Owlknight

Three tries or a freezing, sure death in fast water that would batter them against the rocks, and still they were willing to see Darian through on his quest.

That seemed the best plan; with Kel’s help, they strung a rope across the river from bank to bank. The unladen dyheli went over first, with Hashi paddling madly beside them. Then Karles, who had no difficulty getting across, unlike the dyheli. It occurred to Darian at that point that the Companion’s strength must be enormous; he already knew that Karles’ stamina was incredible, but his strength must have been incredibly greater than a horse for him to get across with such ease. Then, one by one, the humans crossed.

Steelmind - oldest, tallest, and strongest - went first, and instead of using the rock shelf, he dove directly into the water a little farther upstream beyond the shelf. If he had trouble, they were going to have to rethink their plan.

Like the dyheli, Steelmind labored every bit of the way, but did make landfall at the proper place. Without a pause, once he waved from the bank, Wintersky followed him from the same point that he had used. Meanwhile Steelmind gathered tinder, partly for a quick warming-fire on the other side, and partly so the activity would generate more body heat.

The two girls went next, one at a time; Keisha, who had been swimming every day in the Vale lake, just barely made the landing spot. Shandi overshot and had to catch herself on the rope lest she go farther downstream. Steelmind and Karles both waded in to help her over the last bit.

Hywel and Darian went in together; Hywel was not the swimmer that Darian was, and Darian wanted to pace him, just in case. Due to the life-debt, or perhaps friendship alone, Hywel did not want to be away from Darian.

The river was unbelievably cold.

Darian gasped as he hit the water, shocked by the temperature. He rose spluttering to the surface, and struck out for the shore, but the shock had driven most of the air from his lungs, and he had to fight to get another full breath. Darian realized that it was the life-sapping cold that they had not figured into their calculations. In no time he was numb and shivering uncontrollably; it was hard to get air as the muscles of his chest clenched from the cold.

He was too busy watching out for Hywel, swimming and fighting for air to think; the swim was a nightmarish experience that required every fragment of his attention. His focus was split between Hywel thrashing along beside him and his own next breath, the next stroke of his arms, and kick of his legs.

Then he was on the other side; Steelmind and Keisha hauled him out onto the sloping shelf of stone. Beside him, Shandi and Wintersky pulled out Hywel. They both staggered to the land, and dropped to the ground, shivering and coughing.

But as soon as Darian could manage to think, despite gasping like a stunned fish, he seized the nearest ley-line and used the magic - unshielded - to create heat. Without the shielding, the spell created more heat. The dyheli crowded close, steam rising from their coats, and the humans relaxed and stopped shivering. Hashi moved out of the way and shook himself vigorously, then trotted back into the zone of warmth. The heat made an enormous difference; as it soaked into them, and they stopped shivering, it was easier to catch their breaths, easier to regain lost strength. Steelmind returned with an armful of driftwood and twigs, quirked a smile as he realized what they were doing, then dropped the bundle in place to join the group.

It was while they were still drying off that Kuari hooted a warning from somewhere out of sight. Darian’s head snapped up, and the dyheli snorted in alarm.

:Men coming!: he told Darian. :With bows!:

They all scrambled to their feet; Darian dismissed the spell and readied a trip-up, a variation on the first bit of magic he’d ever used in combat, to make people’s feet stick to the ground just long enough to trip them. With their backs to the river, they waited for the strangers to approach - weapons to hand, but not at the ready. Would they approach, or would they slip up to the newcomers to their land? And if they did, would it be with intent to examine, or to ambush?

The warriors must have realized immediately that the strangers had been alerted to their presence, for they did not even try to approach unnoticed. They came openly, but very, very silently - by Northern standards.

Not by Tayledras standards. Darian, Steelmind, and Wintersky heard them long before they appeared among the trees; the crinkle of dead leaves, and the sharp snap of a twig betrayed them. The dyheli snapped their ears forward at each sound until the Northerners emerged from the forest, then they parted to show Kelvren lying at his ease in their midst.

The Northerners froze in mid-step, one by one, as soon as they saw the gryphon. They were clearly taken aback to see what to them must seem a monster lying like a pet dog beside the strangers.

Before anyone could move or speak, Hywel suddenly brightened and stepped forward. “Hiyo! Warriors of Gray Wolf, I greet you!” he said cheerfully. “I am Hywel, a warrior of Ghost Cat, and these are my friends, come to trade!”

That made all the difference. Some of the tension ebbed out of the group, and one of the warriors stepped forward.