Help me.
The whisper came on the wind, lifted stray strands of her hair, and tickled her nape. Within the mountain range, it wasn't unusual to hear ghostly shadows. Not that there was anyone to hear them on the steep uninhabited slopes.
Higher. Come higher.
Again, the strange command danced around her as if floating on a stray breeze. She couldn't ignore it. Part of her duties as a handmaiden involved scouting the mountain and keeping it free from danger.
Having hiked this terrain many a time, she didn't feel any strain in her thighs as she took long strides, pushing herself to climb faster, enjoying the exhilaration that came from intense exercise.
Nema spotted the anomaly near the rim where the forest stopped and the rocky faade began. It appeared caught in the branches of a tree,
