I groaned, remembering the lore of Abarria. It included dragons, but I had forgotten that until now. And they did live in the higher climes.
“They have dragons,” I said. “Remember? We heard about the modules—” I stopped. I didn’t want to bring up game terminology because it would confuse the Syms—well, no longer Syms but, apparently, living, breathing people.
Reggie nodded. “Right. So, we have ice giants, stone golems, and dragons to look forward to. What else should we watch out for?”
Aisling rolled his eyes. “You travel into these mountains without knowing what dangers lie within? You must truly need to cross them. You’re lucky in that you ran into us instead of some of the other lycanthroids. Our people run the gamut. Some, like us, are open to strangers. Some prefer solitude. And some…despise anyone outside of their clans. You must have a great need to reach the Summer Kingdom.”
I stared at the ground. I wasn’t an expert at reading people, but since we’d come into the game, I’d found my senses heightened. And Magdala and her family made me feel comfortable.
“We do need to cross the mountains,” I said. “We’re on the run from a necromancer—he’s powerful and dangerous. Unfortunately, I found something of his and now I can’t get rid of it.” I slowly reached inside my robe and pulled out the key. “This belongs to him, and he wants it back.”
“A key? Where did you find it?” Rupert asked.
“In a dungeon. We didn’t know who it belonged to. We were clearing out a number of beasties and found the key there. I hung it around my neck so we wouldn’t lose it, and now I can’t take it off. You’d literally have to kill me to pull it from around my throat.” I stared at the fire.
“How will it help you to reach the Summer Kingdom?” Sean asked.
“The queen of the Summer Kingdom—Rheyna—will know. The key keeps her sister, Devastey, locked away in an interdimensional prison. Devastey is?—”
“We’ve heard the tales,” Magdala said. “She murdered thousands. And you seek the Summer Queen?—”
“We think she can destroy the key, which would destroy Devastey’s chances of escaping. The necromancer who follows us?—”
“Is Zaran, Devastey’s consort,” Alina said. “And he’s following you. And that is the great evil I sensed.”
I expected them to throw us out. If it were me, I’d think about it, in order to protect my family. But apparently, the Ossaylas weren’t quite so skittish.
“We’ll help you as best we can,” Magdala said. “It would be a benefit to all free peoples of Abarria if Devastey were forever locked away. Will you come with us to our home? I know you need haste, but we may be able to shave time off your journey and provide you with an alternative route.”
I let out a long sigh, feeling nothing but relief. We might actually catch a break. And if Zaran did find us, then we wouldn’t be fighting alone. I glanced at the others, and they nodded, the same relief on their faces.
“Thank you,” I said. “Thank you so much.”
“I take it you have no family in the area?” Magdala asked.
I shook my head. “Our families…they live far away from here. They can’t help us.”
“What made you leave your homes?” Aisling asked.
I didn’t know how to answer that. Luckily, Thornhold came to the rescue.
“Our lands were overrun by bandits. Our families have scattered—there was little left by the time the bandits got donewith their pillaging. There’s nothing to go back to, and so many were killed,” he said.
I stared at him, filing away his explanation for future use. It made sense, and it forestalled further questions. Who would pry into such a traumatic event? The others picked up on the story.
“I think I have a couple of aunts left,” Brynn said. “But we were separated in the battle. I managed to hide, and when it was all done, I couldn’t find them.”
“My mentor was killed. I was out in the woods, gathering herbs when it happened,” Reggie said.
I glanced at Alina, hoping she wouldn’t give us away. But she didn’t seem to be picking up on our fibs. I yawned—truly, I didn’t have to fake my weariness—and rubbed my eyes.
“I think I’d like to sleep,” I said.
“I think we should all get some sleep. We’ll reach our home by tomorrow night. We’ll keep watch,” Aisling said.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about letting others keep watch while we slept. “We can stand watch with you,” I said. “Two on watch is safer than one.”
The lycanthroids took us up on our offer. As Brynn and I snuggled down in our tent, with Aisling and Thornhold on watch-duty, I tried to push thoughts of Zaran and the key out of my mind. But I was all too aware of the key hanging around my throat, and the journey ahead of us.
