Chapter 68

The group encounters a Fade military blockade at the gates demanding bloodstone payment and tribute. When soldiers discover stowaways hidden beneath the cart's floorboards, a violent battle erupts. Raeve, Kaan, and Clode slaughter the guards to secure passage through the gate, leaving bodies scattered across the path.

After two cycles of hard travel with Pyrok, Ahvi, and the hatchling hidden in a compartment beneath Noeve's cart, the group approaches a military checkpoint. Noeve warns them of Fade soldiers stationed at an iron gate who are extracting bloodstone from travelers. She directs them to hide in a hidden compartment beneath the floorboards, which Ahvi agrees to shield with his magic. Raeve refuses to hide, insisting on staying visible to defend them if needed. At the gate, a soldier demands three pouches of bloodstone for passage, then demands to search the cart. As soldiers search and destroy Noeve's cargo of feathers, a faint squawk from the hidden compartment alerts them to stowaways. Raeve is recognized by one soldier as "the Ath bitch," and combat erupts. Clode, delighted by the chaos, manifests physically and violently attacks the soldiers. Raeve summons stone spears using words from Bulder's song, while Kaan brutally cuts down his opponents. The group kills all the guards at the blockade. Afterward, Noeve demands they rinse the blood from themselves before boarding the cart again and insists they purchase her new cushions to replace those destroyed by the soldiers.