Goblin Diaries, Vol 19: A Pathway Through the Grasslands
8th
Day of Snow Moon, 1219th Year, Human Age of Magic …
It’s been six days since I made a journal
entry, trudging north along the old road by night and sleeping hidden in the
forest during the day. I may as well have been traveling during the day,
because I’ve not seen evidence of any recent traffic along the way. And as dawn
was beginning to break this morning, I reached the end of the road.
The road had been getting steeper since
early evening as I approached the mountain range, and I’d expected it to
continue to wind into the hills. Instead, it came to an abrupt halt at the
bottom of a forested peak. I found a small path leading westward into the
forest that ended after about a quarter of a pentag. Of course, I don’t want to
go in that direction anyway.
I did, however, find a pathway leading
into the tall grass eastward. As I’ve mentioned before, I am loath to go into
the grass. My sense of direction gets disoriented, and I am worried about
predators. But I climbed a tree on the western side of the road as dawn broke
and saw that the path stretched to a cluster of hills that I think may be the
pass through the mountains that will eventually lead to the East Road. (That’s
if my memory of the map on the wall of the Protectorate office in Arleanne
serves me well, of which there is a fifty-fifty chance.)
It is hard to judge distances across the
grasslands. There are no trees to give a frame of reference. But I think I can
make the journey in a single day, so I decided to try, the alternative being
climbing the mountain before me.
A few days ago, I killed a large rodent
and fashioned a water skin from its hide, so I think I’ll be able to carry
enough water to last a day or so. I’m going to catch an hour or two of sleep,
then try to make the pass by nightfall, since I don’t want to go through the
tall grass in the dark.
The gods of Urgule
be with me.
