The descent from the mountain was a slow glissade down through slippery rocks and patches of ice.
Ryker and Eleanor stepped carefully through the drifts of snow, their breaths coming out as small clouds in the biting air. When their boots finally touched the packed earth of the valley floor, the world opened up before them.
In front of them lay the remote village. A handful of wooden cabins, their steep roofs weighed down by snow and smoke curling from stone chimneys into the gray sky. A low wall of wooden stakes ringed the settlement with half buried in white snow. It stood guard against the unknown that lurked beyond.
"This place feels like it belongs to another age," Ryker murmured, rubbing his arms. "No lights. No wires. No magic crystals humming in the walls. Just wood, stone and fear."
Eleanor nodded, her breath even in the cold didn't shriver. "They live by old rules. They don't trust surprises"
"Or outsiders" Ryker said as he glanced at her.
