When Ellisandra left the house the next morning, the snow had blown into big fluffy banks in the yard. The groundsman Karit had already shovelled a path from the front door to the gate as was his first task in the morning, but judging by the low scudding clouds with that typical leaden greyness that heralded snow, he would have to do it again later today.
A pathmaker was just coming up the street, a low flat sled drawn by two shaggy-haired tiyuk. The animals held their heads close to the ground and strained in the harness while pulling the heavy load uphill. Steam blew out of their nostrils. Both the animals were mature males, with the horn plates on their necks and the typical dark mottled pelt.
The driver was one of the herder nomads who came to the city during winter when pastures wer
