The Eighth Warden Bk. 05 Ch. 07-08

"Sarette, dear," Natasya said, "have you met Malina?"

Sarette tensed, but kept a careful smile on her face. "We haven't spoken before," she said. "It's good to meet you, Malina."

"A pleasure," the older woman said. "And I'm so happy to hear there's a new stormrunner. The others are getting on in years, and my Sascha can't do everything himself."

Sascha barely qualified as a stormrunner at all, but Sarette couldn't say that to his mother. And in any case, he was significantly stronger than she herself had been before she'd asked Corec to bond her.

"Speaking of Sascha," Natasya said, as if that hadn't been her intention all along, "he's quite the handsome young man, isn't he? How well do you know him, Sarette?"

"We mostly kept to ourselves at Runner's Summit. We've hardly spoken." That wasn't quite true, but it was close enough she could get away with it.

It didn't deter Malina, though. "Perhaps now that you've returned, the two of you could spend some time together," she said. "As stormrunner families, we have ties going back for centuries. This may be an opportunity to see those ties renewed."

"I'm afraid my duties with the warden will see me away from Snow Crown for quite some time," Sarette said. And getting longer by the minute, she promised herself.

"If you'll excuse me, ladies," Vartus said, cutting in just as the two women seemed to be bracing themselves for another attempt. "I need to speak with my niece. Stormrunner business."

He ignored their scowls and led Sarette out to the veranda. "You looked like you could use some help."

"Mother's doing her best to continue the dynasty."

Vartus chuckled. "If she really wants you to spawn a new line of stormrunners, she shouldn't be trying to marry you off to Sascha. She should send you to the snowborn."

"There are stormrunners among the snowborn?"

"The runner bloodlines split evenly during the schism, but while our lines faded, theirs stayed strong. Either we were unlucky, or their meddling mothers were more successful in their matchmaking."

"Well, I have no interest in being a broodmare, regardless of who she tries to pair me up with."

"I won't argue with you, but it's a shame to see the order coming to an end."

"Then why didn't you go to the snowborn?"

"My grandfather did," he admitted. "But the mother kept the child--that's the custom there. I didn't have any interest in fathering a child I'd never get to see. Then I met Marta, and we didn't learn until it was too late that she couldn't have children." He shrugged. "But that's not why I brought you out here. We really do have business to discuss."

"Oh?"

"Your story about fighting the dragon seemed to have some convenient gaps in time. You attacked, and then what happened? You talked about what everyone else was doing, even though you couldn't have been close enough to see any of it until near the end."

Sarette sighed. "That's why I didn't want to tell the story tonight. I needed to talk to you about it first, but I wasn't sure how to bring it up."

"What happened?"

"I fell," she admitted. "The dragon hit me--with its wing, I think. I'm not even sure it was intentional, but it hit hard enough that it knocked me into a fall, and I passed out. It couldn't have been for long. I had enough time to catch my spear and call lightning, but it was close."

"I fell once, when I was about your age," Vartus said. "I was only two hundred feet up, so I tried to pull in enough charge to handle the landing."

"Did it work?"

"I shattered both my legs. Luckily, Galina was assigned to the same unit--this was back when she still worked in the field. With a lesser priest, it might have taken weeks to recover, but she had me up in the air the next day."

"I don't know if I can go up again. Every time I think about it, I..." Sarette shook her head and shivered.

"We flew in from Runner's Summit just yesterday," Vartus said. Sarette had asked Leena to take her to the isolated stormrunner headquarters in the mountains rather than directly to the city.

"That's different. We weren't in battle, and you were right there with me."

Vartus nodded, then stepped to the edge of the veranda and peered up at the night sky. Sarette joined him. The stars were out, and the chilly air was a welcome change. Spring came too early in the south.

"I wish there was some big secret I could tell you that would make everything better, but there isn't," Vartus said. "It affects each of us differently. In your story, you managed to stay in the fight."

"I wasn't thinking clearly, and I'd pulled in so much power to get out of the fall that I'm not sure what would have happened if I'd tried to let it dissipate on its own. I gave it to the dragon instead."

