Dawn of the Ice Bear Read Online Free

other reason would be almost too coincidental to be believed. Given the timing, and the nature of the expedition—especially, as Kral pointed out, the connection to some unknown Aquilonian mage—the obvious answer was most likely the correct one.
    Gorian and his men were here for the Teeth of the Ice Bear. And, since they had the assistance of some sorcerer—who had presumably told the Stygian responsible for its theft about the crown in the first place—they would have some idea where to find it.
    Not much to go on, he knew. But better than nothing, which was what they had had only moments before.
    â€œSo we stay with them?” Mikelo asked, just as Donial was about to.
    â€œYes,” Kral replied. “And when they find the crown, we take it instead.”
    â€œThere are more of them, and better armed,” Donial said. “And they have magic on their side.”
    Kral chuckled, without humor. “Did I say it would be easy?”

3
    KUTHMET WAS A day’s hike from the coast where they had landed. The sun blazed down on the little party, making Kral glad he was not, like the mercenaries, burdened by a shirt of mail, a helmet, and a shield in addition to his weapons. Though the sun of his Pictish homeland was rarely so hot, his flesh was still accustomed to its rays.
    With no time to lose, they had to take the chance of walking during the day. This was an unpopulated part of Stygia, the bulk of the nation’s people having made their homes in cities along the River Styx, where water was plentiful. Here there was nothing but buff-colored desert cut by low ridges of rock. Scrubby pale plants erupted from the dry ground here and there, most bearing thorns or long, spiky leaves. A few birds, primarily vultures, wheeled about in the cloudless sky. Lizards and small snakes sunned themselves on rocks or scuttled away at the approach of the group.
    Everyone carried as much water in skins and bladders as they could handle, since no one knew if there were oases between here and Kuthmet. Even if there were, those were the likeliest spots to run into Stygians, which they hoped to avoid.
    As they walked, Kral tried to subtly interrogate one of the mercenaries, a Corinthian named Galados. The man was leaner than most of the others, with a more cultured air than Kral expected from mercenaries. Or at least it seemed that way to him, although being a Pict, he realized he could have been mistaken about that part. The man seemed curious about him, though, and had asked him questions from time to time about Pictish customs and beliefs. He allowed Galados to begin the conversation now, answering a couple of questions about his clan’s hunting practices, then tried to turn the subject around.
    â€œHow do you know that whatever you seek is in Kuthmet?” he asked. “Stygia is a big place, is it not?”
    â€œThat it is,” Galados replied. “But as for how we know, I go where I am told. Gorian is the one who pays me, so Gorian decides my destination.”
    â€œThen Gorian is the man behind your whole expedition? Or does he represent someone else?”
    Galados smoothed down his brown mustache. He also wore a neatly trimmed, wedge-shaped beard. His eyes turned down slightly at the outside corners, giving him a sense of perpetual sadness. “He has a sponsor,” he said after a moment’s pause. “A magician of some sort, I’d wager. I know the man not at all, and saw him but once, ere we left Tarantia.”
    â€œSo you are all in search of some object that a magician would value,” Kral pressed.
    â€œI am in search of the coins that Gorian agreed to pay, when the task is done,” Galados answered. “No less and no more.”
    Kral could tell that the man had answered all the questions about their mission that he was going to. But he had heard enough to confirm his suspicions. An Aquilonian mage was behind Gorian’s quest.
    It had to be the