A shout from Rurik immediately turned me from Kiyo. The others in my party were already looking in the direction we’d just come from, and I quickly spotted what they had. I leapt to my feet and drew my weapons as a group of people on horseback emerged around a bend in the road. Seeing us, they came to an abrupt halt and drew weapons of their own.

“Stay right where you are,” warned one of the men in the strange group. He had a curly blond beard and wielded a worn but effective-looking copper sword. “Attack us, and you’ll regret it.”

Rurik grinned at him, but there was no genuine humor to it. “If you don’t lower your weapons, you’ll regret it. Set them on the ground now before we have to take them from you.”

All this did was make the strangers tense and brace for battle. My group did the same, myself included. Yet, as I did, I took the opportunity to study our combatants more closely. They were all gentry, all armed, but their weapons didn’t have the uniformity or maintenance of the Beech soldiers’. This group wore nothing resembling uniforms either. Their clothing was worn and, in some cases, mismatched. Cloaks and furs were draped in front of them on their horses, like they’d been hastily pulled off when the climate had changed. Some of their faces were smudged, and all looked like they hadn’t been eating well.

“Wait,” I said, hurrying forward.

“I wouldn’t advise it,” said Rurik, gaze fixed on the strangers. “Stay back for your own safety.”

I halted in the middle of our two groups. “Who are you? Where are you from?”

The new group eyed me suspiciously. “Who are you?” asked the blond-bearded man.

“You’re from one of the blighted lands, aren’t you?” I asked, positive I was right.

Nobody changed their stance, but the bearded guy regarded me with new interest. “What of it?”

“So are we,” I said. “We’re from ...” What was that absurd name Dorian had come up with the other day?

“... the Lilac Land,” he said, coming to stand beside me. He held his sword still, but his posture was more relaxed. I think he’d come to the same conclusion I had about these people.

“Never heard of it,” said a woman from the newcomers. A spotted falcon sat upon her shoulder and watched us with equal suspicion.

“Most haven’t,” said Dorian, deadpan. “It’s very far away.” He glanced between her and the blond man and must have decided she was a better bet. Dorian gave her one of his charming smiles. “What’s your kingdom called?”

There was a moment’s hesitation, and then she said, “The Hemlock Land.”

“You’ve suffered considerably,” said Dorian. “Just as we have.”