‘Like I was trying to say, boss, wasn’t us watching the drop. We’re here with them, not the other way around.’

‘And who the fuck are they?’

‘The Rau Rel, boss. What’s left of them.’

A gritty figure with an eyepatch loomed close enough to make out, a nocked longbow loose in her hands.

‘Spear of the South,’ she said. ‘You’re just in time for the conclave.’

‘Do I know you?’

She’d already turned away. ‘We’ll camp on the ridge. We’ll be there in good time yet.’

Rennic watched her recede into the darkness, then exchanged a look with Chel.

‘Now what shit-housery is this?’

They dragged their feet forward once more.

***

‘Five hells, where are we?’ Chel murmured as they watched the setting sun light the structure on the hilltop. It stood apart from the snowy forests that surrounded it, a three-storey pillar of wood and stone. The last rays of the weak winter sun cast it in a red the colour of blood and embers. It looked too fragile to be a fortress, too stark and windowless for a dwelling. And it was miles from anywhere.

Rennic shrugged. ‘I suppose we’ll find out.’

‘I am very tired of surprises.’

They trudged on. At last, a full day’s exhausting march from their camp on the ridge, their journey seemed to have reached its end.

The one-eyed woman – Eka, she’d said – led them on a winding path up the hillside, and a lone torch was lit at the tower’s base by the time they reached the summit. It was much bigger than it had seemed from distance, its base and foundation pale Taneru stone, some of the old engraving still visible despite the weathering. A single door stood open beside the torch, although evidence of encampments around the tower lingered at the torchlight’s edges. Shapes flitted in the wooded gloom around them, the same armed figures that had escorted them since the clearing outside Roniaman. Eka’s people, rarely seen, hard to count.

‘Four,’ Rennic said, as if reading Chel’s mind.

‘Huh?’

‘There are only four of them, plus her. Just seems more because they move around us so much.’ He chuckled. ‘Whisp and I could take these fuckers out in a heartbeat. Like a one-eyed archer can be any cop. No depth perception.’

‘Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Sab seems rather friendly with them.’

A giant shape filled the doorway as they approached, arms held wide.

‘All right, Fossy!’ Lemon called from behind.

The big man grinned, bundled braids swaying as he shook his head. ‘I didn’t dare think it true, my friends. I didn’t dare. Welcome, welcome.’

He embraced Rennic, then wrapped Chel in a mighty hug that ground his bones against each other. His greeting came out as a gasp. Once the introductions were complete, Foss gestured to the structure behind.

‘Welcome, my friends, to the conclave.’