Traversing the mountains proved to be as equal parts miserable and fascinating as Kain expected.

Aptly named after one of the many legends behind its creation, Iris Pass was similar to its counterpart in many ways. Frozen walls of rock and ice stretched leagues above their heads as a single path no wider than the breadth of two carriages cut through it with unnatural smoothness. This time, however, when they bid farewell to Semele--who promised to watch the queen mother with a careful eye, lest the assassins return to finish their work--no roar of a wyvern met their passage.

Instead, they walked through an unsettling silence.

It took Kain perhaps an hour of their increasingly strenuous trek to realize why it was unsettling. He couldn't hear a single bird, bug, or scavenger amongst the rocky landscape. The crisp autumn air formed clouds with each warm huff of air, signaling the reason behind it all. They were late enough into the season that any intelligent creature would be fleeing the mountains, lest they be caught in the way when the nightmares extended their territories to include the soon-to-be-snowed-in pass.

His hand stuck close to his sword, but the first day passed with ease.

That night, they settled a travels alcove that cut into the stone wall, leaving a cave-like hallow to set their bedrolls in. Chill clung to his lungs as he buried himself within his blankets. He understood, then, why Rhode had cautioned them prior to their previous attempt about plunging into the mountains unprepared. Had they not packed fur-lined cloaks and enchanted warming stones, he likely would have lost a finger each night onward due to the increasingly frigid temperatures.

The fact the mountains felt like an environment all their own made it clear why there were so many legends about them and the gods.

But fates how the view from the top made the building ache in his bones worth it.

Leagues after league of cloud-dusted land stretched out as far as their eyes could see. Thick, pine forests with the occasional break for farmland were broken up by the occasional black dot of villages and people. Something buzzed along his spine, settling energy into his bones as he stared out at Cieon and realized that everything below him, each inch of land and each creature drawing breath, would be--if things proceeded as planned--his to watch over and protect.

Kain sunk his fingers into the fur at Natia's neck as his stomach threatened to rebel. But, simultaneously, he could almost feel Melitta's hand at his back and her soothing voice in his ears, reassuring him that no matter what happened, he could handle it.

'Good people, with great power, can do amazing things if they find the will to step forward.'

Kain was the first to break away from the edge and continue their tireless trek forward.

The occasional nightmare attack had continued to plague their journey, of course. With so many nearby, it would have been impossible for them not to have had to dispatch a handful of recklessly aggressive beasts.

It wasn't until the tenth day that they encountered a true threat.

That morning, they were jolted from their slumber by Dalphie's shout of alarm seconds before a loud crash resounded through their camp. It didn't take a genius to realize that the person-sized boulder now occupying the space where their campfire had burned meant that whatever his curse had summoned this time would need more than a single arrow to subdue.

"Scatter!" Kain called. "Don't stand together, it'll make you a target."

Following his own advice, Kain jogged further along the stony ground as his eye skimmed the height of the stony ravines lining each side of the downward sloping pass. It took mere seconds to spot the creature--a giant, abomination of bloated, frost-riddled skin and death-clouded, black eyes. His mind spun, searching for what it could possibly be, even as the giant bent over, fingers digging into the stone at its feet as it decided to dangle over the ravine, before dropping the thirty foot, open-air distance between it and Kain.

He leapt back as the impact sent waves of dust and snow flying from its feet. His sword flew to his fingers even as the creature tilted its head, beady eyes boring into Kain's skull. Then, it tilted its head back and roared. Kain winced, but didn't run despite how the sound dug fear deep into his bones. Instead, he steadied his feet and raised his sword, ready for the second it moved.

But, it didn't.

Instead, the sound of hundreds of skittering feet filled the air as suddenly, a dozen frost-colored spiders the size of a hunting hounds spilled over the sides of the ravine. Was it some sort of undead that used other nightmares to hunt? It was the best guess he could come up with as he dodged a lunging spider, before arcing his blade around to sever its front legs. The creature shrieked, spitting webbing that scorched Kain's armor where it landed. He grimaced, but didn't hesitate to swing back in and bury his blade through the creature's skull.

