exactly. It is spectacular.” He smiled and pointed. “I believe we once had a long, beautiful interlude by that waterfall down there.”
“Ah, I remember! But it was that one over there.”
Bone frowned. “You’re certain?”
Gaunt laughed. “If we survive, we’re going to become one of those old couples who argue endlessly about their pasts.”
Bone wondered where and how they’d be spending that old age. “Either way, we’ve passed both spots.”
She squeezed his arm. “Life seems to be moving ever faster for us.”
The fog fell away. Green forested hills of the Eldshore appeared below. Beyond the Eldshore lay the sea, and beyond that lay Swanisle, and the Bladed Isles. Bone felt once again he was nearing the edge of any sane map, going farther than any city-thief should go, and he feared for the group and their journey. He was glad so many others were willing to join them.
The ocean passage took three days. Gaunt was surprised by the speed of it, but with Northwing recovered and nothing but the weather to block them, progress was swift. Even while Northwing slept, they had a lucky air current. Sometimes they passed ships, but for the most part this was a lonely sea. Gaunt found little to observe in the steel-gray ocean below, so she spent considerable time within the Scroll, helping anyone who wished to struggle with the language of the Bladed Isles.
One day Bone appeared to her there. “We’ve arrived. You’d best bring the Chart .”
It was late morning. Al-Saqr flew near a fractured ceiling of clouds pierced by spears of light. Oblong ingots of sun blazed upon a blue-green sea.
Ahead lay snowy mountains. It was as though the land, having finally risen above the sea, was eager to reach the clouds without any further ado. Rocky summits and cliffs and crags wore variegated coverings of snow. Sometimes the snow pooled like lakes; other times it followed cracks in the rocks like rivers. Purple-gray clouds drifted above the peaks, the only sign of movement upon the coast. Farther inland, a knot of even taller mountains reared beneath a gray-black storm.
Bone, Katta, Snow Pine, Flint, Haytham, Northwing, and Haboob were all silent. That was remarkable in itself.
Gaunt opened the Chart of Tomorrows .
“If this is accurate,” she said, “that’s probably the coast of Spydbanen. Those big mountains there must be the Trollfangs, the range near the town of Jotuncrown.”
“Personally I think they’re all big mountains,” Bone said.
“We’d best turn southwest. Spydbanen is full of obstacles. On the map it looks like a mountain range with a thin skin of coastline.”
“There’s evil,” Katta announced.
The mystic might not have been able to see everyone else’s stares, but he noted the silence. “Ahead, in our direction of travel, is a large gathering of negative karma. Maybe a bit to the left. If Gaunt wishes to turn us away from that spot, I would consider it a wise precaution.”
“Negative karma’s not all that’s there,” Snow Pine said. “Look.”
Gaunt looked, though in a sense she didn’t need to. The flickers of lightning appearing ahead were dazzling enough to be noticed inside the ger. Gaunt counted, and when thunder boomed she estimated the source to be eight miles away. When her vision cleared, an afterimage lingered like jagged, thin rivers of light.
Flint said, “I must say! I am fascinated by this landscape, its violent cartography, its coursing energies, and its potential for destroying us!”
Snow Pine said, “Fascination, hell. We need cover, fast. Otherwise we’ll be covered by lightning. Those strokes are all emanating from the mountains. But they’re reaching out every time. Toward us.”
Katta said, “It might be pertinent to note that I can see each of the bolts with exquisite clarity.”
“Now I’m scared,” Bone said.
Northwing said, “Snow Pine has the right idea. I’m cajoling the wind to blow us southwest, but if we want to be safe, we
“Ah, I remember! But it was that one over there.”
Bone frowned. “You’re certain?”
Gaunt laughed. “If we survive, we’re going to become one of those old couples who argue endlessly about their pasts.”
Bone wondered where and how they’d be spending that old age. “Either way, we’ve passed both spots.”
She squeezed his arm. “Life seems to be moving ever faster for us.”
The fog fell away. Green forested hills of the Eldshore appeared below. Beyond the Eldshore lay the sea, and beyond that lay Swanisle, and the Bladed Isles. Bone felt once again he was nearing the edge of any sane map, going farther than any city-thief should go, and he feared for the group and their journey. He was glad so many others were willing to join them.
The ocean passage took three days. Gaunt was surprised by the speed of it, but with Northwing recovered and nothing but the weather to block them, progress was swift. Even while Northwing slept, they had a lucky air current. Sometimes they passed ships, but for the most part this was a lonely sea. Gaunt found little to observe in the steel-gray ocean below, so she spent considerable time within the Scroll, helping anyone who wished to struggle with the language of the Bladed Isles.
One day Bone appeared to her there. “We’ve arrived. You’d best bring the Chart .”
It was late morning. Al-Saqr flew near a fractured ceiling of clouds pierced by spears of light. Oblong ingots of sun blazed upon a blue-green sea.
Ahead lay snowy mountains. It was as though the land, having finally risen above the sea, was eager to reach the clouds without any further ado. Rocky summits and cliffs and crags wore variegated coverings of snow. Sometimes the snow pooled like lakes; other times it followed cracks in the rocks like rivers. Purple-gray clouds drifted above the peaks, the only sign of movement upon the coast. Farther inland, a knot of even taller mountains reared beneath a gray-black storm.
Bone, Katta, Snow Pine, Flint, Haytham, Northwing, and Haboob were all silent. That was remarkable in itself.
Gaunt opened the Chart of Tomorrows .
“If this is accurate,” she said, “that’s probably the coast of Spydbanen. Those big mountains there must be the Trollfangs, the range near the town of Jotuncrown.”
“Personally I think they’re all big mountains,” Bone said.
“We’d best turn southwest. Spydbanen is full of obstacles. On the map it looks like a mountain range with a thin skin of coastline.”
“There’s evil,” Katta announced.
The mystic might not have been able to see everyone else’s stares, but he noted the silence. “Ahead, in our direction of travel, is a large gathering of negative karma. Maybe a bit to the left. If Gaunt wishes to turn us away from that spot, I would consider it a wise precaution.”
“Negative karma’s not all that’s there,” Snow Pine said. “Look.”
Gaunt looked, though in a sense she didn’t need to. The flickers of lightning appearing ahead were dazzling enough to be noticed inside the ger. Gaunt counted, and when thunder boomed she estimated the source to be eight miles away. When her vision cleared, an afterimage lingered like jagged, thin rivers of light.
Flint said, “I must say! I am fascinated by this landscape, its violent cartography, its coursing energies, and its potential for destroying us!”
Snow Pine said, “Fascination, hell. We need cover, fast. Otherwise we’ll be covered by lightning. Those strokes are all emanating from the mountains. But they’re reaching out every time. Toward us.”
Katta said, “It might be pertinent to note that I can see each of the bolts with exquisite clarity.”
“Now I’m scared,” Bone said.
Northwing said, “Snow Pine has the right idea. I’m cajoling the wind to blow us southwest, but if we want to be safe, we
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