Vale had already warned them of the presence of bears and cougars at the lower levels. The higher the elevation, apparently the more dangerous their animals grew, with regular sightings of snow leopards and even some tigers loving to prowl the Tovala Mountains.
As they traveled along, it was going to be increasingly important to put up the shield on their camp each night.
Despite the relative comfort of the car compared to Vale’s horseback ride, Caelan found himself sighing with relief when a cluster of yurts and stone buildings came into view as they crested a hill a couple of hours before sunset. They’d made a few stops during the day to either eat or give Vale’s horse a break. But even then, as they stretched their legs, none of them wandered far from the car. Between the whipping wind and the inhospitable landscape, Caelan had no desire to explore.
The town definitely had a more permanent feel to it than the border town where they’d met their guide. Electric lights burned in the stone buildings, and there was a line that stretched from a tall telephone pole into the distance going north to south. A telephone line. Or more likely, a telegraph line. The main road dividing the buildings was deeply worn as if it had been traveled by countless people, horses, and even carts over the decades. More stone buildings huddled along the road than yurts, and those had wood porches attached to them. He thought he spotted a small garden behind one.
Was this a better example of normal life in Zastrad?
The border village was probably a bad representation. There had been a lawless indifference about those people, as if they reveled in chaos rather than simply celebrating death as a way of worshiping their god.
He tried to take it as a positive sign that there were at least a few children running around, shouting and chasing a ball. Their red chapped cheeks were plumped with smiles. Carefree.
It still felt like everyone who was standing outside stopped and stared when their car rolled into the edge of the town, though. Once again, Vale directed them to park in a spot that was away from everyone else.
Their current goal was to buy and trade for supplies, which included acquiring six horses. Four for riding while the other two were going to be carrying the rest of their goods. He thought he saw a small stable, but he was starting to have his doubts they’d be able to get everything they needed here. Under the best conditions, this trip was estimated to take at least ten days to reach Temit. If the weather turned against them or a horse ended up injured, those ten days were going to stretch much, much longer.
“Dude,” Drayce drawled out, his voice barely more than a whisper. “This place…”
“New experiences,” Rayne said crisply as he climbed out of the passenger seat. “This isn’t Erya, and you need to be accepting of cultures different than your own.”
It was on the tip of Caelan’s tongue to ask Rayne if accepting other cultures included turning a blind eye to murder in the name of worshiping a god, but he swallowed the comment. He needed to not judge. Besides, he was supposed to be meeting with the god. He could always ask old Nyx if this kind of worship was what he had in mind. Maybe the god’s teachings and desires got all twisted after he died, so Nyx had no control of what his followers did.
In an insane way, maybe it would be a good thing for Nyx to be brought back so he could straighten out all his people. A little less killing could be a really good thing for everyone, right?
“I was going to say this place is pretty neat. It’s got rustic charm,” Drayce countered, flashing Rayne a smug smile.
His advisor lifted a skeptical brow at Drayce, and Caelan cleared his throat to keep from snickering. Even if they had a long trek ahead of them, at least he’d have Rayne and Drayce’s bickering to keep him amused. Eno was also prone to poke at both of them when he was bored.
“Any of you speak Zastari?” Vale demanded. She’d already dismounted and tied her horse to a post in front of one of the buildings a short distance away. Her dark hair was wild about her head from the wind and her cheeks were red, but she gave no signs that the chill in the air actually bothered her.
“I speak some, but my understanding is quite crude, and my accent isn’t very good,” Rayne replied.
“Well, there’s only one way for you to get better.” She pointed at Rayne and gave an evil grin. “You’re with me. I’ve got a shopping list. You just keep your mouth shut and listen. We’ll hit the store and then the stables.”