12
The northernmost village on the itinerary bustled with life by the time the Jinn caravan rolled into town.
Nestled in a valley between snowy peaks, Snow Valley was a known trading post where mountain folk came down from the heights to exchange goods.
The main square was already beginning to fill with makeshift stalls and early customers eager for wares from warmer climes.
Master Avery’s brightly painted wagon rolled to its customary place near the center of the village square.
The Rasims’ wagon fell into line a few spots behind.
Kurt rode beside the Averys until the wagon halted, then trotted forward to do a quick perimeter sweep under the guise of scouting for a watering trough for the horses.
Malea, farther back, climbed down from the Rasim wagon and made her way toward his general vicinity, as if on some errand.
They didn’t exchange a single glance as they went about their tasks, but both knew what came next.
At the edge of the village, beneath the low hanging branches of a snow-dusted pine, Keera and Arch waited. The virkin kept low, barely visible against the pale bark and sky, their gleaming eyes alert.
By the time the last of the wagons had stopped creaking into place and the villagers were swarming the caravan in earnest, Kurt guided his two horses to a narrow trail that wound out of the northern end of the valley. He stopped just past the tree line and waited.
Minutes later, Malea emerged from behind the last outbuilding, her cloak pulled tight against the mountain wind. She held her pack in one hand and a small bundle of wrapped food in the other. Arch gave a soft, approving chirp from his perch in a tree.
“Everything settled?” Kurt asked softly.
She nodded, sliding her pack onto the second horse. “No one saw me leave.”
“Let’s keep it that way.”
Keera fluttered down from a branch and settled onto Malea’s shoulder. Arch dropped to Kurt’s saddlebag, perching like a green statue as Malea mounted the second horse and took up the reins.
Then, they slipped away into the forest, following the hidden trail north. The hush of snow-muffled earth and pine-shadowed paths closed around them. Behind, the village clamor faded, swallowed by the hush of deeper wilderness.
They did not speak again for a long while, conserving their breath and keeping alert. This journey wasn’t just a quiet escape—it was a step into the unknown.
Toward dragons, and possibly danger.
The cold grew sharper as they climbed higher on the game trail.
The air seemed thinner and edged with frost. The trees became sparser until only wind-scoured stone remained, dotted with patches of ice and brittle tufts of mountain grass.
By midday, the path leveled into a narrow ledge overlooking a broad, frozen ravine.
Keera and Arch circled above, leading them to a gap in the rock face just ahead, in which a narrow cleft shimmered faintly with frost in the sun.
“This must be it,” Malea murmured, adjusting her scarf higher over her nose.
Kurt nodded. “It is well-hidden from the outside.”
“Exactly,” Keera added from her shoulder. Arch swooped down to land beside them, claws clicking softly on ice.
Kurt and Malea dismounted, leaving the horses tethered to a bent pine that grew up stubbornly against the cliff wall.
With the virkin in the lead, they stepped into the cleft.
The temperature dropped instantly as the light glimmered on and through giant shards of ice.
A few strides in, the tunnel opened into a chamber so vast it stole Malea’s breath.
The walls were the pale blue of ice, shot through with veins of crystal. A faint luminescence lit the space from within the frozen walls themselves, casting a cold, ethereal glow. And waiting in the stillness, two enormous figures stirred.
Both of the ice dragons had scales faceted like cut crystal and eyes that were both sharp and watchful.
Kurt bowed low, holding his gaze on the ice dragons, which was a show of respect among warriors. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us, milord and milady. I am Kurt, craftsman of the glass maker’s guild, and this is Malea, a journeyman gem cutter.”
As he said her name, Malea bowed as well. It always paid to be respectful when in the presence of dragons.
“The little ones say you can hear us. Frankly, I am reserving judgment on that,” the male said, sniffing almost disdainfully.
“I assure you, my lord,” Kurt said, rising to stand and face the giant dragon, “we can both hear you, as we hear the virkin. As we have heard and befriended some of the dragons who are now living in our home city of Valdis Maj.”
The dragons blinked in unison, seeming startled.
“Dragons are living in Valdis Maj?” the female asked, sounding truly surprised.
“Yes, milady,” Kurt answered politely.
“I know some of the snow dragons have always been predisposed to bond with some of the fair folk in their enclave, but many still live in the wild, as we do,” the male dragon said thoughtfully.
