[Mithadan]

Though Nardol did not expect further trouble from the bandits, he rode on in darkness for nearly two hours before making camp. As a further precaution, he lit no fire that night and slept under the dim light of the stars flickering between the branches of the trees.

For another full day he rode south until the hilly Downs was behind him. Then he turned and made his way southwest. In this way, he hoped to reach the Greenway where it intersected with the Old South Road. After another day's travel, the South Downs were directly to the north. He estimated that he had reached a point where the distances to Sarn Ford to the west and Tharbad to the southeast were nearly equal. Perhaps Tharbad was a bit farther.

He noticed that an uncomfortable silence seemed to blanket the land. Nary a bird nor and animal had he seen for some time. Nardol was discomfited by the silence and was watchful as he travelled. That evening as the sun set a flock of crows passed overhead, circling once above where he had made his camp. Again he lit no fire, and he slept little, kept wakeful by his unease. He heard the howling of wolves in the night from someplace to the south, but they did not draw near. Before dawn, he broke camp and mounted Rustal, eager to put these eerie lands behind him...