Trail of the Gods Part 17

Nodding her head, she says, "I see." A few brief words in their language to the guards and they relax. All but two return to where they were, the remaining two staying nearby.

"That was quite an explosion," he comments. "By the way, my name is James and these men are my guards." He gives her a slight bow.

"I am Allana," she says. "These were meant for my wedding. I'm glad they all weren't destroyed."

"What are they?" Miko asks, indicating the chest at her feet.

"They are a gift from my uncle," she tells him. "They are used in celebrations by the Illuminator's Guild. Though I am not one of them, my uncle is a high ranking member and allowed me these for my wedding. Since it is going to be here in Cardri, there's little chance of word getting out."

"I'm sorry we intruded upon you," James tells her. "We shall go now, and best wishes to you and your groom." He indicates for Illan to get the others moving.

"Thank you," she says.

Leaving the clearing behind, they make their way back to where their horses are waiting. "The Illuminator's Guild must have powerful magic," comments Miko.

"Not really," replies James. "What those tubes were would've been called 'fireworks' back where I come from."

"Fireworks?" asks Jiron.

"That's right," he explains. "It's just something relatively harmless that people use to make bright lights and noise."

"Oh," says Miko. "Do you think we could get some?"

Turning to Illan, James asks, "Ever heard of anything like that before around here?"

Shaking his head he says, "No, not around here. Though I have heard talk of something like that before, but I didn't really believe it."

After reaching their horses and are riding back to The Ranch, James considers the ramifications of what he just learned. The Chinese used fireworks for a thousand years before the military aspects of gunpowder were realized. Should the same thing happen here, it would turn this world upside down. The Chinese used fireworks for a thousand years before the military aspects of gunpowder were realized. Should the same thing happen here, it would turn this world upside down.

Deciding not to open that particular Pandora's Box, he keeps all this speculating to himself. An idea is one of the most powerful instruments ever devised. For once an idea gets out, there's no going back.

By the time they get back to The Ranch, everyone is beginning to give Miko a hard time. James listens to it for awhile before putting a stop to it. "Leave him alone, guys. He made a mistake, but for the right reasons."

Miko gives him a look of grat.i.tude as the others quit pestering him. Once they're back at The Ranch, James says to Illan, "We're leaving in the morning. See that everyone is ready to go."

"Will do," he a.s.sures him.

The front door to the house opens up and Roland and the girls come out. "What happened?"

"False alarm," he tells them. "Seems Miko was mistaken, they were on their way to a wedding."

"A wedding?" Roland asks incredulously. Laughing, he asks, "How could he make that kind of mistake?"

Shrugging, James says, "He feels bad enough about it as it is, try not to bother him too much."

"Alright," agrees Roland.

"I'll be out at the workshop for the rest of the day," he tells him. "I'm taking Illan and the others somewhere for probably about a week. The new recruits will be staying here with you."

"Very well," he says as James turns and heads over to the workshop. Sitting on his desk is the crystal he'd infused with the defensive spells the day before. He still has the two crystals out in the woods charging, one from which he will transfer the stored power it contains into that of his defensive crystal.

He looks down to the sack that had once been bulging with crystals sitting on the floor by the workbench. Reaching down, he picks it up and only finds two crystals remaining. Taking the larger of the two, he infuses it with the receiver crystal spells and then places it on a shelf over against the wall. Have to get this set up better so it will be more visible and less likely to get lost or broken. Have to get this set up better so it will be more visible and less likely to get lost or broken.

The box to hold the Fire is prepared with all the spells it will require. The defensive and warning crystals are out in the forest charging, he just needs to transfer the power of one and infuse the other with its spells. The receiver crystal is ready and positioned. All that's left is to dig up the Fire tonight and place it in the box before they set out in the morning.

Leaving the workshop, he sees Miko and Roland over by the woodpile chopping more firewood. Suddenly, a scream rips through the air as he sees Uther and Jorry come running toward Miko.

"We're under attack!" cries Uther.

"Oh, help! Heeeeeeeelllllllp!" wails Jorry.

James sees Illan grinning at their antics, but Miko has a grim look upon his face. He knows it's him their making fun of. Doing his best not to smile, for they are pretty darn funny, he moves away from the workshop and goes over to them.

"Stop that right now!" he yells at them.

They come to a stop and look his way as the grins begin to fade from their faces.

Coming closer toward them, he continues, "I asked you not to bother him about this and I meant it."

"We were just having a little fun, is all," Uther explains.

Illan begins making his way over to where James is confronting Jorry and Uther.

"I don't care if you were," he says. "It will end, now. Do you understand?"

They both nod their heads.

James glances to Illan as he joins the others and adds, "We are a team, all of us here. We've been through too much together to treat each other in this manner. I will not tolerate it in my presence or on my property."

"Yes sir," says a chastised Jorry.

