"I'm glad we'll have the Daughter of Doom with us," Neri said. He'd been observing Nava for close to an hour, surprised and delighted at the way her presence warmed his heart. He thought back to the heartsmith who tended to Jem. He'd found her capable and beautiful, but he looked at her the way he would a soldier he admired. Nava seemed different somehow. Her beauty and humor, along with her obvious competence, drew Neri to her, so that he had to make an effort to look away and tend to other things.

“And I’m glad I’ll have the eyes of an Owl on me,” she said with a smirk.

“I’m watching how you pack your gear, if you want the truth.”

“I loathe the truth. It’s always disappointing. I’d rather pretend you were eyeing me and not my fishing tackle.”

Farin came to Neri with a roll of cloth. She looked ashamed.

“I hear you’re to travel under a guise,” she said timidly.

Neri nodded. “My scouts have seen goblins lurking in the woods north of the Sholai. The Chieftains all agreed we should a hide our identities till we reach the inn at the Dawnwood.”

“I heard Prince Ror refused to bring any soldiers along. He’s most selfless. I worked through the night, and wove some rings inside the tunics you, Nava and Chief Yormun are to be travelling in.”

She set the cloth on the ground and unrolled it. “This is yours.”. She stood and held it up. It was richly sewn, with vivid shades of bronze and azure. The texture was as smooth as glass, and the pale light of morning washed over it in gentle waves.

“Bill of a duck!” Neri exclaimed as he ran his fingers over the garment. Nava laughed. “I’ve never worn such clothes. What is my guise to be?”

“The son of a wealthy merchant,” he heard his Chieftain say. Gund was wearing the most jumbled mess of finery Neri had ever seen. The old warrior’s chonmage was unravelled and his long white hair fell over one side of his head. He wore heavily gemmed rings on every ginger, and his beard was forked, braided and cuffed.

“You look ravishing, father,” Neri said with a grin.

“I’ll be keeping track of every liberty you take, boy.” Gund chuckled and patted Neri on the shoulder. “The princes were arguing over the role, and so I did the fatherly thing and gave it to someone else who never complains. Besides, they’re grieving, and will be much more convincing as body guards with their brooding faces.”

“And who am I to be?” Nava asked impatiently.

“My faithful and obedient guide.”

Koll and Buri approached, and Farin stood by her husband’s side and looked to the ground. She need not punish herself. Few of us can handle long treks under the sky. “Thank you, Farin,” he said. He removed his jerkin and pulled the armored tunic over his head. He caught Nava staring at him in the corner of his eye. “I feel safer, and richer, than I’ve ever been.”

She smiled faintly. Koll put his arm around her and kissed her cheek. Neri found it both comical and endearing to see him lift his head to place his lips just above her jaw. Koll and Buri were both geared in crude, but well forged cuirasses with broad pauldrons and skirts of patinated scales. Farin turned and lifted a pack from the ground, and produced scaled coifs for each of them. Buri raised an eyebrow. She put her hand over her mouth.

“I forgot about your hair,” she said, overly abashed.

“He can flatten it,” Gund said gruffly. “If I had to change mine then he can change his. Heh, Ror dyed his bright orange, and has it almost every lock of it braided, courtesy of his sisters.”

The princes arrived just then. Ror was a sight, for sure. He too was reluctant to don his coif.

“My hair took all morning,” he said.

Gund gave him the same look Neri had seen him give many a whinging soldier, and the prince managed to fit the armor over his thick, flame colored mane. Prince Halfur donned his quietly, and thanked Farin.

“Don’t look so glum,” Ror told her. “Too big a group and we’d run out of convincing guises. They’ll need you here. Klar especially.”

“Yes,” Koll said eagerly. “She thinks of you as a friend, and doubtless she’s worried over the king and qu...”. Koll stopped himself awkwardly, and Farin gave him a scowl before quickly leaving.

Prince Halfur looked after her in confusion, then rolled his eyes.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

They went to the wain that had been decorated for Gund to ride in. The Starmancers gave them a pair of yak’s to haul it. The beasts looked hideous with their fur shedding off in clumps for the summer heat, but there was nothing to be done. The wain was well put together for the short time they had. A massive rack of Obaki ram horns crested the arch, and snowlion pelts made the cover. Every joint was banded in silver and gold, and the weels were braced with gleaming steel. Two citadel porters came bearing a large chest with holes cut beneath the lid and flung it onto the back of the wain. The younger princess came running close behind them, carefully watching the chest, then Princess Klar came along after her. They must have filled the chest with their own jewelry. I hope our guise pays off. I hope this whole venture pays off.

“Careful!” Gund shouted playfully, “Those are my wares!”. He laughed heartily, clearly enjoying the role he was to be playing. Neri looked about the group, and other than Koll they all seemed in good spirits. It felt good to be actively working towards the counter invasion, rather than standing around planning it Even the princesses seemed more alive than they had been, and Halfur had healed well. Neri had developed a great deal of respect for his prince since the journey from High Alden. He was a recluse, and often impolite, and so was thought of poorly by many of Thrond’s citizens. Neri was dubious of his command ability, knowing he’d only fought in one battle his entire life, but Halfur had far exceeded Neri’s low esteem. He had been especially impressed when Halfur stood and thanked the gnolls for their aid. He had no doubt that helped moved Nishta to follow them further.

