By late afternoon, when they stopped for a rest and a bite, a scout returned to Birin, informing him that a large herd of elk-like animals had been spotted. They were huge beasts, he said, as tall at the shoulder as the reach of one’s hand. They were unwary, and a few might be taken with relative ease.
Birin was thoughtful a long time before answering. But in the end he refused, telling the scout that the animals were under no circumstances to be touched, that they had food aplenty for the present, and added that he was mistrustful of this distraction. With a disappointed nod, the scout left to resume his duties. When the scout had left, Birin explained himself to Ralph, who with Pran was riding nearby.
‘That these creatures are unwary is perhaps a good sign,’ he said. ‘If they are indigenous to this area, and if Goblins frequent this area also, then they will be wary of Goblins; so we would be wise not to make these beasts wary of us.’
As evening drew near the road began to straighten, while the bare alder forest to either side drew close, hemming them in, and by nightfall their spirits sank as they saw a dense forest loom before them like a dark wall, the road becoming a tall, austere, narrow black doorway to whatever lay within.