Ironhide gestured to the branch in the path, “Down here, through this swampy wood, we’ll reach the valley with the Hollows in a day or two. This is the part where I’d warn you about trolls setting ambushes in the trees and that we shouldn’t venture in, but I guess if Whitestar is fighting for the old home, we should be able to get into the valley at least. Hopefully, we’ll learn what’s going on before we get surrounded and eaten.”

“God, Ironhide! I don’t remember you being this dramatic,” Bronwyn said, shaking her head and starting down the indicated path. She could see hundreds of old Urghat tracks, so many that they completely obscured any other tracks she might have noticed, whether troll or the little rodent-like feyris.

“I’m not dramatic, Underclaw! I’ve seen the remains of a hunting party ambushed by trolls—not a pretty sight!” the big, dark-furred Urghat grumbled, following behind her and Cal.

“Well, I, for one, am glad to have you two to travel with. I’m glad I didn’t have to try to hunt down Whitestar all on my own. If I’d heard a rumor she was down in these parts, I’d have surely come here on my own, and I’m not too thrilled at the idea of meeting a troll.” Cal said before launching into a whistling tune that seemed to energize Bronwyn’s legs. She smiled at the happy, lilting song and tried to hum along with it.

“Not bad, Bronwyn!” Cal laughed, pausing his song. “I think we’ll make a Spirit Singer of you yet!”

“Hah, not likely. My Core’s a hundred percent solar Energy.”

“So the Fae helped you to change your affinity, huh?” Cal had heard the story around the campfire, but apparently, he was still interested in the details. Bronwyn sighed and tried to explain.

“Well, when I went through their trial to become an agent of Summer, I managed to find a ‘Summer Source,’ and when I touched it, everything about my Core and affinities sort of changed. I could feel the Source accept me, and when I embraced the solar Energy, all my old affinities, skills, and even my class were removed.”

“I don’t like it, Underclaw. You humans always smelled good, but now you smell like a Fae. I’ll have to fight off the other Urghat to keep them from trying to eat you.”

“Hah!” Bronwyn laughed at Ironhide’s words. “You big goof! Don’t worry about me—If any Urghat want to challenge me, they’ll realize pretty quickly that it’s a bad idea.” Bronwyn tapped the underclaw ring on her biceps. “You know how many I’ve beaten already, right? Well, I’m a lot stronger now.”

“Right, Underclaw,” Ironhide grumbled.

“I’ve got a song or two that help people calm down. If things start to get heated, I’ll try to diffuse things.” Cal resumed his whistling, and Bronwyn smiled at him with a nod. She wasn’t worried. If she had to make an example out of an overzealous Urghat, it wouldn’t be the first time.

The woods they walked through were composed of stunted, twisted trees with gray bark and long, flat, blue-green leaves. The undergrowth was thick, and though the path was firm, hard-packed dirt, Bronwyn could see that the ground to her right, where it fell away down a slight slope, was dark and moist. “What’s the deal down that way? It looks like the ground is getting wetter and wetter.”

“Aye, I said as much. The Hollows are bordered by a swamp. There’s a big, low lake in these hills, fed by some kind of underground river, and it fills the crannies and nooks of these hills with moisture. Eventually, the waters feed into the Gorge Cutter and flow out over the plains, splitting the north half. We crossed it twice when you were going around challenging Urghat. Remember?”

“Yeah, I remember crossing a river. I didn’t realize it came out of these hills, though. Makes sense, I guess.” Bronwyn trudged along, her mind wandering back to her time on the plains when she’d traveled from one Urghat camp to another, fighting the ones that wanted to challenge her. It seemed almost crazy now, looking back. It also seemed like a very long time ago—like she was a totally different person now. What had she been trying to prove? She’d gone north, saying she was going to scout the Urghat, but she’d ended up fighting one after another, killing dozens in the process. None of them had been much of a challenge, either. It almost felt like her behavior had been evil, though she had tried to give the challengers every opportunity to back down or to follow her.

The more she thought about it, she realized she was being hard on herself—the Urghat traditions had been in place long before she’d come around. “Ironhide, do you resent me? For going around and accepting challenges from all the Urghat camps? Should I have just kept to myself?”

“Nar, Underclaw. You were learning about our ways, building up a following. You know, there were a lot of Urghat that never joined the Overclaw’s army because of you. That’s a lot of Urghat that didn’t die who might have if they’d gone along with his foolish plan.”

“Thanks, Ironhide,” Bronwyn said, determined to stop dwelling on her past, whether she’d made mistakes or not. Instead, she spent time thinking about Olivia while they hiked. Olivia had been sweet and full of kisses when Bronwyn parted ways with her, but she knew the other woman was worried about her sudden departure, if not a bit irritated. Bronwyn was irritated about it; how could Olivia not be? Still, Queen Aestasia wouldn’t have called her to this mission if it weren’t necessary. Besides, Olivia had a teleportation token from her Professor or whatever, right? She’d see a lot more of her than before. Olivia would have to accept that Bronwyn had important things going on in her life, too.

Bronwyn sighed heavily as that last thought went through her mind. She wasn’t being totally fair—Olivia’s experience at the academy was of tangible benefit to the humans. Bronwyn had a mysterious patron, whom no one had met, that expected her to drop everything and jump when she wanted something done. Was it really fair for Bronwyn to expect people to be understanding? She hoped this mission would make explaining herself easier. She wished she was doing something that would have a real, clear benefit for humanity here on Fanwath. “It would sure be nice to know for sure.”

