This man was quiet. Watchful in the same way Caden was. As if content to let his opponent maneuver themselves into the noose for him.
Caden stared Reece down. "What happened to reporting to the Keep and then coming right back?"
Reece ran a hand through his hair, looking unhappy as he shot a glare at Van. "There were a few complications."
Van's expression was filled with innocence.
"I was on my way back with a small supply train when I came across this idiot and his warband wandering in the mist." Reece jerked a thumb in Van's direction. "Evidently, he thought a pathfinder was optional in the Highlands."
Van shrugged his broad shoulders. "Hey, I followed instructions. As soon as mist was sighted, we tied ourselves to each other so no one would get lost."
Reece's expression was slightly vicious as he twisted to face Van. "That only works if you have someone to navigate your way out of the mist."
A chill moved through Eva at the mention of the force that was the primary reason pathfinders were so important. You could deal with beasts. You might lose a few, but beasts weren't invincible. As long as numbers were on your side, you'd come out the winner.
It was the mist that was the true threat. The thing those who lived here feared almost more than anything else.
Get lost in its depths and you could wander forever, never to escape. If you were one of the lucky ones who eventually found your way out, you could find that years or even decades had passed.
To tempt its embrace was foolhardy, but Eva guessed that was to be expected of the man who led Lion Clan, a clan who didn't know the meaning of fear.
Ghost and Roscoe's expressions warmed slightly as they shot an admiring look in Van's direction.
Fiona raised her eyes to the sky as if questioning how anyone could be so stupid. Eva was inclined to agree with her. As far as she knew, pathfinders were assigned to every war band when they left the confines of Wayfarer's Keep.
"What were you doing out there?" Caden asked.
Van lifted a shoulder. "Chasing an army. Didn't expect to end up anywhere near here."
Van gaze turned distant as he studied the towering mountains surrounding them. Sentinels of rock and snow as brutal and beautiful as everything else in this place.
"I don't even know where here is," Van admitted with a frown.
Reece struggled for patience. "I told you—the mist doesn't always put you back where you started."
"Wait a minute, you said you ran into them when you were in the mist?" Roscoe interjected. "I didn't know that was possible."
"It's rare, but it does happen," Reece admitted. "Usually when you're already in close proximity. And he's right—our point of origin was nowhere close to where we exited."
There was a guarded expression on his face that told Eva there was more to the story. Something in the sequence of events that bothered him.
Understandable. Who could take being in one place and then in a matter of hours being on the opposite side of the region? Even a pathfinder who was used to the impossible would have trouble with something as unexpected as that.
"Where exactly did you come out?" Fiona asked.
Reece took a deep breath as he shot a quick glance at the other two men. "A day's ride from the valley."
"They would have known about your presence as soon as you appeared," Caden guessed.
Reece nodded. "That was my assumption too. I couldn't leave them out there. They would have been a target for the mist. Not to mention they wouldn't have been able to find their way back."
Van sneered at Reece. "Speak for yourself."
Gawain's eyes narrowed slightly on the pathfinder.
Eva ducked her head to hide her smile.
Really, Reece should have expected their reaction. The Trateri were nothing if not proud. Even if Reece's words were absolutely correct, they'd never admit it.
