190

Letting the boy go free at the last possible moment, you grab the sledge whip and lash the dogs, driving them for everything they are worth. On all sides, flurries of arrows whistle past you and several thud into the framework of the empty sledge. A couple of the Ice Barbarian scouts give chase, but your dog team is now much faster and you soon outdistance even their arrows.

By nightfall, you reach the very edge of the Viad Mountains. This vast granite range rises sheer out of the ice and snow and presents you with an impassable barrier on such a moonless night. Meanwhile a wind arises in the west, heralding a night squall. You must find shelter or you will surely perish in the blizzard.

If you have the Kai Discipline of either Tracking or Sixth Sense, turn to 348.

If you do not have either of these skills, you can look for shelter towards the north by turning to 27.

If you prefer, you can search towards the south by turning to 314.