Brigid led them to the stables that were positioned not far from the guild. They were helped by a stound figure with tight curls atop their head named Wollon. Brigid harried the man demanding that horses be bridled, and bags be prepared. When he was done, she was thankful for his efforts but still maintained the same air of impatience. Wollon simply smiled at her and even at times seemed to find her amusing as though she were a child playing at being an adult. There was a strange fondness to the whole exchange. When they were done, Wollon handed each of them a horse and they arranged their packs on the animals. Blink’s was white and grey spotted gelding that nuzzled and chewed on his long hair tied at the back of his head. He was told his name was Finnigas. Blink had been around horses before although he had been forbidden from riding them. Feeling close to the creature made him smile, his smell brought him back to all the time he had stayed hidden in the haylofts avoiding Demera and his duties. He had always paid a price for that avoidance, though she never managed to find him when he was hidden, it had somehow been worth it despite the beating that followed, some small rebellion, some small triumph. She would never be able to do that to him again now that she was dead.

Leaving the city proved more complicated than Blink had thought. There were guards stationed all through the city and particularly so at the entrance. The city was ringed with tremendous walls of white stone with what looked like lighthouses dispersed amongst the rim of the city. Atop each of the lighthouses were little suns not unlike those they first saw being held by the statues guarding the harbour. The only way in and out of the city was through the docks or by a western gate connected to a stone bridge. The guards were meticulously checking everyone that entered and exited the city, demanding papers, and checking belongings. Anyone that was leaving on business of a guild was required to have a document bearing their seal and express permission from the city officials. Blink was grateful that Brigid handled everything shoving papers into the hands of the guards. She spoke to them sternly and in the same demanding tone she used with Blink and his companions earlier. The guards merely laughed and joked at her expense. It seemed they were familiar with her.

‘I see she’s finally let you go out wandering little lion. You’re den mother pluck your claws first?’ The jibes continued as they checked the papers wearing sly grins and chuckling amongst themselves.

‘Shut your mouth, Terrick. You’ve no right calling me little when were the same age and we shared a bath together as children,’ she spat back at the youngest looking recruit. The guard named Terrick withdrew slightly at this as the older guards raucously laughed behind him. Blink almost pitied the young guard for having to have grown up with her. But only almost pitied. He had no love for the guard and was still wary they may be noticed.

‘Bid! You mind your tongue. Not in front of them alright,’ he said under his breath but loud enough for Brigit to hear.

‘It’s Brigit not Bid! I’ve told you to stop calling me that,’ she demanded. ‘Call me that again and I’ll tell your mother where you’ve been spending your nights this past month,’ she warned. ‘How is Dell by the way?’ At this he leant forward with a concerned look on his face and whispered something to Brigid so low that others couldn’t hear. At least he thought the others would not hear, however, Blink’s keen hearing head the soft words as though they had been said in his ear rather than Bridgid’s.

‘Dell ain’t done nothing to deserve this. Please… you need to let it go Bid.’ At the mention of that nickname she shoved him hard away from her.

‘I told you not to call me that,’ she said trying to sound as fierce as she did earlier, however it lacked its previous bite. ‘Can we go through or not?’ she said more than a little sullenly. Terrick frowned and nodded, ‘you’re papers are in order an I’ve not reasons to stop you. Just be careful. We’ve had reports that the golgeists have been more active than usual. Usually, the isles keep ‘em away but something odd is happening out there,’ he said sounding genuine in his worry for Brigid.

‘Thanks for the concern,’ she said indignantly and walked past him.

‘There’s a reason she wouldn’t let you go out there. Just don’t do anything reckless,’ he called after her. She ignored him.

