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The wind howled all through the night as Dusk kept his back pressed up against the cold stone wall, the fire only a couple feet in front of him. Lex was laid on the ground near the coals to keep him warm, he still hadn’t woken up. Tara propped herself up against the adjoining wall and closed her eyes. Dusk knew she wasn’t sleeping as every now and then a single eye would pop open, peer around, and then close again. Dusk stayed awake to keep an eye on Lex and make sure the hem of his cloak didn’t catch fire as it was buffeted around by the wind.
Late in the night Lex finally came to. He was still confused and in pain, but Dusk assured him everything was taken care of. Lex joined him against the wall and fell asleep once more leaning on Dusk’s shoulder. With the knowledge that he was okay and now away from the flames, he tossed a couple more logs on the fire and let what little warmth there was wash over him, lulling him into an uncomfortable sleep.
Dusk stood at the mouth of the large cavern once more, the fossilized dragon slowly coming to life in front of his eyes. The wings snapped and twisted, their bones slipping back into place. The legs began to shift as the muscle under the skin began to expand and thicken once more. That same deep rumbling voice spoke.
“Dusk.”
The dragon’s head came around, its wounds completely healed and the left eye stark white with neither iris nor pupil. It’s long horns gracefully curved backwards from its head that was accented by small bony spikes. The scales were almost white and seemed to glimmer, even in the dim light of the cave. From its belly Dusk could still make out a faint pale blue glow from the spaces between its scales.
“You.” it said slowly, bringing its head around to hover in front of Dusk.“It seems there is more to you than I first expected.”
Dusk stayed silent, too terrified to speak. Even though the creature looked gentle, he knew how powerful it truly was. He’d felt it the night it took over and killed the hooded man in Kinallin. He knew at any moment it could take over him completely, trapping him as a spectator in his own body. If it wanted to, it could probably kill him at any moment.
“But danger is all around you,” it continued. “Another dawn approaches.”
Dusk looked at it, confused as to what he meant, but still didn’t dare to speak.
The dragon slowly shook its head as if troubled by something. The cave slowly began to fade, like rain washing away paint. He heard the voice speak once more, but it was garbled and unintelligible. The rest of the image melted away into the darkness of a dreamless sleep.
Dusk woke to a cramp in his right arm and the feeling of numbness prickling across his skin. For a moment he worried that his arm had frozen in the night, but when he opened his eyes realized Lex was still lying heavily against his body, cutting off the circulation to his arm. He didn’t want to disturb him, but the feeling was growing more and more painful. The sun had risen in a clouded sky and snow still fell softly around them though the biting wind had mostly disappeared. The white of the snow made everything seem brighter than should be allowed. Dusk blinked a few times, squinting hard as he tried to get his eyes to adjust to the light. His head was still aching where he had been struck the night before. With his free hand he gave in and hefted Lex off of him, leaning him back against the wall. Lex began to groan and pull against the sling that held his arm tight to his chest.
“Don’t move it,” Dusk ordered. “You don’t want us to put it back into place again.”
“What happened?” he replied, pulling his free arm up to rub his eyes.
“The short version is that we were attacked and we lived.You were thrown and your shoulder was dislocated.” Dusk watched as Lex winced at the thought of it. “Tara and I put it back in. And,” Dusk put on a serious tone, “both of us need to work on remaining conscious in the future. We're starting to develop a habit.”
Lex chuckled, “I’ll do my best.” He reached down with his free hand and wrapped his cloak tightly around him. “Fuck it’s cold,” he whispered.
Dusk nodded, noticing the cold remains of the fire they’d had the night before. Glancing at the opposite wall he saw Tara was not in her usual spot. Off to their left was a giant mound of snow. He knew what it was, but he was almost glad he couldn’t see the twisted visage of the creature anymore anymore. Something about it was off-putting. It almost seemed unnatural.
“That was the strangest bear I’ve ever seen.” Dusk turned back to see Lex staring at the same mound.
“I’ve heard the word, but is that what they look like?” Dusk asked incredulously.
“No, they’re usually smaller and they don’t have teeth or claws like that. They’re still very dangerous, but that thing,” Lex gestured to the snowy mound, “is a monster. I don’t know what happened to it.”
