Hakon slowly climbed onto his horse and lowered himself gingerly into his saddle. It was their eleventh day on horseback, and despite being accustomed to long rides, Hakon was sore.
The journey had started pleasantly enough, with a slowly winding ascent up a maze of muddy paths to slopes thick with snow-covered pines that twinkled in the spring sunshine. On the third day they reached a flat mountain pass that offered breathtaking views of the peaks that formed the Keel, the mountain range that split the western kingdoms from the eastern.
At these elevations, nature offered a deceptive splendor. Treeless meadows of unspoiled snow concealed ice-covered rocks that made footing treacherous for the normally sure-footed horses. After a morning of stumbling and falling, the men decided to walk
