e left the Skalsbridge behind us, a picturesque scene of tranquility belying the night\u2019s events. Few traces remained of the dead men that littered the bottom of the Thundering River: scars along the riverbank where their boat came ashore, trampled grass and soil, the occasional boot print in the dirt. We covered up what we could, using both labor and magic. If someone looked close enough, they\u2019d probably see the signs, but it was good enough for the casual eye.<\/span><\/p>\n The raven flew off shortly before the attack began last night, and as far as we know it hasn\u2019t returned since. This is fine by me. It implies that news of the failed ambush won\u2019t travel much faster than we do. They, whoever they are, won\u2019t know something is wrong until the Aril\u2019s Hammer fails to put into port.<\/span><\/p>\n We are spending the night in Ullerskad, just a day and a half east of Kalsgard. It is a significant trading city for its size, and apparently the home to numerous wealthy merchants both still in business and retired. Mom and dad would feel at home here if it weren\u2019t so gods-be-damned cold in the winter. Perhaps this is why our only trip to the Kingdoms, which happened when I was about 8 years old, was our only trip to the Kingdoms.<\/span><\/p>\n O<\/span><\/p>\n ne of the notable landmarks in Ullerskad is the temple to Gorum. I have virtually nothing in common with the god of battle, but I was curious enough to visit before we left.<\/span><\/p>\n I was not sure what to expect, of course, but I was not expecting what I saw. The temple itself\u2014a large, gold-adorned building\u2014stood next to a grove of trees, and from these trees hung the corpses of both animals and men. I asked an acolyte about their significance. He said, \u201cThe animals are sacrifices to Gorum. The men are enemies of Ullerskad who fell to our warriors in battle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n At the center of the grove was a massive yew tree (the largest I have ever seen), its expansive branches covered in lush, green leaves. The acolyte added, \u201cThese leaves stay green all year long, even through the harshest winters. It is a very sacred place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I couldn\u2019t argue with that.<\/span><\/p>\n Shalelu seemed less impressed. When asked for her opinion, she replied, \u201cI have seen this kind of thing before.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I couldn\u2019t argue with that, either.<\/span><\/p>\n Sandru and I spent some time researching the Crown of the World. The real experts are in Kalsgard, but there are enough knowledgeable people here to give us a picture of what we are facing, and that picture is <\/span>sobering<\/span><\/i>. The trip is some 3,000 miles, with nearly half of that over what is called the High Ice. That is the most treacherous part: 1,500 miles of frozen desert. One thousand, five hundred miles!<\/span><\/p>\n At our most efficient, we travel just shy of 50 miles in a day. The math doesn\u2019t lie: we can’t carry enough provisions to cross the High Ice.<\/span><\/p>\n Even more troubling is the weather. It\u2019s called the High Ice because it is an Arctic plateau. At that altitude, the temperatures rarely rise above freezing in the summer and are <\/span>much lower<\/span><\/i> in winter. We have been advised to wait until next year to start our journey: the season for crossing the Crown begins in early spring and lasts only a few weeks. Leave during that window, and you are on the ice <\/span>now<\/span><\/i>, while the conditions are at their best. We are simply three months too late (or nine months too early) to set out.<\/span><\/p>\n At least we will have plenty of time to find a solution to our looming food problem.<\/span><\/p>\n W<\/span><\/p>\n e arrived in Kalsgard just as the sun was setting. The city is the largest in the Linnorm Kingdoms, and also its oldest. Its shipyards are well known throughout Avistan and have a reputation for producing some of the finest longships money can buy, almost certainly including the one sitting at the bottom of the river under the Skalsbridge. The city itself is divided into nine Quarters separated by walls that are more permeable than they appear. It\u2019s also strikingly cosmopolitan with a richly diverse population. Though it\u2019s been nearly 15 years since I was last here, it is the latter (and the shipyards) that I remember.<\/span><\/p>\n Kelda pointed us towards the Bone Quarter. It is the poorest district in the city but it also has the most open space, and that combination makes it an attractive place to put things that no one wants to see or deal with. Caravans, especially those from Varisia, very much fall into that category. That level of anonymity and disregard is fine with us. We are staying here tonight, but tomorrow some of us will find lodging in a nicer Quarter so that we can come and go without drawing unwanted attention to the caravan.<\/span><\/p>\n Speaking of Kelda, she has chosen to return home in the morning and won\u2019t be continuing on with us. I am not surprised; she did not sign up to be an heir to a kingdom she has no connection to (not that <\/span>we <\/span><\/i>signed up for that, either, but we all have ties to Ameiko in some fashion). And after what has happened in just the past couple of weeks? I can\u2019t say that I blame her.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ll miss having her with us, of course, but I won\u2019t miss Etayne\u2019s antics. So there is that to look forward to.<\/span><\/p>\n T<\/span><\/p>\n he day is barely half over and already it has been a huge mess. We are being followed, we are seeing flocks of crows everywhere we go, people are asking questions about us, and we are being harassed by street urchins paid in copper. It is unsettling and grows more so with each hour.