“I have it!” Devin cried, slamming down his notebook and gulping the last of his coffee. It was three in the morning, in the basement of the safe house, and still he and Sam and the others searched for the location of one of the stones. Juliet was asleep on a couch and Ashley, who sat beside her, had read the same page of a book three times before realising she was too tired to continue. At Devin’s call Sam and Arlandra rushed to the desk, rubbing sleep from their eyes, and they leaned over his notes.
“It’s the Air Stone,” Devin said. “Listen to this: Lady of wind, guardian of sky, her sisters lay by her side, in an icy abode, ever yonder, their sacred relic lies.”
Arlandra shook his head. “What does that even mean?”
But Sam understood enough. “The peaks. You think the stone is hidden somewhere in the mountains."
Devin nodded. “Lady of wind and guardian of sky are titles given to the sister goddesses Amyen and Vexyen. All of the old temples feature figures of the ten goddesses side by side, so the passage must be referring to a temple…”
“And the peaks are the iciest abode I’ve ever seen,” Sam finished.
Devin collected his notes, stood up and yawned. “Quite right. We shall get some rest, then head north; there is a village east of Durren where we might learn more about this temple, assuming it’s even there.”
They marked the village on their map and then retired to get some much needed sleep.
The icy northern winds soared down from the mountains and tore through their coats as they approached the village at the base of the mountains. Sam and the others had awoken just before noon. With the city on lockdown – troops were being deployed to meet Surian forces in the valley – Devin had set out to acquire permission to leave, while Sam and the others gathered supplies for their journey into the mountains. “We couldn’t have waited until summer!” Sam complained.
When Devin arrived at the palace he put forward a request to see the king – he didn’t expect to be answered – and then took a moment to observe from a window the crowd that was protesting at the gates. It seemed all Taellian males over sixteen had been conscripted into the military; that hadn’t happened in a while. There were mothers out there weeping and pleading. These were dire times indeed.
Devin was received by the lovely Princess Elena. She offered him a tired but courteous smile and led him into a private office. “As you know my father is in council with his generals,” she said, almost with a sigh. “Any business you have with the court can be conducted through me.”
Devin bowed before her. “Of course your majesty. I shall not take up your time, but I humbly request passage for my team and I into Old Durren.”
The princess inclined her head and blinked her pretty eyes. “You’re Master Shephard, are you not? My father sent you to collect those elemental stones. Are they truly as powerful as you say?”
“Quite so, your majesty.”
“I see,” she said, and then reluctantly, “You have my leave to go, though I pray you do not succeed.”
The team rendezvoused at the northern station and boarded the next train to the mines, and the prison camp known as Old Durren. They sat quietly for most of the trip, watching the snow fall over the receding valley and listening to the rattle of the carriage. Arlandra shivered, but not from the cold. “The last time I rode this train I was a convict,” he remarked. “Still, the sky was warmer then.”
The train dropped them off outside the prison camp and they were fortunately spared the sinister view. They led the pack mules from the train car – only these drowsy animals were hardy enough to navigate through the mountain pass. Devin took a moment to scan the surrounding terrain and then glower over his map. He pointed north-east with a gloved finger. “That road should lead us to the village. We have a few hours of daylight left so I suggest we hurry.”
As daylight faded and they came closer to the village the mountains transformed into a dim tone of pink, and as the snows were swept from the peaks by the harsh winds it was as if magic dust was being released into the sky.
They were received by the village elder – a stout old man with short arms, a great white beard, a bulbous nose, and a toothless smile. The village was simple with no more than two-dozen buildings around a central hall, and kind, hardworking folk. The people of the north did their best to avoid Taelliwey and Surra; they much preferred to keep to their own old and mysterious ways.
Devin and the others were invited to the hall to share supper and the warmth of a fire. While Sam, Arlandra, Ashley and Jules had soup and glared over the map of the northern terrain, Devin spoke in the odd native tongue to the village elder. They hadn’t a clue what was being said until Devin returned and sat down beside them. “Well, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that there actually is a temple close by, here…” he pointed at the map, “right behind that mountain. There’s a pass to the east that should accommodate our pack mules, it’ll get us to the temple within two and a half days.”
“Okay,” said Juliet, “and what’s the bad news?”
Devin frowned. “Someone else has come this way. The old man said a group of nearly two dozen well supplied men were spotted approaching the eastern pass just this morning. Grey Skull, no doubt.”
Sam tossed his empty soup bowl aside and cursed. “They’d have half a day on us, and even if we did catch up there’s no way we could get past,” then he paused and glanced up at Devin. “Could we?”
Devin swept his hand over the map; he was looking for something. “I have an idea but you’re not going to like it. This map is nearly a century old, it was part of my take on a heist Christel and I performed in Eden, and it originally belonged to a famous adventurer named Donellan Baffie. Now Baffie is said to have charted all over these mountains looking for treasure. I say instead of taking the eastern pass we go here…” he pointed again to the map, “into the gorge. According to this there is a cavern that runs straight through the mountain. If we leave at dawn we can be on the other side by nightfall, and at the temple by noon on the following day.”
They were all silent for a moment as they considered the dangers of Devin’s plan. The crackling of the fire seemed to last forever. Then Arlandra remarked, “At least we’ll be out of the wind.”
They set out as soon as there was enough light to see the path ahead. In the early morning the mountains were calm and serene. The sky was dim but clear, the air cold and crisp, and with hardly any wind, the snow rested over the peaks like a great silken blanket. The team made the most of this weather while it lasted.
With no clear path to follow, Devin relied on his compass and the map to navigate through the first leg of their journey. Although Ashley was used to desert travel – as were all of them – she was the only one who had spent the last year working from her office in Taelliwey. She shivered as she waded through the damp snow, and after the first hour her legs began to ache.
