Page 36 of Sanctuary

Our ride out to the pass was pleasant. Jasper and three of the royal guards joined us, and the redheaded wonder filled us in on everything he was learning from Saffron and the guards. The guards took time to see to Jasper's training in weapons and defense. They didn't seem to mind the extra assignment, and I thought maybe it helped them pass the time when there was nothing else to do besides patrol and be available in case they were needed.

For his part, Saffron was teaching Jaster how to help keep his employer's household running smoothly and see to his daily needs. Saffron was professional, as always, but he seemed fond of the erstwhile teenager. The butler had also insisted that Jasper spend some time in town with the clothier, the weapons smith, an etiquette teacher, and a human close to Jasper's age, who served as a personal attendant to one of the local nobles.

"It's all so strange," Jasper confided to me, looking both eager and shy. "And interesting. At first, I thought Mr. Saffron was off his rocker with some of his suggestions. But I see his reasons now. Before long, I'll be able to handle literally anything, from helping pick out appropriate outfits for every occasion, and all that fussy stuff, to how to pick out the best weapons for myself or the person I serve. And I'll always know how to avoid saying the wrong thing at the wrong time whether I'm in the presence of poor folk or royalty. I'll be able to fit in everywhere." He grinned at me. "Me. The scrawny boy from the fishing town nobody ever heard of. I could be the one responsible for making sure lord Bach and the rest are always one step ahead in every situation. I could help you all do your jobs. It feels like I'm almost a steward myself, you know? Steward of the stewards!"

I beamed at him. I did understand. No one in power could do their job without the people who served them, and anyone who claimed otherwise was just short-sighted and daft "You'll do so well," I told him sincerely. "We are lucky to have you. And I'm so happy for you, Jasper. It sounds like you've found your calling."

He blushed. "Thank you, my lady. But there is one problem."

I arched my brows at him, concerned that he was about to reveal some new bit of sabotage or trouble. "What is it?"

He shook his head and let out a melodramatic sigh. "Lord Mirri says I need to spend an hour every day with him, learning history, and mathematics, and practicing my writing. I'm honestly not sure I'll live through it, Lady Kat. I might perish before I even get a chance to serve anyone properly."

I barked a laugh and Bach rolled his eyes. The highborn fae's unimpressed expression was ruined slightly by the way he couldn't quite seem to keep his lips from twitching with suppressed laughter. "Jasper," he said in an exasperated tone. "No one wants an assistant who is dumber than a box of rocks."

"Bach!" I hissed.

But Jasper just huffed a laugh and smiled. "No, I guess not. So, I'll just have to find some way to survive the boredom," he said in a resigned voice.

After a couple hours' ride we finally reached the eastern foot of the Old Scourge mountains, and the entrance to the new mountain pass. The road wended upward slightly, and a wide stone bridge crossed the swiftly coursing river before we set foot on the new road that led through the mountain.

A guard station had been built into the base of the mountain, right beside the towering arches of a gateway that could seal the pass in an emergency. As we approached, our mounts' hooves and claws clicking against the hard stone beneath their feet, a sturdy, serious-looking fae male emerged from the guard station and crossed his arms over his burly chest. Ore, the supervisor of this entire project.

"Welcome to your new mountain pass, your stewardship," he called. "Let's go see if it's all to your liking!"

He was wrong. It wasn't my mountain pass. It belonged to the rulers of Elfhaven. And even more than that, to the people of Larkwood and, on the other side of the mountain, the people of Astra. But the male before me knew that I took personal ownership and responsibility for any project that affected my people.

Ore showed us the guard station and its amenities. Then he showed us how the gates could be closed from the Larkwood side in the case of an emergency. The safeguard had military implications, but those were a distant afterthought, given Elfhaven's long-held security and peace. The more pertinent reason for the gates was to discourage travelers and merchants from attempting to make the journey through the mountains when there were dangerous weather conditions.

