As you climb the steep path, you find that the fruit burrs are not only an excellent way to hold onto the ice, but they also provide warmth to your hands. Soon, the forecast storm begins to blow in across the blue ice on the valley floor where just a few hours ago you were ready to give up and head back down the mountain. The turbulent wind starts to blow, with gusts that catch you off guard, whipping up your cape and clothes so that your balance teeters, causing you to almost fall several times. One gust knocks you against the slope before ripping you away into a whirlwind, forcing your hands to clutch the jagged rocks even tighter. Dushino sees your predicament and calls out, "Hang on!" which seems better than yelling "let go!," which is equally redundant. "We must accept the pain, don't give up," he continues. "I think we are nearing the top." 

To you, this feels like a "just a bad dream" scenario as you grapple with the reality of what is happening. It seems a lot like punishment in some sort of afterlife, with some nice people and a tolerable 13-year-old boy by your side. The dense blizzard engulfs your group, whipping your face with burning snowflakes. You wrap the dock worker's special fruit burrs closer around your now bleeding hands and dig your frozen feet into the snow and slippery rock for a better grip. Just when you think that crossing the plateau couldn't possibly have been as bad as this, you hear a frightening screech. It breaks through the storm and sends a chill down your already frozen spine. You call out to the others, "What was that?" but your question is lost to the wind. The others seem to hasten upward after the bloodcurdling sound, so without further question, you do the same, double-timing it to the top.

Almost at the top, Patrice's frozen fingers can no longer hold her weight. One hand slips off the rock face, and the wind lifts her out and away before slamming her back against the wall. She is knocked unconscious, but the fruit burr straps from her left hand hold against the strech and tension, allowing her limp body to hang, tapping against the granite with each micro gust but not falling to what would be a certain death. Below her, you are unable to reach up or offer assistance. Dushino, already at the top, sees the peril and loosens his fruit burr straps until they are off his hands. He ties them together into a longer rope with a loop at the end. He swings the rope to Lukindar and acts out hooking the loop over her leg, which he does after some struggle with the wind. Dushino gives a tug, the rope tightens around Patrice's boots, and he and Zelnard begin hoisting the limp and battered Patrice to the summit. It's touch and go, but you now see this unlikely band of mages, healers, and warriors as almost supernatural in their ability to deal with a crisis. Kazrod struggles his way to the fallen warrior and yells against the howling wind, "I'll stay with her. You must go on." "They'll both freeze here," you think to yourself,  and suddenly when seeing them facing death this quest didn't seem so unreal anymore and the command to you from the depth of your thoughts calls loud and booming and yet seems like a whisper, " get the page from the book of Lyt".

Have you ever felt so scared that you thought you might die? Write in Thy Quests about a time in your life where you really thought there was danger. 

Next: E8Q3 The Eternal Ice