On the road behind them, they hear the clatter of horses as the riders who've been herding them come into view. "Into the mine!" James hollers as he kicks his horse in motion and rides into the lead miner, knocking him out of the way.

The others follow him as they ride through the rest of the miners who are attempting to stop them by striking out with their picks and shovels. But their attacks are easily deflected by the seasoned fighters and are soon left behind.

Upon reaching the mine entrance, they quickly dismount and are faced with more miners coming out of the mine. Jiron takes the lead and moves to intercept them. One of the miners swings his pick at Jiron who grabs the handle and kicks out with his foot, connecting with the man's chest. The miner falls backward into his fellows, knocking them off balance.

Fifer joins him and quickly engages a miner with a shovel. Striking with his sword, he lops off the head of the man's shovel. The miners quickly realize they're hopelessly outcla.s.sed and break away, running down the road away from the mine, toward the approaching riders.

"Move!" cries James as they race into the mine entrance. Upon gaining the safety of the mine, he turns to look back at the riders coming up the road. They're slowing down and finally stop when they reach the miners. The cavalry officer bends over and asks a question and one of the miners replies, pointing toward them.

The officer barks out an order and the miners move further away from the mine as the riders move closer.

From behind him, he can hear Jiron and Fifer as they scuffle with more miners who were still within the mine. Looking back, he sees the last of three miners fall to the ground as Fifer pulls his sword out from the man's chest. Giving Miko a nudge, they move further back into the mine until its darkness completely hides them from those outside.

When the riders reach the mine entrance, the officer stares into the mine and shouts something, most likely ordering them to come out.

In reply, a rock flies out of the mine and strikes the lead rider in the chest, exploding out the back. As the officer falls off his horse, total pandemonium erupts among the riders. One of them charges the mine entrance only to fall as another rock flies out and takes him through the chest. The rest of the riders turn their horses and move a hundred feet down the road away from the mine where they huddle together as they talk among themselves.

James glances at the others and says, "They'll probably wait until that mage shows up before doing anything else."

"I think so too," responds Jiron. Then he glances at James and asks, "There's no way we're going to make it out of here, is there?"

James shakes his head and says, "Doesn't look that way."

"Maybe not," says Miko.

They all turn to him as he continues, "Back when I was in the mines, I saw shafts that they'd dug up to the surface periodically to allow fresh air in for us. If this mine has those too, then we could maybe use one to get out."

"Anyone have a candle or torch?" James asks, suddenly remembering a scene from the movie Rambo.

"What do you want that for?" questions Jiron.

When they all shake their head no, he looks around and finds a narrow piece of broken wood about two and half feet long. He goes back and removes a shirt from one of the dead miners and wraps it around the wood. Motioning for everyone to move back away from the entrance, he concentrates and the cloth bursts into flame.

From outside the mine, they hear the talking increase as they see the makeshift torch come to life. Some move forward and James throws another stone out, this time trying not to kill. The stone strikes a man who's knocked backward and the rest who were moving forward come to a stop.

Seeing that they're not in any immediate threat of being rushed, James holds the torch steady and watches as the flame is fanned by a breeze moving toward the rear of the mine. Looking to Miko, he says, "You may be right."

Miko breaks into a smile, relieved to both have helped him and that they might be able to get out.

Holding the torch out in front of him, James moves further back into the mine. They don't get far before the mine branches to the left or right. He steps down each branch and pauses a moment to watch the flame of the torch. When he's down the left branch the flame flickers the most.

"It's down this way," he tells them. Walking quickly, he moves further into the left tunnel.

Jiron looks back to the entrance and sees the soldiers are tentatively moving closer. There appear to be more out there, most likely both of the forces have met up. That means somewhere out there is a mage as well.

He hurries to follow James as he attempts to locate an air vent. "I think they're starting to move toward the entrance," he tells James when he catches up with him.

"If they don't move fast, we should be able to get out of here," he says, glancing back.

Jiron thinks this whole thing is doubtful, but trusts in James. In the short time they've been together, he's managed to do some pretty impressive things.

The mine begins to get narrower and they find tools and other implements scattered about. In one spot, they come across a half filled ore wagon sitting to one side. They look at the ore within but are unable to determine just what the miners had been mining.

"It's not iron ore," Miko says when he gets close enough to the wagon to see its contents.

"Are you sure?" Fifer asks.

Grimly, he replies, "Very."

