Noon had passed ere the rider set out from Combe, having new shoes fitted to the horse took most of the morning, but the blacksmith was glad for the work and the pay.
Night had passed with a calmness Nihtwulf did not oft enjoy, breakfast had been good, and it was with a light spirit he set out towards the road leading southeast, the lands ahead were not some he had visited much in the past five years, but each step taken was a step towards the mark, and a step towards home.
He knew the journey would possibly take many months, all depending on wether the gap was open, or if it was still blocked by orcs and roving dunlendings. He hoped a passing merchant might inspire him more as to what route to take, fall was approaching and the thought of having to veer north and cross over the mountains there was not one he cherished. But who knew, the dwarves might have carved a safe passage through their fabled town under the mountains south of the elven lands. But what of his horse, would it make such a journey underground?, Nihtwulf did not think so.
As he made his way up the sloping road from Combe, he decided he would simply take it as it came, naught else to do really but accept things as they would unfold. He was now truly underway, having left behind the areas he had roamed for the past years, and it felt good, though there was a spark of fear in his heart regarding his welcome in Snowbourn.
Passing the outskirts of Bree, Nihtwulf let the horse find its own pace, as he tried to plan for the days ahead. It ought to be possible to find settlements along the road, he'd provision there, and glean what news he could, oddly wary of what that news might be.
It wasn't as if he had been totally kept in the dark, he knew there had been heavy fighting in the south, and that fighting still continued. Some evils were banished, but others had risen in their stead, peace was possible, but it was a distant possibility still. Might be he could find employ as a guard on a caravan heading south?, he'd have to keep an eye out for any along the main roads.
The road vanished under the hooves of the horse, and Nihtwulf found himself on the outskirts of the settled lands surrounding Bree. It was time to make true his commitment, time to head out into the uncertain and unsettled lands between the north and the south.
