The fog was a death trap. Something that made you lose focus, suppressed fear and self-preservation, before sending you into a sleep you might not wake up from if you succumbed while still in the fog. Creed woke up with a pounding headache—the various treatments I had to ignore still popped up on the edge of my mind—but he was able to detail what had happened.

The hike up the mountain had been relatively simple even with making sure they didn’t get turned around in the fog. Mishtaw had been affected first. Her movements a little more relaxed, her voice a little too loud. He put it down to her being more at ease being away from the group, knowing she didn’t need to be the leader and mentor when it was just the two of them. They were able to scout around the top of the mountain without any true mishaps, but Creed was starting to feel the effects by then as well, so even when Mishtaw did something out of character and suggested they didn’t need to check in with Eliss, he went along with it and suggested they scout further down into the valley. They did, and only returned because Creed wanted to sleep on his bedroll and Mishtaw wanted to tell everyone what they had found.

Really, it was small miracle they had managed to return out of the fog as close to camp as they did and before one of them succumbed to the fog’s sedative properties. But it seemed even with having their minds addled they hadn’t completely lost their tracking and navigation skills.

Mishtaw woke up while Creed told the story and they were both sure the fog was to blame. There hadn’t been odd plants they both touched, no ambush predators, that it was the only thing that made sense. I agreed, especially with the odd way the pine trees stopped right on the edge of the fog’s reach. Perhaps the goddess didn’t want the fog fouling up Her precious trees.

Mishtaw filled in the gaps of Creed’s story. She had been dismissive of reaching out to Eliss because the air up in the fog was practically dead with only the occasional wisp of a breeze. In her addled state it made perfect sense to just inform everyone of what they found when they returned instead of being uneasy about the blocked communication.

What they had found was interesting though. Footprints and scat. Three different people had been near the top of the mountain with at least two different beasts. The kind of beast was unknown but part of their body dragged against the ground and their footprints didn’t indicate something dainty. Unfortunately, the tracks disappeared not far from the watch post, like whoever had made them knew how to use the terrain to their advantage.

The fog was also thinner near the mountain top so while we hadn’t been able to make Mishtaw and Creed from our position on the mountainside they had been able to watch us for a bit. Thankfully their curiosity about where Eliss and Petra had gone had also helped pull them back down the mountain even if the need to sleep had overwhelmed everything else in the end.

All of which prompted the question of who had been watching us, why they had alerted us to their presence with that flicker of flame, and how they seemed unaffected by the fog. We didn’t have the answers, but Eliss had found something else of interest that seemed like it could be a piece of the puzzle.

An artificial den dug into the mountainside. Cleverly hidden so you couldn’t see the opening in the ground unless you approached from a certain angle and even then it was disguised to look like it might have been an animal’s den. Eliss had ignored it at first until she found odd scuff marks and a trail that hadn’t been disguised quite as well that led back to the den. Then she lost a good amount of time making sure some predator wasn’t going to lunge out and bite her before she squeezed through the entrance and discovered a pungent smelling tarp blocking her way, likely to repel any creatures that might have wanted to make the hideaway into an actual den. After she got past the tarp it quickly opened up to a proper tunnel. The tunnel led to a hidden storage area. There hadn’t been much for her to find, but it had been enough to raise more questions.

A couple sacks of old sheep’s wool and common tools, seeds ground into the dirt and forgotten in the shadow of one corner. A handful of empty sacks and a travois piled against one wall. It was interesting that someone had gone through all the trouble to create the space, hide it, and then leave useful things behind instead of taking it with them, but perhaps they hadn’t wanted to haul it up and down the mountain repeatedly. Even if that then left the question of who was climbing the Broken Spear Peaks so often that became a consideration and why they would want to when these mountains were supposed to be abandoned and avoided by the tribes and Picker bands that used to inhabit them.

The more we learned the less that actually seemed to be the case. I wasn’t sure if that would have any bearing on our relic hunt, but it was unsettling to find traces of others in mountains without actually seeing them.

Eliss led us to the hidden den in the morning after Mishtaw and Creed’s headaches had mostly subsided. Like she had said, there was little to go off of and it likely didn’t have anything to do with the relic we needed to find, but it still felt like some kind of progress compared to blindly wandering the mountainside or waiting in the camp all day.

I picked up some of the seeds and slipped them into my poisoner’s pouch though, irritatingly, I didn’t recognize them. They did seem to be roasted which meant they were probably just some snack someone had carelessly dropped, but I didn’t like not knowing what they were. This way, if we happened across the plant the seeds came from, I’d be able to compare the seeds and at least know that much.

After visiting the den we had to figure out our next steps. We could follow the trail that led to it down the mountain to figure who might be using it, but that seemed unlikely to help with locating the relic. We could also keep skirting around the fog even though it seemed like it would be perfect for keeping a relic hidden.

