“Oooh, that feels amazing.” Twisting her arm above her head, Ihra rapidly unwound the scarf that had buried her face and neck, allowing herself to luxuriate in the warm breeze that was beginning to blow from the west.

After a month of traveling through the frozen north of Harei Miqlat, the army had finally passed through Dūr-S̆innu and begun the descent into the province of Sapīya. The lands around Gis̆-Izum were still cool compared to the rest of the mostly jungle-bound province, but she was ecstatic to finally be rid of the endless snow.

Jasper watched with amusement as, with a little shiver of joy, the elfling stuffed the scarf into her bag with panache. “Your services are no longer required, scarfie.”

She glanced up in time to see his amused grin and her eyes narrowed with mock indignation. “Don’t laugh,” she scolded him. “You may not be bothered by the cold anymore, but I remember how much you complained about the jungle before your little upgrade.”

He laughed. “Oh, I would have been ten times worse than you,” he agreed. “You’ve been a trooper. But what I wouldn’t do is call my scarf, ‘scarfie.’”

“I’ve worn it so much it’s practically become a part of me,” she retorted. “It deserves a pet name. But I’m glad to finally feel the wind against my face again. You understand me, don’t you, Tsia?”

The princess shrugged. “It’s an improvement, but I won’t be happy to we’ll get back to the jungle. Even Gis̆-Izum is too cold for me. It was always the worst of visiting my mother.”

The mention of her mother - and the city she’d been exiled from - brought the memories flashing back to Jasper.

The frenetic battle against the undead queen’s troops.

Aphora’s stand on the wall.

His head bouncing down the rampart’s steps.

A shiver of his own ran down his spine, and he quickly forced the image away.

“Do you know if the army will stop at Gis̆-Izum,” Tsia continued, missing his momentary lapse.

Grateful for the distraction, Jasper bobbed his head. “That’s the plan. Thanks to the Lords of Wēdīnīnu, the army was stopped so long at Nūr-S̆ams̆a that they used up a good portion of the grain that was supposed to last them till they reached…” He frowned with concentration, trying to recall the name of the city in the province of West Corsythia where more provision awaited them, but failed. “The name’s slipped my mind. Anyways, General Ardûl wants to get more supplies before crossing the Abulmaḫḫu Mountains.”

After much debate with his party and several more meetings with the Moon-kissed general, Jasper had decided to accept Ardûl’s offer to join his staff. In many ways, it had been freeing. As a member of the staff, he was no longer expected to participate in the training or command of the unit ostensibly assigned to him.

But the special duties assigned to him thus far had proved rather boring - he’d been sent on scouting trips, to gather provisions, and occasionally to relay messages to other nobles in the army. Despite that, Jasper didn’t regret the choice as it had been the price he’d paid for Ardûl to agree to allow him to pursue Kas̆dael’s quest. Once they reached Gis̆-Izum, they were cleared to head west to search for the durgu prince.

“Do we have time to stop in the city,” Ihra asked, “or are splitting off before we reach it?”

Jasper was about to reply that it would be easiest to avoid the city altogether, but something in her tone made him hesitate. “Why?” He asked, cocking his head to the side. “Is there something you want to do there?”

“I wanted to check in on Kefir and Aryah. I just wanted to make sure they’re being taken care of.”

Kefir and Aryah. Jasper felt a flash of guilt as Ihra reminded him of the two small children they’d rescued from the village cultists. Especially since we ‘rescued’ them by killing their family. “Yeah, of course, we can check in on them. I should have thought of it myself,” he added guilty.

----------------------------------------

It took another two days before the army reached the walls of Gis̆-Izum. After one final meeting with Ardûl, the three split off with Erin in tow.

The city was as unique as he’d remembered. The towering brown walls, crafted from a truly enormous quantity of petrified wood, glistened with a ruddy streak beneath in the warm sun of early spring, and the river that swept around the city’s western flank was swollen with melt-off.

Some things had changed though in the aftermath of the undead queen’s attack. The last time they’d entered the city, the guards had let all enter freely; now, a long line of merchants, soldiers, and peasants wrapped across the bridge and along the river’s bank, waiting for their turn to enter. Thus, it was nearly midday before they finally entered the city, and turning down the nearest boulevard, headed straight for the guild’s sanctum.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The guild had also buffed security, and an entire squadron of guards now waited outside the massive metal gates that led into the shard world. A much smaller line was queued outside it, and a guard bellowed above the crowd. “Have your guild passes ready.”

“Guild passes?” Ihra shot a questioning glance at him.

“Beats me,” he replied. “I don’t recall needing them last time.”

As the last party in front of them passed through the doors, the guard stepped up to them with an impatient look on his face. “Where’s your guild passes? We said to have them ready.”

“We’re members of the guild,” Jasper said, pointing to Ihra and himself, “but I don’t remember needing any guild passes to enter.”

“Been away for more than a year,” the guard asked.

“I guess so; after the attack on Gis̆-Izum, we headed to Harei-Miqlat and have just returned.”

