They gave the procession a wide berth, flying beyond the hills before turning southeast again. With no chariot to keep pace with them, Kali soon had to slow for him, earning a faintly amused look whenever he caught up.
"You could carry me," Elion suggested.
"I could."
"How generous of you."
"You haven't asked."
He decided he would rather keep flying.
Beyond the hills, the grassland became increasingly barren. Patches of exposed stone spread across the ground, and the trees dwindled until only a few crooked trunks remained. Then Elion noticed something else: fragments of a road, its broad paving stones emerging from beneath the soil.
Kali saw them too.
"They're heading toward it," she said.
The road led into a shallow valley, where the remains of enormous pillars stood on either side. Most had collapsed, leaving broken shafts scattered across the ground, but those still standing bore faint inscriptions that Elion could almost recognize.
'I've seen those before.'
