There was only one way through.
Erling crouched behind the trunk with his shoulder against the ice and looked at the wreckage of the path he'd meant to take. Any hope he had of following his original plan died with that look, and his heart sank as he realized how badly he'd been outmaneuvered.
The fallen branch lay across the gap between two clustered trunks, a tangle of frozen limbs bristling with points as long as his forearm. If it were an ordinary tree, he might have considered going over it, or crawling under the fallen branches.
But these weren't simple twigs that he could force his way past. The instant he moved wrong, he'd slice himself open on those wickedly sharp points, and if he fell, the injuries would be even worse.
He'd have to go around.
To his left, the trees grew so close their trunks had nearly fused, and the gaps between them narrowed to nothing within twenty paces.
To his right, the ground opened up.
