Ryan had been healing well, but he still had a splint on his leg to help him to mend his broken leg. It had been six days since they returned to the Sanctum. The healers at the Sanctum had done all they could, but the bone still needed a little more time to heal. He had discussed with Wilhelm what they had discovered about the lost capital city of Tvier-gnípa. Wilhelm advised him to wait until he was fully healed before venturing out on another expedition.

  Ryan was becoming impatient with waiting. After years of research and countless hours spent translating ancient documents, the ancient sword known as Sannr was finally within his grasp, but he was trapped at the Sanctum because his leg was broken. One of the healers had given him a wooden crutch that had a place to rest his arm to lean on while he tried to move around.

  After dinner in the dining hall, he had Nìa help him to his room. He didn’t need her assistance, but it made her feel needed. He was deep in thought as they walked. She opened the door for him, and walked with him to his bedside where he sat down. He was feeling optimistic so he decided to ask her a question. “Do you think that we could get it?”

  “Get what?” answered Nìa. “The sword.,” said Ryan. “Even though my leg is broken, I still believe that the two of us could get it. We know where it’s located, and I think that we could get it before anyone would discover that we had left.” “With your leg in the condition that it is, I do not believe that you should be traveling at all,” replied Nìa.

  “My leg is nearly healed and by the time that we get there it should be almost completely healed,” he said. He stood up without using his crutch and began bending his knees to show her that he was healing. He winced a little before he sat back down. “You see, I hardly feel any pain now,” said Ryan.

  Ryan had a lot of experience in getting people to do something that they had no desire to do, and he spent the rest of their evening trying to convince Nìa that it was a good idea to go after the sword. He explained the importance of the sword’s use for defeating Jemot. He mentioned to her many things that he felt were important before finally pointing out that the new moon was less than a fortnight away and that they didn’t have the time to waste on him healing. She wasn’t fully convinced, but she agreed to go with him before they both retired to their own beds.

  The following morning she found him in the Forbidden Room. He was studying maps again. He was comparing a map of the locations of the Sentinel Trees to the map that he had made of the realm. The closest tree to the ancient city was over a day’s walk to get to where he wanted to be. It was one of the trees, like Oaken Meadow or Echo, that had small openings so a horse couldn’t be used.

  The nearest one capable of riding a horse through it was a four day ride with good weather. Winter was approaching and the days had been becoming colder and although the solstice marks the first day of winter, he knew that it was not uncommon for snow to begin falling weeks before then, especially in the area of the realm that they were intending to travel to. Time was against them, so his only logical choice was to go on foot and hope that his leg could take the added the strain.

  The two of them made plans for their departure while they made their way to the dinning hall. After they ate, Nìa went to tell J?kob of their plans while Ryan prepared for their departure. She made him promise not to say anything to anyone about it. He was easier to convince than she had been, but he agreed as long as she showed him where they were going. She pointed to a location on a map that he had in his room. The spot was marked by a lake with two mountains on either side.

  Ryan had found Master U’lias who had come to the Sanctum to report on the enemy positions. Ryan told him that he had received a tip on the location of where Claremont was keeping his war prisoners. He managed to convince him that a small, yet secret, reconnaissance mission was necessary before he made an official report to the king. Master U’lias agreed to open the portal for Ryan and Nìa to investigate. Master U’lias also wanted to join them, but Ryan informed him that they could be gone for days and that he was needed elsewhere. He promised the wizard master they would inform him when they were ready to return or if they were in danger.

  Master U’lias reluctantly agreed, and after the evening meal, the three of them made their way to the portal entrance, where Master U’lias opened the doorway for them to enter. Ryan and Nìa went through it and the portal closed behind them. It was very dark inside the tree and the air around them was cold. They made their way to a hole at the base of the tree and discovered that the sun was beginning to set.

  Ryan was unfamiliar with the fauna of the area and was uncertain if there were creatures that could be harmful to them. He and Nìa quickly gathered some wood and he built a fire so they could warm themselves. They hung one of their blankets over the opening to block out the cold air that was coming in. The ceiling inside the tree was very high, and the smoke from the fire drifted up into the darkness and away from them.

  Ryan wanted to get an early start in the morning. They cuddled up under their only other blanket by the fire. It was warm and cozy under the blanket and the two of them drifted off to sleep quickly. They were awoken several times in the night to the sounds of wolves in the area and he was glad that they decided to wait until morning before heading out into the unknown area.

  At day break, they put the fire out, packed their belongings, and bundled up to fight off the cold from outside. Ryan strapped on his sword and they went outside of the tree. There was a faint path that led in the direction that they needed to go, so they began walking. Ryan knew absolutely nothing of this region of the realm. There were no cities or towns that he was aware of anywhere near to them.

  Snow had fallen sometime in the past few days. It crunched under their feet as they walked. The sun felt warm on their faces, but the air around them was cold. They walked for half a day before Ryan needed to rest his leg. They found a fallen tree to use as a windbreak and Nìa built a small fire to warm them.

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  She looked through her pack and found some soup that she had brought and warmed it over the fire. The warm soup soothed their bodies and brought strength back to them. After they had eaten and rested, Nìa threw snow on the fire and they set off again. Ryan guessed that at their current pace, they would arrive at the mountains by midday of the following day.

