” he tells him. “And then we’ll rest until dark.”
Miko nods tiredly as they continue further into the hills. When they finally find a spot to make camp, he gets off his horse and in less than a minute, has laid out his blanket and fallen asleep.
“Never seen him that tired before,” says James. “He didn’t even eat anything, and that’s odd.”
“We have been pushing hard with little rest the past few days,” comments Jiron. Even he is showing signs of fatigue.
James glances over to the sleeping Miko and says, “Let’s split the watch and let him sleep.”
Nodding, Jiron replies, “Okay with me.”
They get the horses taken care of and then build a small fire to roast a couple rabbits that James kills. He is surprised when Miko doesn’t wake up to the smell of the rabbits roasting. When they’re fully cooked and ready to eat, he goes over and wakes him up.
“Tired?” he asks him when he gets up and comes over to the fire.
Nodding his head, he replies, “Yeah, I feel more tired than I ever have before.”
“We’ve been on the go for a long time, it seems,” James tells him. “I think we’re all reaching the point of exhaustion.”
From the other side of the fire, Jiron adds, “You’ve been taking the mid watch as well, which really plays hell on your sleep.”
“I suppose so,” he says. He eats the remainder of his portion of the rabbits in silence, then promptly returns to his blanket and in no time at all, his snores can be heard.
“He could be getting sick,” suggests James.
“Maybe, but he seems okay, just tired,” replies Jiron. “I don’t feel that tired actually, why don’t I take the first watch?” The dark circles under his eyes belies that statement.
James is more than happy to allow him to take first watch. Lying down away from the heat of the fire, he pulls his blanket over him to shield him from the sun. As exhausted as he is, it takes a while before he’s finally able to fall asleep under the heat of the midday sun.
Several hours after James had fallen asleep, Jiron begins to hear the sound of horses coming their way through the hills to the east. He moves to the top of a nearby hill and looks out at the approaching riders.
There are eleven riders, all looking like they just came from a battle. Bandages and blood soaked clothing can be seen on each and every one. They don’t really have the look of the Empire’s men and he lies there upon the hill, watching them as they move closer.
Suddenly, he gasps when he recognizes one of them. He backs down from the hill and begins to move around it as he makes to intercept their path. When the riders are close, he steps out in front of them.
They come to a sudden halt and begin to draw their weapons when Jiron looks at the one he recognizes and says loudly, “If you ain’t the sorriest piece of meat ever to be hauled out of the pit!”
“Jiron!” the rider cries out when he recognizes him. “He’s a friend!” he hollers to his comrades as he gets down from his horse and rushes over. Wrapping his arms around him, he gives Jiron a big hug.
“Easy, Fifer,” he says, “You’ll break my back.”
“I thought you dead!” Fifer exclaims. “How’d you escape the City?”
“That’s a long story,” Jiron replies. He motions over his shoulder and says, “My camp is over that way, would you and your friends care to join us?”
“Us?” Fifer asks. “Who else is with you?”
“No one you’d know,” he explains.
When Fifer’s comrades come over, he turns to them and says, “This is Jiron. We fought in the pits together, the deadliest man with two knives you’ll ever see.” Then he turns back to Jiron and asks, “Is Tinok with you?”
“He was, but we got separated some time ago,” Jiron tells him as he begins to lead them back to where James and Miko are sleeping.
“At least he survived the fall of the City,” he says. Gesturing to one of his comrades, he says, “This here is Miller,