The unusually-looking company instantly drove everyone’s attention. Except for Belrigan, Shadow did not recognize the rest of the monks. One of them was also a young man, slightly shorter than Belrigan and with short blond hair. Two others looked much older. One was tall, with a pointy nose, narrow face, and hair, gray because of old age. The last was quite stout, so he couldn’t even sit comfortably on a single bench, and the tavern owner had to bring an additional bench and a pillow for him.
When monks were served fahwa, Shadow whispered to her friends:
”I know these people. They are from the Black Brotherhood.”
”Black Brotherhood?” Star bent her brows, trying to understand what it meant. She could be easily forgiven: Shadow did not like to speak much of what happened to her during Ascension.
”These are people who saved you from stone poison?” Hawk was the first to recall her story.
”Yes. There is one of whom I met at Phoenix Peak.”
”That’s a long way from Grass Reach. What are they doing here?”
”An interesting question indeed.”
Belrigan muttered something in a low voice to the others, and Shadow noticed some of them looking at her.
”I know them too,” admitted Fang, to everyone’s surprise. ”These monks lived in the halls of the Mockingbird since the Ascension. They caught a few snaptails and killed one stone pango for my father while I was there.”
”So, they work for your father?” Hawk eyed him with suspicion.
Fang smirked.
”I wouldn’t say so. It’s more like they cooperate or something. Farther keen to learn more about magic, and these guys have a knack for it.”
”Ha!” Hawk’s twisted his face. ”Don’t tell me about that shit.”
”You don’t believe in magic?” Fang was surprised. ”But it does exist! You can not deny it. First, look at all the magical creatures that we have. Second, there are more and more rumors about people who learned how to use it. They say the tsar himself now has a few mages at his court.”
”Spear my time, please. I will only believe in it when I see it.”
”Look, there it is!” Fang pointed at the window.
”Where?” Hawk was astonished. ”Are you trying to make a fool of me?”
”No, I’m serious,” Fang’s hand remained straight. ”It’s there; can’t you see the symbol on the shutters?”
“You mean the drawing of a candle,” Shadow guessed. ”It’s a recent thing, yes. People now believe that this symbol protects them from the moon wolves.”
“That’s just a picture.” Hawk snorted in disdain. ”A superstition that is not going to stop a moon wolf. Only the good steel and the fire will.”
”Who knows for sure? These black monks also use it. When they stayed in our halls, they asked permission to draw magical symbols on every door and window in their rooms. But they drew it a little differently: a tall red candle with white light and a ghost halo.”
”I hope they are here not to teach everyone how to do it.”
While Hawk and Fang had their friendly swordplay, Shadow looked at the monks. It was not only strange to see them here, but it also felt wrong. The only travelers from the north who reached the Heart of the Ridge were merchants. They were not many of them recently, and merchants preferred to stay in the Windwarden and then leave for Pata-Arran by the Copper Road. No foreigners would willingly go deep into the mountains.
”Guys, I’m sorry, but I need to talk to them,” Shadow stood up.
She approached the monks, but before she could say a thing, the stout monk turned his head and smiled:
”Greetings, honorable warden! My brother Belrigan was speaking about you just now. What a surprise it is indeed that you met here so many miles away from Chipped Mountain. It couldn’t be a coincidence, no. It must be that your paths are interconnected by the will of the Five!”
His azraani had a strong accent, but Shadow understood him well. She glanced at Belrigan, who was also looking at her.
”Greetings,” she smiled. ”I’m glad you safely escaped the trouble at Phoenix Peak.”
”Hello, Gray Shadow Lurking Among Sleeping Trees And Amongst Rustling Grass. I’m happy to see you are well too,” a gentle smile appeared on Belrigan’s face.
Shadow turned to the stout monk. For a split second, their eyesight accidentally met, and it was almost like looking into a bottomless black pond with only still emptiness within. Motionless, dead, filled not with water but with a dirty, greasy substance. The vision of the pond appeared in Shadow’s mind so vivid and real. Staring at it was disgusting but somehow equally intriguing and luring. The silent pond invited her to dive into its mysterious depths and learn what was hidden in it. Hypnotized by the vision, Shadow almost leaned forward towards the imaginary water, and only by screwing up her eyes did she break the illusion.