They move on, the torch still indicating a breeze moving toward the back of the mine. Suddenly, a crossbow bolt strikes the wall right next to James. He whirls around, points the torch behind them and lets the magic flow.

A cone of fire shoots from the end of the torch like a flame thrower, Jiron has to dive out of the way as the flame sizzles past. It expands as it goes until it's wide enough to touch the sides of the mine. Screams can be heard from the soldiers who're caught in the fire as their hair and clothes burst into flame. As quickly as the cone of fire started, it stops.

Back down the tunnel, they can see several men running away, their clothes and hair aflame. As an added concern, some of the support beams used to keep the ceiling from caving in have caught fire as well.

Turning back, James says, "We better hurry."

Fifer gazes at James, awe in his eyes as well as a little bit of fear. "How did you do that?" he asks.

"Oxygen will burn, but it needs to be in a purer form than what we breathe," he explains. "I just changed it."

"Oh," he says, not really understanding, "right."

James grins at him and continues down the tunnel. He glances back occasionally and finds that the soldiers have made no attempts to put out the fires consuming the old timbers shoring up the mine.

Another branching and he determines the breeze is continuing down the right, they turn to follow it. Shortly after taking it, the unmistakable sounds of men chipping stone away from the walls can be heard from up ahead.

A torch begins to be seen and soon three men are visible in the light as they use pickaxes to remove the stone from the wall. When they approach the miners, the men take notice of them and at first take them for their fellows, but soon realize their mistake.

"We don't want to hurt you," James says to them, holding up his hands. "Do you understand?"

They begin talking in the Empire's tongue, not responding to what he just said.

"I guess they don't," says Jiron. He draws his knives and advances upon them, Fifer joins him with his longsword. Miko moves to join them but James stops him by grabbing him by the arm. When he looks at him, James just shakes his head, no.

As Jiron and Fifer approach the miners with their weapons held in a threatening manner, they make sure to leave open an avenue of retreat for them.

The miners stare in fright at them as they approach. When they realize there's a way to flee, they don't even hesitate as they throw down their picks and race past them to the front of the mine.

After they've disappeared down the mine, Jiron moves to the wall where they were mining and closely examines the stone. He takes the torch from the wall and holds it close. "Silver," he announces, pointing to a silver vein. "They're mining silver."

"Too bad we can't take some with us," Fifer says, longingly.

"Come on," James says to them, "we need to get out of here."

Moving further down the mine, they come to a section where the breeze seems to intensify and suddenly the flame of the torch looks as if it's being sucked straight up. James looks up to the ceiling and can see a dark hole extending upward. "I think this is it," he announces as he tosses the torch to the ground.

"But how do we get up there?" Miko asks as he looks up.

Jiron tosses his torch up into the hole and the light illuminates a slanted narrow opening, about four foot square, ten feet above their heads. "If we can get up there, it looks like we can brace ourselves along the sides as we make our way up," he tells them.

He looks to Fifer and says, "Lift me up." He hands his torch to Miko.

Fifer comes over and cups his hands together to give Jiron a step up. When Jiron puts his foot in his hands, he lifts him up to the hole.

Jiron reaches up and is able to get a solid handhold within the hole. Getting a solid purchase with his foot as well, he begins to slowly move further up into the vent. They hear his voice coming down to them, "It's not too steep, the sides are rough and give ample places to grip."

They see him beginning to come back down but stops when he gets to the edge. "James, can you make an orb for me to use?" he asks.

A small circle of light forms in James' hands and then begins to rise up to Jiron. It floats up until it comes to rest on his right shoulder. "Thanks," they hear him say as he works his way back up the vent.

"Miko, you're next," James says as he cups his hands to give him a boost.

"I'm not so sure about this," he says. He glances up to the vent, the light from the orb clearly showing the opening.

"You can do it," James says. "I'll be right behind you."

Not looking too excited about the prospect of the climb, he tosses the torch to the ground. Coming over, he steps into James' cupped hands and reaches for the opening as James grunts with the effort to lift him. Jiron is there and takes his hand as he maneuvers into the vent.

"Fifer, you better let James go next," Jiron's voice comes down to them. "He'd never make it on his own."

Coming over to James, Fifer cups his hands. James places his foot in Fifer's cupped hands and reaches for the opening as Fifer lifts him up.