I knew of different plants and mixtures that could help keep a person awake or sharpen their awareness, but those had been side effects of healing solutions and I didn’t have the ingredients even if I had been allowed to make them. Nor would they help with the loss of fear the fog seemed to induce as well and we’d have to sleep at some point. We wouldn’t be able to travel very far in before having to turn back if we didn’t want to be caught in the fog’s hold while we slept. In the end, we didn’t have a way to combat the fog’s effects and we wouldn’t be likely to find the relic until we did.

Prevna eyed the trail leading down the mountainside as we all stood outside the hidden den and tried to figure out what to do next. “Whoever uses this hideaway might be trading with the people in the fog. We’d have stashes in the Folds for that or for other items that didn’t make sense to carry with us all the time.”

Mishtaw looked intrigued. “You think they might know how the others can stay in the fog?”

She shrugged. “It’s our best bet unless whoever was watching us comes back and is willing to talk.”

“The Cut Picker bands aren’t known for being trustworthy.” Eliss was noticeably less interested in Prevna’s idea. “Even if they talk they might give us false information or extort us for what we need to know.”

Prevna’s lips pressed together but she kept her voice even and light. “They’ll honor an honest Exchange as they would for anyone who knows the game. Besides, if anyone is foolish enough to try to hunt resources from whisper women then they wouldn’t be found in the Cut.”

Mishtaw nodded and gestured for us to start down the mountain. “Then we follow the trail and see what we find.” She focused on Prevna. “You’ll take lead since you know their ways better than the rest of us.”

Prevna grinned back. “What am I allowed to barter?”

Mishtaw and Prevna had a mild debate as we steadily followed the trail around broken rock and by small streams in the pine forest that grew thicker the more we descended. It was beautiful but I kept on the lookout for threats even as I eavesdropped on their conversation.

I had learned more about Prevna’s time growing up in a Picker band but she rarely went into detail about things other than the antics she had gotten up to with her friends. She kept it entertaining. I wasn’t sure if she left the more mundane things because she found them boring or thought that they were obvious. Or if she thought I’d be uncomfortable getting into the details about how her band survived by stealing from others, but I never pressed her for information. I never wanted to talk about my time in the Gabbler Shore except for bits and pieces about the very end with Rawley. I didn’t even talk much about Fellen with her…and she knew how that ended so there wouldn’t be much point anyway. But it never felt right to drag all the details out of Prevna about her childhood when I could barely offer any of my own.

Listening in, I learned that the Exchange was all about showing off what you had, hinting at what you might be willing to give and what you were interested in getting when it came to supplies, services, and knowledge. None of it was the direct trade or outright stealing I was used to when it came to my understanding of Picker bands. Nor were supplies often the most valuable out of the three. Instead, when it came to Picker bands trading with each other it often came down to services rendered or knowledge that the other band was willing to share, given the random skill sets those in the bands might have compared to what they might need.

Prevna would be allowed to make use of some of the resources Mishtaw had back in the Seedling Palace if we needed them to strike a deal. However, if the band preferred service or knowledge we could provide those as well as long as it didn’t take too long or pertain to things only whisper women were supposed to know.

Prevna seemed pleased with what she had to work with but I didn’t miss the tension in her shoulders as Mishtaw moved on to speak with Eliss. I bumped my shoulder against hers as I stepped up next to her.

She rolled her eyes back at me and stretched. “I’m not nervous enough for you to be worried about me.”

I didn’t point out that it had been years since she had been part of a Picker band and she likely hadn’t led an Exchange with another band then either. “Got everything you need?”

“More than enough. If they know what we need, I’ll get it out of them.”

The hike down the mountain was uneventful except for needing to double check a few times that we were still on the correct trail when it crossed a stream or over other terrain that didn’t leave easy tracks to follow.

Prevna stopped us once we were in the lower third of the mountain and pointed to a mark painted on the side of a tree. A hand print dripping three drops of blood. No one grumbled about her taking charge, not even Eliss. We had felt eyes on us for at least the past half mile.

She explained in a low voice, “If we cross that mark we’ll be in their official territory.” Then she focused on where the mark was again and let out a loud whistle. “A bloody exchange forms enemies and discord.”

“A honest exchange forms friendships and goodwill.” A deep voice answered her as a man stepped out from behind a tree. “Do you come with blunted spears and open palms?”

That obviously wasn’t the case with the weapons hanging off our belts, but the words sounded more ritualistic than an actual question. Prevna held her hands out in front of her palms up. “I come with offerings and a prayer for your band. Do you offer the same?”

The man glanced around, taking us all in, before nodding slowly and pricking his wrist with his prayer needle so a drop of blood fell to the ground. “I do.”

Prevna nodded back and pricked her wrist was well. The blood didn’t flake away, not being a true prayer to the goddess, but the symbolic gesture seemed to be enough. There was some rustling around us as two others stepped from their hiding places but Prevna seemed more at ease now that the introduction was out of the way. Really, it was the Picker band people who seemed on the back foot with our lack of reaction at their reveal as well as being faced with two obvious whisper women and two more with black lips.

I held back a smile I looked forward to watching Prevna make full use of the advantage as the Exchange officially could begin.