{"id":721,"date":"2015-06-15T08:56:24","date_gmt":"2015-06-15T13:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=721"},"modified":"2015-06-09T08:58:13","modified_gmt":"2015-06-09T13:58:13","slug":"the-journey-north","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=721","title":{"rendered":"The Journey North – Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the next part of the story that began with The Last City.<\/em><\/p>\n

The days that followed that first step through the portal were tiring, but not especially noteworthy. Ira led the small group as it trudged up the wild but sparse terrain of a hidden valley, and then up the saddle between mountains and into another. Around them, the landscape was much as it had been when they set out, although without the giant shadow of Yn Dref floating overhead. There were tall peaks, edged about by lower hills and sheathed in a coat of purple and green, as heather and bracken were all that really grew in the higher alpine. Down on the valley floor, there were copses of trees and small running streams, some forming pools or even lakes, but little else.<\/p>\n

Of animals there were some, although most were birds wheeling high overhead, safely out of range of any hunter\u2019s arrow. Of those who dwelt on the ground there was little sight, for they were both small and timid, flitting away into the brush at the sound of an approaching footstep. But at night, the howls of wolves and the shriek of other, less pleasant, creatures could be heard. It was enough to keep one of the three awake at all times, despite the ever present fire, and for Canere to wish he had learned how to lay magical wards about his encampment. But in the safe streets of Yn Dref, what need had he ever had of such a thing?<\/p>\n

Most prominent of all was the collapsed structures that lay hither and yon about the valleys through which they passed. Most were comprised of little more than fallen stone and timber and looked to be farmsteads, pastures, and other structures of the sort one would find today in the villages beneath Yn Dref. No doubt they had served the same purpose, feeding whichever Hanian skycity had floated overhead. But with no more cities to serve, the people had drifted away, or been killed once the magical protections of their betters had departed. Either way, it was a dreary thing to pass through the lost villages of Hania.<\/p>\n

Not that that stopped them from using the structures as places to rest at night, for the protection offered by stone walls, even collapsed ones, far outstripped that of a few tree boles and a lit fire. And it served better to both disguise their fire, should such a thing prove necessary, and to retain the heat that its flames gave off.<\/p>\n

Presently, the three explorers were safely tucked into the old greatroom of a farmhouse, four valleys and two weeks to the north of where they had set out. Around them, the land had been to change into the utter emptiness of the northern tundra, still full of mountains but with plant and animal life growing scarcer by the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI must admit, of all the things I thought would be dangerous on this trip, boredom wasn\u2019t the one I had in mind.\u201d Yaden tossed a stone at the fire, making the wood crackle and snap. \u201cYou\u2019re my best friends, and yet if I have to see nothing but your faces for the next week, I\u2019ll fly into a murderous rage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Canere chuckled, accepting the jest for what it was. \u201cPerhaps we should have brought a mirror, so you could see the one person you loved.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next stone bounced off the packed earth flooring by the mage\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the next part of the story that began with The Last City. The days that followed that first step through the portal were tiring, but not especially noteworthy. Ira led the small group as it trudged up the wild but sparse terrain of a hidden valley, and then up the saddle between mountains […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[60,4],"tags":[19,62],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pRIK4-bD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":427,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=427","url_meta":{"origin":721,"position":0},"title":"Siege and Stone","date":"February 3, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This piece is set in the near future of The Four Part Land, shortly after the events in Chloddio. An arrow flew past his face, leaving him staggered. He drew and fired, a distant scream confirming his aim. He was safe here, mostly, standing atop the battlements while his foes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Four Part Land"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":478,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=478","url_meta":{"origin":721,"position":1},"title":"Breaking an Empire #26","date":"April 26, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Several times they were struck from the side or the front by opposing Lianese soldiers, but each time, the Lianese were repulsed, although one close encounter had hung in the balance until Rhocas had gathered himself and sent a jet of flame playing across the Lianese front lines. Their moral\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Four Part Land"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":498,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=498","url_meta":{"origin":721,"position":2},"title":"Breaking an Empire #29","date":"May 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Several times they were struck from the side or the front by opposing Lianese soldiers, but each time, the Lianese were repulsed, although one close encounter had hung in the balance until Rhocas had gathered himself and sent a jet of flame playing across the Lianese front lines. Their moral\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Four Part Land"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":525,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=525","url_meta":{"origin":721,"position":3},"title":"Breaking an Empire #32","date":"July 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Several times they were struck from the side or the front by opposing Lianese soldiers, but each time, the Lianese were repulsed, although one close encounter had hung in the balance until Rhocas had gathered himself and sent a jet of flame playing across the Lianese front lines. Their moral\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Four Part Land"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":379,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=379","url_meta":{"origin":721,"position":4},"title":"Breaking an Empire #8","date":"November 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The eighth installment of a 30k word short story set in The Four Part Land. It takes place 400 years in the past from the time of Tarranau and Chloddio, and details the collapse of Hymerodraeth Heula, the Empire of the Sun. Rhyfelwyr started awake at shouting and cursing, grasped\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Four Part Land"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":725,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=725","url_meta":{"origin":721,"position":5},"title":"The Journey North – Part 5","date":"June 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Roaring and growling as it sprayed forth from the cliff, the avalanche tumbled onwards, some falling upon the downed Hanians, most of it missing and landing beyond them, wedging them in against the base of the cliff. Some of their belongings were not so lucky, with Canere\u2019s pack having been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Arhosa"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}