They left Griffinsback that same morning, proceeding into Cyrille Major. Arai was familiar with these lands -- he had been up and down this road many times with his father -- and familiar with the small towns and villages that ran up and down the main highway. And the closer they got to Velon, the more these villages began to resemble Velonese villages, with their large grain bins, krak walls, and Estellarian statues decorating their central squares. He even spotted a few Selestrian healers here and there, in their blue robes, treating livestock and tending to the sick. They made him think of Maya.

  A few days later, having hurried through Cyrille Major, they arrived at the western fork of the Tuv River. One of the longest rivers in the western world, the Tuv originated in the glaciers of the Frozen Mountains, and was well over two hundred feet in width, even at its narrowest. It had an extremely strong current -- in the spring and summer its rapids made it very difficult to cross -- and its waters were extremely cold. The northern part of the river served as the border between Velon and the Barony of Tot; the western fork was the border between Velon and Cyrille Major.

  Seeing and hearing the river for the first time in years, Arai was struck once again by deep feelings and old memories. His father's house, the one that he had burned down before beginning his search for Silus, was only about sixty or seventy miles upriver from here, near where the waters split into their western and eastern forks. He had bathed in the Tuv; he had learned to swim in its shallows; and he had spent many idle hours sitting on its shores, fishing with his father. "This is a large river," Sir Estil commented, in his usual understated way.

  "The Tuv," Arai affirmed. He gestured to the other shore. "Beyond this river lies Velon."

  "How are we going to get across?" Shell asked. But then she snapped her fingers. "Maybe Feri could make a bridge of ice for us, like Lillandra did back in Manrador."

  "This river is three times as wide as the Mans," Lillandra said. "And its current is much stronger. An ice-bridge wouldn't last more than a minute or two. Besides, just to look at her, I don't think Feri has the power to cast an ice-spell that expansive. Very few sorcerers do."

  Grizz had already prepared a solution to this problem, however, having negotiated to borrow a handful of boats from a riverside village. It took most of a day, and it didn't always go smoothly, but they eventually managed to transfer their steeds, their supplies, and their selves across the river. This accomplished, they made camp in a large open field adjacent to a thick forest -- Velon was very heavily forested -- and settled in for the night.

  Arai found himself too excited to sleep, however. It had taken him two years, but he was home, at last, returned to his own country, and if all went well, they would be back in Hammersvik in just a few more days.

  He couldn't wait to see them again -- Odo and Maya and Vex. He frowned, though, when he thought of Vex, because while Odo and Maya had been turned to stone, and probably were still frozen in mid-stride at the top of the Nightfall, he had no idea if the young sorcerer had survived his encounter with Lillandra's guards.

  They had many more difficulties in store for them, of course -- they still had to deal with Lord Pierce, and with Dayan's Holy Legion, and with this new barbarian general, Rollaug. But with Odo and Maya at his side, and with Grizz and the Steelmen and even Lillandra herself providing support, he felt as though he could overcome just about anything.

  He was still awake at midnight. Frustrated at his inability to sleep, he got up, and realized then that Lillandra was awake as well, sitting in front of the fire with her legs pulled up to her chest, wearing a troubled expression. He sat down next to her.

  "Trouble sleeping?" he asked quietly, so as not to wake Shell and Sir Estil, who were dozing nearby.

  "Yes."

  "Are you still worried about facing the people of Velon?"

  "Yes, but that's not what's bothering me tonight." She looked up at the sky. It was a dark, cloudy night, but some stars could still be seen, their silver light limning the edges of the clouds. "There's something in the air, something strange."

  Arai sniffed, but all he could smell was the smoke from their campfires. "I don't smell anything."

  "It's not a smell. It's a feeling. Something just feels...off." She shook her head. "I can't quite put my finger on it."

  "Something to do with magia?"

  "Not exactly. You know how the air feels before a storm? Sort of thin and tangy? It's something like that."

  Arai couldn't feel whatever it was she was feeling, but her senses were probably much more developed than his; after all, she could see magia. "You think there's a storm coming?"

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  "There's something coming," she said. She glanced at her sword, Helene, which was sitting by her side. "I can feel it."

  * * *

  The Steelmen proceeded through Velon, fording a few smaller rivers and finally finding the Dale's Road, which would take them straight to Hammersvik. They passed through a handful of small, rude villages, most of which seemed to be uninhabited -- either the villagers had fled, or they were in hiding. Arai suspected it was the former; some of the fields had not yet been harvested, which suggested to him that they must have fled some time ago, and in a big hurry.

  He wondered where they might have gone. Peasants typically sought shelter within the walls of nearby castles when threatened by invaders, but there were only a handful of castles left in Velon, and Hammersvik was the only walled city. They might have retreated to Hammersvik, but it was also possible they had fled south, hoping to hide themselves within Velon's forests.

