The Star of Morcyth: The Morcyth Saga Book Five (24 page)

“The tracks are over here,” one person
says.

James follows him and they come to three
very clear imprints in the dirt. Bending down near the clearest of
the three, he says, “Now, let’s see.” Putting the boot on the
ground next to the print, he lines up the heel of Qyrll’s boot with
that of the bloody imprint. Once aligned, he looks up to the
crowd.

A murmur begins running through the
onlookers as they see the toe of Qyrll’s boot extends two inches
past that of the imprint. One says, “He couldn’t have been the
one.”

The innkeeper’s anger toward Qyrll
dissipates quickly. Looking to the Parvati, he grudgingly says,
“Sorry.”

Qyrll makes no reply as he puts his boots
back on.

“But who killed my daughter?” he wails as
his wife comes over and embraces him, her sobs adding to his
own.

“I don’t know,” James replies, “and we’re
all sorry for your loss.” To Fifer, he whispers, “Get the horses
ready to leave.”

“Right,” he whispers back and takes Miko
with him to get it done.

Many of the onlookers come to the grieving
family and offer words of sorrow and encouragement. James glances
to Jiron and Qyrll and nods to the stables. As they leave the crowd
behind, he says, “Let’s get out of here quickly before something
else happens.”

With Dave walking beside him, he and the
others make their way to the stables. Those who had left their
things in their rooms hurry back to the inn to retrieve them.
Before too much longer, they are all in the saddle and making their
way down the road.

“That was quick thinking,” Illan tells him
after riding several minutes in silence. “I never would’ve thought
of that.”

“Where I come from, solving crimes and
stories of the same nature are very popular,” he tells him.
“Frankly, if his boot had matched the bloody footprint, I don’t
think bloodshed could’ve been avoided.”

“I’m glad you were able to avert a
conflict,” Qyrll says. “Killing people such as those would bring
little honor.”

They ride on for several hours, a few
travelers share the road with them, but otherwise it’s empty. A
caravan passes them coming from the north and James asks them how
far the next town is.

One guard pauses long enough to say, “The
next town lies a full day’s ride to the north.”

“What’s it called?” he asks.

The guard replies, “Willimet.”

“Willimet?” James asks. When the guard nods
yes, he begins seething inside. He hasn’t forgotten what happened
to him the last time he passed through there.

Miko remembers as well and comes to ride
next to him. “What are you going to do?” he asks.

Turning to him, he says, “Going to go and
talk with her.”

Serenna, that was her name. The fortune
teller who had run him out of town. The one who is telling everyone
he is possessed by a demon. He intends to get her to stop!

The rest of the afternoon, James rides in
silence, his mind only on what he will do at Willimet. Miko on the
other hand is more than happy to tell the story in its entirety to
the rest of the group. When he gets to the part about how they
learned the following day the way she had distorted the truth,
several of them chuckle which only darkens James’ mood further.

To make matters worse, during the late
afternoon while they are still several hours away from Willimet,
they encounter a man.

They first see him approaching down the road
and don’t pay him very much attention. He’s a bit scraggly and when
he draws close, can see a wild look in his eye.

Stopping right in front of them, he raises
his hands and asks, “Where are you bound to on this fine day?”

Bringing his horse to a stop so as not to
run over the man, James replies, “To Willimet.”

The man’s face lights up, “To see the great
Serenna? Truly she is sent by the gods to guide us in these dark
days.”

At that, the entire company comes to a stop
and gathers around to hear this man. “Sent by the gods?” scoffs
James. “I don’t think so.”

The man immediately grows indignant and
cries out, “Scoff not the wise Serenna. Only her wisdom can deliver
us from the demon which walks the lands.”

“Demon?” Illan asks him. He casts a quick
glance to James and can see the anger seething behind his eyes.

“Yes my friends,” he says. “A demon
disguised as a man. Evil are his works and through Serenna, the
gods work to counter his most malign plans.” He gazes into their
faces, eyes wild with a crazed look to them. “You will see for
yourself,” he says. Beginning to mumble to himself, he suddenly
walks forward and James has to back his horse quickly out of the
way to keep the man from walking into it.

