It took a full day for Kaelor and ten Bloodstone Archers to reach Snake Hill, a narrow, treacherous stretch where the winding path curved sharply, hugging a sheer cliff on the left. The drop there was dizzying, the jagged rocks far below half-shrouded in morning mist. On the right rose a steep hill crowned with a scattering of gnarled trees and stubborn shrubs clinging to the soil. Its slope was nearly vertical in places, a dozen meters high, making any attempt to scale it under fire practically suicide.
The low, restless nickers of the Bloodstone steeds drifted through the crisp air, accompanied by the faint rustle of leather. Kaelor's eyes shifted to Vi, seated atop her mount beside him, her posture poised yet relaxed as if she had been born in the saddle.