<\/span><\/p>\n We secured rooms at an inn in the Amber Quarter and split up to cover as much ground as we could. Sandru and I set out for the merchant guilds in search of Fynn Snaevald, while Ameiko planned to visit the Jade Quarter to learn what she could about Minkai.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It was the latter that presented something of a problem. Ameiko does not always think things through. \u201cAre you sure it\u2019s wise to just wander around the city with people watching for us?\u201d I asked her before she set out.<\/span><\/p>\n She chuckled. \u201cWhat are you worried about? No one here knows who I am.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSomeone arranged that ambush, and we\u2019ve been followed by a giant raven for days. They may know quite a bit about us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWell, what do you suggest?\u201d she asked, clearly a little irritated with me. She was eager to explore the city, especially after having missed out on the action in Brinewall. There would be no talking her out of the idea, and to be honest, I wasn\u2019t going to try and stop her, either. What she proposed actually made a great deal of sense. It\u2019s just that we needed to be cautious about it.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhy not borrow Radella\u2019s ring? Then you won\u2019t have to look like you.\u201d With that, she could alter her appearance essentially at will.<\/span><\/p>\n I occasionally have good ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n That little success was soon overshadowed by my attempt to get information from the Seven Lands Guild in the Ivory Quarter. Sandru was <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> happy with me. He\u2019d never say it, of course\u2014he\u2019s too much of a gentleman\u2014but I could tell. Though I looked my part and certainly knew enough about the business, I was not at all prepared for the game of pretending to be something I am not. Afterward, he gave me a quick summary of what I had done wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not enough to know how to be a merchant. You have to know the part you are playing. They aren\u2019t going to quiz you on your knowledge; they are going to ask questions about you, your business, and what you want from them. You need to anticipate those questions and have answers, and you need to engage with them confidently.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThink about who you are, where you are from, what it is you need, why you need to speak to them, and what they can do for you. Also, try and relate that to what you <\/span>really<\/span><\/i> want to find out from them: in this case, how did you know Fynn, and why did it make sense for you to ask about him?<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAlso, next time, don\u2019t use your real name.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n So, just those issues, then.<\/span><\/p>\n Fortunately, my clumsiness didn’t do any lasting damage, and we managed to get directions to Fynn’s house.<\/span><\/p>\n On the way back to the inn, we noticed the crows. They were all over the city, of course, but while they were just scenery before, now they were flocking near us in numbers that seemed unusual. As the others straggled in over the next hour or two, they had similar observations: crows appearing in increasing numbers, lining up on rooftops to follow their progress across the city. I brought Nihali in and asked for her opinion.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey are just crows,\u201d she said. This was obviously not helpful.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIs there anything unnatural about them?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Her reply was immediate. \u201cNo. They are a normal flock of crows. The only thing that is unusual is that they are following you and your friends.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDo they pay attention to you? Or make you nervous?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo. They ignore me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The crows were just the beginning. Radella and Sparna were on their way back to the inn when they happened to spot Koya in one of the markets (Koya dresses in colors so vivid she stands out even in Varisia), only she was being watched and followed by a young Tian boy. They managed to discreetly get word to Ivan, and together they arranged an ambush to confront him. When cornered and questioned, he confessed that he had been paid to tail us, gather information about our activities, and leave his notes at a drop elsewhere in the city. He had descriptions of <\/span>everyone<\/span><\/i>, including Ameiko (though undisguised, so the ring would at least keep her identity safe). They followed him discreetly with hopes of catching his handler, but he or she had been alerted somehow and they came back empty-handed.<\/span><\/p>\n Qatana and Shalelu, meanwhile, had learned that our armbands belong to one Asvig Longthews, but only after spreading a lot of gold around. Why? Because almost no one wanted to talk about armbands, lions, or Asvig himself, even after we had learned his name. They practically backed away from her.<\/span><\/p>\n At the caravan, Etayne learned from <\/span>another<\/span><\/i> Tian boy that people had been asking questions about <\/span>us<\/span><\/i>, and knew we had been making inquiries and dropping coins around the city to get answers. So, our attempts to gather information weren\u2019t just attracting attention; they were actively alerting the people who were watching for us.<\/span><\/p>\n All these eyes on us, the constant spying, the mind games\u2026it is unnerving. As a precaution, we have sent word to Kelda that we need to see her so that we can warn her. After all, they have her description, too.<\/span><\/p>\nArodus 9 (Ullerskad, Noon)<\/h3>\n
Arodus 10 (Kalsgard, Night)<\/h3>\n
Arodus 11 (Kalsgard, Midday)<\/h3>\n
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