Korik sighed. “No. This is new. We’re a bit higher in elevation, so maybe that’s why.”
“Hopefully,” Varen agreed with a sigh. “Would you mind taking a look around to see if it’s still snowing anywhere else? Or if it looks like a storm is coming in?”
“I can try,” Korik agreed.
Varen watched as the orc sat back down and placed his hands on the ground before closing his eyes. He could faintly sense the wash of magic pass over him, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. Part of him wondered what it must have felt like, stretching his awareness so far outside of himself—it was entirely different from any use of magic that he had ever been taught.
Korik was still and silent. His head turned slightly up, his lips slightly parted, and his long, dark hair cascaded along the side of his face to his shoulder. Varen looked at him for a long while. He was so unlike any other orc Varen had met. Not just in his appearance, long and lanky with wiry muscle, but in his mannerisms and behavior.
He had worked with his fair share of orcs in the time he’d spent in Drol Kuggradh, many of them warriors and leaders in their own right. They were often loud and imposing andpushy, which was saying a lot coming from Varen, who knew his own vices well enough. Korik was a silent observer in comparison, absorbing everything, but only adding his thoughts when he deemed it necessary. But he was perceptive and intelligent, and the way he saw things was so very different—both from Varen, and from his experience with most orcs.
And to think he hadn’t wanted a healer with them at all when Enriel had first asked him to accompany her back to Aefraya. Now, if he had to pick anyone to be lost in the wilderness with, Korik was certainly one of the highest on his list.
He had come to expect this part of Korik’s abilities to take a while, so eventually he pulled himself out of his strangely affectionate thoughts and busied himself with putting together some semblance of a morning meal. The waterskin they shared was nearly empty, and they’d had little luck finding fresh water to fill it, so he used his own magic to pull the moisture from the nearby frost into the container. It was tedious work, but he had done it a thousand times before and it was easier than pulling water from the air or from deep within the earth, so he supposed they were lucky in that regard, if nothing else.
After nearly an hour, the waterskin was full and the camp was tidy; but Korik was still sitting motionless right where Varen had left him. He looked at the orc with growing concern, wondering if he should try to shake him out of it, like how he had when they had to flee. Ultimately, he decided against it: maybe he had found something important, or was investigating the route they would take today.
Varen sat down across from him and busied himself with whittling some sticks he’d found, sharpening them into points to more easily roast things over the fire. It was simple work and didn’t take long, but he’d gone through two sticks and was on the third when Korik finally stirred, his eyes opening and blinking rapidly.
“What did you find?” Varen asked. Korik’s eyes landed on him, but he still blinked hard a few times before he seemed to really focus. His expression remained grim, which was disheartening.
“A storm coming in,” he said, frowning. “I could see snow falling, and the clouds starting to form. Didn’t want to get too close, but I think it’ll hit here by nightfall, maybe early tomorrow at the latest. I don’t know how long it might last.”
“Shit,” Varen sighed, leaning back. He closed his eyes, trying to think rationally despite the panic swelling in his chest. All things considered, the little cave they’d found wasn’t a bad place to weather out a storm. If they went out, they might find somewhere better, or they might not. Their time would be better spent fortifying what they already had here and gathering supplies to wait it out. Or should they try to get as far down the mountain as they could to hopefully avoid the worst of the storm, or get far enough away it might break apart into harmless snowfall by the time it reached them?
“We should stay here,” Korik said, though his voice wavered as he said it.
“I was thinking the same,” Varen agreed, forcing himself to sound more sure than Korik had. He stood, abandoning his whittling. “We need to gather up as much food as we can, then. Those wood panels you wove, do we have enough to fully cover the entrance of the den?”
Korik turned and looked back at the little cave, assessing. “Not quite. But I can make another or two to make sure. And… I never got to use the trick I learned, making the wall of dirt. I could do that to seal it up, too.”
“Focus on insulating the den as much as you can,” Varen said. “I’ll see if I can hunt anything or forage. I filled the waterskin, too—once the snow starts falling we should be alright in that regard, I think.”
“I’ll look for more stones to keep the inside warm,” Korik said, still looking at the cave. “Don’t worry about foraging, I think. We’re not likely to find much now, and it’s too early for most of the winter berries to be ripe.”
“Maybe more of those apples,” Varen chuckled humorlessly. He was already standing and preparing his things; he’d been ready to break camp, but now he emptied out his bag of all but the necessities that he would need for hunting.
“Varen,” Korik said. Varen froze, looking over at the orc. A pained expression was on his face. The orc wasworriedabout him, Varen realized, and the thought made his stomach flutter pathetically. “Be careful. Come back at the first sign of snow. Don’t get caught too far.”
Varen wanted to smirk and boast that he would never be caught unaware—that he was the ranger in command, after all, and knew what he was doing. But he was trying to be gentler with Korik, who was showing him genuine vulnerability.
“I’ll be careful. I promise,” Varen replied softly. Korik’s face darkened, and he glanced away—probably expected a haughty response, Varen thought, and was caught off-guard that his care was noted and appreciated. He didn’t know what to make of the ache that stirred in his chest at Korik’s reaction.
“Good,” was all Korik murmured in return. Varen finished gathering his things and headed out with no further comment. They had no time to spare.
Chapter Twenty-One
Korik
Theywouldn’thavetimeto do everything Korik wished they could do to prepare for the coming storm. But rushing led to mistakes, as had so recently been proven with both the teleportation and his healing; so he worked carefully chopping wood, splitting bark, weaving together a thick panel, and setting the scraps aside for the fire. A deep undercurrent of anxiety cut through everything he did, but if he focused on the task at hand, he could keep it at bay.
With the day to prepare, they could probably weather the storm, depending on how long it was. Traveling through the snow afterward might be the bigger issue long-term. But if they could fortify their shelter, they could stay warm for a few days, assuming Varen found enough food for them to stay inside for that long. Unpleasant, certainly, but survivable.
The longer they’d been out on the mountain, the more Korik remembered from his youth. His clan had only passed through these mountains once, maybe twice in his memory, but all the skills and lessons about surviving out in the wilderness were coming back to him. It had been easier as a child, of course, since he had mostly relied on the adults and simply observed most of what he’d learned. Having an entire clan with their own tents and supplies was a boon itself; but other bits and pieces of memory would still help the two of them, as ill-prepared as they were—like the edible tree bark he’d found, which had tasted bad, but would provide much-needed nutrients and energy, regardless.
He had never had to prepare for a storm, but his father’s clan had traveled through snow. He vaguely remembered that when they had met members of the mountain clans, they had been wearing what looked like strange baskets on their feet—snow shoes—and received a pair in a trade. His focus now was a panel large enough to cover the opening of their cave to separate them from the outdoors, but crafting the shoes would be something to work on while they were waiting it out, he thought. He would need extra wood for that, though, and he wasn’t sure how much of what he had gathered would be suitable.
When the panel was wide enough to cover the entrance of the cave, he infused it with his magic to better ward against the wind and snow. Then he pulled it flush against the cave opening when he was inside, checking to make sure the seal was as tight as possible. The wall was rocky and not entirely smooth, so there were a few open pockets; but with the wall of dirt he planned to add as extra insulation, that would not be an issue.
