The Eighth Warden Bk. 02 Ch. 13-14

Chapter 13

Ellerie and her companions reached Snow Crown the next afternoon, still accompanied by the three stormborn soldiers. The snow had grown shallower as they traveled, and the soldiers removed their snowshoes when they stopped for the noon meal. The rest of the group decided to walk after that, giving the horses a break. An hour later, the trail was completely clear, making it apparent they'd actually been traveling on a road constructed of flat paving stones fitted tightly together.

Cresting the last rise before Snow Crown, Ellerie stopped in amazement, staring out over the wide expanse. The maps she'd seen of the area had never indicated such a huge valley in the middle of the Storm Heights, and the green of the valley floor provided a stark contrast to the tall, snow-covered mountains surrounding it. The road stretched out ahead of them, winding through miles of rolling hills and farmland, the fields bare at this time of year.

Sarette joined her, then turned back to the rest of the group and called out, "We'll stay at a High Guard way station tonight. We'll reach the city tomorrow afternoon."

The stormborn woman strode off, and Ellerie hurried to catch up. "Way station?" she asked.

"We overnight there when we're on foot, since we can't make the trip in and out of Snow Crown in a single day. There'll be food, and there are men's and women's barracks. It's a little rough, but it's free."

Ellerie nodded. "I'm surprised the snow melted so quickly."

"It didn't melt—it just never snows within the crown. We only get rain here. If you go back to the pass, the snow's just as heavy as it was when we left. Probably heavier by now, if I'm reading the clouds right."

"Never?" That seemed unlikely.

"Well, not never, but only twice since I can remember."

They continued down the road as the day grew later. The sun was dipping below the western peaks when Sarette pointed out the way station in the distance. Ellerie took the opportunity for one last glance around the valley before it grew dark, and realized something she hadn't noticed before.

"Is it a circle?" she asked.

"Not quite, but close," Sarette replied. "That's where Snow Crown gets its name. The mountains are so tall, the snow at the top stays for nine months out of the year."

"I had no idea there was a place like this here. How big is it?"

"Nearly fifty miles across. It's mostly farms, except for the city of course."

"How many people live here?"

"About two hundred thousand within the city, plus others across Snow Crown and the rest of the Heights."

That put the stormborn settlement on the same scale as a city-state such as Circle Bay. Ellerie's schooling on the area had been nowhere near accurate.

She shook her head. "The nilvasta have always referred to this as the stormborn enclave. I thought it was like the seaborn enclave near Terevas, which has less than ten thousand people."

"But those are just the seaborn who live here," Sarette pointed out. "Their own homeland is huge—bigger than Terevas, according to the maps I've seen. Most stormborn live here in the Heights."

"This is where your people originally came from, then?"

"Borrisur created Snow Crown to shelter us. The storms were once much stronger than they are now, and we weren't prepared. He led us here and taught us the ways of the people who came before."

Ellerie struggled to contain her excitement. "The first peoples? The Ancients?"

"No. Outsiders sometimes call them those things, but they were just the people."

"I think they're the ones who built Tir Yadar!"

"They built much which was lost, but I can't say more. The Council will speak to you tomorrow."

#

They stayed the night at the way station. Corec's little cot in the men's barracks was softer than a bedroll on the ground, but not by much. He'd grown accustomed to having company at night, and the bed felt empty without Katrin. She'd ended up in the women's barracks on the other side of the building.

The group reached the city the next afternoon. It reminded Corec of Circle Bay, but it took him a moment to figure out why. Much like Circle Bay's whitewashed facades, there was a sense of sameness throughout Snow Crown's buildings, nearly all of which were constructed of logs.

It made sense—the stormborn were surrounded by heavy forest on all sides. Yet, despite the material they'd chosen, the structures were clearly sturdy and built to last. The bark had been removed, and the wood had been polished and stained to retain its natural coloring rather than weathering to gray. The outside walls of many of the homes and businesses displayed carvings that appeared to have been made by different hands over long periods of time.

The city was much larger than Corec had expected, and they spent an hour turning down one street after another until he'd lost track of which way they'd come. Sarette had no difficulty, though, and they finally reached their destination, a two-story building stained a brownish-red. Inside, they found an antechamber with benches lining the walls, apparently intended as a sitting room.

