Hump couldn’t fully heal Rehk’s wound, but when combined with various potions, his magic was enough that she could move once more. He’d managed to close the wounds, and the potions should combat the worst of the infection. Now it would just take time. Staring at his handiwork, he felt strange. If he’d had this equipment in the past, and his skill now, he could have saved his master too. Instead, he’d spent a fortune on a bloody gnoll. It was a cruel twist of fate, like a mean joke from the gods.

In the past, he’d have brushed that idea off. After his time in Sheercliff and Countess Daston’s foresight into things, he wasn’t so sure they weren’t watching after all.

“I’m done,” Hump said. “How does it feel?”

She shifted, and Hump stepped away cautiously, the fully grown gnoll rising to her feet. Seeing her upright, Hump couldn’t help but feel intimidated. She was two heads taller than him, and about twice as wide, despite being half starved. While muddied, he could just about make out the patchy brown and silver fur beneath.

“Good, she said, testing her movement. “Pain not gone, but better.”

Hump nodded. “It will be a few days until you’re back at full strength. Until then, you’ll need to take things slowly.”

She looked at him, fierce, predatory eyes plaguing on Hump’s deep-rooted instincts. Adrenaline pumped through him, despite not being in any real danger. Even at such a close distance, Rehk didn’t pose a threat to him. He could have a Shield around him with hardly a thought, and a few thoughts more was all it would take to shower her in fire.

Now there was a grim thought for what was to be their guide.

“My thanks, Hump.” His name sounded strange from her mouth, almost like a growl, her throat not made to produce all the sounds in the common tongue.

“You’re welcome.” She continued to stare at him, and it was then that he realised she was looking at him for leadership. “Right, well, in the meantime, you need some food. Are you well enough to walk?”

“Walk—yes. Run… not so much. Many days since we eat.”

“Let’s return to our camp then and get you fed. After that, we can discuss our next steps.”

She nodded. “You lead, I follow.”

Retiring to their camp, Hump felt nervous. He assured himself that it would all be worth it if this gnoll could find them another route into the Fallen Lands. Vonhold would be on high alert with the number of attacks increasing, and even at the best of times, people could not just venture out into the pass. Avoiding it would save them a lot of time and keep them away from prying eyes. Particularly after the encounter in Suncrest, Hump felt the importance of that all the more.

The horses were uneasy when they returned, stamping and neighing at the sight of Rehk. The gnoll waited patiently at the treeline as Hump and Celaine calmed them. When Hump turned back, he saw Tokdaar watching, enthralled at the sight of them.

“Hak?” he asked, looking to his mother.

She shook her head, snarling back a long response. Their language was a vicious mix of yaps, barks, and snarls, like a dog trying to talk. She turned back to Hump and Celaine. “He asks about horses. Tok does not know way of man. Thinks them to be food. Told him no.”

“Thank you,” Celaine said.

“Yeah, best he doesn’t eat them,” Hump added. “Here, Tokdaar, look.” Hump gently stroked Prancer’s nose as the small gnoll watched curiously. “Prancer. This is Prancer.” Then Hump pointed at Celaine’s horse. “Thistle.”

Rehk said something—presumably translating, and Tokdaar let out a huff sound.

“Prancer.” He pointed with a clawed finger. “Thistle.”

“Yes,” Hump said. “Good.”

Suddenly, Tokdaar started to ramble about something else, an excited mix of growls and yaps escaping him.

“He speak of lizard with wings.”

“Nisha!” Tokdaar proclaimed.

Before Hump could stop her, the little dragon stuck her head out of her pouch, watching them both curiously.

“Nisha! Nisha!” Tokdaar said, his tail wagging.

“You are dragonborn?” Rehk asked.

“Not me,” Hump said, nodding to Celaine. “But she is.”

“We seek Drakalyn,” Celaine said. “Do you know it?”