Jiron has already moved further up the vent and Miko is slowly following him. James grabs hold of outcroppings and places his other foot in a crack in the wall. Lifting his foot out of Fifer's hands, he begins to follow Miko as he moves up into the vent.

He goes another foot up before pausing. "How are you going to get up?" he hollers back to Fifer.

"Not a problem," he hears him say from below. James hears several of the picks being moved around and then all of a sudden, Fifer's head appears at the opening. Using handholds, he brings himself up into the vent.

From further toward the front of the mine, they hear a loud rumbling and the vent begins to shake. "Cave-in!" hollers Miko.

When the vent stops shaking, James says, "The beams that caught fire must have given way."

"Or they collapsed the mine entrance, figuring to trap us here until we die," suggests Fifer.

"It's a possibility," agrees James.

Moving slowly, they continue their way up the vent. Each holds with hands while they find a solid purchase for their feet and then brace their feet as they reach further up for another handhold. Back and forth from handhold to foothold, they continuously work their way up the vent. After what seems a long time, the vent begins to move more vertical and the handholds and toeholds become more difficult to manage.

Aaaah!

From up ahead, they hear Jiron exclaim loudly. "What's wrong!" hollers James.

He then hears Miko cry out as he loses his grip and begins to slide down toward him. Falling for several feet, he finally manages to grab a hold of an outcropping just in time to stop himself before crashing into James.

"Sorry!" they hear Jiron holler from up above.

James is wondering just what is going on when a dead snake falls across his shoulders. Startled, he loses his grip and begins sliding back down the vent. Trying to stop his fall, all he manages to do is sc.r.a.pe some skin off his arms and legs. Fifer sees him coming toward him and braces himself for the impact. Holding tight to his handholds and having one good solid purchase for one of his feet, he's able to maintain his grip when James slides into him.

"What's going on?" Fifer hollers after James once more has a secure purchase on the sides of the vent.

"A snake," James says to him. "Jiron must've killed one and dropped it on us." Yelling up the shaft, James says, "Warn us next time!"

From way up he can hear a chuckle come down to him.

As Fifer maintains his hold, James begins to work his way further up. A few minutes later they hear Jiron holler down to them, "We got a problem!"

"What?" they all three ask at the same time.

"I gotta pee!" Jiron says.

"Don't you dare!" Miko yells back up to him.

They hear his laughing as he replies, "Just kidding, I couldn't help myself."

James begins laughing too, as does Fifer. Even Miko begins chuckling at the thought.

They continue up for a while longer, just how long James has no idea. The pain in his hands, arms and legs is growing by the minute. The raw sc.r.a.pes from his earlier slide down the vent throbs with every handhold and toehold.

Finally, they hear Jiron holler down to them, "I've reached the end! It's not much further."

Knowing the end is near gives them an added burst of energy and they climb with renewed vigor.

Another ten minutes finds Fifer finally climbing out of the hole and collapsing upon the ground under the stars next to the others. Night had fallen since they entered the mines and it was getting cold. They find themselves high in the mountains, far off to the west below them, they can see the lights from the village.

Around the village they can see hundreds of fires from the soldiers camped in and around it.

They set up a watch schedule for the night, James takes first watch. He manages to get a fire going, a small one so as not to attract attention, so they won't freeze during the night. The others lie down and quickly fall asleep, the rigors of the climb leaving them weak and tired.

Chapter Twenty Two.

When the sun begins to rise the next morning, Jiron, who's taken the last watch, allows everyone to sleep in. He's kept an eye on the activities of those in the town below and it doesn't look as if they're coming in their direction. Must think we're still trapped in the mine. Must think we're still trapped in the mine.

Smiling in satisfaction, he returns to the camp and sees James coming back from where he'd answered nature's call. Speaking softly so as not to wake the others, he says, "It looks like they don't even realize we're out of the mines yet."

"Good," replies James. "Let's hope they hold to that belief for a long time."

"We're going to need something to eat pretty soon," he says. "There's not much left."

Nodding, James says, "Build up the fire a little more, and use the driest wood you can and no leaves. That way there shouldn't be much smoke and from this distance it's unlikely they'd notice it." He begins making for the edge of camp as he continues, "I'll see if I can't scare up some rabbits or something."

Jiron gathers wood that looks fairly dry and takes them back to camp. By the time James returns, he has the fire going well enough to roast the three small animals he's returned with. They soon have them dressed and roasting over the flames.