“Do you think that’s what Juniper meant?”
“Who’s Juniper?” a familiar voice called from the other side of the wall. Dusk and Lex watched as Tara came through the crumbling archway of a door pulling Maribel by the halter. She gave the horse a quick pat on the side of her muzzle and made her way over to them, leaving Maribel to stand in the snow. Tara was moving stiffly, but she seemed to be in decent shape. “Are you deaf?” she snapped in front of Dusk’s face. “Who’s Juniper?”
“Sorry,” Dusk replied, tilting his head to the ground in submission. “She was the woman I tried to steal food from after I got free from the slavers. She’s told me to go to Inahan. She said she was part of the Legion of the Twilight.”
“What was her surname?”
“I think it was Benbow. Juniper Benbow.”
“Are you joking?!” Tara lurched forward towards the both of them, causing Lex to startle. “Juniper Benbow? The deadliest sharpshooter the Ditanian army has ever seen?!”
“She said she was the healer of the village. I don’t know about any sharpshooting.”
“If it’s the same person, she’s one of the most dangerous people to have ever lived and an absolute legend. She could put an arrow through a man’s eye at a hundred paces with his back turned to her. She married one of the higher ranking officers eventually, they were a deadly team. Her wife also had quite the reputation with a great sword.”
“She was just an old woman when I met her and the only reason I believe there is some kindness in the world.” Dusk looked down at his feet. “Juniper gave me these boots. She said they once belonged to her wife. I don’t see how they could be the same person though.”
Tara looked at the soft black leather boots for a moment. “Her wife was known as the Silence. She dressed in all black and she could, with a hefty swing of her blade, behead enemies before they even knew she was there. She usually worked alone. Once other people saw her skills, they no longer felt comfortable around her. All except General Benbow of course.” Tara stared for a moment at the boots. Dusk could see her thoughts wandering until she finally looked back at him. “If Juniper Benbow has joined the Legion of the Twilight, then I feel justified in my decision to leave the army of Ditania. She has seen, gained, and lost more than most. I trust her judgment.”
Dusk looked at Tara. For the first time he saw her as something more than an aggressive drunk with a childish vendetta. In her cold gray eyes he could see the need for justice and an honorable cause. Her dark hair rustled in the breeze a bit, knocking a few stray snowflakes down to her shoulders. The look of excitement was quickly washed away as she sat back against the wall, crossing her arms once more. The normal stern and stoic visage replaced it as she looked at them both.
“Now that you’ve gotten your beauty rest,” she gave an annoyed glance at Lex. “Are we gonna dick around here all day or should we get off this fucking mountain?”
“Let’s go,” Dusk replied, a smile still pulling at the corners of his mouth.
“What are you smirking about?”
“Nothing sir.”
“Keep it that way.”
The trek up the mountain path was difficult by itself, but with the snow it seemed almost impossible. Dusk led Maribel along the path behind the other two, their packs tied together and slung over her back. He felt guilty forcing her through such rough terrain, but to her credit she never complained or pulled away from him. In fact, she seemed eager to push him forward, not wanting to wait for the other two. Dusk had to keep her back, whispering to her to be patient as they climbed their way up the mountain. More than once she pulled him up a steep embankment herself, allowing him to hold onto the halter as she did most of the work.
Around midday the path finally started to even out and Tara turned the group back towards the road. The snow was deep, but the level ground made it much easier to walk. It wasn’t long before they found themselves on the main path that led to the pass at the top of the mountain behind. There was still an hour left of daylight when they crested the top of the hill and saw the gate in the distance.
The large wall was fashioned from logs that had been lashed together and sharpened to points. It was easily twenty feet high with ladders leading up to a second level where men were stationed, silhouetted against the sky. The gate itself was of a similar make and it’s doors stood open. Soldiers were stationed at either side of the open doorway while no more than six others patrolled the wall that stretched across the entire expanse of the pass. One side was hidden by a low hanging cliff to their left, but Dusk assumed it looked the same as the other side. His heart had begun to pound in his chest as they neared it, the anxiety building to a crescendo. He didn’t know if they could still make it through, but the open gate gave him hope.