"We didn't mean anything by it," Uther says. Then he looks over to where Miko is standing with the axe in his hand and says, "Sorry Miko."

Miko just nods then goes back to chopping wood. His next strike is a bit harder than it had been before. James can see him working his anger at being the brunt of a joke out on the wood.

"Now, don't you gentlemen have something better to do?" he asks them.

"Yes they do," Illan tells him. "Follow me please." Jorry and Uther fall in behind Illan as he leads them off to the barn. James watches them for a moment and when they reach the barn door, Illan has them pick up a rake and shovel.

Illan glances back at him and gives him a wink as Uther and Jorry proceed to muck out the barn. James glances over to Miko who's noticed where they've been put to work and he sees a slight smile begin on his face. The next chop of the axe sounds more normal as his anger begins to subside.

Heading back to the house he's told by Ezra that dinner is still an hour away. Not having anything pressing to do, he sits in his favorite chair by the window in the front room as he relaxes until it's ready.

Tersa comes out of her room shortly after he got himself settled and brings over a small brown object. It's a rabbit shaped stuffed animal. "I thought perhaps children would enjoy something like this as well," she tells him as she offers it to him. "Miko caught some rabbits today, and after their skins are ready, I'll try using their fur as well."

Looking it over, he nods and hands it back to her. "Looks like you've really taken to this whole project."

She sits in a chair next to his and replies, "It gives me something to do and if it helps out, then all the better. I like sewing, and making these lets me feel useful."

"I know what you mean," he says. "You'd make a good seamstress."

"You think so?" she asks.

"Of course," he a.s.sures her. "The st.i.tching you've done on the teddy bears I've seen thus far is quite excellent."

"Thank you," she says, blus.h.i.+ng slightly. Getting up, she adds, "I just wanted to show you what I've been doing." When she sees his nod, she returns back to her room.

James once more gazes out the window as he lets his mind wander. He'll be glad when the Fire is hidden, that's the major worry on his mind. After that, find someway to sneak into Saragon to look for clues as to the whereabouts of a priesthood that disappeared centuries ago. He really doubts if there is anything left that would tell him anything, but what else does he have to go on? How long have I been here and I still know very little about why I'm here? How long have I been here and I still know very little about why I'm here? At times he wonders if he'll ever go home again. At times he wonders if he'll ever go home again.

Chapter Twelve.

He moves through the house in the dark of night, light from the moon overhead filters in through the windows giving everything a surreal feel. Snores can be heard throughout from those asleep in the various rooms. He walks softly so as not to risk waking anyone as he makes his way to the kitchen. Moving extra cautiously through the darkened room, he maneuvers around obstacles by touch until his hand comes into contact with the unmistakable shape of the door handle.

Turning the handle, he opens the door slowly to prevent it from making any noise that might disturb those asleep in the house. Slipping outside, he quietly closes the door behind him. He pauses there a moment when he catches movement from the corner of his eye. The night's sentry is moving out in the dark, going about his patrol. Which one of the newcomers is hard to tell.

Whoever is walking guard duty this evening fails to notice him as they continue on by. He holds still, barely daring to breathe until he sees the sentry pa.s.s around the far side of the workshop. Moving quickly, he makes his way to the barn where he locates a shovel. Pausing a moment to make sure the guard hasn't returned yet, he quickly crosses over to the chicken coop.

The chickens are all roosting inside the coop area, the outer pen is empty. Lifting the latch on the door leading to the pen, he opens it and slips inside where he secures the latch closed.

Moving to the center of the pen, his foot accidentally kicks over a water trough and he can hear some of the chickens within the coop begin to rouse from the clatter it made. He holds still and quiet until the chickens once more settle down and is about to start digging when he sees the guard's silhouette approaching.

He waits until the guard once more pa.s.ses out of sight and then places the end of the shovel to the ground. Pressing down firmly with his foot, he digs out a chunk of dirt. He places it next to the hole and then scoops four more times before the guard again can be seen approaching. Remaining still, he watches as the guard pa.s.ses by no more than a dozen yards away. After the guard again pa.s.ses out of sight, he continues digging. The pile of dirt next to the hole steadily grows as he digs deeper until his shovel finally hits something hard.

Widening the hole a little more, he reaches down with his hand and can feel the top of the box buried there. Using the shovel as a pry bar, he removes the box from the ground. It's a small wooden box, not very big. After pausing one more time to wait for the guard to pa.s.s by, he then fills in the hole with the pile of dirt. He places the watering trough he had knocked over earlier on top of the recently excavated ground to camouflage what he's just done. He then picks up the box.

With the box tucked under his arm, he leaves the chicken coop and makes his way back to the side of the house just as the guard again comes into view. Pressing himself to the side of the house, he remains hidden in the shadows until the guard is no longer in sight.

