Chapter V, Reading 3

The storm continued for two more days. When the sky finally cleared after the storm, the temperature dropped precipitously. Flindra was experienced enough with the weather to know the skies would remain cloudless for days after the passage of such a violent storm. She also knew the extreme cold would continue as long as the sky remained clear. The remainder of her journey to the Northern Reaches was going to be miserably difficult because of the frigid weather.

Flindra led Deru from the cave and began to put on the saddle. Her gloved fingers slowed her work and soon the snow creaked with the cold as Deru shifted his feet impatiently. The steam of his breath was freezing into frost on his muzzle. The white beard made him appear somewhat comical when he turned his head to nibble at her sleeve.

"I know, I know," she responded with a laugh. "I'll hurry it up."

Flindra was still chuckling at Deru, when she mounted. Once comfortable in the saddle, she invoked Rigga's shield. It was becoming much easier to focus her thoughts on the nimbus of the power shield. She then took the crystal sphere from her breast pocket. The orb glowed when pointed in an easterly direction. She slipped it back into her pocket and could feel its friendly warmth against her skin.

The going was difficult in the new snow. The wind had blown some areas clear of snow and had piled up massive drifts in others. Progress through the drifts was difficult. The drifted snow had a crust on the surface that was just firm enough to support Deru's weight for a moment and then his hard hooves would break through. Deru ended up moving in hops - almost like a rabbit. Flindra tried to avoid the drifts by going around them when possible, which made for a slow traverse across the slope.

They finally intercepted a game trail within a mile of the cave. The crystal directed Flindra to turn north along this pathway. This way was more or less sheltered by a rock ridge so the snow was less drifted here. The surface of the snow was also softer and thus made it a little easier to traverse for Deru was spared the work of breaking through the hard crust of the drifted snow.

As they worked their way up the slope, the trees around them thinned in number as they climbed in elevation. The few trees, which managed to hang on to existence were gnarled and twisted into fantastic shapes. Only the hardiest plants and animals could survive here.

Flindra looked up the mountain and couldn't imagine where the path led. The way up and over the mountain appeared to be blocked by a continuous cliff, which loomed above her. However, she could feel the warmth of the orb in her pocket, which meant she was moving in the correct direction. She remembered King Meldh's words in her dream and trusted the crystal orb to lead her safely to Kewero.

After several hours of struggling up the trail, they reached the base of the cliff. Now she could see the path led to an entrance of a narrow pass. A massive boulder nearly the size of a house stood in front of the entrance, which obscured the view of the pass from the trail below.

This defile sliced through the ridge and led to the top of the mountain. The slopes on either side of the trail rose steeply from the path and soon merged into rocky cliffs above. The steep cliffs rained rocks down the slope nearly blocking the trail in several places.