“Huh,” the guard stared at them with new eyes, finally looking for more than just the pass. “A djinn and an elf? We don’t get many of your kind here. You sure you’re with our guild? I don’t know about y’all,” he said to Jasper, “but I know the elves have their own guild.”

“Yes, we’re members of the empire’s guild. We even helped defend the city against the undead queen,” Jasper replied. “If you don’t believe us, you can send for Captain Ellēs̆u or Anīya - I'm sure they'd vouch for us.” But as he said it, Jasper suddenly realized he wasn't entirely certain if it was true. He was certain the captains would vouch for them if they could recognize him which, with his changed appearance, was no guarantee.

But the guard’s expressions relaxed as Jasper dropped the captains’ names. “Nah, there's no need to call them. Anīya and Ellēs̆u aren’t so famous you’d have heard ‘em anywhere else. If you know 'em, then I reckon you’ve been here before.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Frankly, this whole system is a bit unnecessary - no one's going to harm the Sanctum - but the city lord's been a bit paranoid after the 'incident.' Let me get you settled." The guard taunted over to the small checkpoint blocking the gates and bent over the desk. After a moment’s shuffling, he returned with two small silver sheets about the size of a credit card.

“Here, take these. I’ll let you in for now, but when you reach the village, make sure you stop in at the guild office. They’ll attune these cards to you so you can get in and out of the sanctum in the future. Don’t think of trying to skip out on it,” he added. “The doors won’t open without these cards.”

Jasper palmed the cards and stuck them in his bag. “Thanks. And what about our friends?” He pointed at Tsia and Erin. “They’re not guild members.”

“Unless they’re hoping to join, I can’t let them in,” the guard replied.

“There isn’t any sort of day pass we can get-” Jasper started to ask, but Tsia cut in.

“Don’t worry about it. We can wander around the market for a while. And, frankly, I wouldn’t mind stopping at my mother’s old home to see what’s become of it.” She carefully avoided dropping her mother’s name, rightly suspecting that Aphora was not too beloved in Gis̆-Izum.

“If you’re sure,” Jasper relented and gestured for the guard to proceed. Returning to the gate, the guard waved his own card in front of the massive metal barriers, and they slid back, revealing the sanctum beyond.

A dark night sky awaited them beyond the gates, and Jasper remembered that the sanctum operated on its own time. Hope the guild’s open.

It was only a few miles ride to the guild’s quaint village, but he was relieved to see the first cracks of dawn appear against the distant, and illusory, mountains as they neared the village center. Already a few merchants were beginning to haul their wares into the stalls, and the air was filled with the scrumptious scent of fresh, hot buns that one particularly industrious baker was already hawking. They stopped long enough to buy a dozen and continued on to the orphanage.

The small building looked exactly as he recalled it. Although slightly on the shabby side, it was clean and well cared for. It was still early enough in the morning that the children hadn't been sent outside to play, but as they neared the door, the high-pitched yells and chatter wafting through the walls told him they were up. He rapped lightly on the door and took a step back.

A middle-aged woman with frazzled hair peaked her head out. Despite the dark bags beneath her emerald eyes, she offered them a kindly smile. “Hi - are you here to donate?”

“Well,” Jasper hoisted the bag of fresh hot buns for her to see, “I do have a little something to share with the children, but we were mostly here to see Kefir and Ariyah.”

“Kefir and Ariyah?” The woman’s brow began to wrinkle, and here eyes focused on Ihra. “Wait, I remember you. You were the woman who brought the children here. You had a different man with you then, though” she added with a touch of judgment.

“Actually,” Jasper cut in quickly, "my skin changed color from a heritage trait, so I do look a little different, but it's still me.”

The woman scrutinized him skeptically. “You certainly do look different,” she finally agreed, “but I suppose wouldn’t be the first to undergo such a noticeable change. Very well, you can come in.” With a quick nod of her head, she stepped aside to allow them to enter.

“I suppose you’re here to renew your sponsorship of the children,” she asked, as she led them down the hall toward her office. “If I remember correctly, you left enough money for a year, so we ran out a month or two ago.”

“We’ll renew it,” Ihra quickly cut in. “But we also wanted to check in on them and make sure they’re alright.”

The woman’s lips thinned. “We don’t hurt children here, ma’am.”

“I didn’t mean that,” she replied, “but I grew up in an orphanage. I know how hard it is to care for so many children.”

The caretaker seemed mollified by the reply, and her posture eased. “I do my best. And I do have good news about Kefir and Ariyah. One of the families in the village has expressed interest in taking them in. Sponsors have the right to object to an adoption, so we were waiting for you to either let the patronage lapse or give approval, but with you here now, there’s no reason we can’t move forward immediately - as long as you’re willing, that is.”

Approval was on the tip of Jasper’s tongue, but Ihra beat him to it, responding more guardedly than he expected. “I don’t think we can do that without meeting them.”

The caretaker seemed unfazed by her objection. “Of course - I’d expect nothing less. Why don’t you join us for breakfast and I’ll send for them. The sooner we get this done, the better, yes?”