Hour upon hour, it blows relentlessly into your face. The Ljuk ice shelf becomes a mass of twisted slabs of ice, jutting upwards at every angle. Progress is slow and difficult. By midday, you are shivering with cold; your lips are cracked and bleeding and the icy blasts have covered you with a thin film of snow.You steer your sledge through a narrow passage at the edge of the ice shelf where it meets the Hrod Basin. Here you are sheltered from the wind, and for the first time today you can see ahead quite clearly.Illustration VII—The three Baknar jump from the ice wall and land with a crash on the sledges.Suddenly, shrieks from above warn you that you are not the only creatures seeking shelter here. Within seconds, three large Baknar jump from the ice wall and land with a crash on the sledges. Your fellow driver, Irian, is thrown against the ice and collapses unconscious. You are prevented from going to his aid by a hungry carnivorous Baknar.
