Prelude: Wool and Steel

[Grimbold]

The village is small, some wooden houses and farms huddled together. He knows that most people here are Northrons, along with some Dunlending serfs and slaves. It is a typical farming community and on fields around the village, he can see wheat and barley, as well as some pastures with brows cows, staring at him stupidly.
Before he passes into the village, he meets some people, an old man carrying a great load of wood and two children with an ox-cart full of hay. They lower their eyes when they see him, ignoring the Dunlending. Traek knows that there is a kind of inn here, a peasant family opening up their ample living room on evenings and serving a limited choice of food an drink. He has stayed here last year, when he came down from Bree. The farmer's name is Hrotgast.
Pulling along his mule, he enters the village.

[TetNak]

Traek leads his mule toward Hrotgast's home. He has no ill will toward anyone for ignoring him. He knows strangers can be dangerous. In Dunland people would be outright imprisoned to make sure they were no threat, and likely dropped off at the northern borders of Dunland itself. Typically, only envoys from Isengard, Breeish merchants, and Dwarvish merchants were given any quarter in Dunland itself.

Reaching for the door, Traek knocks a few times.

[Grimbold]

The door opens and Hrotgast's wife Roghild opens. There is a fire going in their living room, and about a dozen villagers, blonde Northrons mostly are sitting cozily in the small room. Hrotgast is buzzing around and seeing to it that everyone has some ale or soup. There is a loud noise of everyone talking.
Traek is invited inside and after a short chat with Roghild, he is allowed to bind his mule in the stable and give it some feed.
Then he enters the room again and finds a narrow seat on a bench between two large Northman farmers. The mood is gloomy and many are drinking hard, talk is about the situation north and the bad times ahead.

[TetNak]

Traek tends to keep to himself. He does not have anything to sell here. His wool is basically a front, and until the weapons are sold, he will keep the wool on hand. He does listen though, and intently, attempting to understand what the rumors of these lands are. He also attempts to remember just how far it is to Bree from this point ...

[Grimbold]

Traek buys some food and drink and listens intently:

There is talk of bandits in the north, like shadows coming and going as they like and never challenged. There is talk of orcs coming out of the mountains and raiding lone villages. There is talk of trolls being more active in the Trollshaws. Everyone agrees that there are bad times ahead.

The Dunlending eats and drinks and ponders: ten more days till Bree.

Display

Look on the map. The village is due south of Bree, NE of the N in Cardolan. There is a bridge there.

Regional map

[TetNak]

Traek decides he needs a guard next time he makes this trip. He should be able to make plenty of money this time. Perhaps he can convince someone in Bree to hire on with him.

He frowns, sighing, but drinks and eats his fill. Tomorrow he will need to make good headway and plans on waking early before dawn and traveling until nightfall.

[Grimbold]

Choosing not to spend more money and being used to rough nights, he sleeps in the stable, near his wares. In the morning, he recommences his journey.

From here, the road turns north, heading deeper into the wilderness. Traek walks briskly, chivying on his mule every once in a while. The sun is still burning down and no clouds can be seen. In the afternoon, he is overtaken by a swarm of large crows, coming from the south and heading north.

[TetNak]

Traek rolls his eyes, "What else can go wrong?" he blurts out in the harsh Dunlending tongue. He typical does not speak Dunlending, except when cursing.

He draws his sword and will attempt to swing at any crow that drives to dive bomb them.

[Grimbold]

Traek is, for once, lucky. The crows veer away and continue north. He cannot shake the feeling that they are heading there because of some kind of mission for some kind of mad sorcerer.

He continues on his way through the wilderness, and on day two, he sees a dark wall of trees on the left - an ancient forest. The road continues on on the eastern side of the forest. It is one hour before sunset.

[TetNak]

Traek does not want to get stuck between the forests after nightfall. He would rather make the trek by day. He begins to set up camp before arriving. He decides it will be another night without a fire.