"Kain!"

Instinct was the only reason Mara's call managed its purpose--sending Kain lunging out of the giant's unnaturally silent charge. It slammed into the stone at his back, before snarling and lashing out with a bloated arm the size of his torso. He lunged under the limb, before bringing his sword up and into the meat of its side. It took him a moment longer than it should have to drag his blade free, enabling the creature to seize Kain by his armor and send him flying back.

Air fled his lungs as pain jolted down his spine at the impact. For a second, his spinning head left him dazed, blinking uncomprehendingly at the sight of several spiders bearing down on him. An arrow pierced the skull of the first just as Natia's teeth tore into the abdomen of a second. Hands grabbed his shoulder, dragging him up as the creature lumbered back across the pass.

"Breathe, Kain."

Callias' firm order dragged his mind back to the present just as the monster reached them. He didn't have time to see where the merman went as he dodged around the giant's lunge, before tightening his grip on his sword and slashing at its leg. Black ichor poured over the length of the metal. The creature stumbled.

For some insane reason, at that same second Mara appeared at its opposing side, that borrowed dagger in her hand. It sliced through the muscle of the nightmare's good leg. The thing fell forward with a roar, leaving Callias free to leap atop its crumbling figure and bury his blade through the base of its neck.

The remaining spiders fled.

Mara hesitantly offered Callias a hand, no doubt meaning to assist him off the creature. He didn't bother to spare her a glance as he pulled his blade from the thing's neck and leapt down of his own accord. Kain's attention was dragged away by Isidor's grumbled demand to see his head, golden magic at his fingers.

Well, at least--thanks to Dalphie's continued attention--Mara wasn't a burden in a fight. That was all they could ask for, really.

Following Dalphie and Isidor's combined insistence that they should delay leaving in the morning, it took them four more days to make the full descent from the mountains. The entire time, Kain swore he could still smell the gods awful scent that'd been created as the duo stripped the creature--some variant of troll, they decided--of anything useful. The knowledge that troll blood could be used as an alchemical ingredient wasn't all that surprising. It didn't make it any easier not to gag, however.

His first steps into Cieon felt surreal.

There was nothing special about it. No burst of energy like he'd felt as they crossed over the mountains, no sense of rightness or belonging. But, the knowledge that he was finally standing on the land he was born in, the land he'd craved his entire life, was overwhelming. And as they approached the outskirts of a village at the base of the mountains, he had to stop and calm his racing heart, lest he panic.

Anonymity would be a lost cause.

The symbol on his sword might have been mostly unknown outside of Cieon's borders--common villagers had no reason to recognize the crest of foreign royalty--but, here, there likely wasn't a person who'd come of age that wouldn't at least know who it represented, if not the significance of it. Then, there were the rumors that the crown was looking for him.

The others gave him a moment to collect himself--well, beyond Natia who shifted into the form of a girl, before grasping his hand. It startled him. Every other time she'd offered comfort, it'd been in the form of her flank against his side. He didn't call attention to it, however, instead electing to squeeze her hand in return, before starting forward.

"No wolves," she murmured.

Oh. That was surprisingly insightful. A village this close to the mountains would either recognize her for what she was, earning her and potentially the rest of them the usual prejudice that came with nightmares, or they would be wary, because regular wolves were likely a problem as well.

"You can be who you want, when you want," Kain informed her. "We'll protect you, Natia. You do not have to be human if it makes you uneasy, or you're more comfortable in your other form."

She studied him. In the months since she'd joined their party, her sunken cheeks had begun to fill out, giving her deeply tanned skin a warmth it hadn't contained before. Someone had braided her hair into a complicated plait at some point, likely to make it easier to handle while crossing the mountains.

Natia resembled any other child in that moment, and Kain was reminded that they'd hoped to find some hint of her kind in the mountains. They hadn't--not even a single track. We've still another pass to traverse, he reminded himself. Perhaps there, they would find a safer family for the girl.