He sits there a moment and watches as the
man continues down the road. “Great!” he exclaims. “What in the
world is she saying about me now?”

“Looks like it’s getting pretty serious,”
Illan says. “I’ve seen religious zealots before, and that man
certainly acted like one. We better be careful while we’re
there.”

“What is she doing?” asks Fifer. “Creating a
new religion?”

“We’ll find out shortly,” he says.

“Wonder how come word of this hadn’t reached
us before?” Jiron asks.

Shrugging, James says, “Who knows? Maybe
she’s just recently stepped up what she’s telling people. Or maybe
she’s come to believe it as well.”

“What are you going to do?” Miko asks as
they resume their way north.

“I don’t know,” he replies. “But I can’t
just let this whole thing fester and rot. Who knows where it might
lead?”
Or where it already has?

They continue on down the road and it’s well
after dark when the lights from Willimet appear ahead of them. Off
to the east of town, a large pavilion has been erected in which
numerous people are congregating. Many fires dot the area around
the pavilion where those not within can keep warm.

“What’s that?” Dave asks as they ride closer
to town. “Looks like a revival meeting from back home.”

“It does, doesn’t it,” agrees James. “It’s
probably where she’s preaching.”

Suddenly a great cheer and cry can be heard
coming from the pavilion. “Wonder what she’s telling them now?” he
hears Miko say behind him.

“Probably that I’m going to eat their souls
or something,” he says.

Jiron chuckles, “Maybe.”

James turns his horse toward the pavilion,
intending to go see what’s going on but Illan stops him. “I don’t
think it would be such a good idea for you to go over there right
now.”

“Why?” he asks.

“If you’re recognized as the person of whom
she’s talking about, they’ll try to tear you apart,” he says. “Or
you’ll be forced to kill them.” He pauses a moment as James digests
that. Then he asks, “Do you want a bloodbath?”

“No,” he replies.

“Alright then,” Illan says. “Let’s find an
inn and the rest of us will find out what’s going on and let you
know while you stay out of sight in your room.”

James definitely doesn’t like the sound of
the plan, but can see the wisdom in it. “Very well,” he says.
Turning his horse back to the road, he leads them toward
Willimet.

The first thing he notices upon reaching the
outskirts of town are the many lean-tos and makeshift dwellings
which have sprung up since he was here last. When they reach the
outer edge of the main buildings of town, the number of makeshift
dwellings decline rapidly until they disappear altogether.

The few citizens still on the street hurry
along as if they’re afraid to be out after dark. “There’s a
definite uneasy feeling here,” observes Jiron.

“I know,” agrees Fifer. Watching one fellow
hurrying along, he sees him continuously darting nervous glances
this way and that. When he notices Fifer looking at him, he stops
in his tracks, then darts quickly down a side alley.

“Wonder what has them all spooked?” Dave
asks.

“The answer is probably in that pavilion
sitting outside of town,” replies James. “From the look of that one
guy we ran into earlier, it isn’t surprising the townsfolk have
grown wary.”

They come to an inn and James has everyone
wait by the horses while he and Illan go inside to see about
getting some rooms. He dismounts and with Illan right behind him,
goes through the front door.

As he enters, a man behind the counter turns
with a start, his eyes wide. When he sees them entering, his
demeanor subtly relaxes and he asks, “Travelers?”

James nods and says, “Yes we are. Just
passing through on our way north.”

At that, the man completely relaxes. Illan
asks, “What has everyone around here so afraid?”

The man’s eyes dart around for a moment, as
if he’s looking to see if anyone is listening. Waving for them to
come closer, he says in a soft voice, “It’s the woman out in the
big tent in the center of the pavilion outside of town. She and her
followers have everyone on edge.”

“Why?” James asks. “What’s going on?”

“Before summer, she had been a simple
fortune teller who gave bad advice,” he says. “Everyone knew she
was a fake but as she was very nice, we didn’t say anything. One
day that all changed.”

