Just before sunrise, Iago woke with a start.

  He sat up and looked around, seeing the others still asleep and the fire almost dead, and he wondered with no small amount of aggravation what roused him from one of the more restful nights he’d had in a while. He rubbed his eyes and considered grabbing a few more precious moments of sleep, but the purple hue of the nighttime sky told him that he would have to get back up soon, anyway. He stretched for a moment, resting on the floor before finally deciding that now was as good a time as any to gather more wood for the fireplace.

  He threw his cloak around his shoulders and stepped out of the room, closing the door quietly. He’d intended to head for the building at the east end of the settlement, where the wood was normally stored, but before he even took a step, the watchtower beckoned him. It was still dark out so he wouldn’t be able to see much, but he decided to climb up and take a look anyway. He felt like a kid every time he saw the tower, and with no one else awake, he wanted to go up and take advantage of the view. Being high off the ground made him feel almost normal sometimes, like he had no cares at all, and that sense of freedom was a major reason why he loved being part of the Wind Riders. No feeling in the world could compare to soaring through the sky on a karawan and seeing the mountains below you. Standing at the top of this Happaran watchtower wouldn’t be quite the same experience, but it would still be fun.

  Iago reached the base of the stone tower and opened the short wooden door. He crouched through the opening and grasped the ladder inside. It led all the way up to a hatch, which opened to the railed platform at the top. As he took his first step up, though, he froze, hearing a crooning noise in the distance that made the hairs on his neck stand up. It was a low, deep moaning, coming from the south, in the direction they’d come from last night. It could be a trick of the wind, but he didn’t believe that for a second. Some creature made that noise, human or animal. He also realized he was hearing the same thing that had woken him up.

  The noise stopped abruptly. Iago stepped off the ladder and crouched down, looking out the doorway for signs of any movement nearby. He saw nothing, so he went back inside and hurried to the top, though the base of the tower was not very large around, and the inside walls threatened to brush against Iago’s shoulders as he reached the ceiling. He opened the hatch and climbed through to the open wooden platform and he scanned the area, searching for any sign of nearby life. Again, he found nothing out of the ordinary. The mountain behind him blocked his view of everything except the ledge they had taken to get here. Still, he searched left and right, looking for movement, but nothing stirred in the darkness.

  The noise came again, closer this time, and Iago’s skin crawled from the unease of not knowing what he faced. Then he heard a second moan, on top of the first, closer still. He turned east again and watched the sloping ridges of the mountainside. That’s where it came from, both of them.

  Movement below startled him and he reached for his belt, grasping for a sword he didn’t have. It was only Galen, fortunately, peeking through the door of the building. The Pilot looked left and right, a very concerned look on his face. Iago, not wanting to draw more attention than he needed to, rapped the wooden railing and waved his arms until the Pilot saw him. He put a finger to his mouth, signaling him to stay quiet, then motioned him back inside. Galen nodded and retreated through the doorway while Iago climbed back through the hatch and down the ladder.

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  When he reached the ground he noted the silence that filled the air. Whatever made that noise must be on the move. He sprinted back to the building and closed the door behind him, finding Galen already getting dressed while the others slowly sat up and rubbed their eyes.

  “Hurry!” Galen shouted in a whisper.

  Jorin reached for his weapon. “What is it?”

  Iago grabbed his pack, along with his belt and sword. “Something’s out there. Creatures of some sort. I don’t recognize the sound, but I think it best if we move before they get here.”

  “They’re garns,” said Galen.

  Iago stopped mid-buckle, so surprised by Galen’s words that he didn’t know what to say. Garns were fearsome tribal creatures of the western Lore Mountains. He’d never seen one, but he heard they looked like large men, standing two heads higher than a human and as strong as three. They were savage raiders, known for eating any meat they could find, even human. But no one had ever seen one out here.

  “I thought garns were only in the west,” Saalis said, echoing Iago’s own confused thoughts.

  Galen threw on his cloak and grabbed his pack. “I don’t know. Maybe they’ve moved east. But that noise you heard was a garn scouting the area.”

  Iago finished fastening his belt. “I heard two of them. Close”

  “They travel in packs of three or four usually.” Galen pulled his robe over his head, his crystal necklace already around his neck. “They moan like that when they think they’ve found something. If they’re not hunting some goats or boars in the area, then we’re in very serious trouble.”

  Iago stuffed his blanket into his pack. “Get everything ready to go. There’s a small ledge just west of the outpost that leads down. It will take us back towards the river. We need to get there, now.”

  A crash outside startled them. Iago jumped back against the wall, clutching the hilt of his sword, as did Saalis. Galen backed up into the left corner by the staircase and Margis did the same on the right while Hal crouched down on the floor. Jonir moved to the front, trying to peer out a window without being seen. Iago made eye contact with him, but Jonir just shook his head and continued searching for whatever caused the crash.

  Iago turned to Saalis and pointed to the hatch at the top of the stairwell. Saalis nodded, grabbed his pack and climbed a few steps until his back was crouched over, pressed against the hatch. He reached out to open it, and Iago grimaced, worried that the hinges would be so rusty that they would creak loud enough to be heard in the Outerlands. To his surprise, and Saalis’, whose expression showed that he’d expected the same thing, the hinges made no noise as he opened it and peered around the second floor. He looked back at Iago, nodded, then climbed up top. Iago pointed to Margis, whose face was pasty white now, to go up next, then Galen.

  While the two Pilots shuffled up the stairs, Iago moved to the front wall, stopping next to the window on the right side of the door. From where he stood the only angle he had through the window was the area just outside the door and beyond that to the west. The crash had come from the other direction, though. Jonir had by now found enough courage to stand right next to the left window, scanning the opposite angle. He looked out, then turned his head to his right and leaned out ever so slightly. He immediately jumped back, causing Iago to flinch and grab his sword again. Jonir pointed to the right and held up two fingers. Iago mouthed the word “garns?” and Jonir shrugged.

  Hal, who had moved to the wall behind Iago, looked terrified. “What are we gonna do, Cap’n?” he whispered. Iago put his finger to his mouth and shook his head, then pointed upstairs. Hal grabbed his pack and followed the Pilots to the second floor.

  Another crash, closer this time. It sounded like doors in the other buildings being flung open. Or pounded open. He figured the garns were scavenging for food, thinking this was a regularly occupied settlement. There were seven buildings total, three to the left and three to the right. If they were going door to door, then they were only two doors away. Iago motioned for Jonir to go upstairs. They each grabbed their packs and hurried up the staircase, Jonir, then Iago, who closed the hatch behind him.