- As Katsa and Bitterblue travel through the forest parallel to the mountains, Katsa tries to make a plan for escape. There are only two routes out of Monsea: the mountain pass and the Port Road, and Leck is sure to have checkpoints and guards all over both of them.
- She picks Bitterblue's brain about the mountains, trying to come up with a third option, and finally comes up with one: they'll lose the horse and cut straight through the mountains.
- Bitterblue is skeptical—no one's ever crossed the mountains and lived. Uh, ever.
- Katsa isn't deterred.
- She makes a bow and some snowshoes and pours over Raffin's maps, deciding to cross at a place called Grella's Pass. Bitterblue informs her that it's called Grella's Pass because Grella, a famous Monsean explorer, died trying to cross there. Encouraging.
- Grella, shmella. "Was he Graced?" (29.41) Katsa asks, and Bitterblue admits that no, he wasn't. But he was crazy—just like Katsa.
- Katsa's a little stung by the comment, but hey, sticks and stones, right? They're mountain bound.