Fire Sled — Katharine Giles

A crisis in the Kingdom of Partha forces Partha's ruler to invite Archer and Aradia to save them from an attack by Volka, leader of the Arndi, a colony of great white apes. Japhron, the son of Partha's crystal master, stole the space ship called Fire Sled and gave the ship to Volka. While Fire Sled's sister ship can provide many needs of Partha's residents, Fire Sled contained the technology that guaranteed their survival in this hostile environment and allowed them to continue their work on the Earth Star.

Expecting a relatively easy task, Archer and Aradia quickly learn they can't use their usual mode of transportation, traveling through the crystal ball, to enter the Arndi kingdom. Because of the Arndi's lust for blood, it's not possible for outsiders to enter or leave Volka's stronghold through the heavily guarded tunnels. But that isn't the only reason they can't travel through the crystal ball. They have to travel through the mountain in the parallel world because the memory of their trip will give Fire Sled the coordinates to find its way home.

This requires Archer and Aradia to travel to the same mountain in the parallel world and approach Partha's enemy unseen. But their unexpected welcome by Mylo, the innkeeper, and Shopel, the village story teller, in that high mountain village suggests their journey to this particular mountain is no accident. Shopel tells Archer and Aradia about the Yeti who come to him in his dreams and tell him to watch for two strangers, one dressed in red and the other in white, who will come to their mountain to help them find their lost ones. But Shopel's cryptic riddle makes them doubt the outcome of their quest when he tells them, “The Yeti will help those who bring a gift of snow.”