Thanks to a marvelous convenience called "Vasily owns an airship", we reached Camoa by late afternoon.
Well, we reached almost-Camoa.
"Blimey!" Vasily sputtered as he leaned forward over the controls on the Juggernaut's bridge. "I ain't never sseen anythin' like it!"
The skies had been clear and the weather fair for our entire trip, but as the sprawling hub city of Camoa loomed on the horizon, it became evident that something was very wrong. Beneath a blue sky swirled an immense dome of dark clouds that completely engulfed the city, looking like a snow globe gone awry.
"Ain't no way I'm landin' in that messs!" the bangaa hissed.
"Then land outside of it," Saskia said, leaning over his chair. "We'll go in on foot and investigate."
Vasily made a face, looking distraught at the idea of all that winter weather. "I think I oughtta sstay with the Juggernaut—could be usseful to have backup in the wingss."
"I'm staying too, kupo," Winn said. "This doesn't exactly look like a problem tech support can solve. Unless you want us to break out the magitek armor, kupo."
"I'll let you know," Saskia said, drumming her fingers on an instrument panel.
Vasily brought the ship down onto a fallow field a few miles outside the city. "Radio if you need us."
Saskia nodded and her hand went to the small communications device hooked to her belt. Vasily and Winn had built the magicite-powered walkie-talkies after I explained to them about that technology on Earth. I'm still trying to convince them to invent video games, but to no avail.
The walk to the city outskirts was cumbersome, as we were dressed for cold and—well, it was still the month of Goldsun everywhere but Camoa. By the time we reached the hemisphere of freaky weather, I was looking forward to it.
"Finally," I groaned as the wind picked up and the air turned chill around us. The city's rooftops were only barely visible through thick clouds and curtains of snow that fizzed out the world like static on a television. I lifted the hood of my heavy winter coat.
"Everyone ready?" Saskia asked.
Qrrog nodded. "Aye aye." He was bedecked in furs as befitting his Viking job, complete with a horned helmet. That wouldn't really protect him against the cold as much, but none could deny the coolness factor.
"Yes'm," Jihl said, raising his spear as though he could somehow pierce the storm to its heart. Stray snowflakes collected on his black beard like so much dandruff.
The viera faced the snowstorm with a frown. "Let's go." And in we plunged.
I enjoyed the frigid air, the biting winds, and the snow constantly slapping in my face for about fifteen seconds. Then it became misery.
The five of us slogged through dirty slush, icy streets, and deceptively deep drifts in silence. Speaking would take up too much energy, and I doubted any of us could hear each other well over the howling winds anyway. No one else was outside, not that I was surprised. Night was falling fast, and the city was already a realm of dusky blue. Lantern light shone feebly through frost-encrusted, snow-rimmed windows.
"Maybe there won't be a Great Land Festival at all," I heard Coele say forlornly from ahead of me. Indeed, all traces of festivity in the city were frozen over. Icicles hung from banners, travelers' wagons were boarded up tight against the storm, and stalls and platforms had been abandoned in a state of half-construction. It made the entire place seem eerie.
We reached an inn and Jihl helped Saskia wrench the door open against the draft. The fire in the downstairs diner was only a flicker, and everyone else looked as cold and miserable as we felt. The hume innkeeper gave us a look of sheer exasperation, as though she didn't want to have to room or feed one more wayfarer caught unawares.
I shot her a sympathetic glance, but Saskia ignored the woman, her way of affirming that we were not there to ask for rooms. Not yet, at least. Hopefully not.
"Everyone all right?" the viera asked. Her ears flicked, spraying melting snow.
Coele rubbed her red nose and shook the snow from her wings. "Mm-h-hm." She shuddered and wrapped her wings around her shoulders. It wasn't much warmer in here, but at least we were shielded from the wind. "Wh-why did it h-have to b-be a b-b-blizzard—" She sneezed. "I'm not c-cut out for this s-sorta weather…" Her kind hailed from the equatorial tropics further north.
Qrrog gave her a pitying look as he wrapped her and me in the folds of his fur cape. "I think it's 'bout time we broke out dinner." On our approach to Camoa, when we realized the state it was in, Jihl pointed out that supplies inside might be scarce. So we packed ourselves food from the Juggernaut's larder, so as not to put a strain on the beleaguered city's resources. From the condition of the inn, it seemed this had been a wise decision.
Saskia nodded and motioned to a free table. We huddled around it and, with numb fingers, pulled out bread and cheese from our travel bags.
