The star of Morcyth ms-5

  The star of Morcyth

  ( Morcyth saga - 5 )

  Brian S. Pratt

  Brian S. Pratt

  The star of Morcyth

  Chapter One

  “I’m close enough!” states James with finality. Had he known this was part of the deal he never would have agreed to it.

  “You’ve got to see it for yourself or it isn’t binding,” Rylin says from across the room.

  “I can see just fine from where I’m at, thank you,” he asserts.

  “No you can’t,” Rylin says with impatience. “There can be no doubt. Now get over here.”

  Reluctantly moving closer, he says, “If I would have known I was going to have to do this I never would’ve agreed.”

  “We didn’t realize you didn’t know,” says Rylin. “I don’t like it any better than you do, but custom is custom. We thought you knew and by the time everything got underway, it was too late to change.”

  Moving closer, he stops halfway across the room. “Closer,” prompts Rylin and he slowly moves until he’s near.

  “Will this do?” he asks, voice a little raspy.

  “Yes,” replies Rylin. “You’re not looking,” he accuses him.

  Turning his eyes, he looks at Rylin and watches.

  “There,” says Rylin. “Did you see it?”

  Red faced, James stammers, “Yes.”

  “Alright then,” he says. “Get out of here.”

  With great relief, James turns and rushes for the door, glad to be out of there.

  Opening the door, he hurries out and shuts it behind him. Blood rushing to his face, he looks over at Miko who’s one of a hundred people staring at him expectantly. He’s got a mischievous grin on his face, earlier he got to listen to James as he bemoaned this particular duty he was to perform for his friend Rylin.

  The crowd grows silent as the door shuts and every eye is upon him. Clearing his throat, he says loud enough for everyone to hear, “The marriage has been consummated.” A cheer rises up from the crowd and the musicians waiting nearby begin a lively tune.

  Shortly after returning from his expedition to Saragon, a messenger arrived with an invitation to the wedding between Rylin and Sheila. Rylin asked him to be the best man at the ceremony since he more than any other had helped this union to be. Of course he gladly accepted.

  The ceremony was to be held in Trademeet where Sheila’s family ran their family business. He took Miko, Jiron and Fifer with him, everyone else remained at The Ranch. The festivities lasted a week, at the end of which was the wedding and this particular duty the best man was to perform. Of course he didn’t actually find out about his duty until the third day into it and by that time it was too late for him to back out.

  It was the quaint little custom of their religion that someone had to witness the consummation of the marriage in order for it to be binding in the eyes of the people. That job traditionally fell to the best man.

  Shawna approaches him and asks, “Will you be staying long after the feast tonight?” The feast was the final activity in the week long celebration of her daughter’s wedding. The week long celebration wasn’t a week long party, that aspect only started on the sixth day. Up to then, it’s smaller things only the family and close friends attend.

  “Maybe,” he replies. “I’m waiting for the return of Jiron and Fifer. When they show up I’ll be heading back home.”

  “You were right,” she says to him. “He does love her more than anything and I’m thankful you made me come to see it. I just wish her father had lived to see this.”

  “So do I,” he replies.

  “But enough talk, there’s a wedding to celebrate,” she says. “Go find a beautiful girl and dance.”

  “I may just do that,” he tells her.

  “You’ll have to excuse me,” she says as she moves away to talk with a richly dressed gentleman. He’s another wealthy trader who’s been a long time friend of hers.

  He looks around for Miko but he’s disappeared in the crowd. On the far side of the courtyard are tables set up with all manner of food, including tarts. James is afraid that they may not have enough for the ravenous appetite of Miko. Sure enough, he sees Miko coming toward him with another berry filled tart in hand.

  “Isn’t that your seventh?” he asks as he draws near.

  “Maybe,” he replies, wiping his mouth off on his sleeve. “Haven’t been keeping track.” Smiling, he then shoves the rest of it in.

  James just gives him a grin and shakes his head.

  Just then Darria, a daughter of one of the trading houses here in Trademeet comes over and takes Miko by the arm. Dragging him over to the dance floor, she soon has him in line to begin the next dance set.

  Miko has begun to realize that since the Fire prematurely aged him and made him a man, that the girls are beginning to take notice of him. At first he hadn’t known what to do and every time one came to him, he would get all nervous and shy away. But ever since coming to the wedding, his attitudes are certainly changing.

  When before the thought of going out onto the dance floor terrified him, now he joins in with glee. Darria has had the most to do with it. Ever since laying her eyes on Miko, she’s marked him for her own. James figures that if they were to live here in Trademeet, Miko would be lost and soon married. But since they’re not staying more than another day or two at the most, he doesn’t have much to worry about.

  He crosses over to where the food tables are set out and helps himself to the fare. The roast goose is especially good and he takes an extra helping as well as a variety of others. Turning back to the dancers, he finds Miko out there moving gracefully with a smile on his face. Yes, he’s definitely coming into his own.

  If only Meliana were here. The girl whom he met when he was in the city of Corillian has been on his mind lately. He would give anything to be able to see her again, perhaps one day he can make the trip back down to see her.

