Turning to his friend, James says “What would you have us do? If we leave we would pass right by them, and you can be assured they’ll have the pass south watched. It’s either here or go into Ironhold.”
“Why not attack?” offers Uther. “If they are in fact waiting for reinforcements, then the odds will only get worse the longer we wait.”
“You got that right,” adds Jorry.
“I don’t like attacking without cause,” objects James.
“Without cause?” Jiron asks incredulously. “They are the Empire’s soldiers and we have had hurt after hurt because of them. I lost my city because of them. Many of those we care for have died and been enslaved because of them. If that isn’t cause enough for you I don’t know what is.”
“James,” Miko says. “If these are soldiers of the Empire then we should take them out before they possibly join up with others. Even if they aren’t planning on doing that, their destruction is our duty anyway. They are our enemies.”
“He’s right,” agrees Fifer. Qyrll nods in agreement as well which surprises James as he’s from the Empire.
“You all are a bunch of bloodthirsty killers,” Dave says from where he stands behind James. “All you talk about is death and destruction. You won’t be satisfied until we’re all dead.”
Jiron steps forward with a hand on the pommel of one of his knives, anger building behind his eyes. He opens his mouth to tell Dave off when James holds up his hand forestalling his tirade.
“I see the wisdom in what you are saying,” he says. Then adds to include Dave, “What you’re all saying.” Turning to Jiron and the others, he says “But what you all need to realize is Dave and I come from a world where the arbitrary killing of your enemies is frowned upon, extremely discouraged you might say. It’s hard for me to go and seek the death of a group of people that are no immediate threat.”
He pauses a moment to let that sink in. Many there who have traveled with him for awhile will understand what he’s talking about. Then he says, “I need to know for a fact they plan to come after us.” Looking to Qyrll he asks, “Would you be willing to find out?”
Looking surprised, he says, “They will think it odd for me to suddenly appear among them all alone. I don’t think they would tell me anything.”
“I don’t mean that,” James clarifies. “Just sneak close and try to overhear what they’re saying. Could you do that?”
“Perhaps,” he says. “If they’re not vigilant and lax in the posting of sentries.”
“Good. Then take Jiron with you and see what you can learn,” he says.
Smiling at the prospect of having the Shynti with him, he nods his head. “I would be honored to have him accompany me.”
James gives them a general idea of where to find the enemy camp. Then when Qyrll and Jiron are about ready to head out, he adds, “Don’t take too long.”
“We won’t,” Jiron assures him, then they leave the camp.
The others murmur among themselves, all the while casting glances over to where Dave remains standing near James.
“Come with me,” James says to his friend as he leads him away from the fire and into the night. When they leave the proximity of the fire, the cold makes its presence felt. They pull their jackets closer together as they move further away from the others. Once they’ve reached a spot where they won’t be overheard, he comes to a stop.
“I know what you’re going to say,” Dave begins before James has a chance to start. “I’m sorry, but it’s true. All they talk about is killing and death.”
“That’s not true,” counters James. “We are in the middle of a war. Those on the other side are continuously seeking to make our lives difficult in any way they can. Given the world in which these people have grown up, I think their responses are true to form.”
“But they’re going to get us all killed!” insists Dave.
“We could sit on our butts and that will still happen,” says James. “We grew up in a relatively safe environment where conflict to this degree simply was not a factor. If we were in one of our campaigns we used to play in the chess room, what would you be doing?”
Considering the question for a moment, he then says, “Probably arranging an attack to avoid possible future complications.”
“Remember,” James tells him, “this world is similar to that of our role playing, more so than I would have thought possible. That’s probably why the advertisement in the newspaper said role playing a plus.”
Nodding, Dave says, “I see your point. But I am still going to caution you against actions which I feel are wrong.”
Laying his hand on Dave’s shoulder he says, “I wouldn’t want you to do otherwise. I need a voice of reason in this chaotic and hostile world.”
Giving his friend a grin, he says, “You got it.”
“Now, let’s go back to the others,” suggests James. “And this time, don’t go calling them blood thirsty killers.”
“I won’t, promise,” Dave assures his friend.
As they’re walking back to the fire, a sound comes to them from the darkened town. A wailing sounds in the night as if a spirit is writhing in torment. They rush to the edge which overlooks the town and see a light atop one of the buildings. From this distance it’s hard to make out just what it is, but it looks to be the size of a man and it’s moving.
“What the heck is that?” Dave asks.
The others join them as he says, “I don’t know.”
“It’s a ghost!” Miko exclaims.
“Could be,” agrees James. Too bad Qyrll is missing this. He would’ve loved it.
The light continues to pace back and forth along the roof as the wailing continues. It lasts for ten minutes before the light and wailing disappear.
A hushed silence falls over the companions as they stand there in the dark and cold a moment. When it doesn’t look as if the spirit will be returning, they make their way back to camp.
As James takes his seat and begins warming his freezing hands, he considers the predicament they’re in. On the one side they have a hostile force most likely bent on their destruction. On the other is a city with free roaming spirits. At least the spirits mostly come out at night, mostly.
Chapter Twenty Eight
It’s been over an hour since they left. Where are they? Pacing around, James is worried about what may have happened to them. To add more to his already worried mind the spirit from Ironhold makes two other appearances in different parts of town, always a lone spirit and always on top of a building.
No one is getting much sleep tonight, not with the racket going on when the spirit appears. It’s been twenty minutes or more since the last spectral appearance and a few of the others have fallen asleep. The only one other than himself who’s still awake is Miko. Try as he might, he can’t bring himself to relax enough to slip away.
James glances in his direction every once in awhile to see if he’s managed to fall asleep, and each time he sees his eyes wide open.
The silence of the night is broken by the sound of something moving toward the camp through the trees. Miko hears it too and sits up, his hand on the hilt of his sword which is resting on the ground next to him. He glances to James and begins getting up when Qyrll and Jiron enter the firelight.
“Glad you’re back,” James says in relief. “I was getting worried.”
“Sorry,” apologizes Jiron. “It took us some doing to move close enough for Qyrll to be able to understand what they were saying.”
By the time they take their seats at the fire, the others have awoken and moved closer to hear. “What did you learn?” he asks Qyrll.
“From what I heard, they are but one band of many situated in the hills surrounding Ironhold,” he explains. “They are waiting for something, no one said for sure exactly what. One of the men was complaining about something not being here yet, couldn’t tell if it was more men, one man or what.”
“So if we attack them,” James says, “it would be safe to say the other bands will go on the offensive right away.”