Page 86 of Trial of Thorns
Looking south, the clue is obvious—three words written out in blue stones over the landscape beyond. The higher you get, the easier they’d be to read. At a lower spot, you could see the letters but the wrong angle could skew the message. We likely didn’t need this height to make it out.
SW Black Gate
“The Black Gate is five hundred miles from here,” Tyadin muses.
I purse my lips and consider. The Black Gate is on the north end of Shadow Court land, my home. And he’s right, it’s entirely too far to travel in one day. I take a slow walk around the plateau, examining the landscape around us. Everything seems normal. Except...
We traveled west to reach the mountain range, and we’re only a few miles in. I should have a good view of the Fire Sands in the distance... but I don’t. It’s nowhere to be seen.
Is it just me or is the forest below us much bigger than the one we traveled through?
“I think we traveled farther than we thought,” I say. “We’re not in the Winding Mountains.”
He looks around. “I thought the mountains seemed strange for the Winding Court. The rock is too brittle.”
Of course the dwarf would notice the rock.
“Seems more like the Blue Mountains. Between the Glistening and the Whirling Courts.”
“So what? The whole arena is fake? They’re mimicking real world places? The Black Gate could be only a few miles away.”
I shrug. “Possibly. But... if the arena were that small we’d definitely be able to see the desert from here.”
He purses his lips, scanning the land around us.
“Is it possible we passed through a portal without noticing?” The fae have used magic to create a sort of portal between lands for thousands of years. There are a few public, well-known doors. Some fae have the ability to create and destroy them. I’ve never heard of a portal being used in this manner—to pass one without noticing would be impressive.
He purses his lips. “Interesting. I think you might be right.”
“So, we travel southwest and look for the Black Gate. Will you know it when you see it?” he asks. “It’s from your court.”
“I’ll know it. I’ll be able to find it easily once we reach that territory. No idea how long that’ll take if hidden portals are being used. We should keep an eye out for them. If it’s true, they could come into play later in the challenge.”
He nods.
Raven lands on a branch above us, chippering quietly. Tyadin eyes the bird and then looks to me. “A friend of yours?”
I sigh. “You could say that.”
He shrugs. “Better than someone else’s spy.”
Connecting Raven to me is dangerous for her, no matter who knows.
Anyone who wants to get to me, which is pretty much everyone, would be eager to shoot down an ally of mine—pet or human. Doesn’t matter.
I don’t want anyone to know about her in anyway. If it’s only Tyadin, for now, I’ll let it slide. Any more than that, and I’ll have to send her away or turn her into a damn frog so she can’t follow me. If Rev finds out...
Raven chippers more and then flies off around the slope to the side of the mountain. “I’ll be back.” I sigh and then follow the path.
A hundred feet below the plateau, Raven lands on the grassy ground, hopping on her little black talons excitedly. I roll my eyes and flick my hand. She pops back into human form breathing hard.
“Wow!” she says the moment she’s able. “That was... intense!”
Her smile makes me smile.
“You said you weren’t strong enough.”
I sigh, leaning against the mountainside, arms crossed. “I got lucky.”
