When my vision finally shifted back into regular sight, the forest had already begun to thin. I stumbled, but only for a moment. With less to distract me, I ran even harder.More howls sprung up out of the night, but they were further away now and seemed to be veering north and away from us.Had our watcher led them away?I shook my head and focused on the slope ahead. Soon, we started up towards the towering ice spires. Boulder fields where in the spring marmots might have screamed at us gave way to steep slopes of unreliable frozen shale that bit into my paws.Occasionally, the shale would shift and send me sliding on my stomach several paces down the incline. As soon as we stopped moving, I got back up and continued on our way. It was no longer safe to run, but I trudged on as quickly as I dared.Finally, my weary paws met snow. At first, it was only a few inches, but as I walked, the snow grew deeper. I spread my toes, trying to stay atop the ice crust, but every few paces, one p
Last Updated : 2025-01-19 Read more