Clara also asked the mute trader to burn the body of her faithful donkey in twenty-four hours time, once the spirit had truly left the beast. The Eskiman nodded solemnly, agreeing with her use of the old customs, and gladly agreed to lay the creature to rest among its distant brethren, the wild creatures of the mountain.

She left the shop after an hour’s rest and a hot meal from the fireplace, first heading back down the path to Rancher, before rounding a corner and quickly vanishing into the forest, leaving the pelts and her poncho beneath a rotting log.