The journey to the south eastern border took about as long as it had to reach Prohr. The world beneath them seemed an endless flat disk as they soared over the plains. Even before they landed, a hot dry wind blew out of the desert. Only when they finally reached the border and landed next to the fort did Anna realize the plains rolled in small hillocks under the grasses and sparce trees.

But even those seemed to fade to the east of the fort. All the green and growing things seemed to just fade into the earth the farther she looked, replaced by dark red dirt and stones. The sky seemed to shimmer where it met the horizon, like the air over an open flame.

They had their usual shaky introduction with the guards. Andrew provided them with the letter of introduction they’d been given. “We were supposed to meet with Lord Justin Mac’Ares here. This is Fort Estros, right?” “Aye,” said the most senior man of the guards. “Not sure we have the space to accommodate your beast, though,” he added.

“He can look after himself,” Peter said.

“I imagine he can. Specially if he’s anything like the rubies.”

“Rubies?” Peter asked.

The man nodded. “I heard the Western dragons were all like metal. The ones in the east are like crystals. I’ve seen a few out over the desert. Bloody red, and they shine like glass in the sun.”

Peter grinned. “We should go and meet them, too,” Peter said.

“We don’t have the time,” Andrew chided. “And we’re not allowed to make detours anymore, remember?”

The guard nodded his agreement. “Doubt you’d want to fly that far into the desert anyway. They mostly keep to the mountains on the other side of the desert. If they come out this far… well, they don’t seem too happy about it.”

Moments later, Lord Justin arrived. Anna was struck by how unimpressive the man looked. He was the same height as Andrew, a little shorter than most of his guards. He was neither skinny, fat, nor bulky, existing in some sort of absolute middle ground. His clothes were fine, but worn and covered in dust. His face was marked by stress, and he examined each of the newcomers before greeting them.

“The Wisp Seekers,” he said, sounding as if he’d just swallowed sand. “This is all the Scepters have seen fit to send by way of aid?”

“Well, it’s not like anyone else could have kept up with us,” Peter said.

Lord Justin’s eyes swung to the younger man. “Maybe not. But, if you know how to handle these creatures, I won’t complain over the help. Have you been briefed on the situation?” he asked.

“Nothing specific, my lord,” Andrew said.

“Right. I suppose we’ll handle that first. Come with me.”

The trio followed behind Justin, Peter delaying a moment to ask Jarnvaror to stay put. The lord didn’t react at all to Jarnvaror’s growled response. Anna wasn’t sure if that meant he was brave or if the poor man was too exhausted to have noticed.

It had been clear even from the sky that Fort Estron had been made for soldiers. The towers were not the intricate stone structures of the castles in Woadrok or Prohr. They were boxy structures, built for the sole purpose of serving as posts for watchmen. Inside the fort the closest thing to a special structure was the mess hall, a low wooden building longer than the dozen cabins lining the walls themselves. Wooden stairways led to the ramparts, where soldiers could patrol between the towers. And the place stank of men and horses.

Lord Justin lead the trio under one of the awnings, where he gestured to a wide table cluttered with documents of all sorts. Half of it was taken up by a map, which he gestured to. “Let us begin by pointing out the specific locations that have already been raided,” he said. “They’ve always targeted the smaller settlements, places where farms and ranches are spread out.”

“What do they want from them?”

Lord Justin shrugged. “Whatever they can take. The smarter or the stronger bandits would simply ride out between patrols, take as much grain and as many goats as they could, then leave. No harm to the people. We would save our resources for those who demonstrated more… malicious intent.”

“Those who would kill or kidnap the farmers themselves?” Andrew asked.

Lord Justin nodded. “However, they would keep away from the towns and larger villages. At least, they would until recently.”

“Once they got their hands on Wisps, you mean,” Anna said.

The lord nodded again. “Yes. Or at least once they learned what they were doing with them. They use their Wisps to drive people away, to intimidate them. Then they steal anything the village has stockpiled that might be valuable.” He pointed to a few places on the map. “One group managed to steal over a thousand sheep between these few villages. Our patrols encountered them, but they used their Wisps to simply immobilize our men.”

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“When they realized they could do that,” Justin continued, “they began attacking the guarded caravans bringing aid to the villages as well whenever they could.”

“What sort of aid?” Andrew asked.

“Mostly wood for reconstruction of anything that burned down, and a few breeding pairs for shepherds to replenish their flocks. Things of that sort.” Lord Justin sniffed. “I supply the men to guard these, though they are usually coming from farther north in the province. Still, once those started going out, they’d always seem to lay in wait for them.”

Anna and Andrew exchanged a glance. “Is there any kind of pattern to the way they’ve been showing up? Are they moving north to south, or something like that.”

