Chapter Twenty-Three

The area we selected to search was grazing land for cattle. By the remnants of several small farmhouses and their outbuildings, at some stage mankind had tried to farm this land but cutting back the fertile forests in order to bare the land for cattle, and then several hundred years of cattle eating everything in sight and treading the young growth under their hooves, had resulted in the topsoil breaking down. Perhaps in a century, or two or three, if they kept the cattle from it, it might recover, but for now it was a dusty, rock filled scar.

We had ridden for hours, gridding out the area selected for the search, delving into every deep, dark place we found, what few there were, to no avail. As the sun hit its zenith, we paused in the shadow of a decrepit building to share a meal and some wine with the Elvish contingency that searched with us.

Akyran and I took our meal and sat on the stone lip of a well. It was not shaded, but it was private. We watched the Elves l