The Great East Road east of the Last Bridge was safe and welltended until just a few

years ago. Before the Great Plague came, hordes of refugees from Rhudaur and the ngle, including a large num!er of "alfling fol# $ these "o!!its%, as they call themsel&es -- tra&eled o&er it to the Last 'nn, en route to rthedain to ma#e a new life for themsel&es. But !etween the Border (ars and the Plague, the influ) has slowed to a tric#le, and the *enatar Romen is now as dangerous as it e&er was. Trolls ha&e !een #nown to come down from the Ettenmoors and waylay unwary tra&elers too foolish to a&oid tra&eling !y night. That is li#ely what ha++ened to young Leddon Grumm, '-m sure you-&e heard the story. t the same time, my Lord has !een a!le to s+are few Rangers to guard this +art of the Road, as they are all needed in the .orth and/ in other +laces. (orse for us, there ha&e !een no re+airs on the Road for some time and it is !ecoming o&ergrown in +laces. *en ha&e already !egun to call it the Greenway. 't will not !e easy going. Be on your guard. (e shall ma#e no fires here, nor tra&el !y night, nor ma#e cam+ without setting watches. .ot here, not in Rhudaur. This is unfortunate, as thunderstorms are gathering in the north, and the winds are rising. 0ree1ing rain is li#ely to come this &ery night, if ' read the signs aright, !ut there is no hel+ for it. ' trust you ha&e all !rought cloa#s and cold weather gear. Behold to the .orth, a!o&e the shru! line, some ten miles or more from here as the crow flies. That is what we 2unedain call Bald *ountain, though local fol# sim+ly call it The Bald. 't is stee+ and treacherous in +laces. 't is there that you will find the Iaur Angroth, the old 2unadan iron mine. 3nce its yields were rich, !ut since the sundering of the 4ingdoms, it has fallen into disuse. ' would guess that it has not +roduced ore for some three hundred years. 5tay here and #ee+ watch. '-m going u+ ahead to ha&e a loo# round. 5omeone come with me to co&er me with missile fire, should it !e needed. The rest of you ta#e co&er, !e silent, #ee+ your eyes o+en, and await my return.% ' don-t li#e this at all. This would a++ear to !e the +ath that leads to the old Bald $ or at least it once was $ !ut we are not the first to see# it. 5ee here, the mar#s of !ooted feet $ many !ooted feet, and dee+ at that. They come from away north towards the Bald as far as the edge of the road, and then return. 5ee here $ this tram+ling and muc#ing. They stayed here at the side of the Road, +ro!a!ly in am!ush, for some time. They returned as they came $ there was no fight, or if there was, the signs were well-concealed. (hy men would !e watching the Road here, and why they would come from and return to the Bald is not clear to me. 6ou see# a treasure, +erha+s, !ut it may !e that others ha&e found it first. 'f you had come here without a Ranger and encountered this !and, whoe&er they might !e, they could ha&e ta#en you easily !y sur+rise.

 nother thing. 5ee how the flowers and shru!s ha&e !een mauled and tram+led underfoot. nd the trees scarred !y !lades. There was no +ur+ose to this destruction. 't was wanton, and done for some wic#ed amusement, ' am sure. This is usually a sure sign of orcs, !ut orcs do not wear !oots $ their hoo&es are always shod with iron $ and ' #now of no orc-!ands this far south or west. 7ery strange. ' should re+ort this to my Lord, !ut my orders are to see you to the feet of the Bald first. 5omething is ahead, something strong, wary, and watchful. 'ndeed, we may ha&e !een seen already u+on the Road !y sentries +erched high ato+ the Bald. re mo&ements would easily !e noted in this light. 'f that is the case, then you would do well to a!andon your 8uest and return to the Last 'nn while you are still in +ossession of your li&es. s for me, my orders are clear. ' will ta#e you to the Bald if you wish it. But ' warn you9 if those ca&es are inha!ited, the chances are one in a hundred of your e&er ma#ing it out ali&e. That is, if we e&en get as far as the entrance. :ome, let us mo&e under co&er and return to the others.% 'f you are resol&ed u+on this, then so !e it. These are your own li&es to throw away. ' will see that you find the entrance, !ut ' shall go no farther. ' ha&e my orders and intend to o!ey them to the letter. Besides, ' must return to my Lord to re+ort what ' ha&e seen. Gather round me and o!ser&e this ma+. Remem!er it well, for ' must return it to my Lord. ' had thought to lead you to the old mine entrance $ a great ca&e in the side of the mountain, now so co&ered !y fallen roc#s and de!ris and o&ergrown with shru!s as to !e &irtually in&isi!le from the outside. "ard enough to find, !ut harder still to get in, if entry is e&en still +ossi!le. But in light of my disco&ery at the trail-head, it is wiser to see# another way. 0or if there is a large !and of men using the ca&es, they would dou!tless ha&e found and cleared this entrance, and would ha&e sentries and guards near the a++roach to it. 'n that case, we-d !e wal#ing into an am!ush, not to mention ma#e a tem+ting target for missile fire from the crags a!o&e. But we could a++roach from the east, s#irting the *oosehorn La#e and ma#ing our way stealthily u+ the easier slo+es of the East 5ide $ there is still sufficient shru! there that we may !e concealed from +rying eyes, and that side is less li#ely to !e watched in any case. But there are no +aths out that way, and we will ha&e to go o&erland. ' do not #now those areas well, !ut where Lord Tarma-s Rangers of the .orth cannot find a +ath, they can ma#e one. But it will !e slow, and e&ery night s+ent in the o+en increases danger of disco&ery or encounter. ' ha&e heard that there are shafts there, o+enings that once +ro&ided light and air to the mines within. Thus it is +ossi!le that you may enter the ca&es !elow undetected. But these shafts would !e &ery high u+,

at least ;<< feet, and the face is &ery, &ery sheer. ' ho+e your clim!ing gear is in good order. nd of course, once at the shafts, you must get down them into the ca&es, and who #nows what you will find= The may !e !loc#ed with ru!!le !elow, or filled with water, or they may ha&e !ecome the home of !ats $ or worse. But if the ca&es are indeed occu+ied, then they are li#ely to !e your only chance to get in unseen. 2ecide 8uic#ly what you wish to do, for my Lord awaits me.%