  Occasionally others would come and see if he cared to dance, and once in a while he accepted. He did actually enjoy the dancing here, he prefers the structure of it over the types which were common back home in California.

  Hanging out at the edge of the crowd as is his want, he continues eating while watching the people and eventually hears a round of applause beginning as Rylin and Sheila emerge from their home. He’s dressed very fine and she wears a startling dress worth more than some common laborers make in a year.

  With her hand resting on his arm, they make their way to the dance floor. James walks over and reaches the edge of the dance floor just as the musicians begin to play. Dancing by themselves, Rylin and Sheila move gracefully to the music, the people around them talking quietly amongst themselves while they watch.

  Miko comes to stand next to him and he looks to see if Darria is with him. When she isn’t, he asks, “Where’s your girlfriend?”

  “Talking with some friends, I think,” he replies. “They sure do make a good looking couple don’t they?”

  “Yes they do,” James replies.

  As the musicians bring the music to a stop, Rylin and Sheila end the dance facing each other and then give each other a kiss to the cheering of the surrounding crowd. Breaking off the embrace, Rylin turns to the crowd and holds up his hand for quiet.

  Once the crowd has quieted, he says, “I thank you all for joining us in this most happiest of times.” The crowd erupts in cheers again briefly before quieting back down. “My lovely wife Sheila and I would like to express our appreciation for our best man James, who’s stood by us through this entire ordeal.” Another round of applause, though not as energetic as the previous one breaks out and a few snickers as well. It’s been the running joke of the celebration about how James reacted
when he learned of having to witness the consummation of the marriage. He had the misfortune of having it witnessed by many and has been the butt of many off colored jokes since. “There’s plenty of food and drink. Enjoy!”

  Signaling the musicians to begin, he takes Sheila’s hand as they begin another round of dancing. This time, other couples join them.

  James moves again to the side of the festivities since crowds make him nervous. He’s never been one who liked being around a lot of people. Taking his position on the fringe, he watches the dancers, including Miko whom Darria has dragged again to the dance floor.

  As he enjoys the music and watches the dancers, he takes notice of two scruffy looking individuals moving along the outer edge of the crowd. Moving to intercept them, he makes his way through the crowd.

  “Thought you guys would never make it back,” he says.

  “You worry too much,” replies Jiron. Fifer just grins at him.

  “Did you get them?” he asks.

  Jiron pats a bulge in his tunic and gives him a nod. “We got plenty,” he says.

  “I couldn’t believe how many there were,” exclaims Fifer. “I mean, you and Jiron told me, but I didn’t really believe. But then when we went into that cave, my god! There must be thousands more waiting to be harvested.”

  When the messenger arrived with the news of Rylin and Sheila’s impending wedding, he decided this would be a good time to collect more of the gems from the cave in the Merchant’s Pass. Taking Jiron and Fifer with him, he sent them up the river shortly after arriving to try and find the entrance to the cave where the gems lay. Jiron was sure he could locate it, so he and Fifer went to search for it while he attended the festivities.

  Jiron had taken several of the gems when they last passed through and had them appraised by Alexander back in Trendle. He told them that the gems were of good quality and highly sought after, especially by gem cutters. He informed them of one down in Bearn who would pay an honest price for the rough gems. James then secreted them in his stash in his room at The Ranch to await Delia’s caravan. If she were to sell them, it would draw less attention to him and his activities than if he did it himself.

  Roland was glad to see the gems, their immediate problem for coins had been solved. If they made routine expeditions to gather more, then they would never again have to worry about money.

  “You guys get cleaned up,” he tells them, “you’re pretty ripe.”

  “Was planning to,” replies Jiron. “Just wanted to let you know we’re back.”

  “Better hurry, the feast is going to start in a couple hours,” he says.

  “Will do,” Jiron says as they begin heading away from the celebration and to the room he and Fifer are sharing while they’re in town. Shawna had agreed to put up James and Miko, but told him the other two would need to find an inn in town.

  When the music stops, Miko hurries over to him and asks, “Was that Jiron and Fifer?”

  Nodding, he answers, “Yeah.”

  With a slightly disappointed look, he says, “Then we’ll be returning in the morning?”

  “That’s right,” James tells him. “Go dance with her while you can.”

  “You know it!” exclaims Miko as he makes a beeline for Darria. Shortly they’re back on the dance floor.

  James sees Shawna standing off to one side talking with another of her trader peers and makes his way over to her. When she sees him coming, she says a few more words to her friend before disengaging and moving to meet him.

  “Jiron and Fifer showed up so we’ll be leaving first thing in the morning,” he informs her.

  “I understand,” she says. “We’re all glad you were able to make it.”

  “I wouldn’t have missed it for anything,” he assures her. Unsure if whether or not it would be a breach of protocol, he extends his hand and asks, “Would you care to dance?”

  A smile begins to spread across her face as she replies, “Yes, I would like that.”

  As the musicians bring the current song to a close, he escorts her out to the dance floor. Rylin and Sheila see them coming and make room for them. Taking their places, all stand ready as the musicians begin another moderately quick song and the dancing commences.

