283

Eventually you reach firmer ground beyond the plateau and you are able to continue your descent through the forest with comparative ease. Soon you reach the stream that you discovered during your ascent, and you stop here briefly to try to determine if you are still being pursued. The surrounding trees seem unnaturally quiet, and it is easy to imagine that an assassin lurks behind every trunk.

You continue, with trepidation, following the water as it flows west towards the Swisshelm Mountains. You cover twelve miles without incident and by early evening you arrive at a small bridge where a road, running north to south, crosses the stream. You check your map, but the road is too minor to be listed. You are hungry and must eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points.

If you wish to leave the stream and follow the road, turn to 43.

If you choose to continue along the stream, turn to 175.