Once they were outside the city Blink and the others followed Brigid along a worn dirt path. The surrounding countryside was harsh and rocky. The plant life around was tough grasses and gnarled trees spattering the side of the path and various outcroppings of the stones. The sky was a great ocean atop the rocky plains they traversed on horseback. The sun was high above them and beat down with radiant warmth that filled Blink from the outside to his centre. Blink searched the horizon and felt the vastness of the world surrounding him. He realised that for the first time since they left Bonny that he could really breath; he could feel the warm air filling his lungs and a sense of something settled within him. As he took in the life-giving air, he began to feel things, a connection to the world. It took some time before he realised that he could feel the landscape, the life that was teeming, hidden within the white and reddish stone. He watched as lizards skittered out to watch them pass and saw the birds that dug their beaks in the trees searching out insects.

‘You feel it too don’t you,’ said Danu siding up next to him on her chestnut brown gelding, Slipper.

‘What?’ he asked.

‘The land, life, the connection to all things,’ she said gesturing around them. Blink nodded unsure how to respond.

‘It might look like harsh land, but the people here have always known how to live in it,’ said Brigid listening in. She led her black mare, Anvil, ahead of them without looking back.

‘It’s beautiful. I’ve never been out of the city before. We came by ship, but I don’t suppose that really counts,’ said Blink catching up.

‘It is beautiful here. Where are from then if you’ve never left the city?’ asked Bridgid.

‘Ra and I… we… we come for a fishing town,’ it wasn’t exactly a lie. There had been fishing in Bonny and compared to size of Dayargain it could certainly be thought of as a town. Though his hesitation to answer said more than he had hoped.

‘Be like that then if you want,’ said Brigid annoyed. ‘I don’t really care anyway so long as you do your job,’ Blink felt a knot of guilt as she spoke. He hadn’t meant to offend the girl, but they had just met, and they were supposed to be hiding. Blink sighed; it was going to be a very long trip if they couldn’t find some way to get along.

‘Bonny… Ra and I came from Bonny,’ he said reluctantly.

‘We have ships arrive from there all the time. It is the closest major port though Dayargain has little care for its pirating now. So long as they leave its merchant vessels be. I don’t know why you would feel the need to hide that,’ she spoke with something of a huff in her voice.

‘I’m sorry. I meant no disrespect,’ he said doing his best to ignore her attitude. ‘It wouldn’t have done us well if you thought we were pirates so that’s why I avoided it,’ he lied. It was certainly easier to lie when others gave you the lie to agree with.

‘Are you then?’ she said indignantly.

‘Are we what?’ asked Blink a little lost.

‘Pirates,’ said Brigid studying him.

‘No, nothing like that,’ he said taken aback. She seemed to accept his response giving a slight nod and turning back to the road.

‘You don’t look like pirates in any case. You don’t look much like mercenaries for that matter,’ she said accusingly.

‘And what does a mercenary look like then?’ he said feeling annoyed at her assessment. He supposed they weren’t really mercenaries or guards or anything of that sort really. The assessment still stung.

‘Like greenhorns running from something if you want my honest answer,’ she said cooly.

‘We aren’t running from anything,’ he retorted with a little too much defensiveness.

‘We’re all running from something… or toward it,’ she said staring him down.

‘Then what are you running from?’ he said changing the subject. She glowered at him.

‘My business is my own. For all intent and purpose you work for me. I don’t have to tell you anything,’ she said daring him to argue. Blink thought better of it. He supposed she was right. She was the patron of the job. But did she have to be so rude and abrasive about it?

‘The trip is going to be a long one if we cannot get along,’ said Danu speaking up.

‘It will take us the better part of a week to get there and there are some settlements along the way in any case. You’ll have more than enough time to yourselves,’ Brigid said ignoring her point.

‘That isn’t what I meant, said Danu.

‘I know,’ said Brigid and urged her horse ahead of them.

