Chapter III, Reading 11

As the night progressed, Flindra continued to follow the directions of the crystal sphere.  It guided her west and then north so by dawn she was at the northwestern perimeter of the great boulder field.  Ahead of her was the place where the Greyfell Mountains met and were absorbed by the larger range named the Great Barrier Mountains.

The Great Barrier Mountains ran roughly north south for the length of the continent and provided a geographic barrier between Ostar and Wesperos.  Flindra had never heard of a pass through the mountains here and wondered how she would complete her quest to find her way to the Northern Reaches.  The crystal indicated that she should continue due north so she accepted the crystal's advice on faith.  The orb seemed to be a tool of the Spirit so she trusted its directions.

Flindra was aware that Deru needed to rest before they could continue.  At the same time, she felt it was unwise to wait.  She compromised.  Dismounting, Flindra loosened the girth on the saddle.  Then she gathered the reins in her hand and started to walk, leading Deru.  To keep up her own strength she nibbled on a piece of jerky.

She placed the crystal sphere in the breast pocket of her tunic.  Flindra had noticed it got a little warm when it glowed.  She could feel the warmth through the pocket and could stay on the correct path without always looking at the orb, which freed a hand for other things.

At the foot of the mountains, Flindra found a fast moving creek.  She let Deru take a long drink of the clear water.  She moved upstream of him and refilled her water bags.  It was a little surprising to find the creek here since she hadn't seen evidence of it out in the boulder field.  The water must seep underground once it intercepted the rock-strewn valley.  That could also explain the existence of the numerous springs she had encountered.

When she was ready to continue her march, she pressed her hand against her tunic so she could feel the warmth of the orb more distinctly.  The crystal indicated that she should proceed in a direction parallel to the creek and directly up the mountain.  After walking a few yards, she discovered a faint trail alongside the creek.  She could pick out numerous deer hoof prints as she walked.  There was no sign of people having ever used this trail.  There were no blazes on the trees, which usually marked pathways, even hunting trails.

Instead of warming up with the rising sun, the day was getting increasingly colder and the wind was blowing stronger.  Flindra looked up to check the sky for hints of any bad weather blowing in.  The sky was blue with distant clouds beyond the peaks.  Even at this distance, she could see that the clouds were moving south at a rapid clip.  There might be a storm moving in, but it was too early to tell.

The cold began to wear on her and she wished the sun could reach her through the tree cast shade.  Even a cold day felt warm if the radiant heat of the sun could shine on one's clothes.  Flindra stopped and took a pair of gloves out of her saddlebags and gave a silent thanks to her mother for the gloves and her warm cloak.

Flindra finally decided to ride again for she was just too tired to walk anymore.  The night of horror and no sleep was adding to her fatigue.  After tightening the saddle girth strap, she mounted Deru and continued up the trail.  She pulled the hood of her cloak over her face and angled her head down to help shield herself from the icy fingers of the wind.

She continued this way for several more hours, glancing occasionally at the sky.  It was no longer blue and the clouds were getting darker and more threatening in appearance.  The wind also carried the smell of snow.