Disturbing Discovery

The cohort left early the next morning. Sleep had been elusive and each had been relieved to leave as they climbed on the backs of their unicorns. Faris and Cypher accompanied the group for the first portion of the journey, finally parting ways as they reached the edge of the centaurs' land.

"Safe passage and green pastures," Cypher blessed them. His tail swished somberly.

"Thank you," Aurora dipped her head from on top of Utku. "I hope we may be able to meet again under happier circumstances, King Cypher."

The centuarian monarch bowed. "I hope you can get another taste of our horse-pitality when things are not so haywire for you."

"That's the problem with being the Empress. I am always saddled with all the responsibility." Aurora's delivery was awkward, but Cypher gave an appreciative whinny.

"Till next time, then."

Since they did not want to miss any signs of the creature, the cohort opted only to make a couple of portal trips before going at a normal pace.

Like so much of the land of magic, the area here was heavily forested by thick trees. Winter was due very soon, but the colorful leaves told the story of fall too vividly for thoughts of the coming cold to creep in.

"I doubt we will see any sign of the creature before we reach the barrier," Zan commented.

Utku the unicorn made a series of neighs. "Our friend agrees with you, Zan," Brinn translated. "He says that the winter doves have not seen any monster come this way in the past few days."

"Utku can talk to birds?" the Empress's mouth fell open. "How did I not know this?" Utku could heal his own wounds, and put up barriers to protect himself, but she was not aware of his affinity for woodland creatures.

"I didn't know either," the elven princess shrugged. "For all we know he could be making it up."

Utku stopped and turned to the glare at the former spymaster. Although he could not speak the human language, he could certainly understand it. He growled, his barrel chest rumbling his disapproval.

"Hey! I did not say you were lying, merely that you could be. You need a better sense of humor like your centaur kin." Brinn brushed her red hair over her shoulder.

Utku was quick to reply, his voice was a sort of sing song sound that Aurora had not yet heard. Alvar covered his guffaw while Reyan burst out laughing. The crotchety fairy actually came down from his flight and patted the unicorn's mane before lifting up again.

"What did Utku say?l" Aurora begged to know.

"It doesn't translate well," Brinn's ears were tinged with red, "like those two nincompoops, unicorns have no sense of humor at all..."

Alvar used his wind magic to whisper into the Empress's ear. "He told Brinn to come back when she can run her feet as fast as she runs her mouth. Then maybe she could actually teach him something useful."

Aurora had no idea the horned horse had so much sass. It was funny to see a creature who could put Brinn in her place. Those beings were few and far between. The Empress giggled.

"What are you laughing at?" Brinn snapped her head toward Aurora.

For once, the regal woman looked like a doe-eyed fawn caught in a hunter's sight. She swallowed and looked away quickly, "What did Utku say about the birds again? We seem to have gotten off track."

Alvar nodded, knowing he would be in just as much trouble as the Empress if they were discovered. The he-elf spoke to the unicorn back and forth for a moment. The unicorn brayed up toward the trees and swiveled his ears as a myriad of chirps and squawks answered him.

'Of all the "nevers" I have done, I really did not see talking to birds ending up on my list. Not even Devrim will believe this, most likely,' she laughed to herself.

At last the strange chain of communication ended and Alvar was able to report his findings. The doves had not seen any such creature as Bess had described, but there was a rumor floating through the air of a noisy disturbance by the ice barrier from a day or two before.

"According to the birds, a noisy centaur was screaming loud enough to wake a hibernating bear. But she seemed to be alone," Alvar summarized.

"Very strange." Phileas pulled his chin as he wondered what it meant. "You don't suppose Bess was mistaken, do you? Maybe she got startled by her own shadow."

The doctor had watched Bess's skittish behavior. Perhaps they were chasing a figment of the girl's imagination. That would make finding their real target much more difficult.

Aurora shook her head vehemently. "The centaurs believed her. I think if Bess often made things up that they would doubt her word. More than that, the Abominable moved on the map to the location Bess indicated. I don't know how the map works, but somehow it seems to recognize that the creature has moved."

Aurora had shown the magical map to the cohort before leaving that morning, but the physician seemed to have forgotten.

"My dependence on magical things is still quite new, Your Majesty. Please forgive my hesitance." The doctor dipped his head. The idea of getting information from unknown birds and magical maps was still a lot for him to take in. "I trust your judgment," he added to his ruler.

"I have a feeling we will have an answer one way or another soon enough." Zan pointed to the looming mountain of ice ahead of them. It was tall and forbidding, keeping non magical creatures from breaching the land that was not their home.

Not even typical birds could fly high enough to escape its crushing force. This was how Aurora knew the winter doves she saw must possess some tiny bit of magic, even if it was not as much as elves or dwarves. The barrier was unreachable since its creation, and only those allowed to go through could resist its mystical suffocation.

"We should reach the ice barrier in another hour or two." Nurlan looked at the sky to gauge the sun. "We will need to decide where would be best for camping this evening."

"Let's not make that call until we see what we can find. If the creature is where Bess left him, then we will have quite an evening adventure." Aurora's voice was casual, but there was a hint of anticipation behind her relaxed manner.

The others stiffened in their saddles.

"Do you think it is still there?" The doctor had assumed the creature, if it had been there at all, had moved on. The thought of actually spotting and confronting it so soon suddenly hit him like a lightning bolt.

"It is doubtful but possible," Aurora answered honestly. "Probably just wishful thinking on my part."

The sudden air of anticipation made the unicorns ride harder and in only three quarters of an hour, the ice barrier was nearly on top of them. Aurora had forgotten how exceptionally tall it really was.

The sheer wall of ice seemed as if it might topple over and obliterate her at any moment. Her mind became dizzy as the motion of the horse caused her body to sway unnaturally with her upward glance.

"Aurora?" Brinn pulled her attention back to the earth below. "I think we have found our first evidence that Bess was not imagining things."

A large rock, the size of a unicorn's burly chest, had created a deep gouge in the amber grass. It had come to rest against a tree where the trunk had been nearly split by the force of the blow.

Between the rock and the tree was what appeared to be a woman with wings. She lay dead, her body broken by the fatal hit.

"A harpy?" Reyan could not hide his surprise. "I've never actually seen one up close. What is it doing here?"

"It wasn't alone," Alvar dismounted and picked up a handful of colored feathers in shades of grey, tan and white. Only the white matched the harpy who had met her demise.

"Harpies travel in flocks," Aurora remembered her research. "They seem to have gotten into a fight and this poor thing lost."

"Those flying females are particularly vicious when provoked," Reyan commented. He cleared his throat. "Don't ask me how I know that…but their home is quite far from here. I have only passed it a few times."

They traced the path of feathers all the way to the ice barrier. The carnage was evident.

"What happened here?" Aurora was struck by the destruction around them.

"Your Majesty!" The doctor brought her attention to spots of blood on the ground.

They were tinged with purple and had a sickly smell. Both Aurora and the physician knew the implication.

"The Abominable!" The Empress gasped. "Do you think the harpies took it?"

"Doubtful. They would not have left their own behind if they had been successful," Reyan told them.

"I don't know whether to be relieved or not," Zan admitted. "We have more questions than answers. If the Abominable isn't here, where did it go?"

"I may have the answer for that," Alvar pointed to the ice barrier, deep gouges in the ice seemed to climb upward, out of sight.

Aurora sighed and turned to Nurlan, "I guess that answers where we are camping tonight…depending on our progress, it will be a very cold night indeed."