The day wore on in silence with sun reaching and burning zenith. They had made little more attempt to get to know one another. They saw few others on the road but often passed towering white structures with light radiating from their peak like those that surrounded Dayargain. As they approached one of those strange lighthouses more closely Blink was able to make out the intricated details. Unlike the towers of Dayargain those on the plains were raised on immaculately sculpted islands of white stone, each with its own ornately carved designs and reliefs. They looked ancient beyond anything Blink could have imagined yet they had not a crack or scratch upon them. They were stark and out of place in the dusty red rock landscape surrounding them, like shining white islands on a red ocean. ‘Bridgit, what are these things? They were all over Dayargain,’ he dared to ask. She’d shown no interest in interacting with them except to speak of the land she grew up on.

‘They’re the Isles. They’ve always been here,’ she said as if that were answer enough. She looked back at him and sighed as his ignorance. ‘We know little about them, I’m sure the Tomb Bearers know much more, not that they’d ever share it,’ she said with annoyance. ‘The Bearers are the scholars within the Daybreakers of Dayargain. They claim they protect the city and the world from the undead that come from the south but truthfully, it’s the Dawn Isles. What we know is that they were built long before the war with the Ghel’Narran. The small suns at the top of each keep the golgeists away since there is very little running water in this land. They’re scattered around and for the most part they work on the weaker ones but every now and then something bigger finds its way through and the Daybreakers or the guilds have to go out and deal with them.’

‘So, these lighthouses are the Dawn Isles? I always thought there were islands around Dayaragain,’ Blink said curiously.

‘I look toward the sky and for the star that would guide me home. I find not within the darkness above. For you have come down to me to light my path. Islands in the waking shadow sea, may the dusk never come again,’ said Nessus. ‘It is part of a song of my people. It is much more beautiful in my language,’ they smiled.

‘You’re a Ghel then,’ said Brigid suprised.

‘I am. Does that bother you?’ Nessus asked.

‘The war ended a thousand years before I was born. Why should I care what you are?’ It wasn’t intended to be rude in any way although Blink was hard pressed to hear anything else in the way she spoke. Nessus seemed not to mind, replying, ‘that is a rare and welcome gift so far from home.’

‘Nessus why do the Ghel have a song about the lighthouses? They weren’t from here, were they?’ Danu asked.

‘Much of the Knowledge is lost but what is found says we were not always at war. That song goes on and speaks of our Gods and how they plucked the very stars from the heavens and gifted them to us to light our way. It is a very old song,’ they said with the same deepening sadness that came from them whenever they spoke of their people and their lost Knowledge.

‘Do they ever go out?’ Blink asked.

‘No. Never. Even if they’re knocked down. The broken towers still shed light. It just can’t reach as far,’ said Brigid. ‘Some of the stronger golgeists get living creatures to bring them down so they can get through more easily. Most of those are closer to the boarder of Tarakeshan. The Daybreakers or the guilds get rid of them before they can do much more damage, or at least they’re supposed to.’

‘Are we going to have to fight these golgeists?’ it was Ra’Handa that spoke this time. She had been silent for most of the journey and keeping a close eye on Nessus. Despite her watchful seething there was a hint of hope in her words. Could you for once hope for a safe warm bed and a meal rather than something that might get us killed Ra, thought Blink knowingly of his old friend.

‘It should be fine. We can camp by the Isles at night, and there are settlements along the road. The towns have their own Isles to keep them safe. In Tory there’s a swamp that borders some of the old mining tunnels and cave systems. Golgeists have been known to show up in the tunnels from time to time, but we won’t need to go too far in to find the ore we’re looking for,’ Brigid said with a calmness of one that had made the trip many times before. Blink could not sense the agitation or frustrations she had exhibited since they had met. He began to wonder if these golgeists could really be so bad, it sounds as though they may even go without ever seeing one. Then again if even a small part of the stories he had heard had been true then they were much to be feared.

‘What are the golgeists?’ asked Blink trying to mask the fear in his voice. He knew what they must be based on the stories but part of him hoped it would be nothing but the tales to scare children much as he had heard of the Ghel’Narran.

‘They’re the undead,’ said Danu. Blink felt his shoulders sink. Had it been too much to hope for that they would not be so?

