CHAPTER NINETEEN
A week had passed since the skiff bearing Roran and Kaine had disappeared into the mist-shrouded fjord, and Thalia's patience had worn thin as a blade's edge.She stood in Frostforge's vast foyer, dawn's pale fingers just beginning to reach through the high windows, casting weak light across the gathered expedition party.
Six days of painstaking research, of pleading with Wolfe for permission, of scouring refugee records for anyone with mining experience, had led to this moment: seven faces looked back at her, weary but determined, ready to descend into the mountain's depths in search of salvation.
The pendant at Thalia’s throat hummed with subtle energy as she adjusted the straps of her pack, its weight reassuring against her chest—a tangible connection to Kaine even as distance stretched between them.She wasn’t sure how its enchantment worked, but through the currents in the ice-metal, she thought she could feel Kaine’s presence, faint but steady, like a distant heartbeat.Proof that, wherever he was, he was still alive.
"Everyone has proper gear?"Thalia asked, her gaze sweeping over the assembled group.Most nodded, tightening straps on worn packs or adjusting the picks and hammers secured to their belts.They were an unlikely collection—refugees from Verdant Port and other fallen Southern settlements, their faces bearing the hollow-eyed look of those who had lost everything but refused to surrender to despair.
Ashe stepped forward, her red-streaked hair pulled back in a tight braid that emphasized the sharp angles of her face."Final headcount," she announced, her voice carrying the crisp authority of Northern clan training."Seven miners, you, and me.Nine total."
Thalia nodded, grateful for Ashe's presence.Though she'd initially planned to lead the expedition alone, Wolfe had insisted on sending someone with arctic survival experience.Ashe had volunteered immediately, perhaps seeking to atone for her role in Roran's trial, perhaps simply recognizing the mission's importance.Either way, Thalia welcomed her steadying influence.
"Harren," Thalia addressed the oldest of the miners, a stocky man with a salt-and-pepper beard and brown hands like gnarled tree roots."You've studied the old mine maps?"
The man nodded, drawing a folded parchment from his pocket."Yes.The shaft entrance is three leagues west, low on the mountain face.Maps show abandoned tunnels deeper than the current workings—those are our target."His Southern accent was thick but clear, carrying the distinctive elongated vowels of Verdant Port's harbor district.
Thalia hadn't expected to find a former master of Verdant Port's copper guild among the refugees, much less one willing to lead a dangerous expedition into unmapped territory.But when she'd explained what they sought—and why—Harren had assembled a team within hours."My wife, my daughters, they died when the Wardens came," he'd told her simply."If there's a metal that can help you kill those bastards, I'll dig to the mountain's heart to find it."
"We move in ten minutes," Thalia announced, checking the position of the sun through the high windows."Pack extra water.The deeper tunnels will be dry."
As the miners made their final preparations, Thalia withdrew to a quiet corner, unfolding her own copy of the mining charts.The blue-silver ore had to be somewhere in the Rimspire range—the Founders wouldn't have traveled far for materials needed in such quantities.She traced a finger along the parchment, following the main shaft to where it intersected with older tunnels abandoned decades or even centuries ago.
"You're certain about this?"Ashe's voice was low as she joined Thalia by the window, her green eyes scanning the map.
"As certain as I can be," Thalia replied, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear."The fragments we recovered from the chamber have a unique current signature.If similar ore exists in these mountains, I'll sense it."
Ashe nodded, her expression grave."Wolfe nearly refused permission.Said we couldn't spare the manpower for a 'speculative venture.'"
"What changed her mind?"
"Luna," Ashe said with the ghost of a smile."Convinced her that the risk of doing nothing was greater than the risk of your expedition.Said something about preferring active failure to passive surrender."
Thalia smiled despite herself.Luna's way with words had always been as sharp as her blades."Remind me to thank her if we make it back."
"When, not if," Ashe corrected, her Northern pragmatism showing through."Let's keep it that way."
The main portcullis groaned upward as they approached, iron teeth rising from the stone like some great beast yawning awake.Beyond the gate, the western path stretched before them—a ribbon of packed earth winding toward the jagged silhouette of the Rimspire peaks.Unlike the eastern approach with its gradual slope toward the fjord, the western face of Frostforge's mountain was steep and forbidding, a wall of stone and ice that caught the morning light in blinding flashes.
Frost crunched beneath Thalia's boots as she led the group through the gate, her breath forming white clouds in the chill air.The sun had climbed higher now, but its warmth was a distant promise that never quite reached the ground.On either side of the path, massive golem sentries stood at attention, their ice-metal forms gleaming dully in the pale light.Since the Warden attack, Wolfe had ordered constructs positioned at every approach to the academy—though what good they would do against black metal weapons remained an open question.
Thalia touched the pendant at her throat, drawing strength from its subtle vibration.If she succeeded today, those questions might have answers.
The path grew steeper as they climbed, winding between outcroppings of dark stone.Unlike the eastern slopes where hardy shrubs and twisted pines clung to life, nothing grew here.The western face was barren rock, stripped by wind and cold to its elemental bones.Even as a student seeking herbs around the academy, Thalia had never ventured this way—there was nothing here to harvest, nothing to draw a botanist's eye.
The sun rose higher, burning away the morning mist to reveal the stark grandeur of the mountain range.From this height, Thalia could see Frostforge below, its towers and walls set directly into the sheer cliff face at the edge of the Crystalline Plateau.Beyond it, the fjord glittered, a silver-blue slash cutting toward the distant sea—the sea that had carried Roran and Kaine away from her.
She tore her gaze from the water, focusing instead on the path ahead.Worry wouldn't bring them back.
Near midday, they reached a weathered stone arch carved directly into the mountainside.Ancient runes, their edges softened by centuries of wind and snow, decorated the lintel.Beneath the arch, a massive iron door stood: the western entrance of the Rimspire mines, the vast network of tunnels and tracks from which Frostforge sourced its ore.
Thalia approached the door, running her fingers over the cold metal.The air flowing from the opening carried the sharp tang of minerals—copper, iron, the distinctive metallic scent of raw ore waiting in the darkness.She closed her eyes, extending her current-sensing ability into the mountain beyond.Faint signatures pulsed back at her, distant veins of familiar metals humming their individual songs.
"What do you sense?"Ashe asked, coming to stand beside her.
"Copper, mostly," Thalia replied, eyes still closed."Iron.Tungsten.Nothing unusual yet—we'll need to go deeper."
Harren stepped forward, pushing the door wider with a shoulder.The hinges protested with a sound like distant thunder, sending echoes bouncing down the tunnel beyond."Hand lanterns," he instructed, retrieving his own from his pack."Stay close.The main shafts are in active use, but they can still be treacherous.”
