Fable carried me down the mountains, dropping over cliffs and landing lightly in the groves covering each steppe. Jasrin sent a wind spell after us, chasing the snow back into his footprints and smoothing over the snowbanks, wiping away any trace of our passage. I looked up at the ridge as we left him, finding his stalwart silhouette watching me. He turned and vanished over the edge.
Our path took us near the fort, and Fable dropped into a crouch, stalking silently down the last few rises. The guards stood at their post, just a few hundred feet away. Their souls were invisible to me, hidden in the massive amounts of mana radiating from the golden mist inside.
The crunch of Fable's paws carried clearly in the utter silence, and I ducked low. Surely they heard us. Any second now, their heads would turn, and the alarm would go up.
