"It’s suicide! Only the strong survive this mountain, Elias. If we’re weighed down, we die."
Elias and Kael were three days from the nearest village when the blizzard hit. They were "Strong-Men," professional haulers hired to carry delicate medicinal roots across the pass before the freeze. Kael was the specimen of the title—broad-shouldered, young, and capable of carrying eighty pounds without breaking a sweat. Elias was older, wiry, and moved with a hitch in his left hip. Only the Strong
"You’re right," Elias replied, tightening his own straps. "Only the strong survive. But you don't know what strength is yet." "It’s suicide