Winter in Larkwood—especially on the Old Scourge—could be brutal. Determined traders and foolhardy travelers existed in larger numbers than anyone wanted to know. This way, the stewards of each connected territory could enforce travel bans and keep the more reckless citizens from dying.

After that, Ore swung up onto his own mount, a large, even-tempered hippogriff, and led us out to see the first stretch of the pass, leaving our guards at the entrance to inspect the guard tower and gate. It would take about three days to traverse the whole mountain pass into Astra. But that would still cut the travel time from Mistvale to Astra in half, and it eliminated many of the dangers one encountered traveling through the rough wilderness trails that led up and over the mountain.

The work that had been done to create this wonder, and the rapid pace at which the work crews had pulled it off, impressed me. The road was as even as could be, given it was cut through solid stone. There were even a couple of places carved into the mountainside to accommodate camping further up the road.

"You've completed a masterpiece of magic and engineering," Bach told Ore seriously. "But I admit, even though I have a small affinity for stone, I'm feeling a bit too enclosed by the earth for a water fiend like me. Are there contingencies in place for extraction or assistance if a traveler or a group runs afoul of unexpected weather on their way through the pass, or if they come across some other issue?"

Ore patted his hippogriff on the shoulder as he fell back to ride abreast with me and Bach on the wide road mountain road. He gave Bach a bit of a teasing smile. Ore had shared that his own affinity was earth-related, on our previous visit to the pass when we traveled from Astra to Larkwood. He was at home with the rock cliffs all around him. "Water folk. So afraid of a little foray underground." Then he nodded, giving a more serious answer. "Larkwood and Astra already employ well-trained air rescue units that have been dragging stranded travelers off the top of the mountain for years. On the Astra side, I understand they've trained a rare ice dragon for snow-related emergencies."

I nodded at that. "They did, a couple of years back. King Wolfsbane was extremely pleased with the endeavor." I grinned at the memory of how King Bane himself had ridden the new dragon during training. I had witnessed it myself; the ancient, frightening Gray King of lore, grinning as he whooped and hollered like a young boy while speeding off into the air above the palace on the back of a dragon.

Ore chuckled—he must have heard the stories. But he continued his report. "We've also been working closely with the ancient spirit of the mountain. We employed a highly recommended fae with a powerful earth affinity to be our liaison with the elder spirit during this project, and we have blessings and agreements in place to prevent things like rockslides or earthquakes in this area."

Bach nodded his understanding, and I thought he looked a bit more relaxed. He really didn't like the enclosed space. Even though the road was wide enough to accommodate at least two large trade wagons traveling side by side, it was carved deeply into the mountain, with rough gray walls of stone rising steeply beside the path and reaching up to towering heights.

I was already aware of the work team's communications with the elder spirit of the mountain, and I heartily approved. There was no better way to ensure peace and safety in a setting such as this than to pay full respect to the beings who had dwelled there since the dawn of time. The practice agreed with the fae part of me, especially my brownie roots. Brownies were house people, mainly, their gentle magics concerned with home and hearth. But that also translated to a knowledge of the earth and its life-sustaining qualities.

We chatted a bit then about the logistics of finalizing the project as we rode back to the entrance of the pass. There was paperwork for me to sign off on, and I'd need to write a letter to the king and queen letting them know how well this project had turned out. And I'd make sure Ore and his people got a good bonus payment and some public acknowledgement for their good work.

We were within sight of the guard station when the mountain rumbled.

Chapter 21

The earth shook beneath our feet. Bach's griffon let out an earsplitting shriek, and Ore's hippogriff flared its wings for balance.

"What in the world?" I bit out as Balefire pranced beneath me. We had just talked about how safe this pass should be. And now it felt as though the mountain was trying to buck us off.

Pieces of stone rained down around us, shaken loose from the high walls of the pass. "Rockslide!" Bach bit out, struggling to keep his griffon from taking flight.