Chapter 2: Out of the Frying Pan

The road winds through a few low hills, covered with waving prairie grass, and starts to climb slowly the farther you get from the lakeshore. As you crest a hill, you can see a small keep atop one of the hills not far away: the family estates. A few smaller buildings dot the nearby landscape, some of which appear to be barns, with a number of corrals associated with them: wooden fences that were likely once stout and well cared for, but a lack of attention has not treated them overly well. The road crosses a rickety bridge over a wide, muddy creek. One corner of the keep appears to have partially collapsed, but the remainder seems to be standing strong as far as you can tell.

The estates look more or less abandoned, but they clearly once were home to a number of people and animals. Neither one appears to be present right now, or at any time in the recent past, as far as you can tell. It is probably around mid-day as you reach this spot.

The bridge isn't in the greatest of conditions, and not just from time, weather and neglect. Some of the timbers are obviously cracked, and the deck has gaping holes in some places and sags noticeably in others, as though it's held weight beyond its capacity. It's probably only 10-15 feet above the creek, and someone not wanting to risk it could relatively easily climb down to the creek and back up the other side and only lose a few moments. Transporting carts or animals across, however, would be hampered a bit by the poor condition of the bridge. It'd take at least a few minutes, maybe a half-hour, depending on what you were transporting, to get across the creek.

A person, paying attention as Yelnar is, could almost certainly make their way across without trouble.