"This is the Council Hall," the stormborn woman said. "The elders suggested they were willing to meet with you today, which means they were likely intending to be in session this afternoon. Who'll be addressing them?"

"I will," Ellerie replied, "and Boktar." Then she frowned and looked over the group. "And Bobo, I suppose."

Sarette nodded. "I'll check to see if the Council is in and ready for you."

Before she could leave, Corec said, "The rest of us can go look for an inn. Do you have inns here?"

"Some, but they're on the other side of town. If you wait until we're done speaking with the Council, I can show you where to find them."

Corec glanced at Katrin, who shrugged. "All right," he said. "We'll wait." He doubted he could find his way through the city on his own.

The room had been empty when they'd arrived, except for two guardsmen standing watch in front of the only corridor leading out of the room. Sarette greeted them in a language Corec didn't understand, then proceeded down the hall. With nothing else to do, her troopers struck up a conversation with the new men.

Corec and his friends waited, growing more impatient as time went by. It was nearly half an hour before Sarette returned.

"I'm sorry for the delay," she said to Ellerie. "The Council was occupied with other business, but they can see you now." She led Ellerie, Boktar, and Bobo down the same corridor.

Corec sighed. "More waiting."

"I don't mind not moving for a while," Katrin said, leaning against him. They'd taken a seat on one of the benches. "My legs ache from all the walking." The group had remained on foot that day since Sarette and her men didn't have horses with them.

"Mine, too," Treya said. "My teachers would be disappointed that I've gotten so used to riding. Shana never rides at all—she's faster on her own."

"How does she carry her gear?" Corec asked. Treya had mentioned Shana before—a traveling mystic who moved around a lot.

"She doesn't take anything with her that she can't carry on her person."

"This is tershaya," Shavala said suddenly. She'd been peering at the walls. "Not the other buildings, just this one."

"How can you tell?" Katrin asked.

"It looks like tershaya, and it's still alive."

"Alive? It's been chopped down."

"Tershaya's like that sometimes. We can..." Shavala hesitated. "Well, it's just like that sometimes."

"How did they get it?" Corec asked her.

"We harvest some of the trees if they become unhealthy, or if they're overcrowding the shorter species we're cultivating."

Sarette returned again, alone, with a strange look on her face. "Oracle Galina respectfully requests the presence of the warden and the remainder of your party," she said, not meeting Corec's eyes. There was a tremor in her voice.

Corec stood, surprised. "Ellerie told you about that?"

"No, the oracle did."

"What's an oracle?" Treya asked.

"Borrisur's senior priestess is granted a blessing to see things others cannot. Please, come with me."

They followed her, Corec wondering what was about to happen. It didn't seem like a prelude to being arrested or attacked, but with how certain Yelena was that the wardens had kept knowledge of their existence to a minimum, it was disconcerting to find out that someone he'd never even met knew he was one.

The council chamber held a wide table in the shape of a half circle. Arrayed behind it were nine stormborn—presumably the Council of Elders, though not all of them were elderly. In front of the table, Ellerie, Boktar, and Bobo stood waiting.

"Now that we're all here, will you talk to us?" Ellerie asked the Council in an annoyed tone.

At the far right of the table, a wizened old woman with pure white hair said, "Come closer, warden, so I can get a look at you."

Corec stepped forward. "I am Corec Tarwen, third son of Lord Ansel, Baron of Tarwen, in Larso," he said, projecting his voice to the room as he'd learned growing up. "You know of wardens?"

"I am Galina, priestess of Borrisur and Fifth Seat of the Council. And yes, we know of wardens, though it's been more than a century since one last came to Snow Crown."

Curious, Corec asked, "Who?"

"Leonis was his name, but not many records exist of his time here. I hadn't yet learned to walk when he visited. Why do you hide your sigils?"

Corec looked down at himself. He'd never learned to conceal the runes the way the others had, but his were effectively covered by his armor and clothing.

"Not you," Galina said. "The others." The rest of the elders seemed content to let her handle the talking.

"This isn't why we came here!" Ellerie snapped.

