ICE

81. Nightfall

VYSES WAITED UNTIL they'd moved further away from the view of the guards to perform the spell. It was fairly simple, something that Ravenna remembered seeing in the abundance of scrolls she'd read during her stay at his tavern. With a blade of grass, a drop of water taken from the air, and a few spoken words, a map of red magic appeared within his palm. The terrain around them was outlined in detail, with splotches of dark red marking the location of water. A small blinking dot appeared within the center of the map, indicating their location, and as they moved, it moved with them.

"Which body of water would you like to try first, lass?" Vyses asked her. He pointed to three large red splotches. "These are the largest and the closest to our current location."

"Is there a way to see if any of them connect to the ocean?" Ravenna asked, peering at the map. She couldn't help but feel fascinated. It felt so different actually looking at a spell in action, compared to simply reading information about it on a scroll. Even with the few hand drawn sketches of the spelled map that she'd seen, it didn't seem to do the real thing justice.

Vyses frowned. "Unfortunately, we can't see the ocean from here. The map moves with us," he said. "We won't be able to see past what is shown until we start to move toward one of them and their actual shapes are more defined."

"Then let's start toward that one," Ravenna said, pointing at the closest splotch of red. A city of such massive scale would need a larger water source than most towns located on the outskirts of the kingdom. A body of water that connected to the ocean would be a better, more practical source, though a large lake could also work. And the closer the water was to the city, the less work needed to be done to maintain the tunnel system that would most likely be used to connect the two. So it made sense to her to start with the closest body of water, and then figure it out from there.

Ravenna followed Vyses through one of the nearby fields. According the map, the water would be on the other side of some small hills, which they could see beyond the edges of the field. Vyses watched the map very carefully. The splotch seemed to expand, slowly, as they walked. As they entered a heavily wooded area and began to trek uphill, Ravenna noticed that the splotch almost covered Vyses's hand.

"Is that a very large lake?" she asked. "Or the ocean?"

Vyses shook his head. "We are too far inland to be so close to the ocean," he remarked. "It has to be a large lake, or river. Either way, it looks like it could work as a water source for Zeporia."

Ravenna nodded. She summoned one of her ice soldiers. It quietly walked alongside them, waiting for her first order.

It wasn't long before the trees around them started to thin. Patches of dark greenish-blue water began to appear between the trees that clustered along the horizon in line front of them. Ravenna glanced at the map again. Her eyes widened. Vyses's palm looked as though it had been dipped in red ink. Or stained with blood.

As they got closer to the water, they noticed several violet tents constructed near the water. Vyses slowed to a stop, his hand curling around Ravenna's arm. "We need to be cautious," he whispered to her. "It seems we've stumbled upon one of the training grounds. There is a school inside Zeporia, where young men become guards and Blood Knights. Are you ready to fight if we are approached?"

"We don't need to fight them," Ravenna said, and she gestured meaningfully to her ice soldier. "This has to be their source of water. This lake is too big to go unused, and it's heavily guarded. If we can wait until nightfall, we should be able to catch them off guard and prevent them from raising alarm in Zeporia."

Vyses blinked at her. "That sounds like it will work," he remarked. A sly smile stretched across his lips. "I have to admit, you're quite cunning when you need to be, lass. You've come a long way since I first met you."

Ravenna flashed him a grin. "Years on your own without a single coin in your pocket will do that to you. I had to learn quick in order to survive."

She lead them toward a tree that was closer to the edge. Once beneath it, she could see around some of the tents. A group of men seemed gathered around the edge of the water. The sounds of steel clashing and water splashing echoed through the air. Ravenna took a seat, her back resting against the rugged bark that covered the tree behind her, and Vyses performed a quick invisibility spell to conceal them.

Ravenna found it mildly interesting to watch the young men train. It was hard to see the sword-fight, exactly, as most of the bystanders stood in the way. But after a bit, the fighters would move further into the water, away from the group. When enough time had passed, a man shouted, his words halting the fight. The two fighters stepped back, away from each other, and bowed. They vanished back into the crowd of bystanders and two new fighters stepped up to spar.

As darkness began to plague the sky, the guards-in-training stopped their sparring and returned to their tents. Several men started toward the woods, chatting amicably with each other. Ravenna held her breath as one man started toward them. His sharp gaze seemed to peer straight through her. Vyses tensed up beside her. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed back against the tree behind her, willing herself to become one with the tree. Sharp pieces of bark pinched the skin of her back.

The man bent down in front of them and collected a few sticks. Once he had a handful, he ventured back toward the others.

Ravenna exhaled in relief. "That was close," she muttered under her breath.

The guard-in-training paused mid-step and glanced back in their direction.

Ravenna's heart froze. She quietly lifted her hand, pressing her palm against her mouth. Vyses's hand found her shoulder and squeezed hard. She didn't dare to move or even breathe.

After a moment, the young man shook his head and looked away. Once he had ventured far enough away, Ravenna lowered her hand. She glanced up at Vyses. His fingers remained curled tightly around her shoulder, hurting her slightly, his eyes focused on the young man in front of them. She tapped his hand. His gaze darted down and widened. He removed his hand and mouthed, "Sorry, lass."

She returned her gaze to the young men in front of her. It wasn't long before they returned to the bank, piles of tinder and firewood in their arms.

A massive fire was made. Smoke billowed above the tops of the tends, churning and rolling within the air. The guards-in-training all gathered around the flame, enjoying a hearty meal of meat and laughter. And it wasn't long until the men slowly filed into their tents, retiring for the night.

When the sky filled with ink and dots of white stars, Ravenna climbed to her feet. She glanced toward Vyses, her fingers glowing with magic, and said, "It's time."

hey guys! 

Here is the next chapter as promised! Thank you all so much for your continued patience and support! ❤