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She walked off to help someone else while Kam was glancing around to find Lor.
    The cavern they were in was not natural, that much Kam could tell as he looked around. The dogs were roaming freely and happily around the sleds, which were mostly unpacked around them. The cave dwarfed the clan horribly, emphasizing just how few members were sitting around the fire pit that looked like it had been carved into the stone floor centuries ago. Lor was kneeling by the fire, one of Ness's hands in his, and Kam could tell by the distant glaze in Lor's eyes that he was casting a spell of some sort on her.
    Kam picked up his spoon and started eating while he watched Lor work. He had an impersonal touch as he looked over Ness's red and chapped hands, hands that were probably so frostbitten the night before that she shouldn't have them at all. Lor was clearly quite powerful and very caring, which Kam admired.
    Lor was called away to look over one of the sleds when he finished with Ness so Kam finished his breakfast alone. He clambered to his feet, bare toes cringing against the cold stone floor, and brought his bowl over to the woman in charge of washing up. Kam returned to his sleeping pallet, found his socks and boots, and went exploring.
    Runt toddled over when Kam walked past the mother dog. Kam gave her a good belly rub before guiding Runt back to her mom.
    The cave was huge, but there was only one entrance. The giant hole along one wall sparkled a little with magic, so Lor must be using a spell to keep the wind and snow out. Kam walked in the other direction, past where the sleds and the dogs had their own circle away from the humans. The wall there wasn't as smooth, which seemed strange to Kam considering there was hardly a blemish along the walls otherwise.
    The way the stone curved was deceptive. There was a small opening cleverly hidden amid the misshapen rock barely large enough for Kam to slide through. Kam carefully stepped out of the passage into a smaller, but still very large side cavern. The light was different than the firelight in the main cave, seemingly coming from within the walls rather than from a fire.
    Kam walked closer to one of the shining walls and gasped at what he saw. Piles upon piles of gems and golden statuary were frozen in a thick layer of ice, forever locked away because not even a chisel and hard work would break through to the treasure hidden inside. Kam walked along the ice wall, mesmerized, until he reached a spot that was darker than the rest. He put his hands up to shade his eyes and pressed his nose into the ice, trying to see why that section was different.
    He looked down lower and gasped, a gigantic pang of loneliness shooting through his heart. There was a giant, lizard-like, scaled head frozen in the ice. It was neatly hidden thanks to it's own colorless hide and it looked like it was attached to a body that could easily explain why the caves and entrances were so big.
    "Magnificent, isn't he?" Lor asked softly from behind Kam.
    "What is it?" Kam asked, his own voice soft in an almost reverent tone.
    "That," Lor replied proudly, "is the White Dragon."
    "Why is he so sad?" Kam asked, his voice tight with tears as the pulsing loneliness continued to erupt from the sleeping dragon encased in ice.
    Lor rested a hand on Kam's shoulder, gently pulling him away from the wall of ice. "Because he is alone," Lor explained as he drew Kam towards the exit. "The other dragons left, leaving White behind as the only steward of these mountains. Not even the golden dragon stayed."
    "That's terrible!" Kam gasped as he slid through the opening. Lor forced his larger body through afterwards, still holding onto Kam's shoulder, and they both walked back into the more natural firelight together. "Is there anything we can do?"
    Lor shook his head. "It's all been tried, thousands of centuries ago. But I did see a dragon when I went south. He was just a baby and in human form, but he was proof that the rest of the