The last day of travel went by smoothly, and Verdan felt himself relaxing when the Grey Peaks came into view once more.

The whole trip had gone a lot better than he’d expected, mostly, anyway. They’d seen signs of beasts and monsters here and there, but any that had come too close had been dealt with by the Pathfinder and her outriders before the caravan arrived.

Now that they were this close, even those few wandering threats should be warded off by regular patrols from the city.

At least, Verdan hoped that was the case.

Patrols had been covering the immediate area on the far side of the mountain pass when Verdan had left, but that was several weeks ago now, and a lot could have changed in that time.

Thankfully, not long after he’d had that worrying thought, they arrived at the edge of the logging operations. A few city guards were present, but they made no move to stop the caravan, instead focusing on keeping watch over the lumberjacks who were at work.

Verdan had no illusion that someone was carrying word of their arrival back to the city, but the lack of any larger response was somewhat reassuring.

-**-

Verdan waited impatiently as they covered the last section of the mountain pass and came to a halt outside the city gates.

A guard on duty called down some perfunctory questions, which the Pathfinder answered, and a minute later the gates swung open and they started forward again.

As before, the caravan was directed to the northernmost city square, which had the room and stables to house them all.

Word had most definitely gone ahead, as Verdan saw a small group of people waiting for them.

“Magnus, make sure everything gets settled in, and keep an eye on the Fwyn. I don’t want any incidents with the locals,” Verdan said as he dropped out of the wagon and headed over to the group he’d seen.

Commander Silver was standing at the front of the group as Verdan walked over. “Wizard Blacke, it’s good to see you again.”

Silver held a hand out with a tight smile, which Verdan returned as they clasped hands.

Silver was the Commander of the city guard, having inherited the position when Commander Griffon had died fighting the Weeping Death Sect Elder who had led the assault on Hobson’s Point.

The Commander was a stocky man with a well-groomed but voluminous beard and short brown hair.

“And you, Commander, how have things been in my absence?”

“Quiet, for the most part, but we need to discuss a sensitive matter soon. I realise you’ll have a lot to do today, but could you come by the guard headquarters tomorrow at noon?”

“Of course,” Verdan said with a slight frown. “If it’s important, I can make the time now, though.”

“No need. Tomorrow is fine,” Silver said before stepping to one side. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll make sure that we can properly house our guests.”

“Of course.” Verdan watched Silver walk away, his frown growing slightly. Something was going on.

A few of those present had gone with the Commander, but Verdan put his worry aside and turned to those left. He would deal with whatever was happening tomorrow.

“Good to see you, Boss,” Ruan said with a broad grin, his greeting echoed by Pania and Tom, who made up the rest of the group who’d come to meet him.

Ruan was an older, bald man with a braided beard and some nasty scars around his mouth that made him slur some of his words. He was also the head of Verdan’s small group of guards here in the city, which was now Barb, Pania and Pawel.

Pania, by contrast was a short, slender woman with equally short blonde hair and a propensity for throwing daggers. She was also the best scout of Verdan’s guards and dependable in a fight.

Tom had also been one of Verdan’s guards at one point, but he’d become what Sorcerers called a Wildling when he’d manifested his stone Sorcery during a fight with some Darjee.

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Tom was of average height, but he was broad and muscular, with a certain density to him that had developed as his abilities grew.

“Good to see all of you,” Verdan said, shaking their hands with a growing smile as he felt some tension he hadn’t been aware of bleed away.

It was good to be home.

“So, is this just another Kranjir caravan?” Ruan asked, gesturing to the array of wagons that were still filing in.

“Not quite,” Verdan said, laughing softly to himself. “Things have got a bit more complicated since I left. Don’t worry about it for the moment, I’ll give everyone a rundown back at the estate. For now, is there anything I should know?”

“Tim’s not back from his trip with Sylvie, but we expect them any day now. Other than that, things have been pretty quiet around here,” Ruan said, shrugging one shoulder slightly. “Something has happened in the last few days that caused some concern with the guards and the Sects, but I don’t know what.”

“I have a feeling I’ll find out tomorrow,” Verdan said, shaking his head. “Well, let’s focus on what we need to do now. Is either Dru or Aeva still at the estate?”

Dru and Aeva were the mated Fwyn couple that had moved into the grounds of Verdan’s estate before he’d left.

“Yeah, they’re still here. They keep to themselves mostly, though.”

“Good. Could one of you head back and bring them here?” Verda asked, thinking of who might know where Gruthka was based. “You might need to get Elliot to translate for you, though.”

