Sawtooth Spire for the debt i owe, gotta sell my soul

it was the scatter of rocks that first alerted thorn to some other being's presence; he froze, suspecting the cat might have tricked him. the rocks continued their clattering down the mountainside, and in mincing, suspicious steps, thorn traced their location.

he peered down a large promontory in time to hear something akin to a hoarse whisper -- casting his gaze wildly down the shattered cliffs, he nearly stepped back in surprise. below him, on a sheath of shale and gneiss, ketzia struggled to pull herself upwards. "ketzia!" thorn nearly bellowed, ears pinned in alarm as he attempted his way downwards.

the going was treacherous, and more than once thorn needed to pause and rethink his strategy. at last, he was standing on the stone above her -- an anxious whine peeling from his throat as he tried to figure out how to extract the woman from what appeared to be a stony grave.