‘The books I read at home said that the Ghel’Narran prized the Knowledge so much that they never stopped to think how it might anger the Gods. They grew too powerful and tried to take over Haydellon and started the war. The book said that their great technological cities were destroyed in a single night ending the war. As punishment for their hubris the Gods cursed the entire land and all its people, waking the dead so that they may never rest. All the Knowledge they prized so dearly gone forever. At least that’s what the book said anyway,’ she realised at last that she had been speaking so matter-of-factly about Nessus’s people and looked to them guiltily. ‘I’m sorry Nessus… I wasn’t thinking,’ she said apologetically.

‘Yes. That is what your history says. My people have said it was Haydellon that started the war. Envious of our power. When they couldn’t take it, they found a way to destroy our homelands. They say the dead are our people seeking revenge. I do not think we will ever know for sure.’ Nessus looked at them and forced a smile. They rode their horses on after that and made camp at an Isle several hours before night fell. Blink found it difficult to sleep beneath the ever-constant glow of the light yet was glad to have it there.

‘Can’t sleep ey?’ said Ra’Handa sitting herself down beside him.

‘It’s the lights. I’m not used to it I suppose,’ he said.

Stolen story; please report.

‘Things are different out here than at home. For me it’s the quiet. If I only had some of the boys back home fightin’ over a game’a dice to put to be sleep. Best lullaby I ever had,’ said Ra’Handa looking out in the distant landscape bathed in shadows and moonlight. ‘Bonny’s a noisy place even at night… but out here…’ she didn’t finish. Blink supposed it was quiet for her. For him he could make out the sounds of animals moving through rough trees and scrub, of the beating wings of a nocturnal bird diving at its prey. To his keen hearing there was an abundance of activity beyond the glow of the Isle’s light.

‘Never thought I’d miss my little room,’ he said. It hadn’t been a lie. He did miss the familiarity of his small room. At the least it was his. There had been so few things he could call his own.

‘Did we do the right thing Ra?’ he said after a moment.

‘Did we do the right thing? You’re a right idiot Blink… what do you think would have happened if we stayed?’ she said incredulously.

‘I just mean there might have been another way. Maybe we didn’t need to run away,’ even in his own ears it sounded foolish.

‘You’d rather be dodging Demera all your life and being treated worse than a dog in that place?’ she asked incredulously.

‘At least it was my place, and I knew it. Out here… I don’t know anything Ra… and then there’s what happened on the ship getting us here,’ he said flexing his arm so he could feel the tightly knitted skin of the burn scars on his arms.

‘Forget about it. It wasn’t your fault an’ we’re exactly where we need to be,’ she said giving him a light jostle from her shoulder. ‘Forget about Bonny and Demera and that half-pint shit head Horrog. We can have whatever we want from here. It’ll all be ours. All of it, ey,’ she said.

‘All of it seems like a lot, Ra,’ said Blink.

‘Fine then. I’ll have most of the world an’ you can just a have a little then. Just enough, how ‘bout that?’ she said with a tusked smile.

‘Sounds good to me Ra,’ said Blink, the warmth of a smile threatening to break through his brooding.

The second day of travel went much as the first did. They talked at times whilst mostly admiring the landscapes around them. It remained a rocky and dry land about them yet here and there were pockets of greenery and life. Brigid had become of amenable since leaving the city and her mood lightened. She even began to relish in sharing information about the land and some of its history. It seemed she was taking on the role of a guide more than a blacksmith. She spoke of the raids on towns closer to the borderlands, she spoke of the trade routes that followed the road north to the mountain passes and beyond. When it was time to rest again, they came to a toppled Isle amongst an outcropping of greenery by a small river. The light of the small sun at its tip still shone brightly illuminating the area.

‘What happened to this tower?’ asked Danu curiously studying it.

‘Remember how I said that they keep the golgeists away but not the humans that help them? That’s what happened to the Isle,’ she said.

