"Unless we find ourselves a boat!" states Jiron. "Is there a town to the west?"
"Let me check," he says as he scrolls the view further west. Excitedly, he exclaims, "Yes, there is and it looks like it's a port city."
"Any ships at the docks?" Jiron asks, hopefully.
"Four," he replies.
Turning his horse westward, Jiron says, "Then let's go get ourselves a boat."
"But," James says, "it's going to be broad daylight. How are we going to sneak aboard and take a boat?"
Giving James a slightly evil grin, Jiron replies, "Who said we were going to sneak sneak!"
Chapter Twenty Seven.
Riding hard, they come to the road and move to follow it as it continues along the coast westward to the port city. Fellow travelers they pass along the road just stare at them as they fly by. Some holler words at them as they rush past but are soon left far behind.
Knowing they've not much time, James and Jiron race down the road weaving around those upon it, until the town begins to appear on the horizon ahead of them. The town appears rather large with no wall surrounding it, for which James is extremely grateful.
They slow down as they reach the outskirts of town so as not to attract undue attention. Heading straight down the main thoroughfare toward the docks, James fears that at anytime someone is going to challenge them.
But, acting like you belong is often the surest way of remaining unnoticed. Riding with a purpose, they make their way through the crowded streets and no one even gives them a second look. When they draw near to the docks, they stop in front of an inn and dismount, tying their horses to the post out front.
They quickly remove what they're going to need from their horses before continuing on foot. Before they reach the docks, Jiron motions for James to follow him into a side alley. Once within the alley he asks, "Can you see if any of our pursuers are getting close to the city?"
Taking out his mirror, James looks and after locating the armies approaching, shakes his head, saying, "It looks like they're all at least several miles away. We should have an hour, maybe more, before they arrive."
"Alright then," says Jiron, "let's go find us a boat."
They leave the alley and continue on their way toward the docks. When they get there, they see a dozen or more soldiers stationed in and around the dock area.
"Think they're there for us?" Jiron asks.
"Probably," replies James. "Looks like they're covering all their bases."
"Bases?" Jiron asks, confused at the term.
"Sorry," says James. "I just mean they're watching every avenue that we may take to get away."
"Oh."
They pause near the entrance to the docks as they look at the ships tied there. One is a massive, deep sea cargo ship and the others are smaller, but all are clearly too big for their needs. Shaking his head, Jiron says, "I don't think these are going to help us any."
"I don't think so either," agrees James. Then he grabs Jiron's arm and directs his attention further down, away from the docks where a small, private ship is just pulling up to a small dock. "That will do fine, don't you think?" he asks.
"Perfect!"
They leave the dock area and head over toward the estate where the ship just docked. The estate has a protective wall around it and the gate is closed with a guard posted on the outside. They walk around the estate, doing their best not to attract attention as they look to see if there's another way in. The wall is high, too high to jump and grab the top. The only way in is through the gate.
They return to a spot near the gate and James asks, "Now what?"
"We gotta get through that gate," he replies. "I don't see any other way in."
The street passing in front of the estate is well traveled and any attempt to take out the guard will be readily seen by those passing by.
"We need a diversion so everyone will be looking away from the guard at the gate," he says as he looks to James.
"You want me to blow up the town again?" asks James, not entirely enthused with the idea.
"Not necessarily," he replies. "Just something that the people on the street will turn their attention to."
"Anything I do will announce that we're here," he says.
"They're going to know that soon enough anyway," Jiron explains. "As soon as those approaching forces meet up, they'll know we're here. A few minutes earlier really won't make that much of a difference."
"I suppose you're right," James says, resigned to the plan. "Let's go further into town and see what opportunity presents itself, I don't want to hurt innocents."
"Alright," says Jiron, understanding. "I'm sure there's something you can do that won't hurt anyone."
As they walk, James ponders different ideas, trying to come up with something that will distract but not hurt. "I think I have an idea," he tells Jiron after they've walked several blocks.
"What?" he asks.
"Well, you see..."
After getting everything ready, they return back to the gate. Jiron glances over at James where he's standing, silently counting. Three...Two...One... Three...Two...One...
From further into town, they begin to hear people screaming and running. The people on the street outside of the gate turn their attention toward the center of town and away from the gate to see what's going on.
"It's working," Jiron says as he begins edging slowly toward the gate.
James just nods in satisfaction with his solution and follows him.
When they near the gate, the guard is looking toward the center of town as well, fear evident on his face. James glances toward where he's looking and smiles when he sees the fifteen foot giant walking through town, a flaming sword gripped in its hand.
Jiron comes to the guard and places a knife to his throat as he says, "Open the gate!"
The guard suddenly realizes they're there and starts to draw his sword. Jiron presses the knife harder against his neck, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." When the guard relaxes his grip on his sword Jiron turns him so he's facing the gate. "Now, open it" he orders the man one more time. Despite the language barrier, the guard understands what Jiron is asking.
Shaken, the guard withdraws a key and places it in the lock, opening the gate. James looks at the passersby who are staring at the giant walking through town, many begin running for their lives.
"Come on, James!" urges Jiron.
