A Shield of Faith (BOOK 4)

Chapter 45

NEVEN

When the sun failed to provide a frame of time, he relied solely on his moonwatch — though Naveera's accursed energy often gave a false estimation. Snow whisked out from underneath the Snowshear's undercarriage blades, forced to stop when they found rare outcroppings to rest up. Walls of ice shielded them from those outside as he let Maria conserve her energy in a warmer corner, and he held his vigil, staring down the abyss. We shouldn't be too far now... We're in the county lines if the map is still accurate... Just need to find the center settlement — talk to the Lord of Usokal county, get an idea of the situation when it comes to Derelicts... not that I expect much in the way of that topic. Neven released a burst of energy through his nose, a misty plume of his ancestors as it regulated the cold stuck to his lungs.

We must keep moving.

Or else they ran the risk of freezing to death.

Over more dunes. Underneath caves of blue ice. He almost reached his hand out to imagine beautiful, bendable waves. His feet latched onto a surfboard instead of the snowshear. As snow skidded upwards from their motion, he missed surfing though the thought of Kemal scolding him for such a dangerous activity made him grin — considering the Order they belonged to. A pang of concern dropped his smile in an instant as they broke the icy cave and out into the wastelands. Although the sight of an orange glow through the field of fog brought a sense of calm, the dread remained as he tightened the ropes and Maria hauled herself up with a glance in his direction.

He needed no Aurus abilities to know what was on her mind. "We have to get this done somehow," he whispered to her and adjusted the thick sails, already coated with clumps of snow from their long journey. "We shall not linger once I have the information the Outpost needs. Let me talk to the Lord." He held his tongue when the mist broke to reveal a larger settlement than he expected, though the edges of it held half-buried buildings whose lights were doused from the snow filling up the interior. Naveerans scrambled away from them when he slowed the Snowshear to a stop, and he whipped his head around for Blizzard Sentinels, but his heart faltered at the lack of proper defenses and the innocents who shut their windows tight when he hopped off. Maria followed, stepping back when a couple of Naveerans stared at her, mystified.

"Ignore them," he said in Common. Storefront awnings protected patrons from the endless flurries. He walked up to one Naveeran, but they hurried off before he could manage a proper hello. Hm... He shuffled towards a group, but they scrambled to another table, feathers fluffed out in terror with quiet, nervous hisses leaving their nose at his approach.

"I don't think they want us here, Nev," Maria whispered.

Some things never change about our people... Neven sighed and abandoned his attempt at talking to the townsfolk to read the signposts on the corners of streets. He cracked the ice covering some of the letters, then followed its direction down the heart of the settlement as people stared, or continued to avoid them. Frustration tickled his tongue, but he pushed it down to cling onto his patience instead. "I'm not an outsider," he said to one group who lingered too long, but at his voice, they scrambled into the snowy alleys again. "I just wish to talk to the Lord of these lands," he insisted to another individual who shuffled along and pointedly ignored him. Ancients... we're getting nowhere.

If only one broke themselves out of their own self-made ice... Neven motioned for Maria to follow him through the settlement, hunting for a chance of information as a wide building made out of thick alabaster stone bloomed out of the overhanging fog of gloom over the not yet buried township. He faltered when a couple of Naveerans peeked through their window blinds, their wide eyes revealing vertical pupils. Lamps flickered on the corners of the pointed roofs and underneath yard trellis'. Wind threatened to take the life of flames away, but he pushed forward across the cobbled paths.