| 381 It is too soon to stop and rest. With mid-afternoon approaching it will be better to continue on and cover as much ground as possible before taking a break. You are quite sure that better opportunities for water can be found further south anyway. Bursting through the hedges bordering the stream you set Pallenten again on a southerly course, letting her powerful strides take you swiftly forwards. About you the terrain changes, the open plain giving way to large areas of lightly wooded forest, interspersed by wide areas of grassland and the occasional deserted homestead. With little to slow your progress you negotiate the woods easily, the trees are scattered sparsely, the undergrowth very thin. It does not take long at all before you find yourself breaking out onto a further plain, unobstructed by trees and covered in long, course grasses. This new area of grassland is a vast expanse, uncut by any natural feature or even an isolated stand of trees. The only point of reference is the distant peak of the Devkraager Tor. It is closer now but still far off towards the horizon. You look at the peak and realise that if you have judged the terrain correctly you should soon reach the west road that connects Melem's Fork and the Ring of Stones with the far provinces of the Faeyen. Hopefully you will cut the road near the village of Melem's Fork. It will be a good place to spend the night and should leave you close enough to the mountains to make the Devkraager Tor within daylight tomorrow. Pallenten pounds on, leaving huge tracts of the featureless plain behind as you race onwards. For a time you find your mind wandering, mesmerised by the rhythmic pounding of Pallenten's hooves, with little to do except consider the strange nature of your quest. Suddenly there is movement ahead.
| Turn to section 395.
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