Elvensty by M. B. Aznoe

Elvensty by M. B. Aznoe

Author:M. B. Aznoe [Aznoe, M. B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781717097811
Published: 2018-05-06T06:00:00+00:00


Chapter 16

They left an hour before midday so that the bitter cold of the night had somewhat dissipated. The suns were just coming out of the crossing, and the daylight was beginning to return to normal. However, the clouds were still heavy with snow, hiding the suns themselves.

Khomar showed Aya how to tie the odd looking snowshoes onto her boots before strapping on his own much larger pair. She found walking difficult with the wider surface area, but Dhrudmon had insisted it would help them move over the top of the snow.

Aya could hardly believe how much snow had fallen in the course of the week, and now she understood the need for snowshoes. The snow was level with the top of the roof where Dhrudmon and Khomar had pushed it off, but even in the undisturbed areas, the snow was nearly to the eaves of the cabin.

The woodpile had been cleared from snow, and Khomar climbed on top of it. Reaching down, he lifted Aya up and set her gently on top of the nearest snowbank. She shifted uneasily, not sure she trusted the snowshoes to keep her up, but surprisingly, she found she only sank about an inch into the powder.

Khomar helped both Palo and Dhrudmon get up onto the snow as well. Then Dhrudmon reached back and helped Khomar over the last few feet as Palo stepped forward to take point. At Khomar’s direction, Aya fell in behind Palo with Khomar and Dhrudmon taking up the rear as they walked in single file.

Snow continued to fall gently with large, drifting snowflakes that floated gracefully to the ground. There was no wind, and the whole forest was shrouded in silence. The only sounds were the soft padding of their snowshoes and their heavy breathing.

The air stung Aya’s eyes, and she was thankful she had not only put on both of her tunics and her cloak but also Khomar’s cloak as well. He wore his bear skin turned fur side in. Palo had sewn straps on the skin so that Khomar could tie it around himself and wear it like a cloak.

Dhrudmon had given them all long scarves. Aya followed the lead of the others and had wrapped hers around her mouth and ears, leaving only her eyes visible from under her hood. In spite of all of her bundling, she still felt chilled until the excursion of walking in the snowshoes warmed her. Dhrudmon had offered the promise of a shelter and fire that evening which gave her the drive to press on.

None of them spoke as they traveled since all of their faces were covered. Their progress was slow but steady. The only sign of life they saw were small tracks left in the snow from creatures forced to brave the cold of winter instead of hibernating in their dens.

They reached the shelter just before nightfall. The only evidence of its existence was a flag on a long pole that rose above the snow line where the building was supposed to be.



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