‘Why would people help them? It’s bad enough those things exist let alone having people to help them,’ a marked distaste on her face as she spoke.

‘You’d have to ask them… but they have their reasons. Zealots and fools mostly trying to bring about another cleansing like what happened to Tarakeshan. Unless the golgeists suddenly learn how to swim or take boats they must find their way past the Isles and Dayargain to reach much farther. Some folks that help them think we deserve it all,’ she said unrolling her sleeping mat.

‘Deserve it all,’ Danu exclaimed. ‘How could anyone deserve such a thing,’ she added, though it was not a question.

‘And mortals in all their envy did take from the Numinia; power beyond what any mortal may ever hold. Their reach was too great, their climb too high, and so their fall must be the same,’ spoke Nessus reciting something in their memory. They all stared at them until they added, ‘that is only part of what the Northerners call The Fall of the Numinia.’

‘I’ve read about that story. It says mortals were gifted magic by the gods, the Numinia, and this is how we came to use magic. However, the greed of some was so great they stole all the power of the Numinia and proclaimed themselves Gods,’ she spoke the last word like something rancid was in her mouth. ‘None of that has anything to do with the war or these golgeists so far as I can tell,’ she added questioningly.

‘It is what it is they believe. Gods or no, mortals do plenty of horrible things on their own to be deserving of those creatures. Get to sleep, we make for Denning in the morning,’ said Brigid sounding lost in other thoughts. There was anger there, there usually was with Brigid, however Blink thought there must have been something else on her mind. There was a sadness to her, like something lost.

‘I’ve no head for Gods or whatever. Sounds more like magic none of us should be mucking about with,’ said Ra’Handa pointedly aiming the statement at Blink and Nessus.

‘There’s nothing wrong with magic Ra’Handa,’ said Danu, that round faced pout returning.

‘Didn’t mean nothing about you Danu, you’re alright ey,’ she said dismissing the brewing mood in Danu. Ra’Handa seemed to forget the young druid far too often for her liking.

‘Enough! Get to sleep already,’ grumbled Brigid, back turned to the others. They all gave one another a look silently acknowledging the aches in their sides from the ride and bone weariness of the travel. One after another they climbed into their bedrolls and let sleep take them.

They did not have to travel much farther before reaching Russock Flats. It was a small, yet bustling town cut through by the road they had been traveling. True to Bridgit’s word there stood a white beacon of light, the Isle, in the centre of town. As far as towns went it was much like any other, or so Blink assumed. The folks there were bustling about their business, the buildings encircling the Isle in the centre appeared to be shop fronts and public areas. What appeared to be the most important, and busiest part of town was of course the Inn. The town’s folk came and went from there, some, farmers and cattle drivers mostly, talked business out the front, and more besides inside. The Mare’s Mantle the Inn was called and displayed a standing white horse wearing a crown of tumble weed. Some of the towns folk seemed to notice Brigid immediately and gave her warm welcomes or acknowledging nods as they passed. They handed their horses to a runty stable boy and Brigid obliged him with a few silver coins. As boy left and Brigid warned the group to stay out of trouble.

‘Lots of mercenaries and members of the guilds pass through here. Stay out of their way, mind your own business, leave things to me. Understand?’ she added the final question giving each of them a stern eye. Blink wanted to roll his eyes at her though knew better. Did she think they had no clue about anything?

‘We ain’t gunna cause any trouble. If anything I’d be happy for some ale an a game of dice,’ said Ra’Handa.

‘No dice or cards! You’re likely to get drunk and make trouble for me,’ she countered angrily.

‘None!’ Ra’Handa exclaimed and dismayed. ‘I’ll be havin’ a drink no matter what you say. It’s been days on the road an I’m thirsty,’ she said brushing her off.

