> Look back eastward and open a gap to a spot a couple of miles away.
> "Stay close. And close your eyes when going through if you have to."
> Gently lead Maribel through the gap.
>Huh. Have we examined our hands recently?
>You take a moment to examine your hands. And...they're rather a mess. Dirty and with a quantity of scum under your fingernails, and a little ripped up from your rock-climbing adventure. IT will take some time and care to restore the to their proper majesty.
>While you examine your hand, Maribel grabs a small bundle of what seems to be weeds from near her fire. Taking a closer look, it seems to be a crude bag. As well, she grabs a sturdy-looking stick not too dissimilar to the one you were carrying before you stored it away.
>You then open a gap, and guide Maribel through it. "I remember how they work," she says around a dry cough, closing her eyes as you lead her into it.
>Stepping through the gap, you emerge to find yourself in another section of rocky wastes. The land here is a bit less uneven than were you found Maribel, and the air is noticeably chillier. Several tall, thin columns of rock extend from the ground here in random places, their tops spiraling apart to create something like corkscrew-shaped tendrils that reach toward the sky.
>"Mmm," says Maribel, "We're going toward that snow, huh?"
>_
