The Umber River flowed down from the heart of Thay, splitting the Dragonjaw Mountains between its tall and rugged ranges to the north, and the bare-sloped griffon nesting peaks to the south. The river plunged into the wide Tannath gap, passing the great Aglarondan fortress at Emmech before emptying into the Sea of Fallen Stars.
Emmech was a large, ramshackle town with a military air, its rough stone buildings huddling around a far older castle, Fortress Emmech. The fortress bristled with towers and parapets, and its wide hollows housed a significant portion of Aglarond's Army of the Lion; the last Thayan invasion down the Umber River wasn't so long ago that fear of the Red Wizards had passed, despite recent trade agreements. The fortress's most important structures were the two strong towers on either side of the Umber, which could raise from the river floor an ensorcelled chain to bar the passage of watercraft.
Raidon first saw Fortress Emmech in hazy evening light, as the caravan cleared the last descending limb of the Tannaths, and the river valley opened into the distance. They traveled the so-called 'Umber River Road,' a pitted, crumbling ribbon of rarely level, often snow-packed ground bordered by unscalable cliffs on one side and a river-filled chasm on the other.
Quent told Raidon that morning that the river was an oft-traveled trade route of late, for those willing to pay the Thayan tax. On the other hand, the adjoining 'river road' was too dangerous for regular business. Unless your name was Quent and you wanted to shortcut the competition and avoid said tax, the caravan chief boasted. Even if that meant potentially facing the wrath of Red Wizard patrols.
The monk was certain two lives lost to river raiders was too high a price to pay for avoiding the Thayan river levy, but he held his tongue.
The caravan wound its way down the slope to the river gates, such as they were. The real defense of the town obviously lay behind the towering fortress walls, not here at the periphery, though a few token guards stood to attention when the caravan moved to gain entry. The guards looked over the wagons, then asked for a perfunctory trade fee in return for being allowed inside. Quent paid and asked, 'Does Lord Demelin still command the fortress?'
One guard spit and replied, 'Sure.' Another nodded, but the rest were already moving back to the guard house. Interest in the caravan lapsed once it was determined Quent wasn't sponsored by any concern out of Thay.
Inside, the caravan quickly found the bazaar. This late, traffic was sparse, and many trade carts and temporary shops had already shuttered their wares behind lengths of dark tarpaulin, sail cloth, or wooden planks. Some merchants swept up while others packed away goods. Here and there, wily Emmechers wrangled for day-end deals.
With the help of everyone but the scouts Hark and Sulvan, who took their pay and departed for the dock quarter, the three-wagon caravan was converted into a tidy but temporary shop. Raidon at last saw what Quent bought and sold-pears, persimmons, oranges, grapes, and other fruit. Though such was common in Shou Town and Telflamm, such variety was rarer the farther one traveled from The Golden Way. Especially this far out of season, explained Quent.
Raidon bid the caravan chief and his fellow laborers farewell. The wagon drivers, Ledroc, Corthandu, and Khuldam the dwarf, waved after him. Quent, after paying him, was already busy making a deal with a local shopkeeper. Japhoca scowled and flipped him a rude hand gesture. The monk chose not to take offense.
His contract fulfilled and gold heavy in his pouch, Raidon walked into city twilight. Chandlers, elderly men in soot-stained aprons, lit lamps along the main street that led down to the docks. The Commorand brothers Erik and Adrik caught up to him and walked along, talking about how they hoped to find a new patron in Emmech willing to employ their sorcerous talents. Maybe even one that would take them across the Sea of Fallen Stars, or perhaps deep into the heart of the Yuirwood, where stood stones scribed with arcane glyphs-
'The Yuirwood?' Mention of the forest drew Raidon from his walking reverie. 'What do you know of it?'
Adrik grinned conspiratorially and said, 'This I read once in a moldy book: 'Strange enchantments and old, strong magic are thick in the Yuirwood's tangles. The ancient elves of Yuireshanyaar were masters of powerful spells, and they left behind menhir circles, standing stone monuments carved in an ancient Elvish dialect. The magic of these circles has faded with the strength of the Yuirwood itself, but some power remains in them yet.' '
Raidon gauged the sorcerer's manner, then asked him, 'You wish to enter the Yuirwood?'
Adrik, the younger brother, nodded earnestly. Erik, the older, said, 'We go wherever coin takes us.' He shrugged.
'I travel into the Yuirwood. I need help, maybe a guide. I have this much to pay.' Raidon poured out the contents of his pouch just filled with Quent's salary, the gold heavy in his palm.
Erik looked skeptical and said, 'That's enough for one of us, not both.'
'I'll go,' said Adrik. He turned to his brother. 'You stay here and find a wealthy sponsor with a ship, one who'll take us both across the Fallen Stars.'
Erik considered. 'Raidon, how much time do you intend to spend in the forest?'
'I seek my mother,' replied the monk.
The older brother frowned. 'Indeterminate, then. I don't know-'
'Erik, I'll be back within two tendays. The Shou's gold holds me only that long.'
It was Raidon's turn to frown, but he could offer no rejoinder. A sorcerer's rate was high.
Erik said, 'Then go, brother. You'll find me here when you return, seeking our glorious future in a smelly dock tavern.' Erik Commorand smiled, waved, and walked away.
Adrik waved after his brother. 'See you in two tendays, or less, if the Shou finds what he seeks!'
The sorcerer turned and clapped Raidon on the shoulder. 'This will be a fantastic opportunity, I just know it! When do we leave?'
'Dawn. I need nothing in Emmech.'
Adrik nodded. 'Sure, sure. . where are we going, specifically, within the forest? It is a wide, trackless place. Let's see the map.'
'I have no map.'
The sorcerer cocked his head. 'No map? Well, what landmarks shall we steer by?'
'I only know that my vanished mother came from these woods.'
'You only know. .' Adrik's smile faltered. 'That's all, nothing else? I'm not sure … but perhaps we can work with that. From what Yuir village did she hail?'
'I know not.'
'What about her name? You must know that. We can ask around. .'
Raidon was already shaking his head. 'To me, she was Mother. One day, she told me her old home called her back-the Yuirwood. She gave me something to remember her by-a forget-me-not-and she departed, twelve or so years ago. That is the sum of what I know.'
Adrik's smile wholly departed and became a frown. The sorcerer's gaze fell to the heap of gold Raidon still proffered. A ghost of the grin returned.
'Right,' he said, scooping up half the coins. 'Looks like we still need a guide. I don't know this forest from the Rawlinswood.'
Daylight turned dull needles emerald and snow into heaps of glittering diamonds. In the chilly twilight beneath the sunlight canopy, three figures followed a narrow and faintly marked forest path.
Necalama, an elf, walked at the head of the procession. Perhaps he was a half-elf-Raidon couldn't be sure. Regardless, he moved with an easy, certain stride, rarely looking behind to see whether the monk and sorcerer still followed. Necalama had agreed to lead Raidon Kane and Adrik Commorand through the forest to the well-known if less well-traveled elf refuge of Relkath's Foot.
Raidon offered their guide payment, but Necalama had shrugged and indicated he was going anyway; the two travelers might as well accompany him. Either way, he explained, it was an easy trek along a well-blazed path.
Raidon wasn't certain he agreed with the man's assessment of the road-the path they followed, when he could discern it, was nothing like the trade routes he'd traveled since leaving Telflamm. Half the time, it seemed they walked no path at all through the snow-sprinkled forest.
In fact, walking among the Yuirwood trees was an entirely novel experience to the Shou Town native. He was used to lanes bristling with fellow city dwellers, hurrying this way and that, intent on business or pleasure or both.
