Chapter V, Reading 5

By late afternoon, Flindra had seen no signs of a dwelling.  She had hoped she could have reached Kewero before nightfall.  She wasn't looking forward to sleeping out in the open tonight.  It was dangerous to stay out too long in this kind of cold and wind.

The numbing cold had gotten worse as the afternoon had progressed.  Flindra wiggled her toes in her boots in an effort to keep them warm.  Her bones ached from the daylong exposure to the frigid wind.  She was aware that Deru also suffered in the cold.  His steps were growing stiffer by the hour.

"If we don't stumble across the old woman soon we're going to have to seek shelter from this wind," Flindra said as she reached forward and stroked Deru's neck.

Darkness approached and it became very apparent they would not reach Kewero this day.  Flindra needed to find wood for a fire and preferably some shelter from the wind.  She finally found a tree that had been blown over.  This would provide wood for her fire and a little protection from the wind.

Flindra loosened the girth of the saddle but left it on to give Deru some protection from the wind.  The saddle would also keep the blankets from blowing off.  She put the last of her grain in the feed bag, put it over his nose, and let him seek what shelter he could find from the north wind.

She took a small hatchet she'd kept tied behind the cantle and started chopping branches from the downed tree.  When Flindra had enough to last her through the night she started to pick up the small pieces which had fallen to the ground for tinder to start the fire.  She then carried the wood towards the bottom of the tree.

When the tree had been blown over, it had pulled up a chunk of ground with its tangled root system.  This shallow berm was the only shelter Flindra had from the wind and thus it was the best place to make her fire.

The wind teased her as it blew out the tiny sparks from her flint before they could start the tinder on fire.  Flindra wrapped her body around the tinder to provide some protection from the wind.  After many tries, she finally got a spark to ignite the small chips of wood.  She nursed the flickering flame along - slowly adding more fuel until it burned with an intensity that the wind could not extinguish.

Flindra usually made small fires to minimize the notice of unfriendly eyes.  Tonight she ignored that precaution.  She needed all the warmth she could get from the fire to survive a night with the frozen north wind as a companion.  She would have to trust the power of Rigga to protect her from danger tonight.

Dawn was long in coming as Flindra hovered near the fire.  She dozed occasionally as the night passed but she had to stay awake most of the time to keep the fire going.  She remembered happy times from her childhood to warm her heart even as her body ached from the cold.  She knew the value of diverting her thoughts to better endure unpleasant situations.

Normally, Flindra would pack up her camp and be on her way by daybreak.  This morning, she lingered by her fire until the sun eased the worst of the bitter cold of the pre-dawn hours.  She finally tied her belongings to Deru's saddle and continued on her way.

Flindra rode hour after hour across the desolate plain.  Her mind became numb after hours of the dreary sameness.  There weren't even trees anymore to break the monotony of the landscape.  Moreover, it was cold, so very cold.  She huddled in the saddle to keep her cloak as close to her body as possible.  Her toes ached as she wiggled them to keep them from freezing.  The pain eventually spread from her feet into her legs.  She pulled her feet from the stirrups so she could move her legs too.  She wondered at times if she would ever be warm again.

By mid-afternoon, Flindra noticed a change in the landscape.  This part of the Northern Reaches was not as flat as it appeared from a distance.  The plain was intersected by a number of narrow and deep gullies and small valleys.  The crystal sphere suddenly started to vibrate and Flindra reached into her tunic and withdrew the orb.  It was clear the crystal was directing her towards the entrance to one of these small valleys.

"Let's hope we are getting close, Deru," she said as she slipped the orb back into her tunic.  "I'm tired," she confessed to the horse, "and I know you are, too."

She reined Deru into the valley.  She rode for several miles and suddenly felt the orb grow still and cold.  Before she could reach into her tunic, she heard a voice call, "Welcome to my home Princess Flindra."