They reached a high crescent and then the wind began to pick up, tearing at them, it stung like icicles biting through their clothes. Then they began to descend. Eventually the sun reflecting from the snow began to hurt their eyes. They put on goggles, and wrapped their faces in thick cloth to keep their noses warm. “It’ll be much smoother going when we reach the cave,” Devin said, as he balanced to keep his footing in the loose snow. “Look there!” he shouted. “Dead ahead, there’s the gorge!”
It seemed to come so suddenly – the snow dropped into a deep void that descended all the way to an icy river at the bottom. Dark grey rocks protruded from the mountainside, and although it was shallow and broken, there still seemed to be a path that ran down to the bottom of the gorge. Great icicles hung like spears from the cliff. There was no wildlife to be seen and only the frozen remains of pine trees. The place seemed desolate and foreboding.
Arlandra leaned over the edge – it was a twenty food drop to the next rocky tier below. “Yeah, we’re not getting down this way.”
“Goodness gracious!” Devin exclaimed. “It’s steeper than I thought.”
“And there’s still no sign of your cave,” said Sam.
“But we do see the path.” Devin removed his goggles and mask and took a deep breath so cold it began to burn his lungs. His eyes swept up and down the gorge. “The rock face is gentler over there. We shall rope down onto the path and then travel up the gorge until we find the entrance.”
Arlandra was the first to climb down – the descent was diagonal but steep, and if he lost his grip he would slide all the way down and likely be thrown into the river far down below, or he would crash into one of the other tiers of rock. The assassin dug his specialised blades into the wall for support, and every few paces he knocked a heavy peg into the rock to secure the rope. When Arlandra reached the bottom, Sam used the rope for support and abseiled down, descending much quicker than the assassin. Next came Ashley, and then Juliet, who came down with ease. When Devin was halfway down one of the pegs shot out of the rock with a puff of snow and dust, and he yelled as he lurched down, no more than a metre, before the next peg took the wait of the rope and he crashed into the wall.
“Are you okay?” the others yelled.
Devin shouted back. “Not really, but thanks for asking.” He was trembling, but continued on without fault.
They hugged the rock face as they made their way along the narrow pass. At one stage Arlandra kicked a stone and watched as it clacked and clambered its way down the abyss, until it splashed into the blue icy river below. Eventually the path began to dig into the rock face, and though it was still cold, the precipice now shielded them from the wind. It grew dark, large clumps of ice drooped from the cliffs above them forming a wall on both sides; one of ice and the other of rock. “Tread carefully,” Devin warmed them. “I think this is it. Keep your eyes open. According to the map this entrance is hard to find.”
Arlandra laughed. “Who figured?”
The icy tunnel that they were following suddenly opened up into a large chamber of glistening white and the purest sparkling blue. Devin threw down his rucksack and let it slide across the ice. “I feel like I’m inside a diamond!” The beautiful radiance was the result of the sun at this time of day shining through the relatively thin layer of ice that surrounded them. Everyone stared for a moment at the ceiling above; they stood beneath a gushing river that had suddenly frozen in time, casting them in subtle shades of azure. “The entrance is nearby,” Devin murmured, releasing himself from the spell. “Shall we rest a moment while we look around?”
Arlandra stayed with the women while Sam and Devin investigated the rest of the cavern. He was concerned about Juliet, for even though her eyes glowed with wonder, drinking in the magical snowy scenery, her cheeks and nose were rosy red, and her eyebrows were covered with frost. “This place is beautiful,” she whispered, and then she glanced at Arlandra. “Aren’t you cold? You’re barely shivering.”
The assassin smiled and set about making a small fire. “I’m abnormal. The energy that flows through me comes from nature itself, and finally I know how to use it.” He poured a substance known as Vloiir Fluid into a metal bowl. The fluid came the druids of Sorraya, it was a concoction mixed from serpent blubber and sap of the dgre tree, designed to create the most beautiful and eternal of flames. Arlandra lit the flame by placing a hand over the pale liquid. “For a long time I believed that power over the elements required control…” The horrid memory of the day he scarred Juliet flashed before his eyes – the fires and the screaming. He looked away from her and glared into the vibrant purple flames as they drifted to shades of pink. His voice became distant “It’s about harmony.”
Ashley quietly stood up and decided to join Sam and Devin. Alone by the fire, neither Arlandra nor Juliet spoke for a while. They set out the rations for the others, and as he ate, Arlandra checked Juliet’s hands and feet for frostbite. Her hands were lightly calloused after a year of fighting in the desert, and Arlandra held them gently. At last their eyes met.
Suddenly Devin called from afar. “We have our entrance, gentlemen, and ladies!” In the far wall of the cavern was a narrow chute encrusted with ice, only wide enough for the group to fit single file. They rested a moment longer, and then shuffled through, determined to make it to the other side by nightfall. “Don’t get claustrophobic now, we might be down here for a while.” There was no light inside save for the lantern that Devin carried; he led them through, speaking only to warn them of a step or sudden incline in the path, and they pressed on until they were wary and tired.
It was many hours until Devin stumbled into a bed of snow splashed with twilight, and his eyes gleamed as he stared up into the bright mountain sky speckled with an eternity of stars. They had made it through the pass, and the others emerged more cautiously, embracing the cool wind as they stood on the overhang, glancing down into the star-stricken snowy fields as if it were some magical realm.
Devin crawled to his feet and brushed the powdery snow from his coat. “Somewhere hidden in the gloom out there is our temple. We’re right on schedule!”
Sam indicated for everyone to rest. “We’re not getting anywhere in the dark. We’ll sleep until dawn. If the gods are kind, we won’t encounter Grey Skull on the morrow.”
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