Lord Justin shook his head. “Not that we’ve noticed.” He spent a moment thinking, then pointed on the map to each place he could recall an attack with Wisps taking place. Anna watched carefully, but didn’t see a pattern. They would attack more on some days than others, and they seemed to be hitting all along the border. She glanced at Andrew, but he also shook his head.

“What about Nuidia?” Andrew asked. “Are they supporting the bandits?”

Lord Justin barked a laugh. “Helping them? Of course! They’ll never admit it, but they won’t stop the bandits from selling whatever they’ve stolen in the city.”

“Really?” Anna asked. “Why not.”

“Because they’re peoples are cousins?” the lord suggested. Then he shook his head. “Or maybe they really don’t care. They take in our criminals, too. Anyone they can make money off of. They won’t turn out anyone taking refuge behind the walls. And they won’t allow us to come in and find them.”

“But they’re killers and thieves!” Andrew said.

Lord Justin only shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to them. Whether they care more about blood or more about coin, it comes to the same thing. Bandits will flee to the city to sell their goods, then hold up inside long enough that we can’t keep watch. They’ll sneak back to their own dens later. As long as they don’t break any rules inside the city, it is their sanctuary.”

“And there’s nothing else you could do?” Andrew asked.

“Why not siege the city and get them to deal with the bandits?” Peter asked.

“Nuidia is all but impregnable,” Lord Justin said. “They command the only oasis in the desert. With their mages, they can survive for years under siege. We just don’t have the resources, the men, or the mages to take the city.”

“Have you petitioned them?” Anna asked.

“Do you know how many hundreds of years it’s gone this way with the lesser bandits?” Lord Justin asked. “They’d laugh in my face.”

“Well, maybe we should,” Anna said, looking from the lord to her companions. “Maybe they’ll listen about the Wisps.”

Lord Justin shook his head. “If you’d like to try, be my guest. But don’t expect them to listen to reason.”

“Thank you for the advice,” Anna said. “But I think we should try. Come on, guys.” She turned and started walking back toward the gate. Peter and Andrew followed. In moments, they were back with Jarnvaror, mounting up to fly the short distance remaining to the desert city.

“You really think they’ll listen?” Peter asked.

“We won’t know until we’ve talked to them,” Anna replied.

“I mean… it sounds like they’re pretty bad,” Peter said.

“Of course it does,” Anna said. “Lord Justin has been spending all his time dealing with the consequences of their policies.” “You think he’s just jaded?” Andrew asked.

Anna shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s why I think we should ask them ourselves.”

It felt as though Jarnvaror needed only a single bound to make it to Nuidia from the fort. The city sprawled out over the rocky plain at the edge of the desert. It seemed to shimmer in the sunlight, the white stone of its buildings turned golden, reflecting the earth around them, or green from the trees, which only seemed to grow inside the city’s walls. A huge lake took up the northern half of the space inside, ringed by foliage. Outside the walls, there was only the rocks, or in the far distance, sand dunes.

Throngs of people were moving about the streets. And even around the gates, Anna was sure she could see foot traffic. Jarnvaror confirmed it for them as he dove to land by the front gate, scattering dozens of people. “It’s alright! He’s perfectly friendly!” Peter tried calling to them. Anna doubted any of them heard him.

“Looks like people aren’t going to be to happy about you going into the city here, either,” Peter told the dragon. Jarnvaror rumbled something, and Peter nodded. “Yeah. Maybe you could. Then you could keep an eye on us from above.”

“What did he say?” Andrew asked.

“He’s thinking of finding a quick snack,” Peter said. “Hopefully we won’t take too long.”

“We may be spending the night here, all things considered,” Anna said. “Bureaucracy tends to trudge along at it’s own pace. It could take a while to get a real meeting.”

“Wonderful,” Peter muttered. They joined the small group of travelers walking up to the gate that had either been brave enough not to run when Jarnvaror landed, or had returned once it was clear he wasn’t a threat. It was a wide arch, and the guards only gave passing attention to the other travelers. But they stopped the trio.

“Names and business,” one demanded.

“We’re Wisp Seekers for the Scepters of Grealand,” Andrew said after providing their names. “We were hoping to discus the issue of Wisps in the area with some city officials.”

“And the dragon?” another of the guards asked.

“He gets us from place to place,” Andrew said. “But he’s… he’s very well behaved and won’t try entering the city without our permission.”

The group of guards exchanged glances and a few muttered words. Finally, they nodded.

“Outside affairs are not our concern,” the guard said. “You are welcome to seek an audience with any of the lords, but keep yourselves out of trouble. We will be watching you.”

The trio nodded their thanks, then they followed the other travelers into the city.