The Star of Morcyth: The Morcyth Saga Book Five (44 page)

Moving along, they come to three men sitting
next to a wagon having what looks like stew. They look up as James
approaches. “Excuse me,” he says to them. “I was wondering why
everyone is camped here? I mean it isn’t that late.”

“Don’t want to take the chance of being in
Ironhold when night falls,” one of the men tells him. “Most
travelers who come this way stop here and continue on through in
the morning.”

“One time,” another man adds, “we were
coming through Ironhold and our wagon wheel broke. It was just
about sunset and by the time we got it repaired, the sun had
dropped below the horizon.” One of the other men nods his head in
affirmation to what he’s saying.

“Before we could get all the way through a
white shape appeared atop one of the old buildings and began
wailing.” His eyes widen at the memory as he continues, “The sound
seemed as if it was going right through you. We whipped our horse
and got out of there fast. We’ll never take the chance of being
caught in Ironhold when the sun goes down again.”

“Thanks,” James says.

Nodding, the men return to their meal.

Glancing back to the others, he can see fear
and doubt creep into their eyes, even Uther’s. “Better find a spot
and we’ll enter Ironhold in the morning,” he says.

“Might not be a bad idea,” agrees Jiron.

“Think it was a banshee?” asks Dave as they
head over to an unoccupied spot near an old campfire ring.

“Who knows?” responds James. “Just don’t let
your imagination get the best of you.”

“I’ll try not to,” he says.

They get the horses settled in and set about
gathering enough wood to last the night. “I think we should still
maintain a watch here,” he tells them once the fire is going and
they’re having their dinner. “Don’t necessarily trust everyone
here.”

“I agree,” Miko says.

Several more groups of travelers appear from
the road to the south and join with the others in waiting for the
coming of dawn. Not one person enters the pass at the other
end.

Sleep doesn’t come easy for any of them that
night. Thoughts of what they may encounter the next day run through
their mind. During their turn at watch, each tends to pace
nervously in an attempt to work out their anxiety before returning
to their blankets when their turn is over and trying to go to
sleep.

Another crystal blue day dawns, cold and
freezing. They gather around the fire to dispel the chill which has
crept into their bones through the night. The plateau is a bustle
of activity as the various groups of travelers get underway.

James is in no hurry to be the first, rather
he just as soon wait and be the last to leave. They have breakfast
while they wait for the last few to get underway. When at last
everyone has either left or is in the process of heading for the
pass, James decides it’s time to go.

Mounting, they ride at a leisurely pace as
they allow those few still moving toward the pass a chance to enter
it first. The wagons and caravan move slowly, causing James and the
rest to proceed at a pace more sluggish than he would like. But if
he wishes to be the last into Ironhold then he must endure it.

“What are you planning to do there?” Jiron
asks him.

“Not sure,” he says. “There has to be a
reason Ellinwyrd told me to come here.”

“Are you even positive this is the Ironhold
he is mentioning?” Uther asks. “It’s possible there could be
another.”

“He’s right!” perks up Miko. “Maybe we
should go and find out.”

Shaking his head, James dashes his hopes by
saying, “No. This is the right one. I know it.”

They finally crest a hill and below them
they see Ironhold, or rather what’s left of it. It looks to have
once been a sizable town with many buildings. All of which now
stand in ill repair, some even having collapsed.

“Oh man,” he hears Miko say from beside him
when he sees the dilapidated buildings.

“Looks like a ghost town,” Dave says.

“It does, doesn’t it?” comments James.

“A ghost town?” asks a shaky Miko.

Glancing over to him, James says, “It just
means a town where no one is living. There are a lot of them where
I come from and not one of them have actual ghosts. So relax.”

Coming down off the ridge, they follow the
caravan as it approaches Ironhold. All the other travelers have
already passed through and disappeared further into the mountains.
A breeze blows through bringing the cold air down off the
mountains. The peaks all have snow accumulations already and James
is hoping it doesn’t drop any lower until they leave.

