The chair creaks under Kar’s weight. “Eventually, he came home with a letter clutched in his hand. Refused to tell me what he found. He was furious. I confronted, and we fought.” He hangs his head. “He broke my nose, and I busted his lip. Sven left and never came home.”
“You must not blame yourself. Sven made his choices, but we will find him.” Avina leans toward Kar, compassion dancing in her bright eyes.
Kar grinds his teeth even if her words reach his softening gaze.
“Do you know where he was heading? That could give us a place to start.” Sigvid stands.
Kar does not answer immediately. If anything, he shifts uncomfortably. “To see King Thrain.”
Fucking Thrain.
“Did anyone have a reason to harm Sven?”
Kar shakes his head. “You knew the boy. A damned ray of sunshine to anyone who met him. We were shocked to hear he was torturing messengers, but he was determined to prove himself.”
Sven, what did you get yourself into?
“Thank you for the information, Kar.” Sigvid slides his hand along Avina’s lower back and guides her to the door. He pauses before reaching the entry, eyeing the long grainy table beside the hearth full of mead bottles.
“Kar? Are you hosting a gathering?” He plucks a full bottle and inspects the familiar shape. “At least you are serving good Salt mead.”
Kar seizes the bottle and sets it back down. “These are filled with water for our elderly neighbors. They lack the stamina to climb Fjell for freshwater like my boys.”
Oh shit.
“Well, that explains why everyone has been drunk since I arrived. How bad is this water situation?”
“Completely undrinkable. We lost a couple of people due to the contamination.”
“Thanks, old friend, I will handle this.” Sigvid leads Avina out the door.
He pauses on the street, staring at the men and women passed out in everything from flower beds to household steps.
It is barely morning.
“Alright, we need to deal with the water problem immediately. Everyone is drunk.”
“And Sven?” She tugs the wool cloak around her chest.
“If he has been missing for a couple of weeks after confronting my brother,” Sigvid shakes his head, “it is unlikely he is still alive.” He watches a man fall drunkenly into a pile of snow. “Priority is solving the corrupted water supply.”
“Where is the source?”
He points up the craggy slope to a snow-capped peak where the runoff from the ice and snow flows into a river. It is not a long walk up the mountainside, but it will take them all the available sunlight to make it up and back down.
“A jaunt up Fjell Mountain,” he gestures to the distant looming mountain. “We constructed a dam that filters the mountain water and disburses into the aqueducts.”
“I don’t suppose Hest wants to make the journey with us.” She laughs, but there is a nervous edge.
“The path twists too hard for him. We will go on foot. Besides, I want to examine the water’s path as we walk.” He looks up the mountain and lets out a sigh. “We should start moving.”
November 8th, Year 100, 9th Era
Fjell Mountain, Salt Province
“You’re not answering me.” Avina’s impatience is evident.
Sigvid looks up at the trees.
