JiRu Black Iron's Arc

Chapter 3 of 4

Four days north, JiRu and Jax reached the river below the hidden valley. One wooden bridge crossed it. Beyond stood the lookouts' road, and every man on it would see a stranger coming. Jax crouched in the brush. "We need his face and his armor," she whispered. "One of them walks off their post to drink. I've seen it before." JiRu watched the bridge and waited. Near dusk, a patrol scout left his post. He wore the warlord's black armor, the gold mark bright on his chest. A bottle swung from his hand. He stumbled onto the bridge, humming, and stopped to drink again. His horse followed behind him, an armored warhorse with a stern plated head and a heavy saddle. JiRu moved onto the planks. The scout squinted at him. "You lost, friend?" His words slurred. "This road's closed. Warlord's orders." He reached for the sword at his hip but swayed and missed the grip. JiRu caught his wrist and pinned it to the rail. The man was Reed Halloway, and drink made him slow. He swung the bottle. JiRu ducked and drove a shoulder into his chest. Reed went down on the planks, armor clattering. The warhorse snorted but held still. "Don't kill him," Jax said, stepping from the brush with her staff ready. "A dead man's armor has blood in it. Questions follow blood." JiRu pressed his knee to Reed's back. "The gate watch. When do they change?" Reed spat. "They'll gut you." JiRu pressed harder. "The hour." "Dusk," Reed gasped. "They change at dusk. New men don't know every face." He coughed. "That's all I know. I swear it." Jax knelt and tied his wrists with cord from her belt. She worked fast, the knots tight. "He's telling the truth. The drunk ones always do." She looked up at JiRu. "Strip the armor. It's your size, close enough." They pulled the black plates off Reed and bound him to the bridge post. JiRu buckled the armor over his dark blue gear. The gold mark sat strange on his chest. He took the scout's horse by the reins. The warhorse stood calm, used to the warlord's men, and now JiRu looked like one. Jax climbed up behind the saddle. "Dusk," she said. "We ride up with the shift change. The new guards won't question one of their own on his own horse." JiRu looked back at Reed, gagged and tied to the post. The man would be found. Someone would come searching when the scout failed to return. They had a uniform and a horse now, but the clock had started. JiRu swung into the saddle. The hidden valley waited above. For the first time, the road that saw everything would see one of its own riding home. He turned the horse toward the stronghold and climbed.