After fourteen hours of walking at a relentless pace, only stopping twice for a bathroom and food break, Will's Party finally reached the base of the Fire Hurdle, a region that was perpetually cast in shadow.
'This might be trouble...' thought Will, taking note of the veritable sea of tents that had been erected by those preparing for their own Ascent or as support. The only permanent structure was a massive, four-story longhall with an attached stable and a large crest on the third floor resembling the visage of an ivory dragon with three sets of horns. One set coiled like the ridged horns of a ram, another flowed away from its scalp like an outward tapering bident, and the last jutted out from the side of its head, forming a shape reminiscent of a crown as they curved around toward its forehead and sloped upward with gold-tipped points.