“The Land of the Tree—I know it. Your reason for travel is more clear. Few man enter the mountains, and few live long once inside. Dragonborn are the only ones. Strong hunters, fierce warriors.” She gave a curt nod, huffing a breath. Hump took it to mean approval.

“You can show us the way?” Hump asked.

Rehk tilted her head back and forth, contemplatively. “Before, yes. Now with Dead Queen journey is dangerous. Without pack.” She shook her head. “Death.”

“We are strong,” Celaine said. “Strong enough that we do not need your pack.”

Hump didn’t miss the hidden meaning in that—we are too strong for you to betray.

The two gnolls ravaged a large helping of meat intended for Nisha, along with boiled oats. Rehk had explained that they need more meat than humans, but they could eat grains and other food too. By the end of the feast, Hump was pleased they’d stashed as much food as they had. Their requirements to hunt for provisions would increase, though he wasn’t too worried with Celaine at his side. Once they were done, the two gnolls washed in the river while Hump and Celaine finished packing their campsite.

Alone, Celaine approached him, the two of them huddled between the horses and out of sight.

“This will be interesting,” Celaine said. “The others wouldn’t believe we’ve already found ourselves a couple of gnolls for companions.”

Hump snorted, imagining their reaction to the tale. That was, if they made it back at all.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“Not sure. I think we’ll be fine. The tricky part is getting through the mountains. Vamir knew the way when we came this way. It would be dangerous for us to attempt to find a route around Vonhold Pass alone, but with Rehk to guide us we should at least find the right track. Even if they abandoned us along the route, once we know the way, we simply need to cross the mountains.”

“I don’t think they’ll abandon us,” Hump said. “Rehk wouldn’t risk her pup—I think. Their bond seems strong. I’ve heard gnolls are fiercely protective over their kin, though I also heard they were mindless savages, so I’m not sure what information to trust.”

“Worst comes to worst, we’ll go our separate ways,” Celaine said. “At most, they’ll waste a few days. Maybe a week. We can afford that. It’s not like smuggling ourselves out of Vonhold wouldn’t have come with its fair share of risk either.”

Hump let out a breath, still trying to get his head around exactly who they were trusting. At the end of the day, Celaine was right. The risk was their time.

***

Progress was slow that day. At their previous speed, they’d have reached Vonhold in half a day. With the gnolls, they were moving at half that speed. It was something Hump had already considered—Rehk needed time to be at full strength. Giving the horses a chance to take it easy was a good idea anyway. Nothing like a lame leg to kill progress on a journey.

It was shortly after midday when the white peaks of a long chain of mountains were finally in view, like the spine of some great dead beast. They filled the sky—a line of impassable stone. To the far right, he could see the deep valley between two mountains that he knew to be Vonhold Pass—a passage cleared by earth wielders a millennia ago, back when it was still a well-travelled trading route. That was before the Fallen Lands had claimed the cities to the north.

They had a quick lunch where Hump admired the view, but good things never lasted. Rain hit them after that, and then the travelling became all the less pleasant.

They steered clear of the roads here, wary of traders and travellers, not that they needed to be. Almost five days on the road, and they’d yet to see so much as a lone horseman. The land was empty, and that filled Hump with a sense of wrongness. He could think of only a handful of times he’d gone so long on the road without meeting anyone. Someone was always travelling between places. Even the smallest of villages had tinkers that would pass through on occasion, or missionaries spreading the word of the Pantheon, ensuring no peasant had lost their way.

It was later that day when they finally came upon a small hamlet—a cluster of a dozen small stone cottages, likely belonging to the farmers in the area. It was hilly, rocky land, but they had to eat somehow.

“Stay in the forest,” Hump said. “We’ll meet you on the other side.”

“No smell here,” Rehk said. “Dogs, but no man.”

Hump frowned at that. “What do you mean? The houses are empty.”

She nodded.

“I don’t see anyone either,” Celaine said.

“No?”

