Chapter 17 - The Road through Blackwood Pass
The journey north was cold and unforgiving. For two weeks, the funerary convoy traveled through misty mountain valleys and thick, ancient pine forests. As Elara had predicted, most imperial patrols and regional guards gave the black wagon a wide berth, repelled by the black mourning flags and the pungent smell of burning formaldehyde Elara kept lit in iron lanterns around the cart.
However, as they reached the narrow choke point of Blackwood Pass—a notorious mountain trail controlled by Baron Vane’s surviving brother, Lord Kenneth—their luck ran out.
A heavy wooden tollgate blocked the mountain pass. Standing on the wooden watchtowers were dozens of archers, while a squad of heavily armored road-knights stood in the center of the road.
"Halt!" the lead knight shouted, raising a gloved hand. "All carts passing through Blackwood must be searched by order of Lord Kenneth!"
Vance, sitting on the secondary horse cart behind Elara, pulled his wide brim hat lower over his eyes, his hand resting quietly on the hilt of his hidden blade. "Easy, men," he whispered to the hidden guards in the back. "Wait for my signal."
Elara pulled the horses to a stop, stepping down from the driver's bench with a humble, bowed posture. "Greetings, good sir. We are merely humble morticians from the southern provinces, carrying the remains of plague victims to the northern consecrated grounds."
The lead knight walked around the wagon, tapping the wooden side walls with the butt of his spear. "Plague, you say? Strange... Lord Kenneth received a raven from the Capital yesterday. He said to look out for a black wagon driven by a woman with scarred hands and a princess with royal blood."
Elara’s heart skipped a beat, but her expression remained completely cool and impassive. "I know nothing of princesses, sir. I only know the cold skin of the dead."
"Open the back canvas," the knight ordered sharply, pointing his spear at Aurelia, who sat quietly under a dark cowl.
The knight stepped up to the back of the wagon, using his spear tip to pull back the heavy black tarp. Inside sat two long, dark wooden coffins strapped down with iron chains.
"Unlock them," the knight demanded.
"Sir, I strongly advise against that," Elara warned softly, stepping beside him. "The fever that took these bodies causes black boils and lung hemorrhage within hours of exposure. If you break the wax seal..."
"I said open them!" the knight snapped, shoving Elara aside and raising his dagger to pry open the wooden latch of the first coffin.
He flipped the lid open.
Inside lay Lord Regent Aris—his face painted chalk white, his eyes fixed in a glassy, vacant stare, his skin ice cold from a mild dose of Malachi's potion. A realistic plague rash had been painted across his neck using berry juice and ash.
The knight backed away instinctively, covering his mouth in sudden disgust and terror. "Gods above... he looks like he rotted in a week!"
"I warned you, my lord," Elara said solemnly, quickly closing the coffin lid and re-securing the latch. "The contagion is swift and merciful to no man."
The knight turned to his men at the tollgate, waving his hand frantically. "Raise the gate! Get these plague-spreaders out of my pass at once! Go!"
Aurelia let out a quiet breath of relief as the heavy wooden gate creaked open. Elara climbed back onto the driver’s bench, snapping the reins. The wagon rolled smoothly through the mountain pass, leaving the terrified road-knights far behind.
"That was far too close," Aurelia whispered, pulling down her cowl once they were a mile past the gate. "How did Lord Kenneth know we were coming?"
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"Lord Aris’s network in the Capital realized he missed his rendezvous ship," Vance said, riding his horse up beside the cart. "They know we have the evidence. From here to the Capital gates, every baron loyal to the shadow council will be hunting us."
Elara looked up at the towering spires of the Capital city visible on the distant horizon—a massive stone fortress rising above the clouds. "Then we don't use the roads anymore. Tonight, we enter the Capital through its oldest entrance: the Imperial Royal Crypts."
