darkened blade_ A fallen blade novel - Kelly McCullough Page 0,69
you have a suggestion for how we get out of it?” asked Faran. “Or are you just complaining because you like the sound of your own voice?”
“The former,” he replied, dryly. “But it’s not going to be very popular.”
This should be a doozy, sent Triss.
“Tell me,” I said.
“If we’re where I think we are,” said Kelos, “there’s a place about a mile down the trail where the path overlooks a deep ravine carved by the Evindine. The path itself curves on and goes around another small peak and down through a much gentler valley before it comes back to the river. The snow is going to be ten feet deep through that second valley if it’s an inch—maybe deeper if there’ve been avalanches. It’ll take us several days to get through if we go that way, and that’s assuming we can do it at all.”
“If we go that way?” I asked. “That’s the way the path goes. If you haven’t noticed, this isn’t great terrain for breaking new trail.”
Kelos shook his head. “No, it’s not. Not on foot at any rate.”
“I don’t . . .” And then a mad thought occurred to me. “Wait, are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting? Because that’s crazy.”
“Probably. I told you that you wouldn’t like it.”
“Hey, old man.” Faran poked me in the ribs. “I missed a step in that dance. Clue a girl in here, would you.”
I sighed. “He’s suggesting that we sail-jump down the ravine that holds the Evindine. He’s also insane. I came through this part of the mountains a time or two when I was in training. If it’s the place I remember . . .” I shook my head. “The clearance is what, fifteen feet side to side?”
“In the narrower spots.” Kelos nodded. “But most of the way down it’s a good twenty-five feet. It’s steep, too, excellent drop to distance ratio for a sail-jump. I think we could make it all the way to the base where it opens out, especially with the wind that’ll be blowing up from the bottom in this storm. It’ll slow the glide down, but it’ll provide a lot of lift.”
“Not to mention turbulence,” said Siri. “That’ll make it harder to stay centered.”
I looked at her. “You said that like it’s a done deal. You’re not seriously agreeing with him, are you? What if he’s wrong and the valley isn’t steep enough for a sail-jumper to make it all the way to the bottom?”
Siri opened her hand in a what-are-you-going-to-do gesture.
“We still might be all right,” said Kelos. “It’s been brutally cold for a good seventy-five hours. The Evindine is shallow here, and the flow this time of year is pretty light. There’s a good chance it’s solid ice from top to bottom. Given how rough and stepped the bed is, I wouldn’t want to try to ride it if it’s not frozen. But if it is, it’s probably survivable.”
“Maybe,” I said. “If you’re lucky, and you don’t mind a few fractures.”
“I didn’t hear a no anywhere in there,” said Faran. “Just a lot of I don’t like it. Are you seriously considering this idea, Aral?”
You are, aren’t you? sent Triss.
I nodded. “We’ve got two, maybe three days’ food if we keep eating the way we have to in order to stay warm. Five if we eat the goats. If Kelos is right about how hard getting through the valley the trail follows is going to be, we’re going to be mighty hungry by the time we get down to the flatlands. Even that presumes that the storm stops in the next day or two and we get a melt. It’s an unseasonable blizzard, but not so much so that it couldn’t simply be the start of winter.”
“Even if it’s not,” said Siri, “we’re going to have to do some hard digging to move on. That is, unless it warms up a lot and fast. . . .”
“In which case we’ll have to worry about flooding,” I added. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about the downsides of a melt, too. As much as I hate to admit it, Kelos may be right.”
The older man smiled his grim smile. “I’ll volunteer to take the first jump. I can signal when I get to the bottom if it works. If I’m wrong, and it doesn’t, then at least I’ll be too dead to have to listen to all the I told you sos.”
13
Snow devoured the world in dreamy silence, swallowing sounds and sights with a