As they approached they came around a slight curve and the anxiety was partially replaced with wonder. Passing the edge of the low cliff a massive tower rose into view. It was easily over a hundred feet high and more than forty feet wide at the base. Built of stone blocks, it butted up against the mountainside, buttresses flying out from the sides to stabilize against the cliffs. The base had a door on one side that the soldiers could be seen entering, but the rest of it was completely windowless. Around the base, however, were pillars of bricks coming up out of the ground. For a moment Dusk didn’t know what to make of them, but then he saw the smoke curling out of the tops. It seemed as if they were chimneys, but what they connected to, he wasn’t sure. As Dusk arched his neck to look, he could see a single shape resting on the turret at the top of the tower. The height made him dizzy, but he thought that person must be able to see the entire world and beyond from there.
The two gate soldiers stared as the group fought their way through the snow. The pair were weighed down by heavy chain mail draped over their solid black tunics that seemed more for show than protection. On top of their heads were fur lined barbute helms with long nose guards.Thick black leather gloves stretched up their arms as they both laid their hands on the pommel of their swords. Before they were within earshot Tara stopped and turned to look at the pair of them.
“We’re going to stay here for the night if we can.”
Lex began to protest, but she held her hand up to silence him.
“We’re all wounded in some way or another and if we run into another monster again, we won’t survive. I don’t want to stay here either, but we don’t have a choice. I’ll secure our passage tonight and lodging within the tower. The barracks are almost never full, they’ll be able to accommodate us if I can convince them.”
Dusk nodded and looked at Lex. He didn’t look happy about any of this. He’d been so quiet during their journey up the mountain, Dusk was beginning to wonder if something more was going on, or if the snow and cold was just too much.
“Lex?” Dusk asked quietly, urging him to answer.
He looked to Tara and then back to Dusk before he nodded slowly. “You’re right. We need a place for the night.”
“Good,” Tara replied. “Keep quiet and let me do the talking. I’ll get us through the gate.”
She turned and started towards the gate, lifting herself a little taller and squaring her shoulders. Confidently she strode forward, the other two hanging a few feet behind. Dusk could feel the anxiety welling up in his chest, almost like he had an extra heartbeat. He tried to swallow it down as they walked, but nothing seemed to help. Instead he gripped Maribel’s halter tighter, the warm body a source of comfort.
The soldiers turned to watch their approach. As they neared the gate one of them came forward with a spear in hand.
“Halt!” he cried, holding his hand up. “What’s your business here?”
“We wish to cross into enemy territory brother, but we need a place to stay the night. Can you help a fellow soldier?” Tara called back. “We’re on a mission to gather information to help us in the war effort.”
“The war?”
“Surely you don’t think King Arius will sit by and let his father be murdered without retaliation? Even the outskirt soldiers aren’t that stupid.”
The soldier looked visibly annoyed. Dusk wondered why she was taunting him if their goal was to pass peacefully.
“What’s your rank?”
Tara reached inside her cloak and produced a gold medallion. Dusk saw it flash in the light, but didn’t get a good look at it.
“Captain Tara Tordovic of the Royal Guard.”
The soldier looked at the medal and then to Tara, his face dropping in shock. “So sorry ma’am! My apologies!”
Tara did not respond.
“Of course we have room for you ma’am and your men. I’ll inform the others that you’re here immediately. And Commander Falgorin as well.”
“That name isn’t familiar to me. Explain.”
“Yes ma’am. The Commander has been stationed here for some time. He seems to be gathering intelligence for King Arius and also on the lookout for an escaped slave.”
Dusk heard himself draw in a sharp breath, but Tara made no reaction.
“And? Have you found this slave? Why’s he so important?”
“He has not been located, ma'am. The Commander is heading the search with his own men. I’m sorry ma’am, but I don’t know the details. You’ll have to ask him yourself.”
“Make sure our lodging is comfortable and get this animal in a stable,” she threw her arm back towards Maribel. “Tell the men to be on their guard. We encountered a strange bear-like creature on the way up the mountain. There could be more of them about. And one more thing.”
The soldier stayed silent, looking at Tara with a slight grimace on his face.
“Make sure I have a hot bath tonight.”
“Yes ma’am.”