Frozen Prospects Read Online Free PDF

across the
crusted snow was made simultaneously more difficult and easier by
the steel-spiked platforms I'rone had helped him strap to his shoes
as they'd left the caves. After just a couple of cycles Va'del's
legs were burning and tingling from the unaccustomed weight.
    The
gurra he was leading wasn't any happier to be out in the cold than
he was, and frequently pulled back on its lead, tiring his arm and
causing it to ache. And I
can't switch hands because the other arm is broken. I don't think
I've ever been quite this physically miserable in my entire life.
    Just
when the teenager felt he could go no further, the party reached an
outcropping of rock that served to protect them somewhat from the
wind, if not the cold.
    I'rone
opened up one of the small bags on the gurra he was leading and
pulled out objects which he passed to Betreec, who in turn handed
them back to Va'del. "Drink this. All of it, and eat the
dried meat too."
    Va'del
looked back to Jasmin who had taken the last spot in the party as
they'd set out, and saw she'd already secured provisions of her own,
and was consuming them with a greedy abandon that seemed to indicate
he'd better get on with it or he'd miss his chance.
    The
break wasn't as long as Va'del had hoped, but it proved long enough
for him to finish the curiously-sweet beverage inside the water skin
and make substantial progress on the meat.
    When
the party set out once again, their path angled slightly upward and
Va'del found that his breathing grew ragged and forced despite their pace
being no quicker than before.
    Time
seemed to grind to a near halt, and for a while Va'del found himself
looking back frequently to verify they were really making progress.
Eventually he ceased to care; it took all of his energy, physical
and mental, just to pick up his feet and move them a few inches
further up the trail.
    Va'del
had long since passed the point where he thought he couldn't go on
by the time I'rone finally led the group into a smudge of darkness
that turned out to be the narrow entrance to a fairly sizable cave.
    By
the way they moved, Betreec and Jasmin wanted to collapse to the
hard, rock floor, but they both joined a seemingly unfatigued I'rone
in stripping packs off of the gurra, and setting up camp.
    One
of the first things Betreec did was to pull a thumb-sized ruby from
a pocket hidden underneath her outer layer of clothing, and
carefully position it near the mouth of the cave. Va'del suppressed
his curiosity as Jasmin directed him in a variety of tasks, keeping
him occupied until he noticed his breath was no longer billowing out
in a white cloud.
    By
the time the gurra were stripped, rubbed down and fed, Va'del found
himself loosening the ties on his coat. Betreec continued to
shuffle about placing several more dimly-glowing gemstones in
different locations inside the cave. By the time camp was set up,
not only had the air temperature reached comfortable levels, Va'del
found that he was no longer gasping for breath.
    Jasmin
looked at the amazement on the young man's face and smiled as she
shed her last bulky layer of cold-weather clothing.
    "The
stones are somewhat like the glow spheres in your village, but they
serve a different purpose." Pointing to the one by the door,
the Guadel continued. "That one holds the heat in and keeps
the wind out. Others provide slight amounts of heat which we can
use to cook on and warm the cave, and one of them holds the air in,
making it a little thicker so we can breathe more easily."
    Magic,
they're powered by magic. Overcome by amazement, Va'del found all kinds of questions charging
to the surface of his mind, but he suppressed them. He was still
unsure how Jasmin would respond.
    Betreec
looked over and must have divined what Va'del was thinking. With a
laugh like tinkling bells, and kindness in her violet eyes, she
pointed at Jasmin. "Don't be scared of this one, Va'del. She
does get somewhat...excited from time to time, but she is also as
patient as