Chapter 195 The Edge of Victory (1/2)
”Lady Snowcloud?” The young novice's eyes ith surprise as he looked at her ”You're alive? And you're here?”
”Clearly,” Snowcloud replied
They hadSun patrol only moments earlier, and the half dozen novices in the patrol all see them, ht not recognize Snowcloud theh to cause theies, Lady Snowcloud,” the novice said, visibly struggling to regain his co Moon is hunting you Elder Naran even sent several dozens of search parties to find you, but nobody's seen any sign of you for ht you were dead I hadn't expected you to turn up here, so close to our ca Sun ca the novice's other words
”Half a day's travel, less if we hurry” He gestured into the distance, indicating the direction of the calance at Zehava, whonized as an Iron Mountain novice
”She coo”
She made no attempt to explain the situation to the novice, nor did she ask him any questions Theirs was aabout, and the younguseful
What they needed was toSun Elders, and they needed to do so without delay
The half-day it took the Sun novices quickly understanding that their curiosity would not be satisfied
While the two groups both ostensibly consisted of novices and recruits, there could be no doubt that although Snowcloud and her companions did not outrank the others in terms of titles, they certainly surpassed them in confidence and experience
They reached the Soaring Sun camp early in the afternoon, and ie as the previous one had been, if not larger
At its center was a tall hill, upon which stood a large stone fort Both the fort and the hill beneath it seeic only months earlier
For at least a round They were arranged in neat roide ays and the occasional training field between the about their business wherever he looked It resele person within it was unaruessed there were at least fifty thousand people in the cah the vast majority of these were recruits, he also spottedadepts
It was a sight that once would have filled him with awe, but now, he knew that the true power of the ares ould be inside the fort Even if Elder Naran were pitted against all the novices and recruits the army held, Arran had little doubt the odds would be on the Elder's side
Aroup drew little attention Though solanced their way, there was a constant co of patrols, and theirs was just one of ed when they reached the foot of the hill, however The hill itself was clear of tents, and posted around it were several sht were adepts rather than novices And as soon as they entered the clear space around the hill, one of those sroups approached the woman asked Just short of her ested she had little patience for troublesome novices
The novice who led the patrol replied at once, his voice deferential ”While ere out on patrol, we encountered Lady Snowcloud”
The woman's eyes turned to Snowcloud and she raised an eyebrow ”So you did Lady Snowcloud, I did not expect to see you here”
”We need to speak to Elder Naran,” Snowcloud said curtly ”Immediately” Her voice held none of the deference the novice had shown, and her tone suggested that it was an order rather than a request
”I suspect he ant to speak with you, too,” the woman replied ”Very well As for the rest of you, leave” The novices and recruits did as she said at once, but when she saw that Arran, Zehava, and Rockblaze remained, she asked Snowcloud, ”These three are with you?”
”They are”
As the wouided them up the hill, Arran looked in the distance, and saw that this camp was not the only one in the area
Several miles to the south stood a similarly sized cae of the Soaring Sun ca the way between the two are as the other two combined This, Arran kneould be the Iron Mountain army — their enemies' base of power
Arran had no chance to study the view any further, as the wouided them into the fort without delay Just e roo with half a dozen other e grin appeared on Elder Naran's face the moment he laid eyes on them, both joy and relief plainly visible in his expression
”At last, soiant man said in a cheerful voice before the adept could even announce the Moon traitors TellMoon that came after us,” Snowcloud said ”It was the Iron Mountain”
She wasted no ti what had happened — how they had encountered an Iron Mountain search party, and how the adepts had tried to kill them
As she spoke, the expressions of both Elder Naran and the other h there was no shock in their eyes, the news Snowcloud brought about the Iron Mountain was clearly unwelcome
”So it's like that,” Elder Naran finally said ”It seeer our Valley faces”