The cold murk of the morning greeted them as they left the copse and rode steadily North, all the time leaving Zya with an itchy feeling that she was being watched. As before, nothing materialised. The mountains became much more visible as the range bent towards the West, more so as they rode further. The peaks did not look as threatening from this distance though, a fact that Zya was pleased about. They were steeper here, and there were fewer peaks visible than there were to the South. But they still looked dangerous, and her father agreed when Zya voiced the opinion, “There is a city up in the hook of the mountains as they veer East. It is called Raessa, and is home to the witch finder General, a man who supposedly looks over the land and keeps the unlawful in check.”
“How can a man who
