Relief was almost immediate as they entered the small cleft in the rock. Sheer walls of dull grey granite rose ten or twelve feet above them, atop which the branches of ambitious pines whiped back and forth in the storms tumult.  It wasn’t so much a true cave as a small canyon that ended in a slightly sloping overhang. The temperature didn’t very much but just to be out of the enervating wind was an enormous improvement. To Camilla’s great relief it seemed that the spring thaws had deposited a considerable amount of broken tree limbs in the canyon over the years. The canyon floor was very uneven, covered with rocks ranging from the size of a fist to the size of a cannonball. Detritus gave the whole place a cramped feeling, reminiscent of a tunnel.

 With Cydric’s help they were able to construct a small lean-to from aged pine branches. Getting a fire going was considerable more difficult as the timber was icy cold. Eventually Camilla solved the problem but mixing wood shavings with gunpowder from one of her pistol cartridges and igniting it with the flint. Carefully, the fed twigs to the tiny fire until it could digest some of the large pieces of timber.

Above them the storm continued to howl its fury and made the sky above the canyon a continual swirl of greyish white. Once the fire had warmed them Camilla peeled off her cloak and unfastened the black and red leather armor she wore beneath to allow the heat to penetrate. She was an extremely attractive woman, with long clean limbs, dark glossy hair and the features and figure of a Tilean statue. Before she had been rescued or escaped with Cydric she had been a professional courtesan, having been trained as such in her sun drenched southern homeland. 

“Thank Ulric for small mercies,” she whispered, continuing her long standing habit of praying to whichever god seemed most convenient. The fire crackled and popped as the wet timber burned and she pulled off her gloves before sticking her hands close to the blaze to warm her long slender fingers.

“Tell me again why we are walking through a village to some burg or another I have never heard of?” she inquired plaintively. 
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