| 378 Soon the grasslands are disappearing beneath the rhythm of Pallenten's hooves as she thunders southwards. The great horse moves with an uncanny grace and a breathtaking velocity that takes each dip and break in the smooth carpet of grasses with ease. Holding tightly to her reins, you need do nothing but sit upon her huge back and consider the swiftly passing vista of the countryside. Through patches of trees and across the wide plain Pallenten gallops, scattering herds of deer and startling numerous ground birds as she passes. Ahead a series of small hills rise, and are then left behind, as Pallenten takes each easily in her stride. From the crests of these undulations you only have a brief opportunity to spy out the way ahead, and it is at the highest of these hills that you find what you are looking for, the deep cut and tree line of the Laneslem River ahead. It is enough to get your bearings though. Turning Pallenten slightly more to the south you scan the nearing tree line for a familiar gap, a break in the trees bordering the river that will give you access to an old wooden bridge that should still span its waters. This bridge you have used a number of times before, mostly when you have been hunting out here on the plains. You have never crossed with a horse though. Luckily the break in the trees does not take long to find. Slowing Pallenten to a canter you parallel the river and watch for the familiar landmarks that mark the location of the bridge. To your right you can hear clearly the rush and murmur of the river as it flows through a series of boulder strewn rapids from its source in the northern mountains. You learned long ago that the Laneslem is one of the longest rivers in Arborell, but at this point it is relatively narrow and easy to cross, especially if you have a bridge available for the crossing. Further south this is a much more difficult task. A number of tributary streams feed the river before it reaches Miller's Crossing, turning this fast flowing collection of rapids into a deep, wide barrier that cannot be easily forded. Within the passage of a few minutes you find the break in the trees you are looking for, and follow a winding path that descends a short way to the steep, eroded banks of the Laneslem. Below you, some 10 metres down, the waters of the river crash and froth over a jumble of smoothed boulders as they flow southwards. Spanning the rapids is an old wooden bridge, somewhat the worse for wear since your last crossing. It is constructed as a series of huge upright timbers thrust deep into the bed of the river, each connected by thick sawn lengths of wood and capped by an unstable flooring of weathered planks. For a moment you look at the state of the bridge, it is certainly in a worse condition than you remember but it should still serve as a safe way across.
| Will you ride across the bridge? If this is your choice turn to section 388. If you would rather lead Pallenten across by her tethers then turn to section 369.
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