Dale-lands

The Pig and Drum tavern was busier than usual. The hustle and bustle of the summer market had certainly caused a stir in the Dale-land village, drawing common folk from miles around to flaunt their wears and catch up on the goings on in neighbouring settlements. Unfortunately, it was not only farmers and blacksmiths that were drawn in, but those of a more unsavoury variety seeking an opportunity to enact their criminal activities.

- A story of the Dale-lands, known to many children in those parts, presented here as it was told by Angrinc of Dale to Nenaras Wanderer, Song-maker and Sea-wise when by chance they met in strange lands.
 

A short while before dawn, Tazamul, his servant, the cat, and most of their valuables made landfall on an empty strand of beach at the edge of Rhovanion. Their boat, so small that it hardly deserved that title, ground its keel into the sand a short way from shore, where the water was so shallow that a man might disembark from the boat and make his way to dry land without wetting any more than his boots.

Fingers caressed the surface of the pages, as if they might absorb details missed by her eyes, even after multiple readings. The paper in this section of the book was slightly rippled, and the tome now opened automatically to it.