  The sharp, stony hills, the dark evergreen forests, and the endless, icy valleys made an impression on Shell. "It cold," she said, "but it's pretty."

  Even Sir Estil was impressed. "It's something like northern Citias," he said. "It has a kind of a haunting beauty."

  They encountered very few travelers, but they did come across several monsters, roaming the countryside -- two squawking harpies and a huge, tusked mastodon. The mastodon was in the process of destroying an empty village; the Steelmen, fighting from a distance, brought it down with spears and arrows.

  "It's gotten worse since the last time we were here," Grizz said, pulling his spear out of the mastodon just before it dissolved into magia particles. "I'm afraid of what we'll find in Hammersvik."

  The city appeared on the horizon a few days later. Compared to the great cities he had seen in the east -- Kingsaile, Addisport, Palais -- Hammersvik was a mere village, with a population of only about five or six thousand people, but it was crowded into only a few acres, and surrounded by strong walls. A large valley lay to the north, and at the valley's northern entrance stood Fort Drakness, a large castle built to defend the valley, and Hammersvik itself, from northern interlopers. It was probably the largest structure in Velon.

  The Nightfall was visible as well, to the south of the city. The dark, spiraling tower had been built atop one of those jagged, stony hills, overlooking the city, and indeed, the whole countryside. It was late afternoon when they caught their first glimpse of it, a perfect silhouette in the gray of the sky.

  Lillandra drew in a deep breath when she saw the tower, her eyes darkening. "Are you all right?" Arai asked.

  "Yes," she said after a moment. "It's just..." But she trailed off there, shaking her head, unable to express what she was feeling. Arai wasn't surprised; seeing the Nightfall again, after all this time and under these circumstances, was probably giving rise to all kinds of different emotions.

  The Steelmen encountered no resistance as they marched towards the city; even Hammer's Castle, which guarded the eastern entrance to the valley, was empty. Arai wondered about this -- where was Lord Pierce? Who was running the government? Were they any soldiers left, or had they all fled as well?

  Vaix, who had ridden ahead of the group and already entered the city, returned to give a report. "I met with captain of the city watch," he said, "and the leaders of some of the merchant guilds. They're the only authority left in the city. The young Lord Protector fled the Waterglass Palace some time ago, leaving Hammersvik to its fate."

  "What about the old Lord Protector?" Arai asked.

  "Still alive, unfortunately, but he hasn't left his bed in months. He's locked himself up in Fort Drakness."

  "What's the situation there?" Grizz asked.

  "It might be better if you saw it for yourself."

  Arai, like Lillandra a moment ago, had to take a deep breath to steady himself. It had taken him years to get to this point, but he was finally on his way now, to confront Lord Pierce -- the man who had murdered his father.

  Bypassing the city, they descended into the valley and approached the southern side of Fort Drakness. Grizz, Vai, Arai, and a few others rode ahead with the vanguard; three soldiers met them at the gates.

  Arai thought they might try to bar their way, but they didn't; in fact they looked happy to see them. "We've heard about your coming, Lord Calfalcon," one of the soldiers said to Grizz. "The Lord Protector ordered us to block your way, but the men have agreed to disregard those orders. He is no longer in command here."

  "That's good to know," Grizz said guardedly. "Who is in command here, then?"

  "That depends," the soldier said. "What are your intentions?"

  Grizz glanced at Arai. "To defend Hammersvik, and Velon, from the Al'mud," he said, "and to prepare her people for war with the Holy Legion."

  "The Holy Legion?"

  Grizz quickly explained that Dayan's Holy Legion was fast approaching Velon from the south. The soldiers paled. "This is not good news," their spokesman muttered. "There are only sixty of us left at Fort Drakness; everyone else has fled. How can we hope to hold off both the Al'mud and this Imperial force?"

  "We're working on that," Grizz said. "But I'll ask you again, who is in command here?"

  The man stopped and saluted. "You are, my lord, if you're willing to take the job."

  "I am willing," he said.

  They were escorted inside the fort, where they were met with a group of sorry-looking soldiers, still dressed in the black livery of Lord Pierce and the Night Queen. The soldier who had greeted them, whose name was Wick, took them on a little tour of the fort, eventually leading them up to the battlements which overlooked the northern lands on the other side of the valley's edge.

  Arai stared. The barbarian camps of the Al'mud stretched almost as far as the eye could see, their thousands of campfires twinkling in the twilight. Arai had never seen an Al'mud force this large; there must have been ten thousand men in this horde. No wonder so many Velonese had fled south; no wonder there were only sixty men left at Fort Drakness.

  The sight was enough to stun even Grizz and the Steelmen. Sir Estil, observing the scene, tugged at the tip of his mustache and said, in his usual understated way, "Well, that's going to be a problem."

  Arai turned to Wick. "I want to speak to Lord Pierce," he said, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword. "Take me to him."