After touring the elaborate showpieces and preserved trophies, Ashlynn and the others were brought to an elegant spiraling staircase formed of solid ice. The staircase was guarded by four Frostwalkers at the bottom and four more at the top, each of them wearing brightly polished steel breastplates over a coat of shining silvery mail.
Unlike the troublemakers who followed Torsten at the welcoming ceremony outside the gates, these men radiated the calm stability of experienced soldiers and the halberds in their hands radiated an icy menace as wisps of frosty air streamed from the heavy blades.
"Little lord Hauke," one of the men said, touching the tips of his claws to his throat in salute. "Your father and the others await you and our guests upstairs."
"Thank you, Ernst," Hauke said before extending an arm to Ashlynn. "The steps may be slick if you're not accustomed to walking on ice."
