The Elder's Path by J.D. Caldwell Page A

As soon as he realized Lyn was indeed intending to follow, he took off to a tree some distance away and waited for Lyn to catch up. When Lyn reached his new perch, he took wing once more. As Lyn followed her companion through the trees and snow, she realized that he must have been scouting a route for her from the beginning. She smiled to herself and felt warm adoration for him. What would she have done without him?
    It took them some time to find a way out of the small ravine Lyn had slid in to, but Alir guided her faithfully back to the path she had been following before h er slip. However, by the time they made it back, darkness was rapidly approaching and the snow continued to fall. Lyn found herself very cold indeed, and was wishing fervently for better insulation. Alir let out a displeased cry every once in a while, indicating they shared the discomfort. The blustering wind clawed at Lyn's eyes, and she found herself blinking away tears. She put her arm in front of her face in an attempt to block the icy onslaught, but it did little to alleviate her discomfort. She cast her gaze about, looking desperately for some shelter.
    Alas, luck was not on their side; no shelter or outcropping seemed to stand against the storm, and snow was piling up at Lyn's feet. Feeling panic grip her once more, Lyn tried to get a hold of herself and consider her options. Alir let out a particular startling cry, jolting Lyn from her reverie. She glared at him and turned back to her thoughts, trying now to think of how she could compile a makeshift shelter. Chewing her lip, she turned and looked back the way Alir and she had come, towards the small ravine and the trees therein.
    Alir squawked again, and Lyn turned back to look at him in frustration. "What?!" she yelled over the wind. But as the outburst left her, she saw what her companion had been calling out for. A shape was manifesting in the storm before her. She could not make it out, but it was large and moving steadily toward her. She took an involuntary step back, feeling her breath catch in her chest. She did not know for sure what it was, but she had a suspicion; while there were some few in the forest in which her people dwelled, she had heard that the mountains were home to many more. Bears.
    Panicking now in full, Lyn checked again about her for any possible hiding spot or refuge. Seeing n one, she turned to run and yelled for Alir to do the same. In her haste and panic, she lost her footing on the ever-deeper snow at her feet. Lyn stumbled and with a cry, fell to the ground, receiving a mouthful of snow for her efforts. She scrambled quickly to her feet and cast about again for some better option. Seeing none, she grit her teeth, stood her ground, and put her hand inconspicuously on the haft of the knife that Zhiva had given to her. Squaring her shoulders and raising her chin, she stood as composed as she could be, waiting for whatever the shape was.
    She did not have to wait long, and as the shape took on more tangible form she saw it was not a bear at all, but something far more dangerous; a man. After the desolation of the mountain so far, Lyn had somehow forgotten that there were indeed people here. Seeing another individual startled her and put her off her guard. Forgetting herself for a moment, she drew the knife and cringed, making herself smaller. She may have indeed become acquainted with good company so far, but this was different; she was all alone in the middle of nowhere, in a storm, lost...caught as she was in this train of thought she did not hear the man call out to her the first time. The second time, he bellowed substantially louder.
    "Ho, there!" he called, and waved his arm. Seeing that she was not responding, the man tilted his head curiously and took another step forward. Well within her visual acuity now, Lyn could see why she had mistaken the man for a bear; he stood at l east seven feet in height and looked like he weighed as much  as any two men she had