Eternal Beasts

Chapter 23: A Jump into the Mountains

- Okay, book, we need a set of portal stones outside of Throne City, - Jared said as he stared at the small , smokeless fire Gereth had built with tinder and a fire kit from his pack, carefully hidden by a fastidious arrangement of stones in a circle around the fire pit. The muuler was curled up across from him on the ground, his pack to the side and wrapped in his cloak, already sleeping with Jared offering to take the first watch.

As he looked into a night sky he had grown familiar with, even with its twin, half-sized moons, the big rider went on.

- We were unable to get into the city. -

- Aye, I saw that, - the ancient entity said and Jared got the impression if the Watcher had a head, it would be shaking it right there in disappointment. - Unfortunately we will see much more of that attitude before Aaron can effect any kind of change as the rest of the races of Light rally around the city. -

The book fell silent for a moment as if consulting something.

- Ironically, none of the north sending portal stones would've put you in the right locations anyway, so it was fortuitous that you didn't end up using them. As for the portal stones sending north outside of the city, I've found just one. But it will suit our needs. It takes you into the Danath Forest, which protects the southern slopes of the Jenan Hills, the precursors to the Muul kerKerath. -

Again the ancient entity hesitated.

- There's just one problem, - it said.

- And that is? - Jared asked.

- The Danath is what the Kasidian once was: a home to the forest spirits and mystical creatures of ancient Ethaeron. -

- Yeah? Like what? -

- Like wood spirits and their kin. Mischievous brownies that may steal your boots and return them for a piece of honeycomb. Or playful faeries that dance like motes of light around your head as you walk beneath the spreading boughs of great fir and pine. And dryads, of course, tree sisters that dance naked in their hidden glades. -

- Shit, book, you had me worried for a moment there. Naked dancing dryads? That doesn't sound so bad. -

- Perhaps not. But these spirits owe allegiance to neither side in this war. Only to Mother Ethaeron. So you may pass through their midst with no trouble. Or find them hunting you without mercy for invading their home. It will ... depend on their mood. -

Ah. There it was. The uncertainty factor. Every advantage had to have its downside. Like the portal stones from the coast that put him in the hands of the denai. This set of stones jumping them into the Danath. Where they would either dance with the faeries. Or get pinned to the forest floor by pissed off centaurs or some such.

- How much time would it take to travel conventionally across that distance? - Jared asked.

- Approximately three months, - the book replied.

Jared snorted softly.

- Well, that makes up our minds for us, doesn't it, - he grimly noted. - For Sam's sake, I will risk the dubious spirits of the Danath. That, or miss the war all together. Which is not an option. -

- Understood. Just to let you know, Nikeera knows you're here and is trying desperately to join you but has run into a number of challenges. She may not have the chance to portal to the city for another day, perhaps two. Will you wait for her? -

Jared felt his face twist with disappointment. Possibly two days??

- No. We're not waiting, - he said, wanting to grind his teeth in frustration. Damn it, Nikeera! You just had to go off and try to recruit the Denai to the cause, didn't you. And I had to go flying off to the west, driven to do so by Caspian's gaes. The whole situation was just so fucked!