Jihl caught the eye of a nearby bangaa. "'Scuse me, mate," the revgaji said, "but can you tell us what's been goin' on in these parts?"
"Blassted if I ken," the bangaa said with a shake of his head. "Me clan and messel' came here t' do ssome tradin' at th' Fesstival… lookss as though tha' is nae happenin', now. Assk the innkeep, why dunnae ye." He descended into grumbling, rubbing at his long ears to try to keep them warm and sticking his scaly snout into his gloves.
Vasily was wise in not coming, I decided. Every bangaa and gria in town must have been about ready to curl up and die.
"No one knows," the innkeep said, leaning over the counter. "Weather was fine near a week ago—then out of the blue, it starts snowing, all sudden-like. Someone's put the entire city under a nasty spell. Judges haven't found anything out." Her shoulders slumped. "Hope you're not wanting food and lodging, because I'm short on both. Airships can't get in or out—not enough help's coming. We're being frozen to death."
Coele scowled. "Sheesh, who would do something like that? And so close to the Festival, too! Someone's got their tail in a knot."
"Whoever it is must really hate Camoa," Jihl said. "I'm guessin' they weren't invited to the party."
The innkeeper shook her head. "Investigations haven't turned up anything in any of our neighboring provinces. Lots of folk have left, but—that storm is brutal, and few have the supplies for it in the middle of Goldsun. Safer for the rest of us to stay put—for now, anyway. Until the food runs out." She shifted uncomfortably and turned to the pantry.
I nibbled absently on the crust of my bread, my mental gears spinning. "I feel like we're missing something. Neighboring provinces were investigated—what about inside Camoa itself?"
"Who curses their own city?" Coele asked.
Qrrog rubbed at his snout. "Aye, and doesn't make a big deal about it, at least. If you're goin' to hold yer own city hostage, no sense keepin' everybody in the dark." He looked down at me. "Somethin' is fishy here, Brighteyes. You think this spell was cast inside the city?"
"I think we shouldn't leave any stone unturned," I said. "I'm going to attempt a scrying for the source of the spell." Reaching for my staff, I closed my eyes. I breathed slowly and deeply, centering myself as I tuned out the ambience of the inn and reached out for the web of Mist interlacing everything.
The storm was an enormous tangle of magick, and searching it was like trying to find the end of a rat's-nest of string. I'm not sure how long I sat there, engrossed in my scrying, but the rest of the world seemed to fade out, leaving just me and this weird mess of mana.
It was stubborn, but I was stubborner. Eventually, my probing revealed that the origin was, indeed, in the city. Score.
Now I needed to get more specific. This required some effort. The source signature was elusive, but in a strange way. It didn't seem to be actively resisting my scrying—it seemed more… slippery. Dim. Fading. Not the usual mark of a mage. No wonder no one had found it. Even those who might have thought to look inside the city could have easily passed over this signal.
I mentally seized it and implanted its location firmly in the back of my mind. Opening my eyes, I sat up, blinking as the world came back into view. I felt like I'd just awoken from a long nap, the kind where you're even more tired than when you go to sleep.
"I got it," I croaked, reaching for my canteen to wet my cotton-mouth. The fire had been reduced to glowing embers, and the room was emptier. "How long was I out for?" As useful as magic is, I still find it unsettling how I can lose track of time when I'm doing things like this.
"Half an hour," Qrrog said. "What'd you find?"
"Our culprit. In this city. Oof…" I put my hand to my head. "Wicked head rush."
My husband pulled me close. "Sorry, love. Wish I could help with that magick stuff, but all's I can do is summon lightnin'."
I patted his arm. "It's okay. I'm just glad I can help out." Being the sole mage in the clan did get a little tiring sometimes, but I wasn't about to complain. It was an important duty and if I didn't do it, no one would. It felt good to have a place.
I looked out the window at the pitch-black frigid abyss. "You guys ready for more cold?"
Coele shivered. "No."
"Well, you can't stay here," the haggard-looking innkeeper said. "Sorry. I'm plum full—don't even have any floor space for you." She motioned to the weary travelers who had simply sunk down beneath their tables, happy to at least find a resting place out of the elements. "Just go find an abandoned building, there's sure to be plenty of 'em around."
"That's all right," Saskia said, pushing back her chair and standing up. "We will make do. Thank you."
Coele collected her hat from where it had been drying by the fire. "Let's get this over with. The sooner we stop this mess, the sooner summer can come back."
Jihl chuckled and patted her shoulder. "You stay in this cold any longer, mate, and you'll get as grumpy as Vasily."
"I just might," she said with a sigh.