A man sitting at the left side of the table spoke up. "I've examined your amulet, nilvasta," he said, holding up a piece of jewelry in the palm of his hand. "There are no peaks arranged in this fashion in the Heights."

What amulet? Corec wondered.

"You're certain?" Ellerie asked.

"I was a scout for fifty years. I know every mountain in the range from all sides. The city you're looking for isn't here. The oracle will decide if we tell you anything more."

Ellerie ground her teeth together in frustration.

Galina spoke to Corec again. "Why do you let this one speak for you?" she asked, nodding in Ellerie's direction. "Do the wardens no longer consider our people worthy of your time?"

"She doesn't speak for me," he said. "I'm helping her on her search, but Ellerie and Bobo have all the details, so I didn't come in with them. I meant no disrespect."

"Oh? And following another person's quest is the only reason a warden visits Snow Crown for the first time in over a hundred years? Do palaces of glass and metal count for so much to earn your aid?"

Ellerie stepped back, her eyes widening in shock.

"Palaces?" Corec asked. "I don't know what you mean. I'm just helping out because we're...friends." That wasn't the best way to describe their relationship, but it didn't seem like the right time to discuss the group's attempts to end the binding spell.

"Hmm," Galina said, then turned to Ellerie. "Let's see your sigil, girl, so the Council knows I'm not just telling old stories again."

"Is this really necessary?" Ellerie's arms were shaking, though from the look on her face, Corec didn't think it was from anger.

"Come, come, humor an old woman. I was too young to see it last time."

Ellerie took a deep breath, then stepped forward again, allowing her rune to become visible. Treya and Katrin glanced at each other and joined her, Katrin removing the hat she'd been wearing since they'd first encountered the stormborn patrol. Shavala blinked and looked around in surprise, then stepped over to the others.

As all four runes glowed with pale blue light, Galina smiled and leaned back in her chair. "Warden, do I have your word that seeking Tir Yadar is the only reason you've come to the Storm Heights?"

"You do."

The priestess nodded to the man who sat at the center of the table.

"I am Rurik," he said, "First Seat of the Council. As Lesander told you, Tir Yadar is not here, but that wasn't the only city built by the people who came before. Near the south end of the range, you can find the ruins of another."

"Which one?" Bobo asked.

"We've always just called it...you would translate it as South Valley. If it was one of the Tirs, we've not been able to identify its original name."

Ellerie and Bobo both nodded, seeming to understand what he was talking about.

"Have you explored it?" Ellerie asked.

"Extensively. There's a museum with some of the more prominent artifacts we've discovered, if Lieutenant Sarette will oblige us in accompanying you there."

"I'd like to visit the ruins themselves, too," Ellerie said.

"The trip is too dangerous for outsiders in the winter. If you return this summer, it can be arranged."

Her face fell, but then the man on the left—apparently Lesander—spoke up. "If they take Tarvist Pass through to the west and then follow the foothills south, it can be done. It's still difficult, but not nearly as dangerous. There's a trail you can pick up that leads back into the mountains. The snow will be deep, but you can make the trip with snowshoes or skis."

Rurik frowned. "They couldn't do that on their own. They'd have to have a guide who's gone that way before."

"I believe that can be arranged," said the woman to his left. "One of Lesander's scouts in exchange for allowing our historians to speak to the warden."

Since the stormborn already knew about him, Corec didn't see any reason to avoid them. "I agree, but I'm new to being a warden. I probably can't tell you much you don't already know." He hoped that would allow him to keep any secrets he needed to keep.

"The deal is still acceptable."

"You," Galina said, pointing at Sarette. "Stormrunner. You will accompany them."

"Yes, Elder, if you wish, but I'm not a stormrunner."

The old woman stared at her. "I must have been mistaken. You'll still go. They may run into trouble."

#

That night, Ellerie sat alone in her darkened room in the sumptuous guest house the Council of Elders had insisted on providing for their use...in honor of the warden's visit.

She tried to calm her nerves. To a wizard, control was everything, but she'd almost lost it in the council chamber. She still wasn't sure if she'd been about to yell or to cry. She wanted to be angry at the elders, but mostly she was just dismayed. It had been bad enough when Yelena and Venni treated Ellerie as an adjunct to Corec, but hearing it from people who'd never even met a warden was too much.

