. For the mortals, there was nothing but inky darkness around us, as the sky had acquired enough cloud cover to significantly cut down on the starlight. Even for me, it was a blend of fairy sight and vampire sight. Allia was looking vaguely in my direction, so I could tell she was only going off the sound of my …

. I landed, uncloaked, and reported, “The fort up there is occupied and they have a perfect view of the road.” Our current location was hidden from the view of that fort by the terrain. The horses were taking water from a little stream while the riders were stretching their legs. It was time to start thinking about a camping …

. The forest grew thicker with every foot of elevation that we descended, as we followed that little river downstream toward the inhabited valley below. Not dense enough to form an actual canopy, of course, but the trees themselves became thicker. The aspens were giving way to maples and alders. I was thankful that Dilorè and I weren’t riding with …

. I looked around the campfire. Seven people here had been with me below Cara Ita, in the northernmost reaches of Ilim Below, so they seemed to be receptive. Three had not. Two of those three were currently skeptical of what I was telling them. The third, Lady Dilorè, was looking at the other two with open disdain. “Are you …

. Our camping spot was just barely below the tree line, surrounded by skinny aspens that looked like they were barely clinging, and too sparse to form an actual canopy. When we arrived in this spot in the late afternoon, Talene had produced an amazing set of camping tools I had never seen before. First, after Graham took a small …

. My excitement slowly turned into anxiety as the Wind spirit remained silent. We continued drifting along with the wind, slowly ascending the northern face of the Giant’s Fortress. We were level with the northernmost peak, barely a half-mile ahead, when he finally spoke once again. He said, “Give.” Due to my befuddlement, my very intelligent reply was, “Umm…” It …

. I Cloaked as I approached the little valley I had discovered in the morning, because I had spotted a large number of campfires along the Great Trading Route in an area where they weren’t originally meant to be. Rufin’s plan had called for his brigade to travel nearly twenty more miles before encamping. Which probably meant one of my …

. It was only Secondday Night in the first week of the month, so the thin sliver of the Full Greater Moon had only been above the horizon for a short time, while I was beginning my patrol, and had now set. Even so, at this altitude, the light was quite good thanks to the Great River of Heaven stretched …

. We landed when the horse riders took a break for lunch. It had been hard work on the horses, because they had climbed half of the way back up the pass into the Tabad that the brigade had taken at dawn before turning off the road and beginning the climb over the adjacent ridge. But it was unavoidable, because …

. While I reported to Prince Rufin, two scenarios had formed in my head. In the first, the column safely passed the base in the hills and set up its intended bivouac beside the Great Trading Route. In the morning, Rufin’s brigade would send out its cavalry elements on sweeps of the surrounding hills. Our party would depart at that …