During her trip from the campsite of the Mouse Army to the first of the 
castles, Nell had to use all the wilderness skills she had learned in years of 
traveling around the Land Beyond: She fought with a mountain lion, avoided a 
bear, forded streams, lit fires, built shelters. By the time Nell had 
maneuvered Princess Nell to the ancient moss-covered gates of the first castle, 
the sun was shining horizontally across the meadow and the air was becoming a 
bit chilly. Nell wrapped herself up in a thermogenic shawl and set the 
thermostat for something a little on the cool side of comfortable; she had 
found that her wits became dull if she got too cozy. The basket had a thermos 
of hot tea with milk, and the sandwiches would hold out for a while.