As the light began to fade and the last rays of the sun vanished behind the jagged peaks, the mountain seemed to grow even more silent. The wind howled faintly through narrow crevices, carrying flakes of snow that glimmered faintly in the dim twilight. The Empress stopped walking and turned slightly, her gaze scanning the path ahead and then the weary faces of her companions.
"We will stop here for the night," she said, her voice steady but gentler than usual. "There is little sense in pushing forward when the cold deepens with the dark."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Even the guide, who had led many expeditions in his time, looked visibly grateful. They followed him a short distance off the main path, to a rocky outcrop that offered a semblance of shelter. The formation of stone curved inward like a shallow cave, and above it hung a natural ledge of ice and rock, wide enough to serve as a roof from the falling snow.