James glances to Illan as the man
continues.

“As the story goes, and let me tell you it’s
different depending on who tells it to you, a man came to her and
asked for a reading. He was a stranger in town so didn’t realize
she was a fake. What happens next no one is sure about, but the
next morning her crystal ball is shattered and she has this streak
of white hair where the day before it had been black.”

“She begins telling this story about how
some demon showed up and tried to take his soul but that she fought
him away. Now those of us who knew her didn’t believe it for an
instance. I mean really? What a wild tale. But as time went on, she
continued telling it and some came to believe in it. I think even
after awhile she did too.”

“Up until about a month ago things were
fine. She had her little following and most of us were rather
amused by the whole thing. Oh sure, for a lark we would at times go
and listen to her but none took her serious. Most of us still
don’t.”

“What changed?” James asks.

“Things started happening,” the man says.
“People who went to hear her talk all of a sudden became ardent
believers. Those who became believers would entice travelers
passing through to go and listen to her. Then they too, became
believers. Before we knew it, she had amassed hundreds of people
and one day that large pavilion and the big tent sprung up.”

“Interesting,” Illan comments.

“This city is falling apart rapidly,” he
tells them. “People are afraid to be on the streets for fear of
being ‘asked’ to attend one of her talks.”

“Why should that be a problem?” James
asks.

“If you refuse, sometimes they go away,
sometimes not,” he replies. “One man refused and a pack of her
believers fell on him and beat him to a pulp right here in the
center of town.”

“Didn’t the guard try to stop them?” Illan
asks.

“Some were in the vicinity, but word has it
they’ve been bought off by someone, maybe her. Now they patrol the
streets but do nothing to stop her people if they get violent.”
Leaning closer and lowering his voice even more, he says, “I’ve
even heard that some who spend too much time within the tent go
mad.”

“Really?” prompts Illan.

“Really!” he says. “A friend of mine became
a believer and spent a week straight within her tent, listening to
her talk. When he came out, he wasn’t himself and all he could talk
about was her and her mission to thwart the demon that walks the
land.”

James glances to Illan who nods. They both
remember how that man who they encountered on the road here had
acted.

“Anyway,” he says. “Stay here in the inn,
maybe in your rooms and don’t go out until dawn. Her people are
most active at night though can be encountered anytime.”

“Thanks for the information,” James
says.

“Do you still plan on staying?” the man
asks.

Nodding, James says, “We have to.”

“It’ll be three coppers per room,” the man
says. “How many will you require?”

“Four,” he tells him as he counts out the
coins. The man hands over the room keys and says, “If you’re
hungry, I can send something up.”

“That would be good,” Illan says. “Maybe in
about a half hour, there are seven of us.”

“Very good,” he says. “The stable is around
back.”

“Thank you,” James says as he and Illan turn
to leave the inn.

Stepping outside, he comes to a stop when he
sees the others engaged in conversation with three other
individuals.

“…come, the wisdom of the lady is
great.”

Jiron hears him leaving the inn and turns
toward him. Indicating the two men and woman standing next to him,
he says, “They’ve just invited us to hear her speak at the
pavilion.”

The lady turns to him and says, “Yes, she
welcomes all to hear her words of wisdom.”

“All who come are filled with the knowledge
to combat the evil walking the world,” one of the men says.

After hearing what the innkeeper inside just
said, the last thing he wants to do is expose any of his group to
whatever is going on in the tent. “We need to get settled in right
now,” he tells them. At that, the three become visibly agitated and
the words of the innkeeper comes back to him.
“If you refuse,
sometimes they go away, sometimes not.”

While not worried about what these three
would do to his group, he’s more worried about what his group would
do to them. Hoping to diffuse the situation, he says, “We may stop
by later this evening after we have something to eat.”

His words have a somewhat calming effect on
them. “The lady’s words are greater than any food. Take not long in
coming,” the lady says as they abruptly turn away and move down the
road.