"Sometimes we don't know what we're capable of until we're stressed beyond our normal limits." He faced her. "If you can still fly, then you're halfway there already. Just fly every storm that comes. When there's no storm, make one--or fly without any storm at all. Keep practicing until it feels as natural as walking. When you're ready, you'll know."

"I'll try."

Vartus grinned. "Besides, you'll probably never face another enemy in the sky. Next time you get hit, you'll be much closer to the ground."

Sarette rolled her eyes. "Well, that's something, I guess."

One of the servants joined them. "Sir, a message came for..." He saw Sarette. "Ahh, Stormrunner Sarette, this is for you."

"Thank you," Sarette said, opening the message as the man went back inside. "It's from Oracle Galina."

"Galina?" Vartus said. "She already sent an apology for not coming tonight."

"No, this is... she wants me to bring Ariadne to see her tomorrow," Sarette said.

#

The little bit of Snow Crown Ariadne had seen so far was both familiar and foreign. She'd never heard of anything like the valley itself, which seemed to be some sort of massive crater in the middle of the mountain range, but the city itself wasn't all that different from Tir Yadar's outer city. The structures and the layout were more utilitarian and uniform than the human cities of Tyrsall and Aencyr, and individuality was instead expressed through carvings on the walls. Those carvings hadn't been common in Tir Yadar, but Ariadne had heard of the practice in other Tirs. Snow Crown was familiar in other ways as well. There were no beggars on the street--the people were guaranteed food and shelter one way or another--and the High Guard maintained a presence throughout the city.

Perhaps she should have expected the familiar aspects. If Borrisur had truly gifted the stormborn with their knowledge and traditions, then that knowledge had come from the Chosar themselves.

Most of the buildings in the city were constructed of polished logs and had no more than two floors, giving the place a rustic feel, but the temple Ariadne stood in front of now was four stories tall and made from heavy granite blocks. It couldn't match the huge temples she'd seen in Tyrsall and Aencyr, but according to Sarette, it was the largest of Borrisur's fourteen temples in Snow Crown.

"Lightning rods," the stormborn woman said, indicating a crown of copper spikes towering twenty feet above the temple. "When a heavy thunderstorm passes by, lightning can strike it a dozen times a minute. All of Borrisur's temples have them--the ones here in Snow Crown, I mean--but this one has the best view. People come from all around to watch it."

There was no storm now, though.

Ariadne hesitated at the entrance. "Are you sure about this?" she asked. "What could she want?"

"I don't know, but she specifically asked to speak with you," Sarette replied. "She's got to have a reason. The oracle can see things others can't."

Ariadne had come to Snow Crown looking for information, but she'd assumed if she found anything, it would come from the magisters. Galina's invitation had been unexpected, and Sarette had repeatedly refused to speculate over what it meant, perhaps not wanting to raise Ariadne's hopes.

Sarette got tired of waiting and nudged her through the entrance. Inside, a priest showed them to Galina's study. The white-haired woman was ancient. If stormborn aged similarly to Chosar, Ariadne would have placed her age at a hundred thirty years or more.

"Oracle Galina," Sarette said respectfully, "this is Ariadne of the Chosar people, a Mage Knight of Tir Yadar."

"Yes," the old woman said. "These things I knew because I know them now. Sometimes you tell me and sometimes you don't, but the past is the truth regardless of the future."

Ariadne blinked in confusion. "Oracle Galina," she started, then paused, not sure how to finish the sentence.

Galina turned to her. "You seek the truth about your people," she said.

"Sarette told me you can see things. Can you tell me what happened to them?"

"I can't see the past. I can only see what might happen, not what has. I saw you, when Sarette and the warden came to the council chamber for the first time. I saw you die; I saw you sleep forever; I saw you as you are now. I saw Sarette fall to her death attempting to strike a dragon in mid-flight--" Sarette's head jerked back at that, "--and I saw her emerge victorious as a true stormrunner. The future is always uncertain--a mortal mind can't begin to interpret all the possibilities."

"Then why...?"

"Why did I bring you here? Because change is coming to Snow Crown, and you stand at the heart of it. Or it isn't, and you don't." Galina's gaze was penetrating. "What secrets do you know that will cause so much turmoil for my people?"

"I don't understand," Ariadne said.

