Day 237: Moving Upslope
Vadin... decides Indigo's idea is a good one. "Let's go upland and look for coal, perhaps I can also find some animals there." He then adds "I wonder how these minerals found their way down the mountains."
Has the party begins to move upslope, the answer to Vadin's question presents itself, as travel slows dramatically and the horses have to be towed at points.
Due to the incline, any disturbance uphill would cause materials to slide or roll down, possibly dislodging others. That particular lump of coal could have been dropped or dislodged years ago.
As the party continues upward, the vegetation thins somewhat and the humidity drops some, as well. Feroz is able to take back to the sky as overwatch.
After about an hour of travel, Vadin points out a game trail running perpendicular to the slope. The path follows a bit of a ridge that allows for horizontal travel. Northward, the particular path rises further into the mountains and becomes more narrow than the horses could follow. Southward seems to widen, and it is the direction the party was originally travelling, anyway.
At this altitude it is unlikely the path belongs to tapir, it is a more reasonable deduction that the path is used by some type of goat or sheep. Following the path, the peak curves eastward, and the party realizes that the path is leading toward a previously hidden valley.
As the path dips back toward lower elevation, there is a split. A much narrower path continues eastward. The broader path continues downward toward the valley.
It is late enough in the afternoon that the split in the path seems a good place to stop for the night.
Sheldon says, "
We should look around some before it gets too dark. We may find fresh game upslope, but we do not really need it. There is no telling what we might find in that valley."