Page 1 of Frostforge: Passage Four
CHAPTER ONE
Thalia folded linens with practiced hands, her fingers moving mechanically across the rough fabric while her eyes tracked dust motes dancing in the late afternoon light.The splintered bench beneath her creaked with each shift of her weight, a forlorn sound that echoed down the empty alleyway where their herb shop stood shuttered and silent.Wind whispered through the deserted streets of Verdant Port, carrying with it the familiar scent of salt and dried herbs that clung to weathered walls — the ghost of what had once been a thriving, if destitute, harbor district, now hollow as a picked-clean shell.
She set aside a folded sheet and reached for another from the woven basket at her feet.Three years ago, this alley would have been impossible to navigate at this hour — merchants shouting prices, sailors haggling, children weaving through the crowds with stolen fruits clutched in grubby hands.Now, she could count on one hand the number of people she'd seen all afternoon.
A dog trotted past, ribs visible beneath matted fur.It paused to sniff at an abandoned cart before continuing its lonely patrol.Thalia watched it go, wondering who it had belonged to.The butcher, perhaps, whose stall had been boarded up last winter.Or maybe the fishmonger's boy, who'd left with his family when the last of the regular fishing boats stopped returning from the treacherous sea.
Thalia dipped a stained tunic into the cold basin beside her, scrubbing at a stubborn spot with knuckles that had grown harder since her time at Frostforge.The water bit at the scars across her palms — silver lines that traced her history, forging ice-metal, the remnants of burns from the forges that marked the hands of every dedicated smith.She worked the fabric between her fingers, listening to the oppressive silence of a port without ships, without trade, without life.
The door to their small house creaked open.Thalia looked up to see her mother emerge, another basket balanced against her hip.In the slanted sunlight, the new lines around her eyes seemed deeper, her shoulders more stooped than Thalia remembered from her brief visit home the year prior.
"Almost finished with that batch?"her mother asked, setting down the fresh load of washing.Her voice was softer than it used to be when she'd call out remedies and prices to a shop full of customers.
"Nearly."Thalia wrung the tunic with more force than necessary, watching cloudy water stream between the cobblestones."These are holding up better than I expected."
Her mother's smile didn't quite reach her eyes."I've been careful with the soap.What we have needs to last."
They fell into a familiar rhythm — Thalia washing, her mother taking each clean piece to hang across the lines strung between their home and the neighboring building.The other houses on their street were still occupied, but barely.Fewer faces appeared at windows.Fewer voices carried across rooftops.Verdant Port was dying by inches.
"I didn't open the shop today," her mother said after a while, her cracked, reddened fingers smoothing a wrinkle from a pillowcase."Or yesterday."
Thalia paused mid-scrub."The mid-week is still slow?"
"Every day is slow now."Her mother sighed, the sound as worn as her hands."There's no point in burning the candles to sit in an empty shop.The last merchant ship docked three weeks ago, and the captain only wanted fever bark.Half the district has fled Verdant Port."
Thalia's fingers tightened on the fabric she held."Because of the Wardens?"
Her mother nodded, her gaze drifting toward the distant harbor, though it was hidden behind buildings from where they stood."The attacks at sea are getting worse.The harbor master's been warning that it might not be safe for trade vessels much longer."
Thalia remembered last year's frantic messages between Frostforge's instructors, the increased training hours, and the whispers among students.The breach in the academy's wards had been sealed, but not before three students had been dragged into the night.Their names had been carved into the ice-metal memorial wall, alongside all the others who had fallen to the Isle Wardens over the centuries.
"We'll manage," Thalia said, though the words felt hollow even to her."People here will still need your remedies."
"Not enough to keep us fed."Her mother took the clean tunic from Thalia's hands."Mari outgrew her winter boots.I've been putting aside coins for new ones, but I've saved most of our money for her Selection in two years.At this rate..."She trailed off, reaching for another garment from the basket.Thalia felt her stomach clench.She had volunteered to attend Frostforge to allow her mother those savings, the opportunity to bribe the recruiters when Mari turned eighteen.It had never occurred to her that her family’s financial troubles would only worsen, that Mari’s bribe might come at the cost of food and clothing.
Thalia stood to help her mother hang the wet clothes.Together they stretched a sheet across the line, the damp fabric heavy between them.Beyond their quiet alley, the main street offered a clear view down toward the docks.A procession of laden carts and tired families made their way inland, belongings piled high, faces taut with fear.
"Third group this week," her mother murmured, watching the caravan pass."The Harbormaster's wife told me there were Warden ships spotted off Southhaven."
Thalia's breath caught.Southhaven was one of the largest cities along the Southern coast, its defenses legendary.If the Wardens were bold enough to approach within sight of it…."How many ships?"
"Five, they say.The coastal watch fired warning shots, but the ships just changed course, didn't retreat."Her mother pinned another corner of the sheet."Some say they're pushing further inland this year, testing our defenses everywhere."
The wind picked up, making the wet laundry snap like sails.Thalia imagined the Isle Wardens' vessels on the horizon, their bone-white hulls cutting through dark waters, their crews of pale, hollow-eyed warriors with weapons that drank light instead of reflecting it.
"The Nilssons left yesterday," her mother continued, nodding toward a house three doors down, its windows already boarded."They're heading for Meadowlark.Jora says her cousin has land there, far from any coast."
Thalia watched her mother's hands as they worked — once steady and sure when measuring herbs and mixing tinctures, now trembling slightly as she pinned up a small shift that could only belong to Mari.
"I've been thinking —" her mother began, then stopped herself, shaking her head.
"What is it?"Thalia asked, though she already suspected.
Her mother's shoulders sagged."I've been thinking we should leave, too."
The words hung between them, heavier than the wet laundry.Thalia had known this moment would come — had dreaded it during her months at Frostforge, where rumors of coastal towns being abandoned reached them with increasing frequency.
"Take Mari inland," her mother continued, her voice gaining strength as she finally spoke the thoughts aloud."Maybe to Meadowlark, or further.The Midland Provinces haven't seen Warden raids in decades."
