Landing on his back, he still retains hold of the medallion and the light still shines forth. One final shriek and the two shadows dissolve into nothingness. The light from the medallion goes out and the tent is suddenly quiet.
As Illan gets to his feet, he hollers to Miko, “Go see about Fifer and Qyrll.” Turning to James he asks, “Are you okay?”
“Think so,” he replies. “Anyone hurt?”
Illan glances around and sees Fifer and Qyrll beginning to get to their feet. Jiron is already standing near James as he keeps his eye on the remaining followers in the tent. “Looks like other than some minor cuts and bruises, we’re alright.”
“Good,” he sighs in exhaustion. Replacing the medallion beneath his shirt, he gets to his feet and surveys the damage. Dozens of dead men and women lie in heaps from their ill fated attack on James and the others. Others wander aimlessly through the tent while a few continue regaining their senses and make their way outside.
“Where is she?” James suddenly asks. Looking around, Serenna is no where in sight. “Damn! We’ve got to find her!”
Raising his voice, Illan hollers, “Fan out! Locate the woman.”
As James and Illan head toward the shattered remains of the globe, the rest move out and hunt for Serenna. Coming to the shards, James bends down to examine them. No presence of magic or a malignant presence remains. He reaches out and picks up a two inch long piece. Holding it close it appears just a simple glass shard. Tossing it back with the others, he gets back to his feet.
“What happened here do you suppose?” Illan asks him.
“I don’t know?” he replies. “Maybe she tapped into a force which got the better of her? Who knows?”
Jiron comes running back in and says, “There’s no sign of her.”
“Continue the search,” Illan tells him. “Fan out through the city if you have to but we must find her.”
Jiron nods his head then returns to the hunt. Illan turns to James and asks, “Can you find her with magic?”
“Too tired to attempt it now,” he says. “Let’s go back to the inn.”
As they make their way back toward the entrance, they pass by the pile of bodies lying on the floor and he catches a glimpse of the innkeeper’s dead face where he’s wedged in among the others. Sadness overcomes him as he realizes he’s going to have to tell the innkeeper’s son that his father is dead.
Outside the tent, they see a group of townsfolk at the edge of town looking toward the pavilion. “What should we tell them?” Illan asks.
“As little as we can,” he replies. “In the morning let’s get out of here as fast as possible. I would leave now but I’m just too tired.”
“Understandable,” he says. “Fifer!” Illan hollers when he sees him poking through the ramshackle houses which have sprung up around the pavilion.
He looks up to see Illan waving him over. Making his way to him, he asks, “Yes?”
“Tell the others to keep searching,” he says. “We’re going back to the inn. If you can’t find her soon, head on back as well.”
“I’ll tell them,” Fifer assures him as he heads off to find the others.
James looks to the townsfolk as he and Illan draw closer, each have the look of fear and uncertainty on their faces. When he reaches them, he says, “Serenna and her followers will no longer be bothering you.”
Seeing the blood on his clothes which Illan acquired during the battle, one lady asks, “Did you kill them all?”
Shaking his head, Illan replies, “No. No more than we had to.” Gesturing back to the pavilion, he adds, “Many are coming out of the hold she had on them and are going to need your assistance.”
Suddenly one of the men cries out, “Hera!” and rushes toward the pavilion. A woman is emerging from the tent and he runs to her, wrapping his arms around her. The others begin seeing others whom they know emerge or are already wandering around on the outside and go to them.
“Let’s go,” James says.
He and Illan work their way through the town until they see the inn appear down the road ahead of them. Entering through the front door, they make their way up the stairs to their rooms.
The door to where Dave and the innkeeper’s son had remained is ajar. Illan places his hand on James’ shoulder and draws his sword. Motioning for James to remain where he is, he moves closer to the door. Placing his hand upon it, he slowly pushes it open and gasps when he sees what’s inside.
The innkeeper’s son, or rather what’s left of him, lies on the floor. At his gasp, James comes forward and takes in the scene. Glancing around, he says, “Dave’s gone.”
The room is a shambles, the table is overturned and only one chair remains. The shutters for the window are broken and James moves to the window to find the other chair lying broken on the ground below. “Dave!” he cries.
“Damn!” curses Illan. “Where could he have gone?”
“I don’t know,” replies James as he turns from the window. “If they broke in here to get them, he might’ve made it past and escaped. Hopefully he’s holed up somewhere. When the sun comes up and he sees the townsfolk on the streets, he should return.”
“Let’s check the other rooms just in case,” suggests Illan.
James nods and they begin searching the inn room by room. Neither on the top floor nor the bottom do they find Dave. The downstairs looks the same as when they left earlier so whatever occurred happened upstairs.
They finally return upstairs and enter the room across from the one with the dead innkeeper’s son. Illan suggests leaving the door open so they can keep an eye out for the others. James concurs.
“Get some sleep if you can,” Illan tells him. “I’ll stay up and watch for the others.”
“Alright,” he says as he goes over to the bed and lies down. As active as his mind is right now, he has little hopes of falling asleep any time soon. What happened to Dave? He worries about him all alone out there and hopes someone will run across him and bring him back. The fact that he’s here in this world at all is his fault so it makes him his responsibility.
If he should run across her, he’s going to kill her. Jiron made that decision the instant he saw the inside of the tent. Miko walks beside him. It was decided that it would be prudent if they broke up into pairs. He and Miko would search inside the town while Fifer and Qyrll hunt her in the outer section.
“Do you think we’ll find her?” Miko asks while they’re checking an abandoned storehouse.
“I don’t know,” he replies. “I doubt it, the town is simply too big.”
The townsfolk have all come out into the streets to see what’s going on, many have made their way down to the pavilion after hearing Serenna’s been dealt with. Crying and wailing can be heard throughout the town as loved ones are found either dead or with vacant eyes. Some come out of it, but for those who were under her spell the longest, it might take longer, if ever.
“We’ll try a few more places then head back to the inn,” Jiron tells him.
Miko nods as he follows him to a rundown tavern on the outskirts. The windows have been boarded up and the shantytown of the followers has grown up around it. “This would be a good place to hide,” he remarks.
“Does look like it doesn’t it,” agrees Jiron as he approaches the front door. A couple boards have been nailed across the entrance and it’s easy enough for them to rip them off. He then tries to open the door and finds it locked. Kicking out with his foot, he breaks the door in. It flies inside as one hinge breaks off and lands crooked as it’s only being held by one hinge now. Partially blocking the doorway, they have to step over the door as they enter.
The interior is dark, the light coming in through the broken doorway is little help in dispelling it. Moving inside, Jiron keeps a knife in one hand while he feels his way with the other.
Miko stays right behind him as they make their way around the inside of the walls. Jiron keeps his hand against it to feel for doorways. When he comes to one, he tries to open it but finds it locked. Using the same key as he had on the front door, he kicks it. Swinging open, it smashes into the wall with a resounding thud.