The wind was colder than any of the travellers would have expected, whipping across the land, setting Liana’s long cloak flapping wildly, and making Sil-El flatten his ears. Liana shielded the cat as best she could from the chilly gusts, tried to gather her cloak around both her and her pet, partly for whatever warmth and protection it might provide, and partly to keep it from getting caught, and perhaps torn, on the stunted bushes that grew everywhere in this zone.

The others weren’t having an easy time either, ducking their heads, shielding their eyes from the dirt, twigs, and leaves the rough weather was hurling at them. The last time they’d been faced with a wind like this had been just before they’d been caught and separated by a vortex storm. Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the problem on this occasion; there were no weirdly colored clouds advancing on them, just the regular kind overhead, promising rain to come, but the wind alone was bad enough. If rain was added to it, they were going to be seriously uncomfortable.

“We need to find shelter!” Varian shouted over the howl of the wind.

“Yeah!” Fred agreed, pushing forward against what felt like a wall of solid air, keeping Scott close to his side so the boy wouldn’t be bowled over, as Varian did the same for Liana and Willaway. “But where?”

There were thorny bushes scattered across the hillside, and the occasional tree, or small cluster of them, but nothing immediately visible that looked like it might offer them any protection against wind and rain.

Taking advantage of a momentary lessening of the wind, a lull that was all too brief, Varian quickly scanned the area and pointed upslope and to the right, where what looked like a fallen tree leaned against a jumble of rocks a few hundred yards away. “Over there. It’s not much, but…” He trailed off as the full force of the gale slammed into him once more, and concentrated on steering his friends towards the rocks.

“Any port in a storm,” Willaway said, head down, and only audible because they were all keeping so close together. “Right now, anything has to be better than nothing.”

“Yeah, partner,” Fred agreed, following in Varian’s wake, using the taller man as a windbreak.

With the rocks blocking the worst of the wind, five people and a cat hunkered down in a small hollow, overhung by the tree, which was leaning at a precarious angle but surprisingly still firmly rooted. As long as the rain didn’t come down too hard, they might stay mostly dry.

“Is the weather always so changeable?” Willaway peered out from their meagre shelter as thunder rumbled in the distance and lightning flashed. Rain pattered down, dampening the ground around them.

“It varies from zone to zone.” Varian arranged his tall frame as comfortably as the cramped space allowed. “This isn’t as bad as it could be.”

“Oh, there’s a comforting thought.”

Fred shot the other man a look. “Complainin’ again, Willaway? Don’t you ever stop?”

“That wasn’t a complaint, merely an observation.”

“This isn’t a good time or place for arguments.” Varian spoke in a calm, unruffled tone.

Fred leaned his head back against a rock. “Yeah, you’re right. We should probably just try to make the best of things.”

Willaway nodded. “From the look of that sky, we might be here all night.”

“With no fire, and not much in the way of food.” Fred shifted into a more comfortable position. “I can think of plenty of places I’d rather be.”

“I’m sure we all can.” Liana cuddled Sil-El close; like most cats, he wasn’t fond of getting wet.

“We’re together, and safe,” Varian said quietly, barely audible beneath the rolling thunder. “For now, that’s enough.”


The End