How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Mount Eskel feels the boots of outsiders." They paused, and then not even Bena stayed silent for the final line. "Mount Eskel won't bear their weight." (21.65)
The girls are doing some creepy horror movie routine by repeating this story to the bandits. There's some truth behind it though; the villagers definitely have some kind of connection with the mountain and will use it to warn each other of outsiders.
Quote #8
There, just before the bend in the road, she saw a line of darker shapes. To a watchful bandit they might appear just lumps of rocks, but Miri knew the shape of every rock around the academy. (22.8)
There's the Mount Eskel native's advantage—Miri is really good at memorizing the landscape around her. The silly bandits may just think that they're surrounded by rocks, but Miri knows the lay of the land… and backup has definitely arrived.
Quote #9
"Something's not right on this mountain. It knew we were here, told the villagers, just like the girls said. Next thing, the mountain will bury us alive and no one will cry, or those men will lop off my arms. I lost an eye for you once, Dan, and I'm not losing my arms, too." (23.22)
The bandits are starting to suspect that the mountain really does have some kind of magical power. Isn't it kind of creepy how the villagers turned up out of nowhere—almost as if they'd been summoned by the mountain itself?