Page 70 of Asher

Steffen, who’s moved a little closer to the door, says, “This is a work of art. Not just the puzzle, but how the preservation spells are woven in… I wish I could have met the dragon who designed it.”

Brandt snorts. “You would have loved her. Her wards and booby-traps were exceptional.”

“Speaking of booby-traps,” Micah says. “Are there any?”

“Yes,” Brandt and Steffen say at the same time. Brandt continues, “But they’ll only go off if you try to force the door.”

“What about explosives?” Gideon asks. “Did they even have those back then? Or if we tunnel around the door?”

Steffen shakes his head, grudging respect on his face as he studies the door again. “I wouldn’t risk it.”

Gideon swears, but Alistair claps his hands. “Cam is going toloveme.”

Brandt smiles at him. “Who?”

“Alistair has a friend who makes mechanical puzzles,” Steffen explains. “Did you call him?”

Alistair nods. “Yes, but I had to leave a message. I sent the pictures, though, so I’m sure that as soon as I’m back in cell range, I’ll hear from him.”

“Well, that all works out for the best, doesn’t it? We can leave this safely in the hands of CSG.” Brandt smiles beatifically.

David smiles too, but it’s not happy at all. “Nice try. The contents behind that door belonged to a dragon and now belong to their next of kin… or failing that, to you as the dragon government.”

“She has no remaining family,” Brandt protests. “And I don’t want the bother of…”

As they argue over who should be in charge of opening the door, I get an idea. A wonderful, brilliant idea. I turn my head and whisper to Asher, “How much does your grandmother love you?”

He blinks at me. “Maybe a bit less, after today. Why?”

“I need her to not kill me, please.” Before he can ask anything else, I raise my voice and interrupt the argument. “Could I make a suggestion?”

Everyone turns to me. “By all means,” Brandt says. “Suggestions from hellhounds are always good.”

If anyone else had said it, I’d think they were being sarcastic, but he looks genuinely eager.

“Thank you. Um… do we know what’s behind the door? In a general sense, I mean. Is it a dragon hoard?” And do dragons hoard treasure?

Brandt shakes his head. “Unlikely. We dragons like to be close to our hoards and have easy access. The top of a mountain might seem like an excellent place to hide your most treasured items, but unless you live nearby, it means you don’t get to play with them much.”

“Could your friend have lived nearby?” Steffen asks. “How old is the village?”

“Not that old,” David says dryly. “The oldest continuous settlement in the world is only about eleven thousand years old. And it’s not here.”

“It doesn’t have to be continuous, though,” Steffen argues. “A good place for a settlement is a good place for a settlement, even if people come and go.”

“Not so much in these mountains,” Zac says. “Plus, it was colder fifteen thousand years ago—where the village is now was carved out by a glacier back then.”

Micah stares at him. “How do you know that?”

Shrugging defensively, Zac replies, “I’m a geologist and I spend most of my time outdoors on this mountain. I was curious about how it used to be. Besides, we did a ton of research before we moved the settlement here. That’s how we picked the village name.”

“How so?” I ask, even though we’re getting off track. I find details like this fascinating.

“This whole part of the mountain has been referred to as Hortplatz for nearly a thousand years,” Zac explains. “Longer—that’s as far back as it’s documented, but there was a strong oral tradition in this area, and the records I saw estimated that it goes back a lot further. So it seemed right to name the village that.”

“Hortplatz,” Brandt repeats. “Your village is called Hortplatz. Because this part of the mountain was known as Hortplatz.”

David sighs. “Is this going to make me want to hide under my bed?”

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