Turning back to the gate, he sees that it's already open and follows Jiron and the guard inside. After the guard shuts and locks the gate, Jiron takes the key from him and says to James, "Let's get the boat and sail to Cardri as fast as we can." Then he hits the man in the head and knocks him out.
"What did you say that for?" he asks.
Grinning, Jiron replies, "When questioned, I'm hoping he'll tell them that we're going to Cardri so they'll look for us in that direction."
"Good idea, if he understood you," he says. Turning to the giant he created, he cancels the spell and it quickly dissipates back into nothing.
They run toward the estate and see someone run in through the front door just before it slams shut. Altering their course, they make for the front door. Jiron's the first to reach it and tries to open it only to find it locked. "It's locked," he tells James as he joins him at the door.
James puts his hand against it and lets loose the power. With a crack, the door flies open and smashes into the wall.
Jiron runs inside as he searches for whoever it was that had slammed the door shut, but is unable to locate anyone.
"The boat!" James says as he runs through the house to the back where the dock lies.
Jiron joins him and they race through the house and out the back door. Once outside, they find the man running toward the boat, intent on getting away. He turns and sees them leaving the house and bolts toward the boat, drawing a knife and cutting the lines as fast as he can. Giving the boat a shove, the man jumps aboard as the boat begins to drift away from the docks.
As they race onto the dock, the ship is now ten feet away and is beginning to pick up speed as the wind fills the hastily unfurled sails. Without even hesitating, Jiron runs to the edge and leaps across the distance, landing on the deck of the boat.
James stops on the dock and watches as Jiron draws his knives and advances on the man. With sword at the ready, the man engages him, but after a few quick exchanges, his sword drops to the deck and Jiron's knife is at his throat. He kicks the man's sword away and then points back to the dock where James is waiting.
Adjusting the sail and turning the tiller, the man maneuvers the boat back to the dock where James climbs on board. "Thank you," he says to Jiron.
Smiling back at him, he replies, "Not a problem."
James goes to the man and says, "Take us out to sea now, please."
The man just looks blankly back at James as if he doesn't understand. "Do you understand me?" he asks. Again, no response.
Jiron then says to James, "If he's not going to be any use to us, should I just slit his throat and toss his body over the side?"
The man visibly pales and says, "I can understand you."
"Thought you might," Jiron tells him. "Now, take us out to sea."
"What are you going to do with me?" the man asks, not making any move to comply with Jiron's demand.
"We merely wish to borrow you and your boat for a short time," he says. "If you're helpful, we might even pay you for your inconvenience." When the man still hasn't begun to get the boat underway, Jiron says, "Now, are you going to help or should I toss your lifeless body over the side?"
The man takes a moment, obviously deciding between flight and acquiescing. "If you jump in," Jiron tells him, "I'll jump in after you."
As if that's all he needed, the man turns and begins to get the sails in order. He then turns the tiller to angle the boat out to sea.
"Where is it we're going?" the man asks.
"Not exactly sure yet," James tells him. "Maybe you can help us with that."
"How can I be of any help?" the man asks, confused.
"We're searching for a friend of ours," he tells him. "He was taken as a slave and brought to this area. All we know now is that he's working underground somewhere, possibly in a mine."
"Then your friend is most likely at the Sorna Iron Mines," he tells them. "It's an island some miles off the coast to the south of here."
James nods his head and says, "That sounds right." He thinks for a moment as the ship sails further out to sea and away from the port. Coming to a decision, James says, "First, we want you to take us north for a ways and then swing west out to sea before heading to the island, understand?"
"No," he replies, "but I'll do it."
"Thank you."
As the man turns the boat to follow the coast to the north, he asks, "Are you two the ones they're searching for?"
"Maybe," replies James. "Depends on who 'they' are, and who's doing the searching."
"There have been rumors that spies from the north have come to the Empire to sow dissension and destruction," he tells them. "One of them is a mage of some power, or so the rumor says."
James smiles at that, 'some power'. "What's your name?" he asks the man.
"Kristo."
"Kristo?" Jiron say questioningly, "Doesn't sound like an empire name to me."
"It's not," Kristo replies. "My parents moved us here long ago from our home further to the south."
"Ah," replies Jiron.
They continue on up the coast for several miles and when they can no longer see anyone on the shoreline, they have him turn and head west, further out to sea.
James has always liked being out on the water, and with no one trying to immediately kill or capture him, he's able to sit back, relax and enjoy it. They continue on for another hour out to sea before turning to the south and the island.
By this time, the sun begins its descent toward the horizon. "How far is it to the island?" James asks Kristo.
"Not exactly sure," he says, "but probably several hours away." Glancing at the sun, he says, "Be dark by the time we get there."
"Will that be a problem?" James asks him.
"Definitely," he says. "I've never been there so don't know the waters or where the dangers are. We could just sail right into a reef or the side of the island before we were even aware it was there."
"Just sail until dark and then drop anchor," he tells him. "In the morning, we'll continue the rest of the way."
"Are you sure?" he asks. "This isn't a deep sea ship, just a coast hugger. If we're caught in a squall, we're going to go under."
James glances to the sky and at the clouds beginning to turn pink. "Pink at night, sailors' delight."
"What?" asks Jiron.