"Sister," she said after a few seconds, then began tugging him forward. "You too young."

Kain blinked as they started walking, attempting to figure out what she meant. Isidor started snickering, apparently understanding without trouble. Even Rhode looked like she might laugh.

"The kid's right," Dalphie agreed. "You look too young to pass as a father."

Kain felt heat fill his ears. Oh. She'd thought his words meant they were pretending, again. And instead of playing the servant girl, she wanted to play family.

Letting himself be pulled into the village was easier than making his feet move on their own. As expected, one or two people glanced their way as they walked, but the residents must have been used to travelers, because their attention shifted away as quickly as it was gained.

Their first priority was to find an inn. It proved relatively simple, there were multiple in such an important crossroads, and most had vacancy given how close they were to winter closing the passes. Kain reluctantly parted with the last of his money, leaving them solely with what Kostantia had gifted them amongst their supplies. It felt wrong, using money that had been gained through the events of Sol, but he had to remind himself that it was their only choice. He couldn't let them run out of supplies just because he felt as if the coins were drenched in blood.

Secondly, they had to refill the supplies they'd burnt through in the mountains. Freezing temperatures made consuming rations more important, given how quickly your body burned through the nutrients. The trek had left them scraping the bottom of their packs, something as easily handled as the inn--once again, because of the village's location in relation to the mountains.

It wasn't until they were told to visit the blacksmith for the sirens' arrows--the local fletcher was away, and therefore their shop closed, but the smith had offered to stock them in the meanwhile--that they ran into trouble.

Outside the shop, irritably hacking away at a straw-training dummy that had been erected with the likely intention of giving customers a chance to test out their equipment before purchase, was a tall, broad, dark-skinned man. Like many Cieonian's, his eyes and hair were soot black. What caught Kain's attention the most, however, was the blazer he'd tossed over a nearby weapon's rack. Embroidered into the shoulder were blue, twin serpents eating their opposing tails.

He pulled Natia to a stop, breath catching.

What would happen if they ran into a knight here? Would Kain be pushed to return to the capital as Alekos and Kostantia had implied? Or, would he be allowed to continue his adventure with a groundless promise to return after venturing into one of the most dangerous lands on the continent?

He had a strong feeling the kingdom might object to their only prince walking towards potential death.

"Will you be able to manage for now?" he asked Rhode.

She glanced at Dalphie, who tilted her head before nodding. "We'll pass another village before crossing into Reotak, so we should be fine."

Kain immediately turned to start back towards the inn, only to halt again as the shop door swung open, and a familiar voice called through the air.

"Oren! I swear to the fucking Witch herself, if you don't get your ass in here to drink and breathe, I'm going to fight you with my bare hands. I'll collapse, we both know it. And then Melas will be the one you have to handle."

The knight grunted. "I can manage your husband."

As Kain spun around, Aretha put her hands on her hips, eyes blazing.

"Oh, then you'll have no problem with me telling him that, then, hm?"

"...perhaps some tea," the knight muttered.

Pleased, Aretha stepped back, hand on the smithy door. Her eyes shifted past the knight as she pushed it open for him to enter, causing her gaze to land on their party. Kain flinched. For a moment, he thought she might call out to them, but as the seconds ticked by, she slowly spun around and shoved the knight in with a palm at the small of his back.

"No-no, not by the window, I want you over there where you can't see that damn dummy," she called. "Resting. Like any sane person!"

The door fell shut to Kain's racing heart. Melas and Aretha's voices telling him that they might see him again rolled through his mind as he stared at the barrier, attempting to figure out how it was even possible. Their presence, as odd as it was, could be attributed to the hippogriffs. Even without their party being stuck in the capital for as long as they had, Melas and his wife could travel much easier, and quicker, than Kain and the others could by horseback.

Their familiarity with that knight, however...

Kain looked to Isidor.

"Let's go back to the inn. I think...it's about time you told us more about yourself."