We crossed the foothills and began to climb upward toward the mountains.
The first few days I found myself short of breath as we worked upward
into thinner air, then my acclimatization returned and I began to fall
into the pattern of the days and nights on the trail. The Trade City
was still a beacon in the night, but its glow on the horizon grew dimmer
with each day's march.
Higher we climbed, along dangerous trails where men had to dismount and
let the pack animals pick their way, foot by foot. Here in these
altitudes the sun at noonday blazed redder and brighter, and the
Dry-towners, who come from the parched lands in the sea-bottoms, were
burned and blistered by the fierce light. I had grown up under the
blazing sun of Terra, and a red sun like Wolf, even at its hottest,
caused me no discomfort. This alone would have made me suspect. Once
again I found Cuinn's fierce eyes watching me.
As we crossed the passes and began to descend the long trail through the
thick forests, we got into nonhuman country.
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