In Due Course

[Sören]

"Nothing,"
Sören echoed flatly. His lips twisted dissatisfaction with the answer, an answer he considered an evasion. Another man he might have pushed, but with Declan he left it alone. As he said himself, he'd known some of the men who had died out here, and maybe that was all it took to fester in his unconscious mind. They were far from civilization, a mere speck in nature's icy grasp, and with a dour, mistrustful guide. All truth told, there was much to be worried about. But Sören was content here in the snowy wilderness, chasing a mystery that might amount to nothing. And he knew he would not die here, though he could not say the same for Declan. Of course some fates were worse than death.

"Tell me if the dreams continue."
The other man was already waving him off in favour of finishing the camp set-up. The dismissal spiked irritation, but he brushed it off in favour of dragging the Wallet from his pack. The signal had long faded. His sources had never responded, which was unusual. Too late now, in any case. He slipped the device back into a pocket, and trudged off a little way into the snow to roust Daruka from the dogs, and secure the perimeter to his own liking.