Khyber called a halt and walked away from the others a few paces, again going into a deep trance to recall accurately the images skived from Aphenglow’s mind. She settled herself, her breathing slowed, her magic surfaced in an enfolding haze that wrapped her close, and the vision replayed itself in slow motion behind her eyes.

There should be mountains, she remembered.

She opened her eyes, rose, and glanced all around. But the rock formations and heavy undergrowth blocked her view. She was down too low to see anything. She needed to get to a higher place. She needed to climb something.

She shook her head at the idea; she was older now, and had limitations.

“Skint!” she called to the Gnome Tracker, and the others in the search party drifted over, as well. “Can you climb one of these rock formations? Or maybe one of these trees?”

“Not the trees,” the Speakman blurted out at once. He cringed at the sound of his own voice, looking for Farshaun, moving over next to him. “No one should climb the trees,” he whispered.

Skint was studying the nearby rock formations. “I don’t know. There’s not much in the way of handholds.”

“I can do it.” Railing Ohmsford stepped forward eagerly. “Redden and I both, if you want.”

Redden appeared beside him, giving him a look. “You brought grippers?”

Railing nodded. “Do you want us to try?” he asked the Ard Rhys.

Khyber Elessedil managed to keep from grinning at his obvious eagerness. “One of you will do.”

“Then I’ll go. It was my idea.” He dropped his backpack and began rummaging through it. “There’s nothing to it, really. Redden and I do it at home all the time with tougher climbs than this one.”

Moments later he produced a strange pair of gloves and boots that had the appearance of animal paws. He sat down and slipped them over his bare hands and feet, then flexed his fingers and toes and walked over to the closest formation.

“See you at the top,” he declared, and began climbing the tower as if he were a squirrel going up a tree. His gloves gripped the rock face effortlessly, finding purchase even on the most vertical of surfaces. Using his booted feet for leverage and balance, he shimmied his way to the top—something close to a hundred feet—in a matter of minutes.

“Now what?” he called down to Khyber.

She shook her head in amusement. “Do you see any mountains?”

He took a moment to look around. “I don’t see much of anything but clouds and mist and the tips of these rock pillars. There’s a big body of water to our right—I can see bits and pieces of that.”

He stopped talking, continuing to look. The other members of the expedition waited expectantly. Khyber was already thinking of which direction they should take if no mountains appeared.