The morning was silent. The fire had burnt to nothing more than a few embers, and gentle snores came from the cave. The sun gleamed off of the snow as it crept over the peaks, bathing the world in light. Groans as the six were stirred from sleep, they shielded their eyes and looked. Four feet of snow had dumped onto the ground during the night. The cave was still warm and had kept the snow out, but they couldn't stay, though they all wanted to. Their food was halfway gone, and the travois cart had been taken apart, as it was easier to carry the wood in bundles now. Pressing into the cold, they moved north.
For the first day and a half, they climbed steadily, the air growing slightly thin, and ever colder. After that, their path grew easier, as they went down a gradual slope, passing one of the largest peaks in the range, one that on the map was marked as Aelgo. They had reached the halfway point, and were going to begin their slow descent. Though they knew they were on their way out, the journey was no easier, and Trace fussed over Flora. "Maybe we shouldn't have taken apart the sledge. You don't look well."
"I don't feel well. I feel like I'm going to throw up, but nothing is in my stomach. I feel like… we aren't going to all make it. Something's wrong with the little one."
"We're going as fast as we can." Barret said. "Keep moving forward, I'm going to scout ahead and see if there is a quicker way down." Barret pressed forward through the snow. Like many times before, he was glad for his height, and he moved more easily through the drifts. Poor Keith, being barely over five feet tall struggled with the heavy snow, and resorted to walking behind anyone he could. As Barret plowed out of sight from the group, he walked upward, gaining a better vantage point.
Leaning down on his walking stick, he looked for a path. This was a mountain range. There wasn't going to be a straight road, there wasn't going to be an easy trip. Sure, some areas were easier than others, and climbing directly over a mountain was certainly more difficult than passing around it, but this was still the untamed wilderness. And he was right at home here.
A gentle slope caught his attention, and he moved around to several different places to get a better look, and when he was satisfied, he went back and joined the group. "I think I found something that will help us. Not only does it look easy to travel, but I think we can go faster than if we take any other path if we do things right. Come on." He led the group not down, but up. Spiraling up the side of Aelgo, they came to a flat, wide slope. Though it didn't take them out of the range entirely, there were no large rocks on it, and a thick layer of snow stretched all the way to the bottom, where it met another mountain well over three miles away. "We've got several slabs of wood…" Barret said with a cheeky smile.
Laughter was the best medicine. Sliding down the slope on three sleds, they left powder in their wake. Using his walking stick to stabilize their sled, Barret and Zen flew down at lightning speed. Natani and Keith followed a short distance behind, catching air as they went over snow banks and laughing as they hit the snow with a heavy thud. Flora gripped Trace as they pulled the rear, and in the afternoon sun the mountain gleamed. Echoing off the mountains, they heard their laughter return to their own ears over the rushing wind and crunching snow. As Barret and Zen skidded to a stop at the bottom of the slope, they smiled and laughed, and turned around just in time to watch Natani fall off the back of Keith's sled. Trace and Flora joined them at the bottom a minute later, and everyone smiled.
"If we weren't on a hard time limit, I'd start climbing back up to go again!" Trace said. "I've not had that much fun in ages!"
"Same! I'm glad I saw this slope. Not only was that a blast, but we just went well over three miles in less than ten minutes. We just cut half a day off our trip."
"Not bad." Natani said, snow clumps sticking to her fur. "If I had a better driver, I might even have had fun."
"Hey, you're the one who let go of the sled. You have no one to blame but yourself." Keith brushed some of the snow off of her, and picked up the sled. "Come on, I've got a good feeling about the rest of the day." Though there was nothing else of interest, they smiled as the day passed. The next day, they caught their first glimpse of the northern side of the range, and their spirits soared. They were still a full week away at least, but their journey would be almost entirely downhill from there.