  By evening, they could see the peaks of the two mountains in the distance. One was taller than the other. Its peak rose high over the clouds, while the other appeared to be cut off below the cloud line. Its peak was much wider than the first and more rounded than steep. Ryan thought to himself, "There would be a fine place to build a palace."

  They trudged onward until nearly sunset when a thick fog began to surround them. They stumbled across another tree fall that they could use to make a shelter. They stacked fallen limbs and whatever they could find and leaned them against the fallen tree. Ryan dug out some of the dirt from beneath it and made a fire. Nìa warmed up more of the soup and they ate before going to sleep.

  Ryan awoke to the sound of a wolf howling nearby. The fog was thicker now and very cold. It froze to everything it touched. He added more sticks to the fire before he woke Nìa and they moved as far away from the opening as possible. They were safe as long as the fire was between them and the outside. They waited and listened as the sounds of the wolves began to come closer.

  They watched through the flames as a lone wolf approached their fire. It sniffed the air around their camp before it laid down next to the fire. It licked the clumps of snow from its paws before laying its head down. Ryan and Nìa's hearts were beating fast and their breathing was unsteady. In the distance, they heard the howling of more wolves.

  The wolf that was lying by their fire, lifted its head and they could see its ears moving around to face to sounds. It stood up and ran off in the direction of another set of howls. The two people under the tree fall began to breathe easier and their hearts began to slow. Neither of them were able to sleep the rest of the night. They laid under the tree, trying not to move until dawn.

  When the sun finally rose over the horizon, the fog began to fade away. Ryan noticed that they had already climbed half of the smaller mountain in the fog. He had planned to go around it and enter the valley from the south, where the river came out. They decided that since time was a factor, that they would continue climbing the mountain.

  The trek wasn't very steep at first, more like a rolling hill. By mid morning, the fog was gone and they reached the top of the mountain. They looked down to the valley below and saw that the valley was filled with water. He secretly felt gladdened that they had accidentally deviated from their course after he saw a waterfall flowing over a dam in the valley.

  *****

  J?kob was visiting with Wi?dwyr? in his room. He had had trouble sleeping, so he went to the Hall of Dragons to talk with his friend. He could have easily done it from his own room, but with Matáo and Jonah away from the Sanctum, he was lonely in his room. It was nearing the time for his breakfast when Chloé entered the room as well.

  She was out of breath. She had run all the way from her room that was near J?kob's. She took a moment to collect her thoughts before saying, "I think they are in danger." "What do you mean, and who are you talking about?" asked J?kob.

  "Your sister and Ryan," said Chloé between breaths. She paused to finish catching her breath and then said, "I had a vision of them while I was sleeping. It came in waves and it was hard to make out what was happening to them. It was almost as if there were numerous different outcomes, but they all began with the two of them standing in the middle of water."

  She went on to tell him the various things she had envisioned. They were all filled with darkness and she could see very little of what was happening around her. In her visions, she could hear loud sounds that frightened her, but she was uncertain of what it was. The final scene that she described was seeing the four of them standing together.

  There were other things that she had seen, but she didn't want to worry J?kob. In the scenes that she had seen that did not include herself and J?kob, both Ryan and Nìa died. "We must hurry before it is too late. Do you know where they went?" asked Chloé. "Yes," said J?kob.

  He began to pack quickly for their trip and then saddled both of the dragons with the help of magic. When they were ready, they went to the giant door and opened it. They flew out into the morning sky and set a course that would take them to the mountains that Nìa had shone J?kob on the map.

  They flew all day and into the night. They had fastened themselves to the saddles and were able to sleep while the dragons flew onward. Chloé awoke in the night as they were passing a clearing in the middle of nowhere. She looked down into the clearing and saw the moon shining brightly upon a large rock that seemed out of place.

  She stared at the rock as they flew past and her eyes rolled back and she slumped over in the saddle. She began to see mist flowing into the clearing and a man that she knew as Claremont. He was standing in front of the rock. She watched as the mist flowed around Claremont and took the form of another man that she had seen before. Jemot.

  She could not hear what was being said between the two, but she watched as the mist turned into a giant hand and began writing on the rock. She saw Claremont place his hand on the rock and she saw a flash of light that filled the clearing. When the light faded away, the mist was gone and Claremont was alone in the clearing.

  The scene changed and she saw the stone again. This time she saw it as if she were standing beside it. She saw the writing in a language that she did not know. She saw Ryan standing in front of the stone, holding a sword that she had not seen before. She saw J?kob there as well, he had a staff raised in the air and she saw him mouthing words that she could not hear. The staff began to glow and the stone appeared to vibrate. She saw Ryan raise the sword and drive it into the stone, cleaving it in two.

  Chloé came back to herself and found out that she was still tied to the saddle. It was still dark. She looked behind to see the clearing drifting further away. She looked at Wi?dwyr? and saw that J?kob was still sleeping. What she had to tell him could wait until they got to where they were going.

  She laid herself the best she could back into the saddle and went back to sleep. Nagendra woke her as the sun began to rise. "We are nearly there, young one," said Nagendra. Chloé looked at the horizon and she could see the top of a mountain peaking over it.

  They flew towards the slowly rising mountains until after mid-morning. J?kob yelled something that she couldn't hear. "What did he say?" she asked Nagendra, who could hear better than she could in the wind. She felt Nagendra begin to pick up speed. "He said that we need to hurry, we may already be too late."