‘Do you have any idea what they’re like? The guilds I mean?’ Brigid said standing in her path as Ra’Handa made to leave. ‘The Daybreakers and those pious better-than-thou priests from The Isle Keepers are always looking to flex their muscles here. The only moral law far from the Council in Dayargain is the one that has the most power. They’ll hang you or jail you before they bother with fair trial; its faster, cheaper, and easier. Do you understand?’ Brigid wielded the words like a weapon, strike after strike of foreboding.

‘What? For having a drink and a game?’ said Ra’Handa a gruff smirk on her face.

‘No… for whatever foolish greenhorn thing you might do on top of that,’ Brigid countered sharply.

‘Ra isn’t going to cause any trouble. None of us are. Just one drink and then some rest. Isn’t that right Ra,’ Blink said wanting the bickering to stop. He needed a bath and a bed more than anything and this fighting would bring them no closer to it.

‘A’course I’m not gunna cause any trouble. As Blink said, just one drink ey?’ she gave Blink a wry and poorly concealed wink as she said so. Brigid seethed at the sight of it.

‘Fine! But if you wind up in a cell tonight, I’ll not be collecting you in the morning,’ she said stomped off toward the Inn.

Inevitably one drink turned into another, and then another. Brigid had resolved herself to her own quarters after arranging payment for the rooms and a meal. Blink was left to mind Ra’Handa and keep her out of trouble. She became heavily involved in a game of cards with several of the local ranch hands and to Blink surprise an off-duty member of the Daybreakers. He was older than those he had seen in Dayaragain but still carried himself with weight of strength and respectful fear. Blink had desperately urged Ra’Handa to leave the table with her winnings when he arrive, but she would have none of it. She’d had a streak of luck; most of which was self-made luck as she nimbly worked favourable cards into her hand without other noticing.

‘You’re quite the player miss,’ said the Daybreaker watching her closely.

‘Luck is a Lady and I’ve a way with the ladies,’ she said drunkenly and laughed riotously at her own jest. Others at the table joined in, though not at heartily. She’d been taking their hard-earned coin most of the evening.

‘Indeed she is. What was you name again?’ he asked.

‘Rach,’ burst in Blink before Ra’Handa could speak.

‘An’ me mate here is Basil,’ she said eyeing him with a gleam in her eye. She thought the name a marvellous joke.

‘Rach and Basil… where might you be headed. These are not safe roads these days,’ he said their names with an emphasis that make Blink anxious.

‘We didn’t catch your name,’ said Blink avoiding the question.

‘Hawkins Bracewell second eldest son to the Bracewell estates in Dayargain. Now where are you headed,’ he said never taking his eyes from Blink. A noble then. So it was true that they were all nobles, wealth and power were not new to such men. Wealth and power not unlike Horrog; this Hawkins would not hesitate to use it if it came to it. Blink needed to find away to make Ra’Handa leave the game and go to bed.

‘Tory Town. We’re heading there to join a guild. Gunna be adventurers and mercenaries we are,’ said Ra’Handa without thinking.

‘Tory! Some little fella’ from them Isle Keepers was headed there recently,’ spoke one of the ranch hands.

‘You best keep yer distance from that one. Scared the willies outta folk here with his wooden teeth grinnin’ about as he did,’ said another.

‘Why’s an Isle Keeper headed there? I’ll raise ya two silvers,’ she said adding coins to the pot.

‘Dunno. Lotta folks come through here. You ask me he was probably going there to spout his nonsense of retribution and what not. Would’ya believe he told us we didn’t deserve the light of our Isle?’ said the rancher.

‘I’ll see your two silvers, lass. Them Isle Keepers is no better than the rest of us. No better than those that try toppling the Isles I say,’ this was a farmer from outside the town. He’d been heavy in his cups that night and after saying the words remember the company he kept. ‘I meant no disrespect though Hawkins sir. None’tal,’ he apologised. Hawkins eyed them all and an awkwardness feel on the table.

‘You speak of Pavreck. He is on the council in Dayargain and devoted to the order of both Isles and Daybreakers. You best mind your tongue,’ he said threateningly.