“No problem,” Ruan said with a nod to Pania, who took off at a jog. “Anything else you need?”

“Actually, yes,” Verdan said as a particularly large wagon rolled into the square. “See that big one with the canvas on it, I need that taking back to the estate and securing. It’s important, and we need to keep its contents secret, understood?”

“Yes, Boss,” Ruan said firmly before rubbing his chin in thought. “Pawel is back at the estate on guard, but if this is important, I don’t want just one of us to go with it.”

“Agreed. Both of you should go, and I’ll send Barb with you as well. Don’t worry about coming back. I’ll get all this sorted and head your way when I can.”

Ruan nodded and set off at a jog, Tom trailing along behind him as Verdan made his way back to the caravan. He’d get Barb sent off with them and then wait for Pania and the local Fwyn.

Dru or Aeva would be able to guide Hursk and the rest of the refugees to where Gruthka was staying, and that would at least shift the responsibility for them onto someone else.

Ciaran, Maeve, Osran and Dirk were speaking with Silver when Verdan joined them.

“Very well, I’ll arrange for accommodation here for now, and then you’ll need to speak with the city council regarding the trading post,” Silver said, pointing out a few of the buildings around the square. “Take those for now, I’ll send someone later to identify the others you can use.”

“Much appreciated, Commander,” Ciaran said, shaking Silver’s hand.

“Not at all. I hope the council looks favourably on your request.”

“There goes a man with a lot on his mind,” Ciaran remarked as Verdan joined them and the Commander hurried away.

“Agreed, but that’s a problem for tomorrow,” Verdan said, putting Silver’s odd behaviour out of mind. “Once the Fwyn are sorted, I’ll be heading back to my estate to settle in. Dirk knows the way, so feel free to join me this evening and we can continue your lessons.”

“We’ll be there,” Ciaran said with a chuckle. “This is going to be an administrative mess, and will remain that way until we get approval from the city council. Any excuse to get away will be more than welcome.”

“Agreed. Those buildings won’t fit everyone,” Maeve said with a slight grimace. “That means some of us need to sleep in the wagons, and we’re the ones who’ll have to make that decision.”

Verdan looked around at the mass of Kranjir that had disembarked and nodded. This was definitely going to be a lot of work for the Chosen.

They seemed to have it in hand, though, which was a relief. It looked like Verdan was going to have a lot on his plate for the next few days, and he really didn’t want to add anything else to it.

-**-

Pania arrived a short while later with Aeva, Dru and Elliot following along behind her.

Ruan had already taken the Automaton wagon back to the estate, so Verdan introduced the two Fwyn to Hursk and waited just long enough to ensure there wouldn’t be any issues before leading the way back to the estate.

“It looks like you’ve been busy,” Elliot remarked once the Fwyn left to head back out of the city. “Did you intend to recruit so many Fwyn?”

“Not at all,” Verdan said, glancing around to see who was nearby before continuing in a softer voice. “They had been imprisoned by Darjee working alongside a Gormagyr.”

A look of revulsion crossed Elliot’s face as Verdan named the twisted giants. “Did you kill it?”

“Yes, both of them,” Verdan said with more than a little satisfaction.

“Good. If you hadn’t, Cullan would demand the he and Branwen head north and hunt them down personally,” Elliot said, giving Verdan a heavy slap on the shoulder.

Elliot was an Idrisyr, a descendant of Idris, one of the last giants. His vivid red hair and bright green eyes, as well as his height and strength, were all signs of his ancient lineage.

Cullan and Branwen, Elliot’s siblings, each stood at roughly seven feet tall, making Elliot the shortest of the three at six and a half feet.

Though he was short for one of his people, Elliot was still impressively strong and his innate tolerance of heat and flames meant he was a fine blacksmith.

Elliot had even made Verdan’s new staff, which had served him well in recent days, as well as the frames for the enchanting machines that Verdan had left here in the city.

Verdan prized Elliot for his crafting abilities, and he knew that the big man had issues with his anger and how it could take control of him.

For him to show any at all was a sign of how much he disliked the Gormagyr, which wasn’t that surprising really, but it still raised an interesting question.

“Do your people have a history with the Gormagyr?”

“In a way,” Elliot said, looking a little uncomfortable for a moment.

“Sorry, Pania, we need some silence for a moment,” Verdan said, glancing back to the guard before tapping one hand on his staff. “Tawel gward. There, we have some privacy. I’m sorry to push you on this Elliot, but if you know anything about them, please share it.”