| 374 On you ride as the remains of the morning disappear beneath Pallenten's pounding hooves. Across the plains she flies, almost inexhaustible as she gallops, eager to have you to your destination and the completion of your quest. By midday you have covered half the distance between Baelum and the west road that connects Miller's Crossing with Melem's Fork, and the distant Faeyen Provinces beyond. If your path is correct you should cross the west road somewhere between Melem's Fork and the ancient Ring of Stones. From there it will be due south to the Devkraager Tor and the more difficult task of finding the entrance to Stoneholme. Lost in thought for a moment as you map out the remainder of your journey, you do not at first notice the unusual hump in the grasses ahead, nor the wisp of smoke that floats upwards from it, twisting and curling as it is caught in the northerly wind. A second belch of black vapour is enough to make you pause and look closer. The "hump" is in fact the entrance to a long deserted mine. From the rear it appears as a slight rise in the ground ahead but as you swing around to its southern side you can see the wide open maw of what is a mine entrance. Such mines are dotted all about the north. With the expansion of farming came also prospectors and a number of short lived, but in their time, very lucrative mining ventures. When the minerals ran out the miners left, leaving these old workings to slowly collapse over the years. As you watch the entrance another puff of smoke expels from its blackness. Then another thicker belch pushes a cloud of ash and dust up into the air above. This is unusual to say the least.
| Do you wish to investigate the source of the smoke? If so turn to section 387. If you would rather carry on southwards turn to section 396.
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