He brings them to a halt about a mile from
the outskirts of Ironhold and waits until the caravan has passed
through to the other side. When the last wagon rolls out of town,
he nudges his horse forward and they make their way down.

It’s an eerie feeling riding into a deserted
town in the middle of nowhere. He’s sure the feeling of unease they
are all feeling is being magnified by the memory of what the man
told them the night before. Every shadow holds a monster, every
noise a creature bent on their destruction.

The first building they come to looks to
have been an inn at one time and James brings them to a stop before
it. Dismounting, he says, “We should split up in order to cover
more ground quicker.”

“Split up?” questions Miko. The look on his
face says he’s not liking this idea at all.

“We want to be out of here by night don’t
we?” James asks him. When he sees him nod his head, he says,
“Alright then. I’ll take Dave. Fifer, you go with Qyrll, and Miko,
you stay with Jiron.” Jorry and Uther look to him questioningly but
he returns a gaze telling them he shouldn’t have to tell them
they’re paired. They always are.

The pairs form up as he takes out his
medallion. Holding it up before them, he says, “We’re looking for
anything with this symbol on it. Understand?” He shows it to
everyone and receives a nod from each in reply.

Putting it back within his shirt, he says,
“Meet back here by the horses in an hour.”

“You got it,” Jiron says as he grabs Miko
and heads deeper into town.

Before Fifer and Qyrll leave, Fifer says,
“We’re not going to be able to search the whole town before
dark.”

“I know,” he replies. “This could take a
couple days.”

“Days?” he asks.

“Don’t worry, we’ll leave town before it
gets dark and then return in the morning,” James assures him.

“Okay,” he says. Then he and Qyrll leave for
the center of town.

Turning to Dave, James says, “Shall we?”

“Let’s,” he replies. He appears more at ease
now that it’s just him and James, the others always put him on
edge.

They move along the outskirts and begin
checking the buildings starting with the inn where their horses are
tied. The front door has long since fallen off its hinges and lies
on the floor within. Dust covers everything, including the fallen
door. Other than small animal tracks, there’s no sign of anything
or anyone having been inside for a long time.

“Check upstairs,” he says to Dave as he nods
toward the stairs. “I’ll check around down here and meet you up
there.”

“Alright,” he says as he heads to the
stairs.

While Dave begins searching the rooms on the
floor above, James looks through the rooms on the bottom floor.
Room after room, he finds nothing out of the ordinary and no
indication of Morcyth.

Aaaaaahhhh!

“Miko!” he cries when he hears his scream.
He rushes out of the kitchen and enters the common room just as
Dave comes to the top of the stairs.

“What was that?” he asks, his voice cracking
due to his nervousness.

“I don’t know,” replies James as he rushes
out the door. Turning down the street toward where he heard the
cry, he takes out a stone and readies it. He turns the corner and
sees Jiron standing there with Miko.

When Jiron sees him running, he rolls his
eyes heavenward and nods to Miko.

“What happened?” cries Fifer as he and Qyrll
come running from the opposite direction.

Miko turns toward them and holds up a rat’s
skeleton. “Sorry.”

“When he opened the door it fell on him,”
Jiron explains.

Sighing, James flashes Miko an amused look
then turns to return to the inn. He meets Dave on the way back and
he explains to him what happened, at which Dave grins.

Back at the inn, they take a quick moment to
finish the search and then continue on to the next building. Hours
go by and no one finds anything of note. They meet back by the
horses periodically to check in, primarily making sure no one comes
up missing.

Throughout the day people continue to pass
through going either to the north or to the south. Though they take
notice of James and the others wandering through Ironhold, they
speak not a word to them, simply rush through as if they didn’t
want to linger any longer there than necessary. Which they probably
don’t.

During a search of an old tannery, Miko
walks into its back room and a door begins to slowly open on its
own. He stands there, fear rising as his feet stay frozen in place.
Wanting to run but unable to, he’s only able to stand there and
watch the door open. Suddenly from the other side, Jorry and Uther
jump out and yell “Boo!”

Miko yells in fear as he jumps backward
three feet, landing awkwardly. Losing his balance he falls to the
floor.

