The Frostfire Sage by Steven Kelliher

Author:Steven Kelliher [Kelliher, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-07-12T22:00:00+00:00

Upon closer inspection, the cave city was at once more and less impressive than they had at first thought.

More impressive because it was a wonder to Kole just how many ways a people could find to fashion structures into what had once been moving rock solidified to crusted obsidian and clay. There was a smithy seemingly built out from a growth of stone whose anvil was indistinguishable from the rest of the vast, interconnected chamber. There were hidden stairways around every corner, natural ladders the masons had helped along with hammer and chisel. There were cooking forges and smaller hearths elders warmed themselves by when the winds blew in from the east and threatened to tear the furs from their backs. There were torches held in sconces, each ruddy flame casting myriad reflections over the melted walls and damp, dripping ceilings. There were men, women, children and elders busy over their private tasks—sewing, hammering, eating, drinking, sweeping—but there were not so many of them as Kole had imagined.

And therein lay the less impressive part of the place, and the part of it that had begun to infect Kole with a sense of melancholy for a people he barely knew. He sensed that a great portion of them were gone, and he could guess that the Sages’ war—Balon Rael most directly—had played no small role in that.

“This way here leads up to the sleeping chambers,” Fennick was saying. They had come to the foot of a stairway that was broader than the rest. It was a flight that shot up before darting to the right, where a row of stalagmites hid a walkway that must have been carved from an expanse of solid rock.

“How many does it sleep?” Jenk asked as Misha wandered away from them, touching every outcropping of glittering stone and admiring a place that was alien to anything they had come to know in the Valley. Shifa followed her, sniffing each place she touched. They had reclaimed their armor and weapons, much to the chagrin of Tundra and his Blue Knights, but the queen had raised no complaint and Kole was glad of it, lest he be forced to protect Misha from the collected might of the north.

“Now?” Fennick asked. Jenk only stared, and the gruff soldier’s smile dropped some. “Less than it used to.” He looked up the center stair and waved to a dirty child who sat at the top, peering down at them with forced indifference.

“The way beyond is vast,” Baas said, his voice seeming to emanate from the stone itself. “There are many rooms beyond. Far too many for the folk we’ve seen.” Fennick winced at the remark, but Baas didn’t notice. He looked straight through the little girl, as if his eyes could penetrate the sheer rock wall behind her. He had moved through the glittering network as if in a dream, with each step bringing a new revelation. Kole noticed that his eyes never widened at the new sights, though he would occasionally pause and tilt his head, as if listening.

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