The journey east took them through terrain that grew progressively harsher with every passing hour — rocky switchbacks giving way to narrow mountain paths, the air thinning and cooling as their small party climbed steadily toward the pass Torvald had described, exhaustion from the previous night's battle compounding with the physical demands of the trail itself.
"We should rest the horses," Garrick said, well into the second day, his wounded arm still stiff despite the healer's careful binding. "Push them too hard on terrain like this, and we risk losing one to a misstep on these narrow paths."
Kane, though visibly reluctant to slow their pace with Ronan's fate still uncertain, nodded grimly and called for a brief camp in a small, sheltered clearing just off the main trail. Vale, riding
