Page 25 of Frostforge, Passage Six
Thalia's eyes had adjusted long ago, transforming the world into shades of silver and black.She could make out the shapes of her companions on the deck below—Ashe curled on her side, her glacenite blade unsheathed and placed within easy reach; Roran propped against a crate, his face tilted downward, shoulders hunched in concentration.
A faint scratching sound drifted up from his position.Not the rhythmic breathing of sleep, but the deliberate stroke of graphite against parchment.Charting their course by starlight, still wrestling with the impossibility they'd encountered.An island that should exist, but didn't.
"You should rest," Thalia called softly, her voice carrying in the still night air."It's my watch."
Roran's head lifted briefly.He offered a mute grimace before returning to his work, the scratching resuming with renewed intensity.
Thalia sighed, turning her attention back to the endless expanse of water that surrounded them.The mainland had long since disappeared below the horizon.No distant lights marked the edge of the world they knew, no beacon beckoned them home.Only darkness and stars, the gentle lap of waves against the hull, and the weight of questions that grew heavier with each passing hour.
What had happened to the missing island?To the abandoned settlements they'd passed?Where were the Warden patrols that should have challenged their presence in these waters?The archipelago felt like a temple after the worshippers had fled—sacred, still, but empty of the purpose that had once filled it.
The scratching below ceased.Thalia glanced down to see Roran set aside his charcoal and parchment, his movements stiff after hours in the same position.He unfurled his length, stretching arms above his head, then settled back against the crate.Even in darkness, she could read the tension in his posture—shoulders rigid, head angled toward the water where the island should have been.
"I've sailed these waters before," he said suddenly, his voice pitched low but carrying clearly in the night air."That island was there, Thalia.Skathi's Rock.I remember the cliffs, the lighthouse, the fortress, the beach."His hands clenched at his sides."I feel like I’m going crazy.But it was real."
"I believe you," Thalia replied, and meant it.
Roran shifted restlessly, his gaze fixed on the horizon as though he could will the missing landmass back into existence through sheer determination.The schooner rocked gently beneath them, a subtle reminder of their vulnerability in these unfamiliar waters.
"You can't solve it tonight," Thalia said, gentling her voice."And we'll need you sharp tomorrow."
“If you’re about to suggest I sleep, you must be out of your mind.”
Before Thalia could respond, a movement caught her attention—a darker shadow against the night, far out across the water.She straightened, every muscle tensing as she tracked the shape's progress.Too large for a fish, too deliberate for drifting debris.A ship, moving with purpose through waters that had seemed empty all day.
"Roran," she called sharply, abandoning their previous conversation."On the water.Two points off the starboard bow."
He was on his feet in an instant, crossing the deck in long strides to join her at the railing.His eyes narrowed as he sought the disturbance she'd identified, then widened as he located it.
"Warden vessel," he confirmed, his voice tight with sudden focus."Small.Scout class, by the look of it."
The sound of their voices roused Ashe, who rose from her bedroll with the fluid grace of a predator, her blade already in hand."How many?"she asked, all traces of sleep gone from her voice.
"Can't tell yet," Roran replied, leaning farther over the railing."But they're heading straight for us."
Thalia's hand went to her own weapon, the glacenite blade cool against her palm."Could they have spotted us?"
"Possibly," Roran murmured."Or they're on a set patrol route that happens to cross our position."His fingers splayed at his sides, gathering the potential of storm magic that always surrounded him."Either way, we need to prepare."
Ashe moved to the stern, checking the anchor line and the mooring of their small tender.Thalia hurried to secure loose items on deck, anything that might create noise or slide during maneuvers.Roran remained at the railing, his eyes never leaving the approaching vessel.
"We're outmatched in a direct confrontation," he said, his voice low and urgent."Scout ships carry at least twenty guards, and their hulls are reinforced with black metal.If they open fire—"
“Then we don't let them fire first," Thalia cut in."Can you divert them?Create fog, or currents to push them off course?"
Roran's lips pressed into a thin line."Maybe.But that would alert them to our presence if they haven't spotted us already."He flexed his fingers, gathering energy until the air around him crackled with potential."I need to see what we're dealing with."
Without waiting for a response, he thrust his hand forward.A bolt of lightning erupted from his fingertips, arcing across the water toward the approaching vessel.The brilliant flash illuminated the night like a second sun, searing Thalia's vision with its intensity.In that frozen moment of light, she saw the ship clearly—smaller than she'd expected, its black sails tattered, its deck crowded not with armed guards but with huddled figures.
The lightning disappeared as quickly as it had come, plunging the world back into darkness.Spots danced before Thalia's eyes as they struggled to readjust.
The vessel had altered course slightly, now heading directly toward them—drawn, perhaps, by Roran's display of power.Thalia could make out figures moving on its deck, but no signs of weapons being readied, no cannon ports opening along its hull.
"We need to prepare the schooner," Roran said, already moving toward the anchor line."If they're hostile—"
"And if they're not?"Thalia interrupted, the image of those huddled figures still fresh in her mind."If they're running from the same thing that emptied those settlements?"
Ashe shook her head, her expression skeptical even in the darkness."Isle Wardens don't run.They conquer, they raid, they occupy.Whatever's happening out here, they're part of it."