She’d picked up the pace, putting some space between herself and Cal, and Ironhide was a good ten paces behind Cal. No one heard her speak, and she smiled at the memory of her time in the Summer Trial when she’d talked to herself almost nonstop as a way to keep her sanity. Was that really why? Or had she just been having some fun? She’d never felt like she was on the verge of losing it when she’d been in the trial, even after the swarm had given her its “blessing.”

“Hello, Underclaw,” a raspy, clipped voice said from behind a nearby tree. Bronwyn stumbled in surprise, coming to a halt and turning toward the voice. She was tempted to call forth her jade hatchets or cast Solar Shell, but the voice was familiar and had called Bronwyn “Underclaw.”

“Hi, Shadoweye! I’ve missed you,” she said, waving to the deep shadows between two twisted trees. A darker shadow detached from the depths of the hollow, and Shadoweye’s shape took form as she stepped into the light. Cal and Ironhide came up behind Bronwyn just as the stealthy, leather-clad Urghat scout slipped out of the tree and came forward.

“Huntress!” Ironhide said, reaching out a big paw to grip the wiry scout’s arm.

“Ironhide. You’ve lost weight,” she said with a dry, raspy chuckle.

“No one to cook for me these last months. Lucky the underclaw found me when she did—I was about to fade away.” He grabbed at his still prodigious girth with a mock-sad face.

“Shadoweye, this is Cal Jennings. He’s friends with an Urghat named Whitestar. You know her, right?”

“Aye, Underclaw. I hope you won’t kill me for it, but I’ve sworn myself to her. You were gone so long . . .”

“Of course, I won’t kill you! I never expected you to serve me forever, Shadoweye. I hope we can stay friends and see more of each other than we have these last months, but I understand that I’m not an ideal underclaw, what with the way I keep disappearing and with all my other responsibilities. Still, I don’t want to give up my ring just yet. There might come a time when humanity will have to deal with our Urghat neighbors, and I’d like to make sure we come to a peaceful resolution and maybe even some sort of partnership.”

“Aye, you said as much back when we traveled the plains. The twins will be happy to see you; you are coming to Whitestar’s camp, aye?”

“Yes, we are. Cal has been wanting to see his old friend, and I have a feeling she could use some help with something. How are things?”

“Grim,” Shadoweye spat, her long white fangs somehow making the gesture more vehement. “Whitestar says she has visions telling her to retake the Hollows, but we struggle to gain any footing inside the valley, let alone the Hollows. The trolls are vicious, and something drives them forth, organizing and corrupting them even more than nature has done.”

“I knew we were coming at the right time,” Cal said, smiling and stepping forward. “Shadoweye? Did you earn that name for the black fur around your eyes?”

“Nah, it’s ‘cause I can see in the dark and pull shadows around myself. My fur is white around my eyes, but I like to rub charcoal in it.” Shadoweye spoke without a hint of humor, but Bronwyn knew she was lying—the Urghat had black fur and no white spots that she knew of.

“Don’t tease him, Shadoweye! He’s a friend to Urghat, and your people can use all the friends they can get these days. Have you heard what happened to the Urghat in the Deep Down?”

“The Deep Down? No, that clan is too far to worry about!” She looked at Bronwyn with a raised eyebrow as if to ask what kind of nonsense she was getting at.

“They’re almost all dead! Invaders came and killed most of them. Only a few dozen escaped when my people attacked the invader’s camp.”

“Really?” Ironhide asked. “The Deep Down clan was huge. All dead, you say? Then Urghat truly are in dire straights.”

“The reason I bring it up, Shadoweye, is that Cal is a good guy who only wants to help. Me too, by the way. So can you lead us to the camp? If Whitestar thinks she needs to reclaim the Hollows, maybe we can help.”

“Aye, Underclaw. You don’t have to ask twice—I’d bring you to her, even without your horror stories about the Deep Down. If you think I’m smart, wait ‘til you talk to Underclaw Whitestar.”

“Smart!” Ironhide scoffed. “Wasn’t it you that had half the Overclaw’s army chasing you through the woods when all you were supposed to do was scout them out?”

“I saved Underclaw Bronwyn’s village, you immense boar!”

“Alright, alright! Yes, I know you’re smart, Shadoweye. Let’s get to your camp, and then you and Ironhide can have a contest to see who’s the smartest.”

“Aye! Let’s make sure it includes an eating portion. I can eat better than you any day, Shadoweye!”

“Eating?” Cal asked, looking searchingly at Bronwyn.

“I think Ironhide would try to include eating in any contest he got involved in,” Bronwyn laughed.

Shadoweye snorted and turned up the trail, motioning for everyone to follow her. “We’ll be in the forward watch camp in just an hour or so. Whitestar’s main camp is a day’s march beyond that. I had the outside watch, but we’ll send the middle watch to take my spot. It’s Bright-tooth, Underclaw; he’ll be thrilled to see you!”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, he’s grown and gained a class. Whitestar has been a good teacher for the twins, helping them to uncover their potential.”

“That’s great, Shadoweye!” Bronwyn was genuinely happy that the twins were doing well. They’d been the strangest members of her band by far, and she’d worried about them ever fitting in with the Urghat again.

“Yes, it’s good, but Soft-fur has a strange curse. It’s one of the reasons Whitestar wants to take the Hollows back from the trolls—the girl will die if she doesn’t bathe in the Well of Ancestors.”

“What?” Bronwyn asked, her voice rising almost comically.