The water came up to the saddle horn but no further and within minutes Zarsha and I pulled clear of the water altogether and headed up over the wet sands of the beach toward the cover of the dunes beyond. It would take us almost a week to reach Kingdom Pass, which was more than it should have taken because we would travel by night as it would be too dangerous to travel by day.
Five days later saw us at the foothills of the mountains. We had crossed the Litian River without incidence in the night, but now the first rays of sunlight were peaking into the morning sky. I kept riding hoping that we were far enough that we wouldn't fall prey to any Zoarinian patrols this close to the Valley Lands.
It was late morning of the next day when we entered the beginning of the long narrow pass that would lead us to the great wall at the head of the pass. I let Flin into a full gallop eager to be on the other side of that massive wall at the head of the pass. I heard an arrow whizz past my ear where I had been just moments before and smash off a rock to the other side of me.
Several arrows came from the opposite direction of the first arrow, but they weren't aimed at us but rather at the source of the first arrow. Several riders with bows at the ready and arrows held notched with one hand for a quick delivery came riding out of the rocks toward us. Their faces were sharp with concentration, as they scanned the upper slopes around us. They drew abreast of us and offered us an escort up the narrow pass.
It was good to be among friends again and the rest of the ride passed without incidence. Later in the day the great walls came into view and I could see a flurry of activity occurring all over them.
New mortar shone brightly from the joints of the giant cut stone blocks from where it had eroded away over the years. Whoever had been put in charge of the wall repairs had even gone so far as to add new cut stone blocks in places where the rock had become overly porous.
The tops of the walls bristled with a forest's worth of wood in the forms of siege equipment and extra bulwarking. The Valley Lands were preparing for war. Once again they were relying heavily on what had always brought them victory in the past, which was the great wall of their ancestor's creation.