Matthew walked at the front of the group. Just as they had discussed the night before, he had become their guide through the mountain.
According to him, he used to play in these forests often as a child and had even climbed the mountain once with his mother.
"My mother carried me part of the way," he said as he pushed aside a snow-covered branch.
"Not all the way to the peak, of course, but high enough that I could see Amber Village from above."
His voice was nearly swallowed by the howling wind. Without his heightened senses, Ulrich doubted he would have heard him at all.
The closer they climbed toward the summit, the harsher the wind became, screaming through the forest like something alive.
As if the mountain itself did not welcome visitors.
"But the weather wasn't this bad back then," Matthew added quietly.
"Maybe because it's winter," Andrew sighed as he adjusted the scarf around his neck.
