The plateau's winter seemed perpetual, snow and ice never going away. Rather than rain instead we had snow, destroying visibility and blowing against us hour after hour. Days passed as what would have been the rainy season advanced and we found ourselves practically buried every morning.

That wasn't to say we didn't make any progress inland, for we certainly did, nor that we didn't find anything at all, for that too would be untrue. The first came when I was digging us out of our nightly shelter one morning.

I could have been digging with hands, or perhaps one of the few tools I'd brought along, but no, magic made things easier, and there was no reason for me to waste time and effort trying to do with physical work what I could more easily do with nothing other than the power of my mind. When all of a sudden a head popped out of the side of the tunnel.

It was a rabbit, a bit large perhaps, pure white and surprised at having met me here. For a moment the two of us blinked at each other, eyes locked before it panicked and turned, fleeing back into its tunnel. I was so surprised that I didn't even try to catch it. We could have use the meat, sure, but it wasn't dire or anything, and I took it all as a sign of good luck. This showed that there was still some life up here, even if most of it was hidden.

Leaving the foot on the lucky rabbit worked, as by midday the snow had all but ceased. That was good, as I was getting tired of keeping all of the spells needed to manage the cold flakes at bay. As the winds slowed and flakes stopped drifting down in waves it revealed that we were some few hundred feet from a patch of small trees. The little evergreens struggled, but pushed their way upwards looking for some freedom from the knee-high snow.

Seeing a chance to make our journey just a bit easier we pulled some of the ones that looked to be doing poorly. After all, wood was not exactly common here, and we wouldn't want to deprive the locals of prime materials. The bits we took were spindly and whipish, and made perfect a base for a rudimentary sled. Sled building had been one of the first things I'd taught Chien, and while these were certainly different than the more sturdy constructions now used in and around Atal for dragging things about this one would be excellent for snow.

A vehicle, even the poor little one they fashioned, greatly sped our progress. No more was our group trying to push through all the snow, struggling for our steps or just melting our way forward with magic, now they sailed across the top of it. Magical pushes and a few good hills made things all the easier, and even fun at times.

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That's not to say there were no hiccups. Several times they capsized, sending their whole crew sprawling to the sides and causing no small amount of bruises. Even a bit sore their speed and the sheer enjoyment made it all worth it.

“Where are we going anyway?” Chien asked as they took a break for lunch.

“No idea,” I admitted honestly, getting looks for the other two.

“Seriously?” he asked.

“Yeah, I don't know my way around here. My best idea is to wander about for awhile until they spot us and decide to come talk. Do you have any clue where their camp is? Or even how to navigate in this mess? I mean, I can get us a general direction and whatnot, but there have to be paths and passes somewhere.”

“So, what's our general direction then?” Isha didn't seem impressed with my plan.

“East, with a bit of a north or south lean at any given time and depending on what we see. If you see anything you want to check out we can.”

An hour later Isha was the one to point a place out. It looked to be a dip in the horizon, surrounded by small hills. Seemed to me a good a place as any to check out, and if not we could make camp there tonight, as it should at the very least be nicely sheltered.

We weren't the only ones interested it appeared, as a small herd of some kind of deer had taken up residence in the bottom. There were less than twelve, but all of the bucks had horns that glowed slightly, surrounding a small orb in their heads.

“Take them?” Chien asked.

“Magic, definitely magic, let's watch for a bit, see what we can learn before we go in to try anything. I don't fancy fighting some kind of powerful beast if we don't have to.”

While the animals seemed a bit agitated at us, occasionally looking up to us where we waited on the edge of the little bowl the fact that nobody was getting any closer or displaying more than interest seemed to keep the m calm. Sadly that meant that I didn't really learn anything about them, but it was at least a restful way to spend part of my afternoon, or at least it would have been.

“Hey,” I heard a sharp, harsh tone from nearby. “What exactly do you think you're doing? This is our hunt.”

I jumped and we all immediately began to look around for the unknown voice. The other two looked nervous, but I pushed out a wave of mana, trying to sense anything.

That failed of course. I'd never tried anything like sonar or the like before, magical or otherwise, and so it was a complete bust. That didn't mean that it did nothing though, as our visitor wouldn't know that.

“Reveal yourself,” I said, to no one in particular, getting ready to fight.

A small pile of snow, not even ten feet from us rose up a bit, to reveal an elf in a full cloth outfit that matched perfectly with the color of the snow, looking like it was one with the surroundings.

“Don't play coy with me. We've been following this herd for days, they're ours. If you want some deer yourself go find others, but I'm not giving up a group I've spent this much time and effort into. Also, keep your voice down you dolt or you'll scare them all away.”

“I don't want the deer, I'm a messenger sent to speak to the locals.” He looked at me like I was an idiot. “It's true, I really am looking to spread news.”

“Whatever, you can wait here then, and when we're done I'll take you to see someone, but we need those antlers for our home.”

“Fine, like I said, I don't care about the deer.”

“Then you're an idiot, they're needed, particularly for our house, we're always trying to get just enough.”