“Not as cuddly as it sounds,” Alvar told him. “They basically push their workforce until they collapse. Then they let them rest just long enough to get back on their feet and drive them until they crash again. Their workers never get more than an hour of sleep at a time, and they keep working them until they have nothing left to give.”
Sophie shivered, realizing that would’ve been her fate if King Dimitar had gotten to choose her punishment after she had tried to read his mind. And it was the life every gnome would endure if they didn’t steal the cure.
“Hoods up,” Alvar said. “We need to get to the other side of the river before the workforce wakes up.”
Tam blanketed them with shadows and Linh added hints of mist—though she was surprised at how little control she had over the green fog. Their progress was slowed further by how closely they had to stick together, and how many twists and turns they had to make. The city had no streets or sidewalks, and there was no rhyme or reason to the jagged buildings. If Alvar hadn’t been there to guide them—they followed Calla, since she could see him—they would’ve gone in circles.
Despite the confusing layout, Sophie couldn’t help worrying that things were going too easily. After all they’d heard about the dangers of Ravagog and the efficiency of its security, they hadn’t seen a single ogre. Could everyone really be asleep?
Her question was answered when they reached the main bridge: cold metal and dark stones stretching across an enormous canyon. Pointed silver arches were scattered along the bridge, with fiery green orbs in their centers. It looked exactly how Fitz had shown her in his mind, with one dangerous exception.
At either side of the bridge, dozens of lumpy-faced ogres marched back and forth in a careful pattern, their massive barbed swords drawn and ready.
“Does the bridge always have that many guards?” Sophie asked.
“No,” Alvar whispered. “It seems like they’re expecting someone.”
“Us,” Sophie said. “They’re expecting us.”
The air turned colder as the reality settled over them.
Fitz cleared his throat. “So how do we get across?”
“I’m still working that out,” Alvar admitted as he led them behind a stalagmite where they still had a view of the bridge.
“How thick can you make the shadows?” Sophie asked Tam.
“Not enough to get past that many guards—especially in this weird green light. And look at the pattern they’re making as they march. There’s no way all nine of us could slip past at the rate we move.”
“And the bridge is the easy part,” Dex said, pointing to the other side.
In the distance, the other half of the city had been carved into the mountain—a series of dark ledges jutting out of the rockface like bark mushrooms climbing up a tree. Each ledge was lined with metal columns and covered by metal awnings. Stone staircases netted the ledges together and wove around the misty waterfalls cascading down the mountain.
But before they could reach the city, they’d have to cross a stretch of empty dust land, without a single tree or rock or shrub to camouflage their shadows.
“I could go on my own,” Alvar suggested.
“Uh, you’re not the only Vanisher,” Biana reminded him.
“And what do we do? Sit here and wait to get caught?” Fitz asked.
“We might be able to cross the water,” Linh said. “And then I could call clouds from the waterfalls to obscure our shadows.”
“Can you really control the river?” Tam asked. “That isn’t normal water.”
He pointed to the base of the steep canyon, where the river glowed with the same greenish tint as everything else.
“The ogres add an enzyme,” Alvar explained. “It makes them stronger, but I’m pretty sure its toxic for everyone else. The gates filter it out before the water flows into the valley.”
Everyone turned to Linh, whose brows were pressed together. “I can’t part or lift the water, but . . . there might be a way. I need to get closer.”
Alvar found a trail down the sheer slope, and after several precarious minutes—and many near falls—they reached the riverbed and ducked into the shadow of the bridge.
“No one can see us here,” Tam promised as Linh moved to the water’s edge. She waved her hands back and forth, whispering strange, swishing words.
“Assuming we find a way across,” Sophie said to Alvar, “where exactly are we going?”
“I’m still deciding,” he admitted. “It has to be in either the Armorgate or the Triad. The Armorgate is their military university. It has secret caverns deep in the mountain where they develop their weapons.”
“That sounds impossible to break into,” Sophie said, imagining something out of a spy movie with lasers and retina scanners and a million kinds of alarms.
“It is,” Alvar agreed. “The Triad isn’t any better. That’s where King Dimitar holds court, in the most visible spot in the whole city. His best warriors are always at his side.”
“That would be a better place for a trap,” she realized.
King Dimitar would want something public, so everyone could witness his triumph.
“My shadows won’t fool the ogres up close,” Tam warned, guessing what she was thinking.