“Are you sure this is…”
“Qusu,” Rayne finished. “Yes.” He pointed ahead of them to a series of worn wooden signs with words burned into them. Each one pointed in a different direction, but the largest one facing them had QUSU scrawled in big letters.
“This seems more like a temporary encampment than a town.”
“I’ve heard that entire towns are prone to moving in the event of avalanches, rockslides, or migration changes of local wildlife.” Caelan’s voice was surprisingly calm, as if this were the most normal thing in the world to him.
“And Mrtyu? Does that move?”
Caelan shook his head. “Nah. I think the capital is supposed to be similar to what we’re used to. Plus, they had to remain close to the broken godstone. The buildings would be more permanent.”
True. Kaes and Tula had both made a point of stating that the godstones couldn’t be moved. Even if this Nyx was dead, the godstone had to be the same, right?
Eno parked their borrowed vehicle from Sirelis in an open part of the field, positioning it so they’d have an easy escape if things went fucking wrong. Not that they should at all. But, just in case. It had a been a damn good all-terrain vehicle, particularly since the roads worsened as they traveled farther from Sirelis and into Zastrad.
He was starting to get the sneaking suspicion that they weren’t going to be keeping their comfy car much longer. There were no obvious gas stations in Qusu, and the spare fuel loaded in the trunk wasn’t going to last much longer. Were they really going to make him ride a horse?
Drayce would not call himself a great rider by any stretch of the imagination, but he had some experience at least. He knew how to manage a well-trained horse. He’d made a couple of trips to the Ilon-Erya border with Caelan and Eno. Those trips had required limited horseback riding to reach the more remote locations, but they had been quick day trips.
The one bright point was going to be getting Rayne on a horse. The bookworm didn’t much care for being outside, and Drayce was confident the man had never ridden a horse before. Yes, torturing Rayne with a horse would be worth it.
As Eno turned off the engine, Drayce spotted two men leaving one of the permanent buildings that appeared as if it might be a general store and crossing to a purple-and-red yurt. It was a strange relief to find that they were wearing the same kind of calf-high boots, durable baggy pants, and large, long-sleeved shirts they’d all been supplied by Shey. The clothes were thick, rough, and kind of scratchy. Just sort of shapeless things, but he had to admit they were damn good at blocking out the bitter wind that seemed to constantly blow.
“My guess is, that’s the local tavern where we’re supposed to meet Vale,” Eno said, nodding to the yurt the two men had disappeared into. He reached for the handle and started to open the door, but Caelan lunged forward, grabbed his shoulder.
“Wait. Is anyone fluent in Zastari?”
“You’re asking this now?” Rayne snapped.
“I’ve been distracted. I was trying to get Tula to talk about her brother,” Caelan shot back, poking at his temple with one finger.
Rayne instantly looked mollified, because yeah, that was a good excuse. His eyebrows bounded up toward his hairline. “Any luck?”
Caelan shook his head, sinking into a sulk. “No.”
The advisor grunted. “I speak some, though I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m fluent. My accent isn’t great either, but that will improve the more I hear it. These people will likely assume I’m a trader from Caspagir.”
“Zastari? That’s weird. Shouldn’t it be Zastralese? Or Zastradese?” Drayce asked.
Rayne twisted in his seat, eyes narrowed on him. “In Zastrad, the people are called Zastrians and they speak Zastari. It’s not weird. It’s their culture. And this is why you’re not allowed to speak when others are around.”
Drayce stuck his tongue out at Rayne, and Caelan nudged him with his elbow.
“We’ll leave the talking to Rayne. At least if a war breaks out between Zastrad and Erya, we can say it was his fault.”
He grinned at his best friend. “This is an excellent plan.”
That time, they both got a glare from Rayne as he exited the vehicle. Caelan and Drayce snickered to themselves and climbed out as well.
Despite the heavier clothes, a shiver ran through Drayce as he walked around the car to stand next to Caelan. His guns were clearly visible and fully loaded once again. In fact, Prince Shey had given them a shit-ton of ammunition, upgraded weapons, and a good stockpile of supplies for their trip across Zastrad. It was nice to not count bullets for once.
Everything was different from what he’d ever experienced before. The air was crisp and clean, carrying with it an interesting hint of cooked meat and some other scent he couldn’t quite place, but it smelled floral and light. A smile tugged up one corner of his mouth as he took in the rough buildings, the large chunks of rock, and packed dirt interspersed with bits of grass and other greenery fighting for life in this harsh landscape. He’d never expected to find a place so very different from his home in Stormbreak. Even Caspagir had largely felt like an extension of Erya, just with a different architectural aesthetic.