Chapter 6
Nine days of tracking through increasingly treacherous mountain paths had brought us to what I prayed would be our destination.
The trail we'd been following—boot prints in soft earth, disturbed vegetation, the occasional thread caught on a thorn—had grown fainter with each passing day, until I began to fear we'd lost our quarry entirely.
I held up a hand, signalling the others to halt as we approached what looked like a dead end. The path we'd been following seemed to terminate at a wall of black stone, but something about the shadows didn't sit right with me.
"There," Sirrax said quietly, pointing to what appeared to be solid rock. "See it? How shadows fall?"
I squinted, following his gaze, and slowly began to make out what he meant. What I had taken for natural shadow was actually a carefully concealed narrow cleft in the stone face, positioned so that the natural play of light and shadow would camouflage it from casual observation.
"Clever," I murmured, grudging respect colouring my voice. Even knowing it was there, the entrance was nearly impossible to spot. "How did you—"
"Dragon sight," Sirrax explained simply. "See differently."
Tarshi moved closer to the hidden entrance, his expression grim. "If they've taken her through here, getting her back just became much more complicated."
I nodded, understanding his concern. A people who could conceal an entire mountain pass with such skill wouldn't have left their settlements undefended. But we'd come too far to turn back now, and the alternative—accepting that Livia was lost to us forever—was unthinkable.
"Single file," I ordered, falling into the familiar rhythm of command. "Antonius, you're our rear guard. Jalend, stay between Septimus and Tarshi. If we run into trouble, protect the scholars and let the fighters handle it."
"I'm hardly helpless," Jalend protested, but he moved into position without further argument. He was actually a formidable fighter, even without his dragon mount, but I still got a kick out of winding up the rich boy.
The passage beyond the concealed entrance was barely wide enough for two people to walk abreast, its walls smooth as glass and carved with symbols that seemed to shift and writhe in my peripheral vision.
The air grew colder as we climbed, and I could feel the weight of the mountain pressing down above us.
"How long is this tunnel?" Antonius asked from behind me, his voice echoing strangely in the confined space.
"Not much further," Sirrax replied, though something in his tone suggested uncertainty. "Remember this place, but... long time since here."
We climbed in silence for what felt like hours, the passage gradually widening until we could walk two abreast. Then, without warning, we stepped out into blazing sunlight and a vista that stole the breath from my lungs.
Below us stretched a hidden valley so vast it seemed impossible that it could exist undetected by Imperial cartographers.
Green fields and pastures spread across the valley floor, dotted with clusters of buildings that looked like they'd grown from the earth itself.
Streams caught the sunlight like silver ribbons, fed by waterfalls that cascaded down the surrounding cliffs.
But it was the city that dominated the far end of the valley that truly captured my attention.
Built into and around a massive volcanic peak, it rose in terraced levels that seemed to defy both gravity and reason.
Bridges spanned impossible distances, towers spiralled up the mountain's flanks like grasping fingers, and at the very peak, a structure that could only be a palace or temple gleamed like a dark jewel.
"Mother of gods," Septimus breathed. "How many people live here?"
I found myself doing rapid calculations based on the visible structures, my military training automatically cataloguing defensive positions and estimating population. "Twenty thousand, minimum. Maybe twice that if the underground levels are as extensive as they appear."
"Thal'Zereth," Sirrax said quietly, his voice heavy with memory. "Born here, in lower districts." He gestured toward the city with something like reverence. "I'd forgotten."
"You lived here?" Tarshi asked, surprise evident in his voice.
Sirrax nodded. “When child. Family moved south, help with new settlement.” His expression darkened. "Then Empire found us."
The weight of that revelation settled over our group like a shroud. Sirrax rarely spoke about his early life, but we all knew it had ended in chains and the arena. To see him standing here, looking at what had once been his home, was both heartbreaking and inspiring.
"Can you get us inside?" I asked, forcing myself to focus on the practical concerns. "You know the layout, the customs?"
"Some, maybe. But Marcus..." He turned to face me, his expression grave.
"I not know we come here. If I know, I would.
.. would prepare you different. These people not barbarian raiders like Empire says.
They are... organized, smart, and they fight war of survival for many centuries.
They will not welcome Empire citizens with open arms."
I nodded, having already reached similar conclusions.
The city below us represented a level of architectural and engineering sophistication that rivalled anything in the Empire.
The people who had built this weren't savages—they were a civilization that had remained hidden while developing their own technologies and defences.
"How do we approach them?" Antonius asked. "We can't exactly march up to the front gate."
"Carefully," I replied, scanning the valley for signs of patrols or watchers. "We need to get closer, gather intelligence. If Livia is being held somewhere in that city, we need to know where and how heavily guarded."
"Upper levels," Sirrax said with certainty. "Important prisoners kept in high places, close to temple. Is where... where ruling people live."
We began our descent into the valley, moving carefully from cover to cover.
The skills I'd learned during decades of military campaigns served us well, but I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched.
The valley was too quiet, too peaceful. Where were the patrols?
The sentries? A settlement this size should have had visible defences.
We had made it perhaps halfway to the valley floor when I realized my mistake. The defences weren't visible because they didn't need to be. The watchers had been there all along—we simply hadn't been skilled enough to spot them.
They emerged from concealment like shadows given form, moving with a coordination and silence that spoke of years of training.
One moment we were alone on the mountainside, the next we were surrounded by two dozen figures in earth-toned clothing that had rendered them effectively invisible against the rocky terrain.
"Down!" I shouted, reaching for my sword, but even as the word left my lips, I knew it was too late. These weren't bandits or raiders—they were professional soldiers and they had us completely outmanoeuvred.
"No!" Sirrax said sharply, catching my wrist before I could draw my blade. "Let me... let me handle."
The Talfen warriors—for that's clearly what they were—approached with weapons drawn but not immediately threatening.
They wore practical clothing suited to mountain warfare: wool tunics reinforced with leather, sturdy boots, and cloaks that could double as camouflage.
Their weapons were well-maintained and obviously functional rather than decorative.
What struck me most, however, was their discipline.
They moved like a unit that had trained together for years, each person knowing exactly where the others would be.
It was the kind of coordination I'd seen in elite Imperial legions, not the rabble I'd been conditioned to expect from "barbarian" tribes.
Their leader stepped forward, a woman with iron-grey hair braided with what looked like small bones or carved stones. She spoke in a language I didn't recognize, her tone questioning but not hostile.
Sirrax responded in the same language, his words flowing with a fluency that surprised me. I watched the woman's expression change as he spoke, surprise replacing suspicion.
"What are you telling her?" I asked quietly.
"That we not here to fight," Sirrax replied without taking his eyes off the Talfen leader. "That we look for someone who was... was taken from us."
The woman asked another question, gesturing toward our group.
When Sirrax answered, her gaze fixed on Tarshi with sudden intensity.
She said something to her companions, and I watched in amazement as several of them actually bowed their heads in what looked like respect.
No, more than that. Fear. Why would they be afraid of Tarshi?
Tarshi noticed it too, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Why are they—"
The woman interrupted him with a rapid string of words, clearly addressing him directly. When he could only stare at her in bewilderment, her expression shifted to something like confusion, then what might have been disappointment.
"What just happened?" I demanded, my tactical instincts screaming that we were missing something crucial.
"I am... I am not sure," Sirrax admitted, still speaking quietly with the patrol leader. "They seem to know Tarshi or think they should know. But when he not respond to their words..."
The conversation continued for several more minutes, with Sirrax apparently explaining our situation while the Talfen warriors maintained their positions around us. I used the time to study them more closely, noting details that reinforced my growing respect for their capabilities.