Chapter 12

It took Corec and his friends six days to get from Lanport to the Storm Heights, their pace slowing toward the end as a thin layer of snow built up on the road. They had to slow down even more once they reached Tarvist Pass. The pass may have been straight and flat in comparison to the other paths through the mountains, but it was still rougher going than a real road, and while the snow was still light, there was enough ice to make the footing treacherous. They had to make frequent stops to scrape snowpacks off the horses’ shoes and apply a layer of bear grease to prevent buildup.

Early on the third day into the mountains, they found what they thought was the trail to Snow Crown, though no signs were posted. The snow grew deeper almost immediately after they left the pass, and after just a couple miles, had reached eight inches. The sky was clear and the snow was at least two days old, but they hadn’t seen any footprints or other signs of travelers along the path.

“Is this the right road?” Corec asked.

Boktar, who was riding next to him, said, “It matches the spot on the map. Folks in Lanport said the stormborn don’t get many visitors. I guess they were telling the truth. Wait, here’s something.”

Down the trail in the distance, there were over a dozen figures standing and facing in their direction. Once Corec had drawn close enough to make out their features, it was apparent that the people waiting for them were all stormborn. They had pale skin with a faint tinge of blue, and darker blue and purple markings from their temples down to their necks. The group was a mix of men and women, all of them armed. They wore matching long, padded coats over chainmail, and had the look of soldiers or border guards.

Half of the soldiers carried wicked-looking staff-spears with six-foot shafts. The weapons had curved blades mounted toward the end of the staff and extending six inches beyond it, and the rear of the blade had a hook for catching on armor. The weapon reminded Corec of a voulge, though it was shorter and the blade was slender, like a glaive’s.

The rest of the soldiers were aiming loaded crossbows at the group. Corec and Boktar stopped their horses, keeping their hands away from their weapons. The others came to a halt behind them.

“Visitors, I am Captain Restiv of the Stormborn High Guard,” said the man who stood at the front of the stormborn. He wore a rank insignia on the collar of his coat. “You’ve left Tarvist Pass. To find it, return two miles back the way you came. You must remain on the Tarvist Road at all times during the winter. Any other trails through the mountains are dangerous once the snows fall.”

Ellerie rode forward. “We hoped to visit Snow Crown to speak to your people about an ancient city I’m searching for.”

Restiv stared at her for a moment before speaking, eyeing her pointed ears and silver hair. “It’s rare to see nilvasta here, but other than traders, visitors are not allowed within the Snow Crown without permission. What’s this city you’re looking for?”

“It was called Tir Yadar. I have something like a map to find it, but first I need to find where the map starts, which is near a mountain range. I don’t know which one. I was hoping your people might be able to recognize it if it’s nearby.”

“Wait here, please,” the captain said, then motioned to two other stormborn with less ornate rank insignia on their collars. One, an older man, joined him.

The other was a young woman. She took Restiv’s place facing Corec and his friends, bringing two of the crossbowmen with her. The men kept their bows cocked and loaded, but at least they were no longer aiming directly at them. When the girl rested the butt of her staff-spear against the ground, a flicker of white and blue light ran over it, looking like tiny strands of lightning.

Corec’s head felt funny, and he became aware of a faintly familiar sensation. The girl was a mage. He caught himself before he started casting the binding spell, and felt a sense of relief when it didn’t force its way through his head the way it had with Razai.

He nudged Dot closer to Ellerie. “The girl in front is a mage,” he said in a low tone. “I managed to keep from casting the binding spell.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Too bad you couldn’t have done that the last couple of times.”

At least her tone was less biting tone than usual.

Captain Restiv returned and said, “I’ll send a messenger to the elders to see if they’ll grant permission for your party to visit Snow Crown. It’ll take three days to hear back, as long as the weather holds. In the meantime, you’ll need to return to the Tarvist Road to make camp. If the Council of Elders permits your visit, Lieutenant Sarette will escort your group in.” He nodded toward the young woman, who frowned at him after he’d looked away.

“Thank you,” Ellerie said.

Four days later, Sarette brought the procession to a halt after the sun had dipped below the western peaks. “We’ll make camp here. We should reach Snow Crown tomorrow afternoon, and then it’ll take another day to reach the city.”

She’d gotten stuck with escort duty once word had come back that the Council of Elders would permit the strangers into the enclave. Her only consolation was that the trip would be brief. They’d started out just that morning, and she’d be back to her post in five days—less if the elders didn’t make her stay to escort the visitors back out again.

She left her snowshoes on, but slid her heavy packframe off her back and leaned it against a tree, then turned to one of her men. “Trooper Yegor, I’ll set up your tent if you handle the cooking tonight.”

“Yes, miss,” he replied. He’d tasted her cooking enough to know a good deal when he heard one.

While Sarette and Trooper Andri set up the tents, Yegor worked with the strangers to get a fire started. Sarette actually liked the pemmican the High Guard used as trail rations—made up of dried meat, fat, berries, and seeds—but a hot meal would be good for variety.

Done with the tents, she decided she should get to know the outsiders before bringing them to Snow Crown. She hadn’t had time to speak with them while she traveled, since she’d been at the front of the group all day, breaking the trail through the snow.

She looked around for someone to talk to. The nearest of the visitors that wasn’t already busy with something was the blonde human called Treya. She was off to the side, behind her own tent, but was standing on her left foot, her right foot braced against her left knee, holding her arms out to the sides. Her eyes were closed.

The pose was so odd, Sarette couldn’t help blurting out, “What are you doing?”

“I’m practicing,” the girl replied.

Sarette stared at her, confused. “Practicing what?”

Treya opened her eyes and set her other foot down. “It’s difficult to explain, but I’m trying to find the right balance. Have you ever seen a circus contortionist? It’s something like that. The more I know my body, the more I can do with it.”

“I’ve heard of a circus, but they don’t visit here. Where did you learn it?”

“I’m a mystic of the Three Orders.”

Sarette shook her head. “I don’t know what that is.”

“The Orders take in orphan girls and teach them a profession. Most of the girls choose the concubines or scholars, but I chose the mystics. It’s our job to protect the others.”

“What’s a concubine?”

Treya laughed. “That’s something else that’s hard to explain if you’ve never heard of them before. You don’t have concubines here? When a man of wealth seeks female companionship beyond his wife, he hires a concubine to join his family.”

“The wives allow it?” Sarette couldn’t imagine what her mother would say if her father brought home another woman.

“It’s better than having the men go behind their backs to street whores. As concubines, we bring status to the household, and we’re trained in languages, diplomacy, and administration.”

“We?”

“I’m sorry,” the girl said with a grimace. “I trained with the concubines, so I sometimes talk as if I’m one of them, but I’m not. What about you? What’s the High Guard?”

“We defend the enclave and other settlements in the Storm Heights from attacks by snow beasts or the human towns on the plains. And we watch for travelers that get lost or stranded in the mountains, especially in the winter. We watch over Tarvist Pass too, to make sure visitors stick to the road.”

“We didn’t see anyone in the pass, except a caravan that was heading in the other direction.”

“We always know who’s coming through,” Sarette said. The outsiders didn’t need to know about the watchtowers that were set up throughout the mountains, equipped with spyglasses to search for fires in the summer and lost travelers year round. The watchtowers had caught sight of the strangers two days earlier and sent a mirror signal to the scouting corps. The scouts had kept an eye on them from a distance, then warned the High Guard when they left the main road and turned toward Snow Crown.