The Floodlands And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you

She sounded so distraught that he felt his throat tighten with emotion. She had gone through so much hardship in such a short amount of time, that the thought of her here, now, freezing near to death in this place, was almost too much for him to bear. She deserved better than this.

No, it's not a river, he agreed, but there probably is one, somewhere in this mess. We must be... fairly low... He gazed around, still searching in vain for somewhere dry to stop. Low, like in a valley, I mean... and a river, or rivers have been flooded, trapping all the water in this place. Or perhaps this was a lake, overrun? I don't know for certain. I cannot see anything in the water, the water is too muddy, or frozen over. He paused, thinking. If there is a lake here, we've been very lucky not to fall in so far. So... probably not a lake, then. He was babbling, he knew, but he was doing it on purpose, trying to keep Adylaide distracted from how cold it was.

They should never have come here. From the moment he had seen the water stretched out before them, he should have insisted they turn back and try going around the plateau to the right instead. He had promised her they could stop soon, but he did not know if that would turn out to be a lie. So far, the water was flat, with nothing rising above it. There was nowhere dry to take a break, and they could not stop here, in the middle of the water, or they truly would freeze to death. Damn it, he muttered, unaware that he had spoken aloud.