"So much for a wolf-eating snake-beast," Dwin murmured to herself, tapping her foot against the frozen surface of a small pool, where she could make out a shape of a snake underneath. The animal might have died elswhere and could have been carried down the steps by the current a long time ago. But the irony and symbolism of this particular fate did not escape Dwin. Mom had told her about this place and the story about the river serpent, which prowled in these waters. The prospect of finding it and beating it had excited Dwin's much younger self and she remembered, how she had spent weeks training in every pool, puddle and stream in caldera to prepare for the upcoming epic battle.

Until... something more exciting had come her way and she had all but forgotten about this. Now she was here - for the first time, while on a detour from tracking a deer herd - and remembered the story. The cascading waterfalls - now frozen still because of the cold spell - were fantastic, otherwordly even. For a moment she wished there was someone else to share the experience of beauty with. But then that thought was let go of and she began to move upwards the slope to see, what the place looked like from above. 

Dwin heard someone approach long before her gaze set upon a tall wolf in the colour of dirt and who looked as if nature had intended to create a masterpiece, but had lacked material to put on that gigantic frame. Had he had more muscle on him, she would have felt afraid. Now she watched him a little warily, but something about his demeanor told her that he was not an angry person. Upon close she caught the familiar scent of the desert dwellers and eased up even more. They were an alliance and friends of sorts. 

"Looking for lost princesses?" she asked, referring to her first encounter with Ingram. She did not receive a reply and therefore decided to move on and busy herself with other important matters.