have?” she asks.
“Doubt it,” he assures her. “The Empire
probably has all it can handle with Madoc right now.”
“I hope so,” she says as they get settled in
for the night.
Chapter Four
_________________________
The morning dawns cloudy, a relief from the
sun that had been beating down on them throughout the day before.
It takes them little time to be ready to go and soon are off,
heading south to find Korazan.
Throughout the morning hours, they are able
to hold a fairly southern course, only once having to travel
westward to avoid roving patrols. About midday they begin to see a
large river flowing from the northwest to the southeast. It spans
several hundred feet and runs deep.
As they approach the banks of the river,
James looks both upriver and downriver but is unable to see any
bridge that they may use to cross. There is also no place along the
course of the river shallow enough to allow them to ford. He turns
to the others and says, “It appears we have a problem.”
“Can’t we go down one way or the other until
we find a way to cross?” Cassie asks.
“That’s what we’re going to end up having to
do,” he replies. “The question is, should we go that way,” he says
as he points upstream to the northwest, and then points downstream,
“or that way?”
“If we go downstream, that will take us
closer to Korazan,” Tinok says.
“And closer to the Empire’s forces,” Jiron
concludes.
“It’s probably safe to say that any bridge
to the east of us will be used by the Empire,” warns James,
“possibly even guarded.”
“Then we go west?” Delia guesses.
“But how far will we have to go and will it
take us too long to get back?” Jiron questions. “If we spend too
much time going west and then have to backtrack, we may be too late
to save Tersa.”
“Let’s go west for a day, and if we don’t
find anything suitable, then we’ll turn around and go east,” offers
Tinok.
“A day!” Jiron exclaims. “I’ll not waste two
whole days when Tersa is being marched to the slave markets!” He
looks around at everyone defiantly and says, “I go east! You can
all do what you want!” He then turns his horse eastward and gallops
away, not looking back to see if they are following.
Tinok looks to James and says, “I guess we
go east.”
“It would appear that way,” he replies. They
all turn their horses and gallop after Jiron.
They follow the river for several miles
before a town begins to come into view along the river ahead of
them. It sits on the north bank of the river and at the southern
edge of town, a bridge spans the river. They see several figures
moving in and around the town, plus several upon the bridge itself.
They pause only a moment before turning back toward the west and
ride until the town is once again out of sight behind them.
“That bridge would be perfect to get
across,” James says. “But it looks as if there’s guards posted on
it. I think we should wait for night and see if we can’t find a way
to sneak across.”
Indicating Jiron and himself, Tinok says,
“We can take out the guards before they even know we’re there.”
“But that would tell everyone that there are
hostiles in the area,” James counters, “then they would be
searching for us. If we can sneak across somehow,” pausing for
effect, he looks at Tinok and says with emphasis, “without killing
anyone, then we may be able to get further south before they even
know we’ve been through here.”
“Can we sneak across?” Cassie asks.
“Won’t know until tonight,” James replies.
“Let’s find a spot away from the river where we can have a bite to
eat unobserved while we wait for dark.”
“Why do we have to move away from the
river?” Cassie asks.
Sighing, James explains, “In the event that
someone is traveling down the river, we don’t want them to alert
those in the town as to our presence.”
“Oh,” she says.
They move about a
“Doubt it,” he assures her. “The Empire
probably has all it can handle with Madoc right now.”
“I hope so,” she says as they get settled in
for the night.
Chapter Four
_________________________
The morning dawns cloudy, a relief from the
sun that had been beating down on them throughout the day before.
It takes them little time to be ready to go and soon are off,
heading south to find Korazan.
Throughout the morning hours, they are able
to hold a fairly southern course, only once having to travel
westward to avoid roving patrols. About midday they begin to see a
large river flowing from the northwest to the southeast. It spans
several hundred feet and runs deep.
As they approach the banks of the river,
James looks both upriver and downriver but is unable to see any
bridge that they may use to cross. There is also no place along the
course of the river shallow enough to allow them to ford. He turns
to the others and says, “It appears we have a problem.”
“Can’t we go down one way or the other until
we find a way to cross?” Cassie asks.
“That’s what we’re going to end up having to
do,” he replies. “The question is, should we go that way,” he says
as he points upstream to the northwest, and then points downstream,
“or that way?”
“If we go downstream, that will take us
closer to Korazan,” Tinok says.
“And closer to the Empire’s forces,” Jiron
concludes.
“It’s probably safe to say that any bridge
to the east of us will be used by the Empire,” warns James,
“possibly even guarded.”
“Then we go west?” Delia guesses.
“But how far will we have to go and will it
take us too long to get back?” Jiron questions. “If we spend too
much time going west and then have to backtrack, we may be too late
to save Tersa.”
“Let’s go west for a day, and if we don’t
find anything suitable, then we’ll turn around and go east,” offers
Tinok.
“A day!” Jiron exclaims. “I’ll not waste two
whole days when Tersa is being marched to the slave markets!” He
looks around at everyone defiantly and says, “I go east! You can
all do what you want!” He then turns his horse eastward and gallops
away, not looking back to see if they are following.
Tinok looks to James and says, “I guess we
go east.”
“It would appear that way,” he replies. They
all turn their horses and gallop after Jiron.
They follow the river for several miles
before a town begins to come into view along the river ahead of
them. It sits on the north bank of the river and at the southern
edge of town, a bridge spans the river. They see several figures
moving in and around the town, plus several upon the bridge itself.
They pause only a moment before turning back toward the west and
ride until the town is once again out of sight behind them.
“That bridge would be perfect to get
across,” James says. “But it looks as if there’s guards posted on
it. I think we should wait for night and see if we can’t find a way
to sneak across.”
Indicating Jiron and himself, Tinok says,
“We can take out the guards before they even know we’re there.”
“But that would tell everyone that there are
hostiles in the area,” James counters, “then they would be
searching for us. If we can sneak across somehow,” pausing for
effect, he looks at Tinok and says with emphasis, “without killing
anyone, then we may be able to get further south before they even
know we’ve been through here.”
“Can we sneak across?” Cassie asks.
“Won’t know until tonight,” James replies.
“Let’s find a spot away from the river where we can have a bite to
eat unobserved while we wait for dark.”
“Why do we have to move away from the
river?” Cassie asks.
Sighing, James explains, “In the event that
someone is traveling down the river, we don’t want them to alert
those in the town as to our presence.”
“Oh,” she says.
They move about a
Similar Books