Moving to the edge of the house, he glances around the corner and watches as the guard continues on his rounds. When the guard pa.s.ses around the far corner of the house, he runs quickly over to the workshop where he opens the door and enters. Shutting the door behind him, he glances out of the window. The shadows cast by the moonlight are all that can be seen outside. Sighing with relief, he moves over to the workbench where he sets the box.

James is relieved no one saw him remove the Fire from its hiding place. The less the others know of what he's doing and what he's planning, the less they can inadvertently tell somebody else. It still bothers him that he needs help in the hiding of the Fire and that those that help him will know exactly where it is. But unless he wants to be like the Pharaohs of Egypt who had everyone killed that had a hand in the building of their tombs and knew its secrets, he'll just have to live with it.

Picking the iron box the blacksmith delivered earlier off the floor, he sets it on the workbench next to the one containing the Fire. Opening the iron box, he widens the s.p.a.ce in the interior cus.h.i.+oning with his hands to receive the Fire. He then takes a small pry bar and removes the lid to the wooden box containing the Fire. As the lid comes off, he can see a barely perceptible glow coming from within. Just looking at it makes his skin crawl. He'll be glad when this thing is secured away forever.

Remembering the warning the shade of the long dead priest of Morcyth had given him, he takes two small sticks of wood he left lying on his workbench earlier. Taking one in each hand, he places them against the sides of the Fire and slowly draws it out of the box. Holding firmly and carefully, he transfers the Fire over to the iron box and settles it within the protective covering. Once it's in, he uses a stick to fold over the covering until the glow can no longer be seen.

Closing the lid, he locks it with the key. Picking up the iron box, he takes it over to the side of his workshop and places it under a larger box to wait until morning when he will finalize all the necessary spells before they leave.

Going back to the window, he looks out and waits until he sees the guard again move around the far side of the house. He quickly leaves his workshop and runs to the kitchen door. Slipping in quietly, he shuts the door and begins to return to his room when he sees a shadowy form, framed in the doorway leading further into the house.

"James?" he hears Miko's voice asks in a whisper.

"Yes," replies James. "It's me. What are you doing up?"

"Something woke me," he says. "It felt like I needed to do something."

That's when James notices he has his sword in his hand. "What?" he asks. "What did you need to do?"

"I don't know anymore," he says. "It's gone."

Coming forward, James lays a hand on his shoulder and says, "Then let's go back to bed."

"Alright," agrees Miko as he turns around and allows James to escort him back to where he sleeps.

When he's finally back to bed, James goes and wakes up Jiron. Not saying anything, he indicates for Jiron to follow him back to his room.

"What's going on?" he asks when James' bedroom door closes behind them.

James fills him in on what he's just done. Of everyone there, he's the one he trusts with this information the most. Then he tells of finding Miko, how he was acting and what he said. At the mention of the sword in his hand, Jiron says, "Was it the Fire that called him?"

"I can't think of what else it could've been," he replies. "I don't think it would be wise to take him with us to hide it."

Shaking his head, Jiron says, "You may be right. He won't like being left behind though."

"I know, but what else can we do?" he states. "Also, I'd like you to keep an eye on him tonight, just in case."

"Alright," agrees Jiron. "I'll do that."

"Good. We're going to leave first thing in the morning after breakfast. I still have a couple things to do in the morning, but they shouldn't take me too long."

"See you then," he says as he opens the bedroom door and slips out.

Once the door shuts behind him, James lies down on his bed and thinks about Miko. It must still have some control over him. The sooner I get rid of it the better. It must still have some control over him. The sooner I get rid of it the better.

When the sky first begins lightning with the coming of the day, James gets up and finds Jiron still sitting up in the front room looking tired. "Anything?" he asks.

Shaking his head, he says, "He stayed asleep the whole night. He's still in his bed now."

"Good," replies James. "Get some sleep if you can. I'm going to finish what I need to do before breakfast."

As Jiron goes back to where his pallet lies, James enters the kitchen and finds Ezra already there beginning to prepare breakfast for everyone. Arkie lies asleep on a blanket in the corner. "Good morning," he says as he pa.s.ses through to the door.

"Good morning," she replies.

Leaving the kitchen through the back door, he makes his way out to the woods to collect the two crystals that have been charging the last two days. Over by the barn he sees Illan putting the new recruits through their morning drills. James has heard rumors they're glad Illan is going to be leaving for awhile and that their morning drills will be put on hold.

The crystals are still exactly where he left them, each having a fair sized glow within them. Not exactly maxed out, but still not too bad. Taking them back to his workshop, he begins the final stages of transferring power and setting up the spells.

Taking one of the crystals, he transfers the stored power it has to the defensive crystal. The spells contained within the defensive crystal he leaves inactive. He doesn't plan to activate them until the box lies in its final resting place. The other crystal he infuses with the spells which will light up the receiver crystal which will remain here in his workshop.