Steam mixed with the black smoke blowing out of Liam's mouth. Snow, ice, and rocks surrounded him while he gazed at the horizon, the high altitude providing a perfect view of the land.
Six months had passed since the events inside the border. It was summer, not that the solitary peak Liam was occupying showed that, and he had become twenty, not that he recalled. The recent period had felt like a blur, cluttered with so much rush and tension he had barely had the chance to sit down and think.
The priority had been putting distance from the border. Too much had happened, and none of it had been inconsequential.
Then, there were the resources to absorb, from doing inventory to assigning them to appropriate projects.
Usually, gathering information and establishing a foothold would have been another step, but Liam had mainly traveled nonstop, occasionally entering seclusion to concoct. The current situation was the first real break in that period, one driven by a paramount task.
