Renasha Aida's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

Renasha walked toward the northern gate at first light, her pack already strapped across her shoulders. The man in silk had been right about one thing: no one else had answered her notices. She had two days left before the gate became impassable, and three days' walk beyond it to reach the cursed region's edge. The timing didn't work unless she left now. The gate itself loomed against the pale sky, its wooden frame listing slightly to the left. Foundation posts jutted at crooked angles from the ground where recent repairs had failed. Workers clustered near a stone-and-wood inn built into the fortress wall, their voices carrying across the courtyard. One man stood apart from the others, holding a twisted metal rod that caught the morning light. Ice crystals spiraled along its length in patterns too precise to be natural. He gestured with it toward the gate's base, speaking to someone Renasha couldn't see. She walked closer. The man with the rod turned, and she saw his face clearly now — younger than she'd expected, with ink stains on his shirt cuffs and sawdust in his hair. He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed her. "Gate's closing in two days," he said. "Probably less if the wind picks up. You're not getting through." Renasha met his eyes. "I need to get north before it falls. You're the one who proved it was failing?" He raised the twisted rod slightly. "This did. Showed them the stress fractures they couldn't see. They still didn't listen fast enough." She pulled one of her notices from her pocket and held it out. "Then help me. I'll pay you double what the fortress does." He stared at the notice, then at her face. "You're serious." It wasn't a question. "The cursed lands kill people. And you think I'm going to walk in there with you because you're offering coin?" Renasha's jaw tightened. "I think you're someone who sees what others don't. Who proves it when no one believes you." She paused. "I have fourteen pages of calculations that say a populated region is going to die. The gate closes, I can't reach it in time, and everyone there is gone." He was quiet for a long moment. Then he tucked the rod under his arm and took the notice from her hand. "Rylan Foil," he said. "And if we're doing this, we leave in an hour. The posts won't hold past tomorrow."