The stout monk continued meanwhile:
”It makes our hearts rejoice, as it is certain now that the Five watch over our steps. Moreover, we a happy to see that humble travelers, as we are, even in such a remote place, can feel themself safe under the protection of the warriors of the Alder.”
Why did I stand up? What was I going to say?
The vision of a bottomless black pit was still standing before her eyes.
”My name is Viraz,” the stout monk introduced himself. ”And these are my brothers Masho and Lauro. How may we serve you?”
“I welcome you in the lands of the Alder…” Shadow started but then abrupted herself as this greeting was prepared for a different person. She looked at Belrigan as if it could help her, and it did. Belrigans eyes were much more welcoming, black too, yet not empty, but radiating with an inner warmth that cleared her mind. Shadow managed to find the correct words. ”I’m glad to see humble travelers are not afraid to journey across our lands,” she said. ”However, I shall warn you to exercise the utmost caution while in the Heart of the Ridge. This region is by far more dangerous than Grass Reach. This village is away from the Copper Road… the path from here only goes further to the abandoned lands. This makes me wonder if you were given correct directions and were not lost?”
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Hawk joined Shadow and stood behind her. Fang, Star, and others in the tavern were watching.
”Thank you, my honorable warden, but we are not at all lost. Visiting such remote places is the only way to study and enumerate all the magical creatures that now inhabit our world.”
”In this case… please consider yourself warned. Don’t go further south and stay in settled areas for the night. Otherwise, even brave warriors of the Alder won’t be able to protect you.”
”I assure you, my lady, that we’ll make no trouble for you.”
Shadow did not dare to look again into his eyes.
Shall I ask if they have the traveling documents? But the Mockingbird clan must have given them. Besides, why shall I bother them any longer?
”I wish you luck on your way, then,” Shadow made a short bow of respect, ”and if you happen to have any troubles, warriors of the Alder will be there to help.”
Shadow and her friends paid for their food and asked one of the vards sitting in the tavern where to find the Molle Grinderhammer.
”Ride’orth of heer,” he said with a voice as croaky as his appearance. ”Ye road’s upp’hill. Pass the’ast hoose, and they see them livin, at their old quarries.”
When they were leaving, the tavern owner caught them by the doors.
”Do you have a place to stay for the night? No? Please honor us with your presence! My damgrati has a perfect room for your company; he keeps it for special guests. Two large beds. Upper floor. The house is safe and warm. It stands by the river, right next to my tavern, and there’s a lovely small garden and a lovely hillside view.”
Damgrati was the azraani word for your sister’s husband. The house looked good, and the price was low: only one silver talent—Shadow accepted the proposal. They had to spend at least one night in this village.
The road wound between sandstone houses, which were leaning over it on both sides. Most of the buildings in this big village were old. Many looked abandoned. People on the street were rare, but a few times, Shadow noticed figures in the dark windows or doorways looking at her with a mixture of interest and worry. As the road climbed uphill, the street became deserted, but the feeling of being watched didn’t disappear even when they rode past empty buildings.
”This place is creepy,” complained Fang. He was riding last and was turning his head with evident curiosity.
”Yeah,” agreed Star. ”And it does not feel like people are returning here.”
”The mark of the exodus,” sighted Hawk. ”People had fled, but their fears remained. Now when they return, the fear still waits for them here.”
”Sounds poetic,” Fang smirked. ”A good rhyme is the only thing you need.”
”Again, you are mocking me?”
”Highlanders were always not very welcoming,” intervened Shadow, ”but Hawk, it is much more lively here than twenty years ago.”
”Did you live somewhere near when your father was a warden?”
”No, my father commanded the Dancing Goose fort, which stands north of Windwarden. But the villages there looked similar to this one. Only a few people dared to stay on their land when magical creatures flooded the region. And everyone daring to do so had to keep the fire lit in his household all night to protect it from creatures of the moon. It was a scary time, so I do see the difference. The fear remains, but it’s mostly because there are still no regular patrols in this area. We only fully control the valleys around Windwarden and the Copper Road.”
Fire Storm gave me ten days to bring Grinderhammer to the Windwarden, thought Shadow. It’s only the second day yet. I need to persuade the vards quickly, and then I will have time to investigate what happened to the husband and sons of that poor woman.