‘I meant no harm sir. Truly. Just made us humble folk nervous with his talk is all. No disrespecting you or him,’ the man prostrated. The tension was heavy as they stared waiting for a response. Blink noticed Ra’Handa seizing a moment to swap her cards. Not now Ra! Could have just a modicum of sense and caution, Blink thought. He looked to Hawkins and saw something in his eye, had he noticed Ra’Handa switch the cards? Blink did the first thing he could think of, he took a great gulp from his ale mug at the table and slammed it on the table toppling down with it. He did his best to play at being drunk and scattered coins and cards about. The men at the table rose ready to strike him, and even Ra’Handa looked as though she might.

‘I’m sorry. I think we’re both far too deep into our cups for this evening. Please let us buy a round on us,’ he said looking at Ra’Handa willing her to understand. She glared at him. She’d make him pay for this later.

‘Round on us boys!’ she called ruefully. The men at the table found this to their satisfaction. They collected the coins and cards from the floor and before any more could be said Blink, dragged her off to bed.

The next day their head’s throbbed angrily from the night’s drink. Brigid had heard of their behaviours the night before and remonstrated them both. Danu and Nessus had watched much of the even play out and made kept a watchful stance. Brigid scolded them as she had then to speak with Hawkins before they left. It had cost her much in pride and she would not hear then end of it from Brinn or Innais upon her return. The Daybreakers and Isle Keepers were no friends of the Iron Lioness. When Blink and Ra’Handa had spoke of Pavreck Brigid’s rage only increased.

‘I’m constantly surrounding by fools and ingrates. Pavreck is the last person I need to deal with right now. When we get to Tory you will do as I say. He’s had growing sway on the council this past year. We do not need to be noticed by him,’ she was furious with them.

‘Calm down. Yer splitting my head with your squawking,’ said Ra’Handa.

‘I’ll give you a split head alright with my hammer,’ she scolded.

‘What’s so concerning about this Pavreck?’ asked Danu nervously. Clearly the curiosity had gotten the best of her desire to avoid the conflict. Brigid glowered.

‘I’ve no energy to be your coddling teacher about such things!’ she snapped, and yet went on to answer the question. ‘Pavreck and some of the Isle Keepers have been speaking heresy for some time. They’re telling the people that it is the Isle’s that draw the golgeists and the corruption. He is mostly remonstrated by the Council, but he is growing popularity with the people; mostly those that have nothing else to turn to or those that have loved ones lost at the borderlands. All the old texts of the past are kept within the White Spire. They can say whatever they want and there isn’t anyone that can deny it. He is more dangerous away the Council that keep him in check. Am I making myself understood?’ she said daring them to say any more.

‘I believe so…’ said Danu meekly.

‘Stop your moanin’ an’ I promise to be on my best behaviour,’ said Ra’Handa. Brigid growled with frustration.

‘Fools… always surrounded by fools!’ she yelled showing her back to them as she left.

‘Perhaps you had best not chafe her further,’ said Nessus.

‘An’ I certainly don’t need to hear from you right now,’ was all Ra’Handa said or would say the rest of the journey.

The journey toward Tory went by relatively smoothly and Blink was beginning to feel more comfortable on a horse, despite the growing ache in his backside. He saw that Ra’Handa had not fared much better as she kept adjusting herself on the seat at regular intervals; her hangover had made this no easier feat upon leaving . Blink did his best to ignore the discomfort and focus on staying on the horse as he had done the previous few days. Brigid’s mood had not improved and if anything she seemed more anxious to arrive in Tory than before. The news of Pavreck has shaken her though she would not admit it. It was not until midday as they came close to end of their journey. They had begun to climb the top of rocky ridge that Brigid stopped suddenly.

