The countryside was worse than I feared. Whole villages stood abandoned, as many of the lords turned into robbers themselves or used the opportunity to settle old feuds. Starving bandits lay in ambush at every corner of the road ahead.
Petty banditry posed no threat to a witch and a bear, of course, aside from forcing me to stare at the ugly face of my failure. And so, I left Vesmeria behind with an aching chest.
At the edge of the Domain, far from the Coven’s influence, we crossed marshes inhabited by lizardmen.
One of their delegations approached us with a chest laden with alluvial gold, seeking to bring me into their service.
“Oh, shiny!” Predslava said.
I glanced at their settlement in the distance.
Houses of painted timbers rose neatly above the green water, aqueducts feeding into elevated gardens. This was a functioning society, which gladdened me.
I smiled politely at their ambassador and said, “Forgive me, but I must decline.”
“We have more gold, if that’s the problem,” he said.
I shook my head. “My days of service are over, I’m afraid. But I wish you good luck.”
They stared at me for a while, then the ambassador finally said, “Thank you. You too.”
We continued our journey.
In the lonely peaks beyond, we saw mighty hippogriffs. Their riders descended from their keeps above and offered me their priceless cubs.
They wanted me to become their royal caretaker, believing a witch would make them grow even stronger and more numerous.
“Can we keep it, Katarina?!” Predslava asked, rolling a playful cub around with her muzzle. “I’ll clean and feed it, I swear!”
Truth be told, I was tempted myself. Spending eternity smothered in soft feathers didn’t feel like a terrible idea. And yet…
“I’m sorry.” I reluctantly handed the cub over to the rider. “I must decline. But I wish you good luck.”
“Aw…”
The hippogriff knights wished us safe travels, and we continued, following the compass of my heart.
In the harshness of the far north, where the land turned barren and the rivers froze to death, they offered me nothing.
Short, shaggy creatures roamed the naked plains below, barely able to provide for themselves, living in clusters of shacks built from hides and the little wood they could find nearby. Not the worst neighbors, I thought.
“Here we’ll stay,” I said.
“Are you sure?”
“Aye.” The ground trembled as I raised my staff.
Glistening walls jutted skyward, enveloping us in a cold embrace as my ice palace came alive above the hill.