Jorry and Uther laugh as they leave the
room. Miko gets to his feet just as Jiron enters, the sound of the
other’s laughter still can be heard from outside. “You okay?” he
asks.

Miko glances to him, face red from being
scared as he was. “Yeah,” he replies.

Jiron glances out a side window and sees the
duo passing by. Jorry looks back and sees Jiron staring at him and
gives him a grin. Face turning into a frown, he turns back to Miko
and says, “How would you like to get them back?”

Brightening at the idea he replies, “Man,
would I!”

“Alright then,” he says. “Come with me.”
With Miko in tow he leaves the building through another exit and
works his way to a point where he can keep an eye on the pair as
they move along the street without being seen.

When they finally enter a building to begin
searching, Jiron pauses and turns back to Miko, saying, “Okay,
here’s what we do…”

“I don’t think there’s anything here to
find,” Jorry complains to Uther. Other than the fun they had with
Miko, so far Ironhold has just been a rather boring place.

“I know,” replies Uther. “Maybe we can get
Miko again later.” Chuckling at the thought, he makes his way
upstairs with Jorry right behind him. The building they find
themselves in used to be an inn.

He and Jorry met shortly after the fall of
the City of Light when they joined with Miller and his band. Both
having gone through hardship and sorrow, they felt a bond between
them almost from the beginning.

“It wouldn’t be so bad if there was
something to find once in a while like coins or something,” he
says. They have found some, but not nearly enough to satisfy his
need for diversion.

Jorry stops at a door while Uther continues
on to the next. Opening it, he walks into a room with several beds
and over to the side is an upright wardrobe. He gives the room a
casual once over and then moves to the wardrobe.

Just before his hand connects with the
handle, the doors swing open and two figures leap out at him with a
roar. Clothed in tattered remains with faces black as coal, they
give him such a fright that he cries out and staggers backward. His
leg hits one of the beds and he falls over, his back hitting the
floor.

Getting to his feet quickly, he bolts for
the door just as Uther comes running to see what the problem is.
Bam!
He runs right into Uther and they both collapse to the
floor in a heap.

“What happened?” cries out Uther as he and
Jorry quickly untangle themselves and get to their feet.

“Ghosts!” cries Jorry in fright.

Just then laughter can be heard coming from
the room he just fled. “Ghosts huh?” Uther says as he draws his
sword and approaches the room. Coming to the door, he glances
through and there sitting on one of the beds are Jiron and Miko
laughing hysterically. Turning back to his friend, he says, “It’s
just Miko and Jiron.”

Jorry comes to stand in the doorway beside
Uther and looks on them in anger. Miko sees his expression and
doubles over in a more intense spasm of laughter.

“Payback huh?” Uther says, sheathing his
sword.

Jiron grins at them with tears in his eyes.
“You could say that,” he says.

From below the sound of feet running across
the floor and then hitting the stairs comes to them. In a second,
James appears at the top of the stairs, out of breath. He sees
Jorry and Uther standing in the doorway and as he approaches sees
Jiron and Miko sitting on the bed. He takes in the way Miko and
Jiron are dressed, old tattered clothes and face blackened with
what looks like soot. The fact that they’re just recovering from
laughing tells him all he needs to know.

Putting the stone back into his pocket, he
glares at them and says, “If you all are quite through, we have
some serious searching to do.”

“Sorry James,” Jiron says from the room.
Uther glances to him and sees he’s not sorry in the least.

To Jiron and Miko he says, “Get cleaned up.
We still have a while before lunch and I would like to cover at
least some of the city by then?”

“Okay,” replies Jiron as he gets off the
bed.

“But they started it,” accuses Miko.

James glances from one pair to the other.
Dave comes up the stairs behind him and stops as he takes in the
situation. “I don’t care who started it,” he states. “I want it
finished now. Understand?” Four heads nod affirmative. “Good.”
Turning his back on them, he sees Dave there and rolls his eyes
heavenward. With Dave beside him, he leaves the inn.