‘What’s wrong Brigid? Why’d you stop?’ Blink asked sidling up beside her. What he saw as they looked down into the valley before them was what was once a small town. It looked as though the entirety was covered in thick dark roots and vines. Smoke billowed from off the buildings, but it seemed that whatever fire had been here had since been quenched by the same vines that engulfed the town. At its centre Blink could see a great spire that must once have been one of the Isles. The small sun that would normally be seen atop it was completely engulfed in vines, with desperate beams weakly peeking through.

‘What happened here?’ Danu asked. Ra’Handa sniffed the air.

‘Smells like death,’ she said. Blink did the same concurred with the smell. The acridness of death hung on the air. He knew the smell well no thanks to Demera. There had been times when her lessons in discipline had been too much for some of the other slaves or those that had cheated Horrog in some way. How many of those bodies had he been made to carry out in his years? How the smell had clung to his nose for weeks after.

‘I can smell it too,’ said Blink and with that Brigid took off on her horse down into the valley as fast as the declining path would allow.

‘Wait! It’s not safe,’ Blink tried helplessly. If Brigid had heard she didn’t show it. She never looked back.

Brigid rode as fast as she could down the winding path without falling. She heard Blink yell behind her warning her that it wasn’t safe. Not safe! Of course it isn’t. I have to get to them. There must be survivors. There must be! She thought to herself as her horse bounded expertly down. Her thoughts were racing. Faces of the people in the town flashed through her mind. The old man that ran the drug store that she would always bring herbs back to. The children that would follow at her heels wherever she went. The ranchers that took care of the horses and drove the cattle up and down the valley to the grasslands for feeding. She could smell their musky bodies packed together trapsing through the dust. The simple smithy there, a gruff barrel-chested man that never looked down on her for being a girl. She even thought of the young ladies her age in the town that would whisper and stare as she went about her business covered in sweat and soot. Brigid hated the way those girls treated her. She hated it even more that she envied them and their dresses and silly swooning over the young stable hands. They must be alive. They must be!

As she drew closer to the town, she saw the sign hanging over the main street as a welcome to travellers. The two chains that suspended from wooden beams would normally be swaying in the wind currents that were trapped and funnelled into the valley. Instead, one side was broken, and the other was encased in the same thick vines. The sign read, Welcome to Tory. Now that she was closer, she could see the vines more clearly. They weren’t black at all but rather a dark green streaked with a sickly yellow. Nettles protruded from them like the small spined creatures she had seen crawling from holes in tiny burrows on the plains. Each needle was tipped with the same yellowish colour on the end and was as thick and long as a finger.

‘Yirranna! Denver! Calyra! Fenna!’ She called from in front of the sign. Her voice echoed across the valley, and she received nothing but the return of her own voice. She rode on, not as quickly as before, keeping careful distance from the vines and needles. Moving through the town she could see the windows were broken and vines had found any crevice they could inside the buildings. On top of them they looked like some vicious version of seaweed that gathers in clumps on the rocks around Dayargain. She made her way toward a central building no larger than the rest however she knew this to be where the doctor lived and worked. She was a woman harder than any Brigid had ever met, harder than the stones surrounding this place. If anyone could survive this, it would be her. She stopped in front of the building, or at least what was left of it. It looked as though a terrible fight had occurred here. The roof was completely caved in and there were burn marks scorching the wood.

‘Yirranna…’ she said and climbed down from her horse and slumped to the ground. ‘What happened? Where is everyone?’ she said to herself. Bridgid felt her eyes grow hot. She felt tears begin to streak her face. Brigid wept and let the tears flow. Bridgit swore many years ago that she would only ever shed tears for the dead and nothing else, not ever. She had held that promise. The promise she made when she lost those closest to her, when Innais had taken her in. She thought of them in this moment. She thought of her parents; their faces mixing in with the many friends and people of Tory that she had so come to love. She heard her companions finally reaching her. She felt a soft gentle hand touch her shoulder. It was Danu. Brigid turned and hugged her tightly. Danu said nothing and simply hugged her back.