Dogs barked as they approached, but one snarl from Rehk was enough to scare them off. They entered the small cluster of houses, built up the hills on either side of the road, amidst trees and rough terrain. Hump saw signs of life once lived. Laundry still hung on a drying line, buckets of water stood by doors, full and gathering leaves on its surface. Doors were open, creaking in the wind. It reminded him of Lakewood, the small village on the shores of Fishers Lake that had been ravished by flesh prowlers. Taking a peek inside a few of the houses, his fears were uncalled for. It was simply abandoned.

“We’ll sleep here tonight,” Hump said. “Might as well make use of the houses while it’s raining. Why don’t you and Tokdaar take that one, and Celaine and I this?”

Everyone was agreeable, though Hump hadn’t shared the fact that he’d feel more comfortable with a lock and a door between him and the gnolls. So far, they’d made for easy travelling companions. Rehk was practical and focused. She didn’t complain nor ask to stop, despite her wounds. And at least for now, she had been reverent toward Hump and Celaine.

***

Hump expected to feel something as he stepped into the Fallen Lands. An ancient evil, a primal fear of what lurked out there, the essence of old magic in the air.

There was no such thing. He wasn’t even sure when they’d crossed the border, though he was certain they had. Two days had passed since they’d left the abandoned hamlet, and he could no longer see the Vonhold Pass, and they’d left all roads behind them, striking out through an unmarked forest, a stream their only point of direction.

It was rough going, and by the day’s end, Hump was exhausted. Rehk excused herself from the camp as dusk was setting in, leaving Hump and Celaine to tend to the campsite. He set up his usual encampment spells, taking extra care with the monsters of the Fallen Lands in mind. Undead, bloodwolves, razorclaws, primal bears, and gods knew what else might lurk out there.

Celaine had the fire going by the time he was done, so Hump took the liberty of entertaining Nishari and Tok instead. Using his Osidium opal ring, he guided the sands through the air like tiny stars, Tok and Nisha chasing them around. He formed them into mice, having them race around the trees, dodging and weaving a path as the two gave chase. Nisha was loving having a friend to play with, even if it was a gnoll. And in all honesty, Hump didn’t mind it either. Rehk was intimidating, but so far she had been nothing but a calm presence, and Tok was every bit as playful and curious as Nisha.

They heard noises nearby, and Rehk emerged from the trees dragging a boar. She was breathing heavily and had blood on her mouth. Hump could see where her fangs had locked around the creature’s throat.

“Today, I feed you,” Rehk said. “Wound is good now. This is thanks.”

Hump quickly recovered from his surprise and smiled. “I appreciate the gesture, Rehk. And we need the food. This will be good.”

“If the journey takes twenty days like you say,” Celaine said, “We’ll need a catch like this every few days.”

“Easy done,” Rehk said.

Celaine nodded. “I don’t see any trouble.”

Hump laughed. “I’ll leave that job to the two of you.”

Celaine set about butchering the creature, and they set various meats roasting on the fire. Rehk sat across from him, watching her pup happily. Seeing that, Hump felt like he could relate to her. They were different species, but she cared for Tokdaar. It made him trust her just a little more.

“Where did you learn to speak our language?” Hump asked.

“My nashak—” she growled correcting herself. “My mother. Men captured her when young, perhaps, little older than Tok. She fight for them, and they teach her man speech. One day, they die, and she return to mountains. She teach me speech too.”

“She was a slave?” Hump asked.

Rehk nodded. “Made her strong though. Strong like Rehk. And strong like Tok will be. Man could do with some too. Pink skin and thin flesh—not good for mountains. Without fur, Hump and Celaine freeze.”

“We’re prepared,” Hump said. “No need to worry about us.”

They’d splurged on thick wool cloaks and good bedrolls before leaving Sheercliff, enchanted to resist the worst of the cold.

“Good. Path become dangerous from here.” She pointed toward the snowy mountains slightly to the left of the stream. Hump could make out a gentler slope that curved its way up and between the rocks. “Up there, the Dead Queen hunted us.”