Otik finishes preparing eight bundles of food and gratefully accepts some steel coins in payment. "Come back soon," he says. "I'll ask some of the boys to set aside supplies for fixing up your houses. I know you want to do the work yourselves, but winter is coming soon."
You take the southern exit from Solace, heading around Crystalmir Lake. The huge vallenwood trees tower above soft forest paths. Sunlight dapples the floor of the woods, and sparrows and squirrels quarrel overhead. The musty smell of fallen leaves rises through the fragrance of late wildflowers.
The road turns west at the southern end of the lake, and the Solace Stream sparkles beneath an ancient stone bridge. Water tumbles out of the forest, over the rocks, and towards the Southpass that lies between the south Sentinel Peaks. West of the bridge, the road splits in two, branching to the south and west. Both roads wind among the great Vallenwoods, whose boughs form a brilliant autumn canopy over the roadway. Prayer's Eye Peak lies two miles to the west, while the southern road leads to Gateway.
