The steam was visible from afar.
White columns rising among the mountain rocks, slow, constant, like breathing.
Kira hadn't exaggerated about the distance. Half a day from Khar'Seth, but uphill terrain the whole time. The path wasn't marked on any map Alex knew. It only existed because Kira knew where her feet were.
"Why isn't it on the guild maps?" asked Raven.
"Ishi doesn't want uninvited visitors." Kira sidestepped a root without looking at it. "Maps show what maps decide to show."
"And she decides that?"
"She and the terrain. The routes that lead here shift. Literally. If you don't know the real path, you end up circling the same kilometer without understanding why."
Emily looked back at the path they had taken.
"Did that happen to us?"
"Three times in the last two kilometers." Kira kept walking. "I was going to tell you, but we made it anyway."
---
[Ishi Hot Springs, Crystal Mountains — Afternoon]
The hot springs appeared without prior announcement.
