Yhip Valley formed a narrow enough pass for a herd of a reasonable size to feel safe, more or less bordered and defendedon either side, able to spot threats approaching from either end of the valley.
Braiden’s hands trembled as he held the spyglass up to his eye, the distant images wavering. He steadied his breath, hoping it would help steady his grip. And there they were, past the crest of that ridge, black spots swarming the emerald green of a verdant valley.
“I can’t believe it,” Braiden said, his muscles stilled, the tremble only present in the sound of his voice. “It’s the othergoats. They’re real.”
“So we’re not under attack?” Augustin rubbed the sleep from his eyes, hands on his thighs as he squinted toward the far north. “They’reunder attack? What kind of cruel, barbaric crafter would use fireballs to harvest their fleece?”
Braiden twiddled his fingers. “Actually, I don’t think they’re being attacked with explosives. Knowing how othergoat wool works, I’d say they’re quite well defended from fire.”
“How do you know? We can’t even see what’s going on over — gods, did you see that flash? Bright orange and glaring, like a bomb going off!”
“No one is bombing or throwing fireballs at the othergoats. I may have forgotten to mention. They, uh, tend to explode on their own when they’re agitated.”
Augustin stared at him in wide-eyed incredulity. “You forgot to mention that your fabled othergoats have a tendency to catastrophically self-destruct under stress?”
“No no no, it doesn’t actually hurt them. It’s more like a defense mechanism. Some goats head-butt with their horns, some goats faint. Othergoats — that’s how they ward off predators.”
Augustin’s frown etched even deeper lines into his already stormy face. “And you couldn’t have mentioned from the startthat we should have brought oven mitts to make sure you didn’t burn your fingers shearing one?”
“I did bring mitts,” Braiden said sulkily. “Moongrass ones that protect the hands from — ”
“That’s hardly the point right now, Braiden!”
“All right, I’m sorry! I thought maybe saying it out loud might jinx the fact that — never mind. I’m not sure why I didn’t tell you before.”
Braiden knew, of course. It stemmed from the part of him that secretly worried that this, of all things, would be the fantastical thing he’d always dreamed of that might have no foundation in reality.
It was silly, thinking back. The burrowfolk had turned out to be very real and not merely the stuff of legend. Moongrass filament was at last a method of making his weaving magic more permanent, the way the old masters crafted their threads.
It was strange to have come this far and still be so fearful of disappointment, whether that meant disappointing those he loved or disappointing himself. Why couldn’t the othergoats, of all things, be as solid as all the other wondrous things and entities he’d already seen and met?
Another bang shattered the air, rattling the very teeth in Braiden’s skull. So yes, the othergoats were very much real, and solid, and apparently extremely volatile, too.
Braiden chewed his lip, remembering all his party’s exploits. No sense barreling headlong into danger when they didn’t even know what danger they’d be up against.
What could have penetrated Yhip Valley to pose such a threat to the othergoats? The valley’s walls were too steep to normally descend, flanking the othergoat herd on either side, leaving them free to watch only the northern and southern passages for signs of threat.
But what if the threat had come fromabove?
“Elementals!” Braiden shouted.
“Where?” Augustin ripped the spyglass from his grasp, almost putting his own eye out in his hurry to look down its barrel. “Where are the elementals?”
“Haven’t spotted them — can you even see air elementals with the naked eye? But we need to hurry. Something’s attacking the othergoats from over the ridge. It, they — whatever — something is distressing the herd. We need to go to them. Now!”
Braiden gathered his leftovers as Augustin pulled on his boots, cursing the whole while. They scooped up their possessions, and without uttering another word, Augustin scooped up Braiden, lifting off the grassy hilltop with a single whooshing wind spell.
They soared for Yhip Valley at top speed, and not halfway toward the ongoing cacophony of explosions, Braiden found that he no longer needed a spyglass to locate the othergoats.
There they were, erratic, panicked black specks zigzagging aimlessly around the valley’s grassy floor. This wasn’t at all how Braiden imagined his first encounter with the fabled creatures, but there wasn’t going to be a first encounter if they didn’t hurry and help them against their attackers.
Except — whatwasattacking them, exactly? Distressed animals would know to flee as far as they could go, generally far, far away from anything with sharp talons and snapping jaws.
This didn’t make sense. The othergoats were scattering instead of seeking safety. Braiden clenched his fists. Had he guessed correctly about air elementals after all?
“Augustin,” he shouted, eager to make himself heard over the flutter of the wizard’s cloak, the howl of passing wind. “What do air elementals look like?”
The wizard said nothing for a tense moment. “W-well, you see, it depends on the balance of elemental essences. The rockwalkers we fought in the dungeon were merged from earthand ice, while the giant elemental was fused from air and ice, and so — ”