There was a knock on the door and Boktar came in. He didn't bother to light the lamp; he just sat down in the chair across from hers. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

"I was worried about you this afternoon. You were...rather unhappy."

"Of course I was unhappy! They made us wait for over twenty minutes, and then as soon as that old biddy got a good look at me, she brushed us aside like we're nobody, so she could gush over Corec. We're not here because of him!"

"Why not tell them who you are?"

Ellerie flinched. "No! I don't want that life. I left it behind for a reason."

"So, are you mad because you got what you wanted?"

She stopped and thought about that. "I didn't want anybody to know me...and now they don't. Except Galina. She knows who I am, and she still ignored me."

"You mean what she said about palaces? How did she figure it out?"

"They called her an oracle. I've heard that word before—it's something like a Seer, I think. I guess I should be glad she was too interested in Corec to tell everyone about me."

"Well, as far as the rest of the Council knows, you're just a treasure hunter who wants to poke around in their mountains. They had no reason to give you special treatment."

"I wasn't asking for special treatment, but we came here so I could meet with them. Not him."

"They did still give you permission, of sorts."

"Only because of Corec."

"They may not know who you are, but they know you've got important friends."

"Friends?" she asked, stressing the plural.

"Sure. Corec and me."

She laughed, releasing some of the tension she'd been feeling. "Ahh, of course. Though I suspect they'd have been less welcoming if Tir Yadar was really here."

"Maybe, maybe not," Boktar said. "After all, the amulet just gives us the starting point. The directions never say to go into the mountains, so even if Tir Yadar was nearby, it wouldn't actually be in the Storm Heights. The stormborn probably don't care about what happens outside their borders."

"I wonder if we can trust what they said about the amulet not matching any of the peaks. Maybe we should check it out ourselves, like we were planning to."

"We still can, but it would take us weeks to go up and down both sides of the range on our own. If we take their word for it, we might be able to get out of here before my beard freezes off. We'll see part of it anyway, if I understand the route Lesander described. We'll check out the ruins, then decide from there."

"That makes sense," she said.

"And if this thing with Corec is going to keep bothering you, let's split up after that. There's no reason why we need to keep traveling with him. We'll ask Bobo to come with us, and maybe Treya if you want, and we'll keep searching."

"Why Bobo?"

"Because he'll be useful if we're ever going to find Tir Yadar," Boktar said.

"I thought you liked Corec."

"I do, and he's right handy to have in a fight, but that doesn't mean we all need to stay together. If one of you finds a way to end the binding spell, you have a way to track each other down, right?"

Ellerie considered the idea. The sense of violation she'd felt about the binding spell was no longer as harsh as it had been at the beginning...and Corec had supported her in front of both Venni and the stormborn elders.

"Yes," she said, "but it would be faster if we stayed together. Right now, Tir Yadar is our best lead at finding a way to end the spell. Well, Tir Yadar or that other warden who's done it before. It makes more sense to work together, at least for now. Maybe the ruins here will have a clue."

Even as she repeated the reason the group had used in the past, she wondered if it was just an excuse. The logic remained sound, but she remembered Yelena's warning about them being drawn to each other. Still, Razai had managed to leave the group without a problem, and Yelena's own bondmates spent time away from her. Ellerie decided not to worry about it—they had enough trouble already without borrowing more.

#

Leena lay in the tub, resting her head back against the edge as she let the water warm her. She'd had a bath the previous night too, in a little village inn Sarlo had found for them, but once they'd gotten back on the road, it hadn't taken long for the cold to seep back into her bones.

Now, though, they were in Four Roads, the first major town she'd seen since leaving Telfort. The sight of civilization had brought with it a sense of relief, but the trip had taken longer than Sarlo thought it would—they'd lost more time to training and practice than they'd gained with the short jumps they were making.

Leena shifted in the water and realized it was growing cool again. She considered calling the serving girl back in to request another pot of hot water, but decided three times was enough. If she kept going, the innkeeper would likely charge her for a second bath, and she already owed Sarlo too much money.

She reluctantly climbed out of the tub, dried herself off, and dressed. Warm and clean, she joined Sarlo in the common room for the evening meal—venison steaks and roasted potatoes.