”I don’t understand why Grinderhammers choose to resettle here.” said Fang thoughtfully. ”There is plenty of free land around Windwarden.”
”It’s their ancestral place,” replied Hawk, ”and vards esteem their ancestors.”
”There is also an abandoned silver mine west of the village, and vards esteem their profits non the less,” Shadow laughed silently. ”I believe they want to restart the mining.”
”I didn’t know that. It makes persuading them harder, don’t you think?”
”We’ll see.”
A group of children playing at the hillside noticed the wardens riding by. With enthusiasm and no fear, boys and girls chased the Fang’s horse for a short while, shouting and pretending to be warriors along the way. A few sticks made good swords and bows for them. The children fell back only when the dirt road left the village, and the Grinderhamers’ residence showed ahead: about ten buildings surrounded by a high stone wall. All houses looked repaired, and the wall guarding them was newly built.
”Impressive,” Fang whistled, ”I was expecting to see just a few shacks.”
”Vards won’t live in shacks,” replied Hawk. ”They must have built all this in just a few months.”
A group of vards was busy with construction works further ahead. Molle Grinderhammer happened to be among them. A big vard of southern kin, he was as tall as Shadow with a verge of his shoulders maybe three times larger. Molle had a long crooked nose and dark wrinkled skin that betrayed his old age, but his voice was firm regardless of the years behind his back, and the firm was his hand when he helped Shadow to dismount.
”Ar? Wardens? And I was long guessing when you are going to visit me. I bet you came not to discuss the weather?”
”My name is Flaming Arrow That Flies Bright Through The Night Even When All Lights Are Gone. I’m the daughter of the head of the Crimson Alder clan.” Shadow introduced herself. ”I’m here to welcome you back to our lands on behalf of my clan. Let us work together to restore our domain and bring glory to it.” That was a long-rehearsed phrase, and it went pretty well.
”Arrow That Flies Bright Through The Night, eh?” Molle Grinderhammer bend in half. ”A great honor to us. Now I’m sure you have a good reason for coming. But let the business wait. First, rest from the road, and enjoy our simple food and fahwa. My apologies for meeting you in my working robes. My wife will show you the halls. I gotta finish a few things here with boys, and we’ll join you right away.”
”Oh no,” Fang moaned quietly, ”no more fahwa…”
A few young vards took their horses into the stables behind the walls while Glinda Grinderhammer invited wardens in. It was a miniature stronghold—not less. With its thick walls, narrow windows, and some buildings going underneath the rocky hillside, Grinderhammer's residence could protect its inhabitants from creatures of the moon and withstand a real siege.
Soon the whole Molle family and other vards of his clan gathered in the main hall to welcome the guests. The hearths were warm, and the tables were served with simple yet lavish dishes, yet everyone felt the tension in the air. Of course, having dinner before coming to Grinderhammers was a big mistake, but Shadow was yet to realize that it wasn’t the worst mistake for this day. The Fang was doing his best to avoid drinking anymore. Hawk eagerly took on Fang's portion while discussing military matters with the eldest son of Molle Grinderhammer. Star was smiling adorably, but her eyes were filled with worry. Everyone was looking at Shadow, waiting for her to act. Despite their welcoming attitude, vards were expecting Shadow to clarify why the wardens came here. Hence, after a short and rather formal exchange of pleasantries, she decided to go straight to the point.
"I admire your brave decision to return here,” she said, ”but I’m afraid this is still a dangerous place, and the warriors of the Alder can’t fully protect you here.”
”Arr,” Molle waved his hand, ”you’ve seen our walls: we are ready to protect ourselves!”
”That’s impressive how quickly you built them. But the walls could only protect the one inside, not outside in the field or in the mine. It will be a heavy loss if any of your clan is killed by dangerous creatures. Your skills are widely known, and to our mutual benefit, I'm here to suggest your move to Windwarden. You will be under our complete protection there. The Alder clan, of course, will provide you with the land and all the help needed to resettle.”
The tension in the air broke with a ringing sound like a taut string of kithara, and silence reigned. Molle Grinderhammer's face became still. He looked at Shadow sharply and, after a few moments of dead silence, said:
"No. This is not going to happen."