“Maybe we’re in the wrong place,” Lilia suggested.
“When have you ever seen a road that runs straight up to the edge of a cliff for no reason? The supports are still there, even.” Cinna kicked a loose stone over the edge, watching as it plunged into the water far below. “I knew the bridges would be destroyed eventually. I simply hoped we could get here before then.”
Lilia shuffled from foot to foot uncomfortably, unsure how to reply. Even if she were to reveal herself now there wouldn’t be much she could do about this particular problem. Knowing she wasn’t just keeping quiet about her abilities but actively useless on top of that had Lilia feeling worse than usual.
“So…what now?”
“We go southeast and hope the main bridge over the Stryk has not yet been demolished. If it has…well, I have some ideas, but none of them palatable,” Cinna replied, turning back to Lilia with a scowl on her face. “The undead have advanced more quickly than I anticipated. We may have to acknowledge that we arrived too late and look for alternatives. But it would be best to determine if that’s truly necessary before proceeding.”
“What if it has been destroyed already?” Lilia asked.
“Then we’ll have to go around or under. All boats on this side of the Stryk should have been scuttled or sailed to safety already, though, and while I know an entrance to the Warm Roads exists on this side of the Stryk, I’d need a map to actually find it,” Cinna answered.
“What are the Warm Roads?” Sometimes when Cinna talked she used a lot of terms Lilia had never heard of. A lot of the time, actually. She’d learned a lot just by asking about them. Mostly because she needed to talk about something and didn’t want to give herself away by asking too much about the undead.
“Underground highways used by the Deepfolk. So far below the surface that the heat from Ennos’s core keeps the tunnels warm enough even for them. Outsiders are rarely allowed in, but Selkarc has long established itself as an ally of the Deepfolk, so I believe I should be able to negotiate entry,” Cinna explained. More words Lilia didn’t know. Deepfolk? Ennos’s core? Honestly speaking she didn’t care what any of it meant, so she just asked about what she thought Cinna would expect her to.
“It can’t be that hard to find a map. Why don’t we just go there now?”
“If it were just any map you would be right. But what we need is something more detailed than the sort of maps available to merchants. Only high-ranking officers and the upper nobility possess such maps. They’re meant to destroy them rather than allowing them to fall into enemy hands, but I’m hoping that if the undead advanced too quickly for the evacuation to finish then they may have also preempted the destruction of the maps,” Cinna said.
Lilia perked up a bit at that. It sounded like something she could actually help with. Sneaking into a noble’s home to steal a map would normally be unthinkable, but if all they needed to do was escape the notice of wandering undead then it would be easy. She couldn’t just say that, though, so Lilia tried to keep her excitement off of her face.
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go check the other bridge!” Lilia declared, turning to the right and leading the way. She heard Cinna clear her throat.
“I appreciate the unusual enthusiasm, but that way is northwest. You’ll only find the coast in that direction,” Cinna pointed out.
“Oh.” Lilia turned back, feeling embarrassed. “Um, speaking of the coast, though, how are you so sure none of the boats would still be there?”
“A map is a piece of paper. A boat is transportation. One is far more useful for making one’s escape than the other. Moreover, the Selkarcian navy still controls the coasts. I doubt my—that is, High General Tryggve would have neglected to seek out any ships left behind and scuttle or salvage them,” Cinna explained as she lead Lilia the other way.
Following behind Cinna, Lilia peered out over the cliff’s edge. She and Cinna were walking along the Stryk River now, or at least the fjord it sat at the bottom of. Lilia had never seen a fjord up close. For that matter, she’d never been so high up before. The view felt dizzying.
“Careful. If you focus too hard on the height you might lose your balance,” Cinna cautioned.
“I’ve never seen a fjord before. It looks so…peaceful. I expected it to be faster,” Lilia remarked.
“Technically this isn’t the Stryk River; it’s the fjord that the Stryk empties into. As we head upriver it will narrow until we reach a waterfall which marks the end of the river and the beginning of the fjord,” Cinna clarified.
“I don’t understand. If it’s all connected, isn’t it just one big river?” Lilia questioned, squinting her eyes in confusion.
“Heh. I believe I asked my teacher the exact same question, once. It’s a pity I don’t recall the answer.” Cinna shrugged. “Knowing the difference never seemed important to the defense of the kingdom. All I needed to know is that it makes for a single, easy to defend line.”
“But now you can’t tell me what the difference is!” Lilia complained. Directions sidled closer and rubbed against her cheek as if to calm her down.
“I will personally arrange to have someone explain it to you as soon as we get to safety,” Cinna promised.
By the end of the day Lilia and Cinna passed by the aforementioned waterfall and began to follow the Stryk proper. According to Cinna it originated in the Geirarjötna Mountains to the northeast and would curve in that direction if they followed it long enough, but that wouldn’t happen until well past the bridge they sought. If the situation were different, Lilia might have wanted to see the mountains as well. She wondered if she might be able to find a dead troll to befriend.