Malea stepped forward. “We were both apprentices to a woman who is bonded to a wild snow dragon. And her mate is bonded with the ice dragon, Salveer. We have been friends with them since they arrived in the city years ago.”
The two dragons exchanged a glance, then the male inclined his head. “We knew Salveer before he took off for the south. We shall speak. And listen. Come in peace, children of Valdis. Be welcome in our lair.”
The pale blue light of the cavern played across Malea’s face as she stepped closer to the dragons.
Kurt remained at her side, both of them careful not to make sudden movements.
The male dragon settled on his haunches with a low breath, his glittering wings folding close.
The female tilted her head, studying them with piercing eyes.
“We come to you with more than just greetings,” Malea said softly, her breath misting in the chill. “We’ve learned something troubling and potentially very dangerous to dragon kind.”
“Tell us what troubles you on our behalf,” the male dragon invited, his mental voice inquisitive in their minds.
“We recently scouted a forge operating in the nearby foothills,” Kurt said. “They’re building giant crossbows and enough bolts to do serious damage. They’re missing only one thing.”
Malea reached into her satchel, drawing out a wrapped bundle.
She unrolled the cloth slowly, revealing the long, narrow blade inside.
It gleamed in the cavern’s pale light. Slightly curved, the edge of the diamond blade was honed to a razor finish, its core gleaming with unnatural clarity.
The air in the cavern shifted as the dragons got a look at the knife.
“Diamond,” the female dragon whispered in their minds.
“It’s not natural. I believe it was grown using magic, not mined the traditional way. No natural diamond gets this large or this pure in form. And someone is crafting them into blades,” Malea concluded, looking from the blade to the dragons.
“You think they are making these for the bolts,” the male dragon said grimly. “To pierce our scales.”
“Yes,” Kurt said. “We’ve seen the launchers being readied, and the crates of bolts just waiting for their diamond tips. But the diamonds are not being cut at that same site. Which means there is more to find before anybody can safely make a move.”
The dragons exchanged a long, slow glance. Ice crackled faintly in the depths of the cave.
“If your surmises are correct, these weapons are being made under our very noses,” the female said.
“And we did not see it. We should have. We knew such things existed after hearing old tales of Salomar to the east,” the male said gravely.
“You couldn’t have known they would set up shop here on our side of the mountains,” Malea said gently.
“They’ve been very clever at hiding their tracks,” Kurt put in.
“And you should know, we didn’t come to this alone,” Malea added.
“We were both sent by King Alric through his agents, to discover the truth and bring it back to the crown. He will aid you. He is allied with both snow and ice dragons, and the land of Draconia over the mountains. Dragons are not only welcome, but protected in Valdis,” Kurt stated.
The dragons were silent for a beat. Then the male lowered his head slightly.
“Yet you are not obvious soldiers. You are traveling as craftsmen. Which makes me think you are not just simple craftsmen,” he said, smoke rising from his nostrils in a show of amusement.
“I really am on a journeyman trial,” Malea said, smiling at the dragon. “I was sent north to purchase gem rough and look for the perfect stone to cut for my Master’s test. That part is true.”
“And I am really seeking obsidian for my guild,” Kurt added. “It is both rare and valuable, and we know from our ice dragon friend that it can be found up here. Both of our tasks make sense for young, traveling craftsmen.”
“But we were also trained by a Jinn Spymaster, and we use our regular work to explain our presence while we make special observations and investigations for the crown. It’s the old saying about killing two birds with one stone,” Malea summed up with a grin.
The dragons shifted, their wings rustling faintly against the icy floor.
“There is sense in that approach. And you are Jinn, you say?” the female asked.
“We are both orphans, milady,” Kurt answered with a respectful bow of his head.
“We, along with several dozen other orphans of all ages, were taken in by a glass maker and given a home, an education, and a purpose. She is Jinn, we are not, though we have been raised with some of their traditions and an affiliation with the Clan through our Mistress. We’ve also been traveling with a Jinn caravan as we conduct our investigations,” Malea explained in more detail.
“Your Mistress sounds like a kindhearted and shrewd woman,” the female dragon said, more than a hint of respect in her tone.
“She’s the best,” Malea said softly.