The Star Plume dropped off precipitously here, as few travelers visited this forlorn place. Flyer had worked up a sweat from the long ride and the quickly dropping temperatures had frozen his coat into thick salty clumps. Aglaje bed the tired horse down in a vast stone stall built deep into the side of a cliff. Several other riding animals were in residence and Aglaje could see they had recently been fed and watered. This was a good sign that someone was tending after things daily, as she’d hoped. She’d taken a risk coming all this way. As Flyer settled in, the animals shifted nervously in Aglaje’s presence, one of them at the back of the vast stall screeching in protest. Wishing to avoid alerting a caretaker who might not be interested in her story, Aglaje stepped outside and rolled the heavy metal door closed. It had not been locked when she arrived, so she left it as it was. Outside the stall, in the faint light cast by her neck lantern, Aglaje looked around. The area was mostly wasteland, just bluish scrubby brush and grey rock.