  The rest of the evening goes by quickly. The feast, the last in a long line of feasts they’ve attended throughout the celebration, is by far the grandest. Speeches are made and the festivities last far into the night. Before the feast actually begins, Fifer and Jiron make their appearance. Freshly cleaned, each is wearing a new outfit bought just for this occasion. Jiron is much more pleased with this attire than he had been with the one he wore back in Corillian at the ball celebrating Nate’s return to his family.

  Throughout the night, Miko dances primarily with Darria though another girl somehow manages to get him out of her clutches briefly. By the end of the night, everyone is tired. The couple for whom this is for has long since retired, Rylin saying he was tired but no one believed him. Especially when he flashed them all a grin as he and his bride leave the hall.

  James finally disengages Miko from his admirers and takes him up to their room on the second floor. “Made quite an impression didn’t you?” he asks.

  Miko gives him a grin and replies, “They have nice girls here in Trademeet.”

  “That they do,” he agrees.

  Back in their room, they get undressed and are soon asleep in bed.

  The morning dawns a little grey, and with the summer now over, there’s a bit of a chill in the air. James is the first to awaken and gets dressed quickly. “Wake up!” he hollers over to Miko who groans as he opens his eyes. “No sleeping in today, we have a long way to go.”

  Sitting up, Miko tries to come awake as another large yawn escapes him. “Do we have to leave so early?” he asks, swinging his legs over to the floor.

  “Yes,” replies James. “I would like to make it home before tomorrow night.”

  “Couldn’t we leave later and get there the next day?”

  “No. Now get up,” insists James.

  With another pitiful groan, he gets up and commences to put his clothes on. “It’s cold!” he complains when his bare feet hit the stone floor.

  James just gives him an annoyed look. Strapping on his slug belt, he then puts his shirt on, effectively covering it. Never again will he be caught ill prepared should something go wrong.

  Waiting impatiently for Miko to finish getting ready, he moves over to the window and looks out over the city. From their room, you can see across Trademeet to the Silver Mountains. Clouds blanket the sky and he hopes rain will not be in their immediate future.

  Turning around, he finds Miko slipping his boots on. “Ready?” he asks.

  He slips on the last boot and stands up, “I suppose so.”

  “Good,” he says. “Let’s go.”

  Leaving their room, they head down the hallway to the stairs and take them down to ground level. The smell of the morning’s breakfast greets them before they even arrive at the dining hall.

  Rylin and Sheila haven’t come down yet and he hates to leave without saying goodbye. Shawna is there and waves them over to sit with her. “They probably won’t be down until later,” she tells them. “Newlyweds.”

  “I understand,” he assures her. One of the servants brings over a plate of food for both he and Miko.

  “Just tell them we wish them all the best and sorry to have missed them,” he says.

  “I will,” she replies.

  The breakfast is a hearty one of eggs, ham and bread. James gets a large glass of milk, freshly milked this morning and tasting quite a bit different than the pasteurized milk he’s used to getting back home. When they found out he liked milk, they made sure to always have some on hand. Fresh of course, he doesn’t care for chunks in his.

  Once they’re done eating, he makes his goodbyes to Shawna, leaving her with a slight kiss on the cheek.

  “Come back when you can,” she tells them.

  “We will,�
�� he replies. “And if your travels bring you near Trendle, be sure to stop by.”

  “I promise,” she says.

  Miko is finishing his second plate of food when James stands up. “Let’s go,” he says to him. Grabbing two slices of the bread he makes a ham and egg sandwich to eat as they go. “Bye ma’am,” he says to Shawna as they leave the kitchen.

  After stopping by the estate’s stables to get their horses, they ride through town to the inn where Jiron and Fifer are staying. They find them finishing their meal. All are soon mounted and heading through the streets to the western gate.

  They’ll follow that road until they reach the crossroads an hour or two out of town where they will turn north toward the town of Villigun. A none too exciting town, mainly an agricultural center for the region. Shortly after that is where they will enter the Forest of Kelewan. Within its borders will be where they will stay for the night. After that it’ll be one more full day’s ride and then home.

  Thankfully, the rain withholds its presence through the first day and they make it all the way to the Forest without any delays or problems. All in all it’s been a rather pleasant journey.

  James isn’t very talkative during the ride, his mind mulling over what he learned in Saragon when he and Jiron went back there. The old man’s riddle continues playing in his mind:

  When the Fire shines Bright,

  And the Star walks the Land.

  Time for the Lost,

  Will soon be at Hand.

  At the foot of the King,

  Bathe in his Cup.

  Pull his Beard,

  To make him sit Up.

  Seven to Nine,

  Six to Four.

  Spit in the wind,

  And open the door.

  The first two lines make the most sense, an obvious referral to the Fire of Dmon-Li and the Star of Morcyth. After that it gets a little confusing. He’s also worried about Igor’s fate. The strange little creature that saved him during his time in that other land, reality, or it could’ve just been a dream. If it had been real, did he survive? He may never know.