Yona ate the wonderful salad the fancy griffon provided then dozed off. When she woke up a short time later, Gallus and Grandeur were still talking. She was tired of sitting and talking. She wanted to go look for their friends. She walked outside the tent. The griffon statues watched her with their golden eyes. As she walked past the last one, it spoke in Grandeur’s voice.
“You may go. Your friends will handle our business. Follow the main road to the outer gates.”
The statue pointed at a wide avenue between all the tents and market stalls. Yona trotted quickly down it. There were all kinds of amazing items in the market, but Yona didn’t have time to look at them. She was going to go find their friends.
The avenue came to a large outer plaza. On the far side of it, several open gates led in different directions. She approached the middle one. A griffon in a tower near the gates noticed her and flew down to talk.
The griffon was black with red and yellow feathers on her wings. She looked Yona over then whispered something while holding her silver necklace. It glowed and she stepped out of the way.
“Grandeur says you’re free to come and go. Do you need any help? I could tell you where you might want to go.”
Yona snorted. Like most Yaks, she disliked creatures who assumed she needed help.
“Yona good. Yona find friends on her own.”
The griffon shrugged.
“At least take this. We’ll be able to find you as long as you have it.”
The griffon handed Yona a coin with the likeness of Grandeur on both sides. Yona tucked it behind her ear and thanked the griffon.
Yona said goodbye and walked out of the middle gate. The brick road quickly switched to a dirt path. Short grasses and bushes quickly thinned as the landscape changed from gentle plains to a sharp desert. The dirt path ended, and Yona had to decide which way to go. Rocks, cliffs, and canyons broke up the terrain. Yona charged down what looked like the best way to go.
After wandering through the desert for a short time, Yona climbed up one of the smoother rock formations. From the top, she could see mountains in the distance. They were surrounded by swirling dark clouds. It looked like the sort of place Smolder might like, so she headed toward it.
Yona found herself in the bottom of a shadowy canyon as she continued forward. A small stream ran down it. Yona found a pool with ice near the edges. She tried to walk around it, but a rune in the middle of the pool glowed with a blue light. Yona stared and was suddenly zapped by a bolt of magic. It knocked her down, and Yona’s side burned.
(Yona loses 4 stamina to magical damage.)
Even though she was only down for a moment, walls of ice had formed and trapped Yona in the narrow canyon.
Yona was angry from the pain. She charged and smashed the ice. It reformed quickly. She kicked again, but the same thing happened. She turned around and looked at the glowing rune. She gave it a hard stomp, and it shattered. The magical glow quickly faded, and the icy walls cracked and fell apart.
“That wasn’t very nice. Yona no like traps.”
A whispering voice answered her.
“I’m so sorry. I would have warned you, but you charged right in.”
Yona looked around. It took her a moment to see the ghostly blue figure that was speaking.
“You’re a Windigo! Yona know not to trust ice spirits.”
“Don’t be like that. I’m trying to help you.”
All yaks knew not to trust any ice spirits, but maybe this one was friendly. Yona sat down and looked up at it.
“Okay. Yona give you a chance.”
“Excellent. I can help lead you to the mountains. That’s where you wanted to go, right?”
Yona nodded.
“Just follow me. I’ll make sure you don’t run into any more of our traps. We put them here to keep the dangerous creatures out. You’re lucky that you ran into me instead of them.”
It felt chilly near the windigo, but Yona’s thick fur kept her warm.
“I am Yona. What is your name?”
“Rime is my name. Now come along.”
Rime led the way. The canyon walls grew taller, and the bottom was deeper in shadow. Even in the daylight, it felt cold. The canyon sloped upward after a few miles.
Yona was tired, so she stopped for a little break. Her side still hurt a little from where the magic had zapped her. Yona wished she had something to put on it.
Rime wasn’t very talkative, so she floated up ahead while Yona rested. In the bushes, Yona noticed a big spider web. She bent down until she spotted the spider.
“Hello spider friend!”
The spider responded with his little chittering voice. It wasn’t quite words, but Yona could understand him. She asked him about things. He didn’t like the sudden cold the windigo had brought, and he left her with a warning. The mountains ahead were full of other spirits like the windigo. There were few spiders or bugs there. It was a bad place.
Yona got up slowly. After the spider’s warning, she wasn’t quite as eager to follow Rime, but the spirit seemed impatient to get up to the mountains. Yona thought over what she should do next.