The group settles down for the night, everyone finding it difficult to get to sleep. Sounds of birds and other creatures frequently lead to former prisoners waking suddenly, then muttering as they shift to find a more comfortable position on the cold ground.
The next day dawns brisk and overcast, and the group continues their journey south. As the morning turns to late afternoon, several small homesteads come into view across the rolling hills, which increase in number and density as the group continues on. The River Dessarin bends back to the west here, and travelers find themselves again walking nearby the banks of its rushing waters.
Finally the group crests a hill and sees before them a large walled community on top of the next hilltop. The dark wooden walls look uneven and ramshackle even at this distance, and asymmetrical wooden towers poke above the walltop in uneven intervals. A dirt path winds its way roughly east-west and splits at the foot of the hill. A narrow path leads up the hill to an open gate between guard posts, while the larger branch continues across the Dessarin and into the larger town of Womford, just over a stone bridge on the river's eastern shore. There are few travelers along the road, though it appears a small queue has formed outside the gates of the walled hillside.
The exhausted prisoners faces brighten at the sight of civilization, and start speaking in relieved voices, anticipating the end of their ordeal.
Dessarin Valley map updated. Where to next?