"It's not given to me to see everything, but I see enough to be concerned. What is it you know that's so troubling? Is it simply the secret you've already told me? You were found in Tir Yadar. I'm no scholar, but I have some idea of what that means--your Chosar were the people who came before. A startling discovery, and even more startling that you yet live, but would that knowledge result in the strife I see? I don't believe so."

Sarette gave Ariadne a concerned look.

"I don't want to cause any trouble," Ariadne said.

"Ahh, but there's the problem, you see. Change can be good or bad. Should you keep your knowledge to yourself, or should you shout it out from the rooftops? How can I know unless you tell me what it is?"

Ariadne had no intention of telling Galina about the old wardens becoming gods, and she couldn't think of anything else useful. "I don't know what you're looking for."

"There must be something," the old woman said, then furrowed her brow. "This is new. If you've never been here before, how is it that you know why the snowborn left us?"

"What?" Sarette interjected, her eyes wide.

"I don't know anything about the snowborn!" Ariadne told them both. "I've never even seen one before!"

Galina stared at her--or possibly through her. "No. You're right. Perhaps you don't know what caused the schism, or perhaps you do but don't realize it." She sighed. "I've been too harsh. You came to Snow Crown to learn what happened to your people, and all I can tell you is what everyone knows--the people who came before are long gone."

Ariadne sighed. Another lead, however unexpected, had ended in failure. "Will I ever learn what happened?"

Galina hesitated, then said, "You already know of those who have the answers. One in particular. But she can't be everywhere; she can't see everything. If you want her to hear you, go to where she listens."

There were only so many ways to interpret that, and it didn't seem like Galina was referring to Ephrenia. That left the old wardens, and of those, Ariadne only knew one personally.

"If you see that much, can't you tell me what she'll say?" she asked.

"The bits and pieces I can see don't make sense, not yet, and I've learned that having a little bit of information is often worse than having none at all. Once you take action, I'll know more, but by then, you'll no longer need my help."

Ariadne nodded. Ellerie hadn't been aware of any way to speak to the new gods, but perhaps the priests would know.

"Who are you talking about?" Sarette asked.

"There are some things I need to tell you," Ariadne said to her. "But first, is there a temple to The Lady in Snow Crown?"

###

Chapter Eight

"Miss Leena," Varsin Senshall said, ushering her into his office, "I wasn't expecting you so soon after your last visit. Has Lady Ellerie already figured out when you'll need the first load of coal transported? I've been thinking Matagor may be the best option for regular deliveries. It won't sell for as much there as it would in Tyrsall, but the distance is shorter. It should more than make up for the difference."

"The mines aren't operating yet," Leena said. "We're still looking for someone to handle that. I came here with a deal of my own. Her Imperial Majesty has allowed me to offer my services to the Senshall Trading Company--for a brief trial, and under strict conditions."

Varsin's eyes widened. "Ahh, I see. Please, take a seat." He sat down across from her. "What would these conditions be, exactly?"

"I'll come to Tyrsall once per week--to your home, not here--and I'll pick up outgoing messages. They have to fit in a small shoulder satchel and be intended for Sanvara City, Four Roads, or our keep in the free lands. Then, during that week, I'll visit each of those locations and deliver the messages, and pick up any that are being sent back here or to the other destinations. I hope to add Aencyr in Bancyra as well, but I'm not certain yet."

Varsin looked thoughtful. "You'd go to our operations in Sanvara City and Aencyr?"

"No. I'll go to the Sanvara City Travelers' Post, which will send a courier to deliver the messages to your office in the city for no additional cost. If the messages need to go elsewhere, that'll be up to your people down there. I don't know yet what the situation will be in Aencyr, but I expect it to be similar."

"It would certainly be helpful if we could correspond with Sanvar so quickly, but why those destinations only?"

"It's all I have time for," Leena said. That wasn't entirely true, but if she was going to build up a larger network, she didn't want to be dependent on a single trading house. She hadn't worked out a solution yet, but she could partner with Senshall as an experiment while she looked for other options in Circle Bay, Matagor, and elsewhere around the north.

"You should really be talking to my father. He's in charge of our operations in southern Aravor, including Sanvar."

Leena didn't know anything about the elder Senshall other than a few hints Varsin had let slip.

"I'm only supposed to deal with people I already know," she said. "You can tell your father about it if you want, and let him take part, but I won't be meeting with him."