Nishta, the poor creature. She became a Den Mother again, but to a cruel and brutal Alpha. Neri cringed when he heard them talking of the Black Ohm’s plans to reave the southern hills of High Alden. He felt greatly relieved when Dennel and their princess managed to convince their people to flee north to Eruhal, despite having vassal lords closer by to the south. Dennel was a good man, a soldier through and through, the kind of man Neri could feel a kinship to. And Salimod’s children bore no guilt. It pained Neri to see their grief as they led their people from their ruined city.

He regretted the part he played in the sacking of Cavanal as well. The Tall Hill was leveled in moments, and their soldiers handled soundly, leaving no threat from the hapless city. But his blood was hot from battle, and the narubit Piichi gave him was thirsty. He followed the ranks of soldiers down to the city without thought, and slew as he wished through its muddy streets. Only when the sun rose to clear away the storm did he stop. He could still see Ror watching the sack from the ruin of the castle, leaning heavily on his hammer in the morning mist. Their was blood on the prince’s weapon, but it was long dried. He’d slain the traitor king, and no one else.

Nava disturbed his thoughts, an easy thing for her to do. She’d come up next to him and smiled, and was nodding towards the royal family. The little one was trying to hug both Ror and Halfur at once. Halfur reluctantly patted her on the back while Ror mussed her hair. Farewells were said, the last of their provisions loaded onto the cart, and they went on their way.

The Ladder to the Moon was a beautiful range, in Neri’s mind. He always enjoyed looking back at it when he could on patrols. He watched Cloud Hammer’s three peaks fade from the comfort of the wain. The sun was standing its high noontide vigil, casting lifegiving lances of golden fire to the weary world. The snows of the jagged mountains glowed pink in the midday haze, and far above a blanket of rippling clouds stretched from north to south, vanishing eternal into the distant eastern horizon. To the west the world was blue and green. The heavy rain over High Alden had washed its way eastward until breaking over the Titan’s Arm. Now the air was clear and the ground moist. A cool wind swept down into the valley and cooled Neri’s brow. He lifted his head bac and let his beard dangle in the breeze.

He felt his blood warming looking at the world before him. Thrond was beaten and they were driven out, and their false ally punished. The pain of the past, recent though it be, was behind them, and they were forging ahead to reclaim what they’d lost. Somewhere out there was Nishta. He hoped to see her again and give her some encouragement. And Dathenyn was out there as well. The gnolls had one a victory over the elves, but not the elves of Moonveil. Neri discerned that much from their talk. The elves of Farhome had come straight north from Solstice, while Roaminstar flanked them from the east and Moonveil from the north. The Black Ohm sought to reave the southern hills of High Alden because he knew that death awaited him to the north, and was likely hoping to fortify his front to the east. They had centaurs, still, many of them from what Nishta told him. And the Black Ohm was rallying all the packs to him. A few resisted his call, including Gosvag’s. Nishta sniffled when she told him that.

Only time would tell how that sad war would play out. Their path would not take them through it, fortunately. They were making as straight a path as one could to Eruhal. First they would stop at the Inn where the mercenary Val was known to stay, and then to the Towers of Wind, where they would pass under the shadow of Autumn’s Fury, the mountain High Alden’s tallest tower took its name from. That tower was only a memory now, as High Alden was soon to be. Neri had steeled himself to prevent Thrond from suffering such a fate, no matter what cost he must pay.

They travelled quickly on through the day, stopping only once in the evening to eat, and then carried on through the night. They took a path that snaked rapidly down the steep bluffs that lined the northern edge of the mountains, cutting though a tunnel with an ancient door that opened only outward from within. The path cut days off their journey, but would not be open to them on their return. Dawn was giving way to morning when they stopped to make camp. They were all still a bit weary from their recent trials. Ror agreed ahead of time to let Gund call the pace, and he determined they would not push themselves at first. And so they stopped to sleep, after only twenty some hours on the road.

They found a hollow in a wide hill that led to a small grotto. They laid their bedrolls in the grotto and Buri went to work making a fire. Neri went to the top of the hill with Nava to get the lay of the land. They saw the old orc path the tribes once wandered when there was peace between Old Tusk and Eruhal. Through those fields ran several roads there wain could make good time on. The Star Way was the narrowest and steepest, but shot like an arrow through the Dawnwood, and would bring them near the Inn and be easy to find again once their business was done.

Ror and Halfur had gone back and forth about which errand to run first. Halfur wanted to have Eruhal’s aid secured before searching the western world for the underguard. But Ror didn’t want to risk missing Val, and was eager to know whether he would aid them willingly or not. Ror won the debate, mostly because he had the strength to press his argument. Halfur was still weak from his injuries, though he tried to hide it.

Neri and Nava stopped to pet the yaks before descending into the grotto. Fos and Faf, she’d named them. Fos was mild tempered, and steady under the reigns, where Faf looked everywhere but forward, and needed constant correction. Faf was an affectionate beast, and left Nava’s face a wet mess with his nostrils and tongue. He just about swallowed Neri’s hand to the wrist when he fed the animal a shock of wheat from their stores. Fos watched disinterestedly, chewing his food as constantly as he walked. Koll came from the grotto to check on the beasts. “You’d best get down there,” he said.

Nava looked to Neri as if for an answer, and he merely shrugged. They then trotted down into the grotto to see what was amiss. Halfur and Ror were standing side by side. Halfur had his arms folded over his chest and Ror’s hands were on his hips. Both were shaking their heads. Gund was sitting on a shelf of rock, and Buri was by the entrance rubbing the top of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. They’d evidently carried the chest down to watch after it. What moved them to open it, Neri could easily guess, as sitting amidst the jewels and baubles was Princess Yemi’s young friend Audun.