The Dwarven Gate It took more coaching than anticipated to get Treylen’s cousin downthe cliff into the pit of spines then up the cavern wall to the passage the lights indicated. But when it came time to do it all again at the next cave, there was no need to teach her again. She sped down the rope more quickly than Oakwren or the twins could manage.There were three more junctions, each separated by an hours-long trek. Sometimes it was a walk, others a crawl, and the junctions themselves were wildly different. The third junction was a circular chamber—small, and symmetrical with a murky pool at its center, that none dared fill their waterskin from. At each intersection the lowsater took out a hammer and chisel to mark the path they had taken.The fourth junction was a vast open plain with a ceiling so low that even Treylen had to hunch over as he walked, but wh

The BasaltThe stairs were never-ending.After a long, tense hour of travel the caverns had ended, the last of the cobwebs falling away to reveal a square stone archway carved with the dwarven runes. Then the climb had started.“I cannot go on. We must sleep.” Halfindle grabbed the Lowsater by the fur on her leg. If she was at her breaking point, then the others were likely past it.“We are not free of the danger.” Noulea pulled away and started up the stair again.“I can’t either,” Laureth said.“I am also tired, sister,” Brome said from the back of the party. He peered down the stair behind them as if the spider might come up from the hellcaves at any moment.“We'll sleep right here on the stairs then,” Treylen said. “We've been climbing for hours. There's no end to it. I'll take the first watch. Noulea can take the second.”“I will take the third,” Oakwren said.“No, no,” Laureth put a hand on Oakwren’s shoulder. “I’ll take the third watch. I've slept a little, remember?”“I've nev

“A great deal more than you, assassin. And less at times, for much of my correspondence is with elder beings and those whose understanding is apocryphal. Still…” She paused, and lifted her head, resting one arm on the mountainside, and dragging a claw across the scales of her jowls, in a gesture that was gargantuan, but almost human. “I know of your kind and their follies. I know the failings of the queen of Iverna to keep that which she had stolen. Of the prescience of the Kysik and the great betrayal of the stone kingdom. I know the tide of war beats upon the breakers of your valley, and the spoils flow like ichor to the seat of Jaul while the Ketaresk drown upon the tail of the continent and the elkbones revel in their indulgence. Shall I go on?”“Not if it doesn’t please you,” Treylen said, grating his teeth at what sounded like blasphemy against his kingdom. “I understand Jaul, and I’ve heard of the land called Kysik and Ketaresk and Stone Kingdom. But I know not of this Iveran b

The Hearth-HumThey returned to the crater where the others were waiting. Treylenmade a proper introduction for each and the guardian greeted them in turn.With Laureth and Oakwren she was terse but cordial. To the twins she extended her welcome and described the mountains to the north which lay just before the foothills of the badlands. She bade Treylen entrust them with the write of passage to be delivered to Uberetus. To Halfindle, a sad greeting that Treylen didn’t quite understand. She bowed her monumental head low, whispering softly and allowed the clan woman to climb the side of the crater and kneel before bones there.When she’d returned the guardian spoke again.“I’ll not permit present company to wander beyond this ridge, for the queen’s agents and her loyalists bring ill tidings to the Den of Fire whose people live under my protection. I would not permit you to seek them out or set eyes upon their dwellings as was your intention in coming here.”“I don’t think that will be

The Rope While Rime crept along behind Laureth and Oakwren, Treylenborrowed some of his dragon sight and strength to travel off the path. Scaling boulders and bounding up cliff faces, he moved to the south of the city. He would climb to the gorge, then down the cliff face and approach the city from below. With any luck Aaron or Felicity would be out surveilling. If not, then Treylen might have to approach the clan—the Storm Den, as they called themselves—and ask after him.He traveled quickly and soon the others were far behind him.The tower grew closer, and sure enough, Treylen spotted two sentries posted at the top. The moon was hidden, but he kept low against the mountainside all the same as he neared the ridge just before the gorge. He scanned the rocks that lay uphill. There was no doubt that the countess would have been searching for them outside the city. He would not have put it past her to post sentries.Treylen spotted one just as he approached the rise that dropped off