Fire Mage by John Forrester Page B

but functioning well. Food was running low. They had enough for maybe another day, and in the oasis they found no game to hunt, just a few palm trees and scraggly bushes. Even a snake would taste good…if they could find one.
    On the second day they ran out of food. Rikar caught a rattlesnake and roasted it. Tasted like a chewy, tough chicken, but very little meat and after it all, Talis still felt hungry.
    The air was colder now, so cold at night it was close to freezing. They were nearing the northlands, the Elbegurian Forest and the Turyan River. He’d never felt so tired and sun burned in his life. If fire was his element, the sun was consuming all the moisture from his body. He felt like he was drying up.
    Late afternoon the next day, Talis could see a thin layer of ice covering the last stretch of sand along the northern end of the desert. They’d finally reached the northlands. The sky held a swath of silver-grey—remnants of the sand storm that had cleared up only an hour before. A chill crept into Talis as he rode; he was tired and windswept and he missed Naru and missed his family. From the downward glances of the others, they were exhausted too, and there didn’t appear to be a good place to rest for the night.
    He wanted to ride ahead and ask Rikar, but his arms and face were cold and unresponsive. There must be a place to rest ahead. Scanning the horizon, Talis spotted a pack of caribou, their proud horns bent down as they grazed on whatever bits of grass and lichen they could find. They raised their heads and stared at them. White mist billowed from their nostrils as they chewed, studying the approaching riders.  
    “Dinner…” Nikulo drooled and patted his belly.
    Mara withdrew her bow and nocked an arrow. “I get the first bite. Let’s go!”  
    Talis sped off after the caribou, Rikar and Nikulo flanking. The pack bolted off together, but a young buck, confused at the two horses coming at him from different directions, turned to face Talis and Mara, pawing at the ground. A moment too late, he charged off after the pack, but Mara’s arrow caught him in the ribs, and a second hit his right flank. Stumbling, he kicked, huffing and grunting, big white exhalations floating off in the cold air.
    Rikar leapt off his horse, bringing his sword sharply up to end the poor creature’s pain. They would feed well tonight and probably for the next few days. They hefted the young buck onto a horse, and Rikar scanned around as if looking for a place to setup camp.
    Talis dismounted and gazed at the thickening sky: big clumps of snow drifted slowly to the ground. This was the first time he’d seen snowflakes this big. His horse neighed and stomped her hooves as he stared over the vast expanse. A wide, frothy river flowed down from the north and curved east. On either sides of the river were rocky clearings and thick, towering pines. Beyond, a mist settled over the river and the forest, obliterating the view of the lower mountains. Snow-capped peaks poked out halfway up in the sky, like sentinels keeping watch over their domain.  
    “This must be the Turyan River—and beyond, the Elbegurian Forest,” Talis said, his voice low and tense. “Master Holoron said these were dangerous lands….”
    “But it looks so beautiful,” Mara said. Blade-edged peaks and granite faces ten thousand feet tall. Wind whipped near the peaks, and blew snow in enormous cotton swaths. One peak held a massive glacier…a thick cap of ice and snow. Talis sat transfixed, and glanced down at the forests. He’d never seen such gigantic trees. Closer to the river, the pines were hundreds of feet tall. But further up, titanic trees towered the land, with the top half of the trees bursting above the fog. A cold, dark power filled the land, Talis could feel it tingle under his skin. He stared at the lower forest as if eyes were everywhere, watching them.
    “Let's camp over there, on the left side of the river, along the tree line,”