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I was more relieved than I’d expected to be as we continued on, even though the sun was already sinking against the horizon. I was on the right track after all, literally and figuratively. All I needed to do now was keep moving forward until I reached my destination.
Walking on the road was much easier than traveling through the wild forest, and I had the idea that we covered more ground and were able to go faster for the rest of the day. We found a campsite off to one side of the road as the sun went down, and even though there was a small party there already—a middle-aged man who seemed to be traveling with his wife, grown children, and their children—their tents pitched and their campfire lit, Uriah had us set up a second camp, as casually as you please, with only a few smiles and nods for the other travelers.
“Where are you headed?” the middle-aged man asked us once we’d settled in and started cooking supper.
“I’m delivering my young charge to the Old Realm,” Uriah answered honestly, though with a cityish attitude instead of the gruffness of a wolf. “Young Conrad here has been accepted into the healer’s course in Royersford.”
Judging by the impressed sounds, approving nods, and kind smiles of the other travelers, Uriah had done the right thing in telling the truth. With just a few sentences, he’d communicated to the others that we weren’t dangerous.”
“We’re headed to Good Port ourselves,” the middle-aged man said.
“So far?” I blinked in surprise.
The middle-aged man grunted. “If it weren’t for your healer’s course, I would advise you to do the same. These are dark days in the Old Realm. King Julius has ordered that everyone keep up appearances, but that becomes hard to do when no one knows what mad thing the king will do next.” He glanced to the young ones that I assumed were his grandchildren. “They say Good Port is still thriving, so that is where I intend to take myself.”
Uriah, Pasha, and I all exchanged looks. I could tell from the light that hit their eyes that they were thinking something similar to what I thought.
“Good Port is not the only part of the frontier that is thriving,” Uriah said, turning toward the man on the rock where he sat. “I don’t know what people in the Old Realm know, but there are new kingdoms on the frontier.”
The man seemed interested. “We’ve heard rumors,” he said. “Rumors that say the cities of the frontier have fragmented and that new kingdoms are rising up. Upstart kingdoms, some say.”
“But there is a story that King Julius’s long-lost brother, Magnus Gerzia, is the king of one of them,” the man’s wife said, joining the conversation.
My heart beat fast. Magnus was always looking for new people to join the Wolf River Kingdom. Particularly women and children. As Peter and Neil had reported, Magnus’s greatest concern was the continuation of everything we were building, which couldn’t happen without children. And men who loved other men couldn’t have children.
“What if I told you those rumors were true?” Uriah said.
I caught my breath. It was a huge risk for him to reveal the existence of the Wolf River Kingdom to strangers.
Then again, we were already known. And if we could gather in good people, like these travelers from the Old Realm seemed to be, Magnus would like that.
“I would be interested in knowing more,” the middle-aged man said.
The rest of the evening was spent telling our fellow travelers of the Wolf River Kingdom and all it had to offer. As soon as it was determined that the family had no qualms about men who loved other men—apparently, the Old Realm was much more accepting of those things than the frontier cities had ever been—Uriah and Pasha opened up and answered every question the man and his family had.
They talked so much that they wore me out. I went to bed with my head spinning. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that Uriah had recruited more subjects for Magnus.
By the time I woke up in the morning, I was certain of it.
“How would you feel about continuing on through the mountains on your own?” Uriah asked as we ate breakfast.
The two camps had merged, for which I was grateful. The women of the travelers’ party were excellent cooks.
My brow went up at Uriah’s question, and I glanced over my shoulder at the mountains. The road was solid and the skies were clear. On top of that, my sense of adventure was buzzing.
“How much longer do you think it will be until I reach that village where I can find a guide to Aktau?” I asked, confidence building within me.
“You’ll be there by nightfall, if you keep up the pace we set yesterday,” the middle-aged man said, stepping over to join the conversation.
I drew in a breath, gazing off to where the road disappeared behind a bend between hills. “I thought the village was midway between the frontier and the Old Realm. I’m not that close, am I?”
The middle-aged man laughed. “It’s nowhere near halfway. You’ll have many more days of travel once you reach that village and its inn. It’s considered part of the frontier by people in the Old Realm, as you call it.”
I made an assessing face. I was already learning that things were different than people on the frontier thought they were. I was eager to learn more, though.
“Would you forgive me if I leave you to make the journey on your own while I escort these people back to our boat?” Uriah asked.
“Absolutely,” I said. “The future of the Wolf River Kingdom is more important than me having company for a day’s walk into the mountains.