After that, two more days passed by the time the two finally reached the vicinity of the second bridge. Even before then, however, it had become quite clear what they would find. Lilia spotted the problem first through the use of her soul sense, though she kept quiet about it. Hardly an hour after that, Cinna had happened to glance down at the Stryk River just as a cluster of bodies washed past them, and from then on she had had very little to say.
“We were too late after all,” Cinna muttered under her breath.
Undead filled the plains ahead. Most were milling about aimlessly, unable to cross the chasm separating them from the inhabited parts of Selkarc. Occasionally some tried to attack anyway only to plummet into the waters below. Many had bows or slings, though, and were firing projectiles at the fortress on the other side. Towards the rear of the group some of the undead appeared to be constructing something, but Lilia couldn’t tell what from so far away.
“Directions,” she whispered. Her friend took her meaning and flew off.
“It’s a shame to have come so close only to turn away now, but even if we could get through so many undead we would have no way across,” Cinna said. “I could attempt to signal the garrison, however…”
Cinna trailed off as several balls of fire launched from the ramparts of the Selkarcian fortress. They travelled in arcs over the bulk of the undead army and descended towards the construction sites to the rear. Before they reached their targets, however, blobs of water and clumps of earth shot up to intercept them. Explosions echoed across the plains.
“Even if the garrison were to attempt a rescue those liches would intervene. We cannot afford to lose more mages trying to rescue me,” Cinna whispered. She turned to the north. “Fortunately with the front moved this far forward the undead have little reason to patrol their captured territory. We will only need to evade the wanderers left behind in their wake.”
Liches. Lilia remembered that undead mage she’d encountered before meeting Cinna and immediately made the connection. That must have been the word for an undead mage. She could certainly understand why Cinna wouldn’t want to risk encountering them. After all, Lilia had barely survived just one.
Still, she would have liked to get closer and take a look at their souls. Since she’d only seen one Lilia couldn’t come to any conclusions about them. She also hadn’t had much time to examine it closely. What made a lich different from a draugr? Some draugr had spells carved into them and others didn’t. Were any liches independent of a necromancer, too?
As she thought those questions over Lilia noticed that Directions had gotten close enough to see what the undead army was building. Bridges. They were already more than long enough to cover the width of the Stryk River, but the undead didn’t seem to be content with that and were adding additional levels to them for some reason.
Maybe they didn’t know the difference between a building and a bridge. Lilia couldn’t think of any reason one would need a bridge with multiple floors.
“Lilia? Is everything alright?” Cinna asked. Lilia jumped in surprise.
“Yes!?” she squeaked, hastily cutting off her connection to Directions’s eyes.
“We shouldn’t stay here. We could be noticed. Let’s put some distance between ourselves and that army,” Cinna said, pulling Lilia away. “Our best option now is to make for Storrhamarr. It’s the seat of the county of the same name. That’s likely the closest location where we might obtain a map that includes the location of the entrances to the Warm Roads.”
Lilia followed along in silence, still mulling over the newest questions on her mind. This marked the first time in weeks that she’d had so many fresh, unanswered questions about undead. It frustrated her immensely that she couldn’t study a few liches more closely. Especially since her studies had essentially ground to a halt since meeting Cinna.
So occupied, Lilia lost track of time. She didn’t know how long she followed Cinna for, but they’d left both the undead army and the Stryk River far behind them when Cinna suddenly came to a stop.
“That should be far enough,” Cinna said. Lilia looked at the knight curiously as she drew her sword and then tossed it aside. It landed softly in the grass, bouncing slightly before coming to a stop. Then Cinna pulled the war hammer from her belt and threw it in the other direction. Finally she turned to face Lilia, raising her hands to her sides. “I wanted to wait to have this conversation, but I believe now is the time to put all of our cards on the table.”
“What conversation…?” Lilia asked, genuinely not seeing what Cinna could be referring to.
“First, I want to assure you that I mean you no harm. Please promise me that you will remain calm regardless of what I say next,” Cinna pleaded. Lilia nodded slowly.
“Sure,” she replied uncertainly.
“Let me introduce myself one more time to begin. I am Crown Princess Cinna of Selkarc. And you, Lilia…you are a necromancer, are you not?”
“I-I-I-I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lilia stuttered, looking anywhere but into Cinna’s eyes. How did she know!? Lilia felt blindsided. She’d done a good job of keeping it secret! And if Cinna knew, what could Lilia do about it? Master had told her to not reveal herself to anyone, but he hadn’t said what she should do if she were discovered.
“You’re a terrible liar,” Cinna replied wryly. “I knew what you were since the moment we met. You have nothing to fear from me, however. In fact, your abilities may be the key to us reaching safety.”
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Finally the talk