Varsin hid a small smile. "As you wish." Then his look turned thoughtful. "We'll rarely have a full satchel of messages for just those three destinations. Can I sell the extra space?"

"No, the offer is for the Senshall Trading Company alone, but you can include small packages if you have room for them."

"You mean like trade goods? Or coin?"

"Whatever you want, as long as it fits in the satchel and is light enough for me to carry."

"Well, that could make things... interesting. I'll have to think about what that might mean, maybe talk to some people."

"Please don't tell anyone outside your family--or Marco, since he already knows about me. I'm only allowed to do this if you can guarantee my safety." She passed him a copper piece. "This will help with that. Show me the room you'd like to use, and then if you and the coin are both in that room at the day and time we agree on, I'll come. If there's any sort of problem, just make sure that either you or the coin aren't in the room at that time."

There was one more layer of security Varsin didn't need to know about. Chaaya had memorized the coin's signature, and before Leena Traveled to Tyrsall, Chaaya would do a Seeing on the room, and then the rest of the house, to make sure the family wasn't being coerced into letting Leena believe it was safe to arrive.

Varsin examined the copper piece as if wondering how it worked, but he didn't ask.

Instead, he said, "We haven't discussed the price yet. Just how much is this going to cost me?"

Leena gave him a smile of her own.

#

"It's not going to hold, Miss," Fenton said. He was in charge of the carpenters and builders who'd made the journey to the keep. "It's too heavy."

"It only needs to last a few more minutes," Ellerie said. "Help me with the sand and the lime now, while your men are finishing up." The other builders were hauling the last of the heavy blocks up the side of the ravine. It had taken two days to dig all the fallen stone out of the riverbed and carry the smaller pieces up by hand. For the larger pieces, they'd cut two makeshift stairways into the steep bank and smoothed out the slope between them. Then they'd placed the stone blocks, one at a time, on a length of burlap which they bundled up and tied at the top with lengths of rope. With two men on each set of stairs, they'd dragged the heavy block between them up the bank of the ravine.

Ellerie grabbed the bucket of quicklime, pointing Fenton to the matching bucket of sand.

"I don't understand what this is supposed to do," he said, hefting it. "It won't make enough mortar to hold everything together."

"We're not making mortar," she told him. "This is just part of the spell." The amounts were small enough to be almost symbolic rather than serving any actual purpose, but they had to do something or they wouldn't be necessary. Luckily, sand and lime were much cheaper than the components used in the metal-shaping spells.

She carefully made her way out onto the broken section of the bridge, which was now spanned by a wooden frame the carpenters had constructed in roughly the same shape as the underside of the missing arch. The builders had piled the fallen stone onto the frame, but even after bracing the whole thing with heavy logs to keep it stable, the structure creaked alarmingly from the weight it was supporting.

Ellerie poured the quicklime powder into a crevice between several stone blocks to ensure it wouldn't blow away in the wind, then handed her empty bucket to Fenton, who'd remained on the bridge rather than adding his weight to the shaky platform. She took his bucket in exchange and added the sand on top of the lime.

Returning to the intact part of the bridge, she set the bucket out of the way. "I'm ready."

Fenton nodded and turned to his crew, who'd reached the top of the ravine. "Hurry it up there, boys!" he shouted.

If that caused them to move any faster, Ellerie couldn't see it, but it didn't take them long them to reach the bridge. As they drew even with her near the broken edge, they braced their feet and then pulled the ropes toward them, hand over hand, shortening the distance between themselves and the stone block. Fenton helped them untie the knots and uncover it.

"Is this close enough?" he asked. "I'm not sure the frame will take it if we pile it on with the rest."

"It's got to be touching before I start the spell," Ellerie said.

He frowned but nodded. "Slide it over, lads."

There was only enough room for three of his men to help push, and they had to get down on their knees to get a good grip, but slowly, the heavy block slid up to and over the broken edge of the bridge, slamming down onto the pile of loose stone. A splintering sound came from the wooden frame below and the whole structure dropped two inches before holding steady. The builders made startled exclamations and quickly backed away. Ellerie took their place, kneeling down so she could reach the pile. She began murmuring the words to the mixing spell.