Sef sat down on a thin but surprisingly springy blanket that doubled as her bed, pillow and heat. Dessa was a big animal and carried her weight well, but they had to travel as light as possible. She wasn't made for travel over long distances and extra weight tired her out even quicker. Stretching out with her back to the cave wall, she let her bare toes warm by the fire. The bottom of her leggings were wet from the trip up to the cave entrance.

"I believe we have," she said eventually. "I've seen no one else on the road and Dessa and I took the quickest route here." Playing with the metal bracelet encircling her left wrist, she shrugged. "This is the furthest I've ever been out. By all the stories told by my elders and theirs, what we're looking for waits further south still, beyond the long mountains."