[Himaran]

Bali grabbed Haenir by the arm, pulling him away from the other dwarves. In a stern voice, he wispered: "I realize that I have two young dwarves lost in the woods. But there were far too many orcs, and there are many in our company not as skilled as you in warfare, Haenir. And I am not one of them. I saw the odds back there, and those young lads would not have lasted another five minutes against those orcs. Durin has been on a campaign before, he will lead them out."

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And he did. Within three hours, Dwalin and Durin stumbled out of the forest. Bali was too overjoyed to ask how they escaped, and so the question was effectively dropped.

The next day, a forced march resumed. The dwarves had wasted precious time around the forest, and they had to complete their time in Ruhn before the summer ended. They needed the months of fall to return to Erebor safely, before winter drifts began to hinder their progress.

Days passed, fairly uneventfully. Erulon had seen traces of wargs, but there was no other sign of life; friendly or the opposite. The plains were wide and vast, but there were always trees along the river.

After weeks of travelling, however, the dwarves finally arrived at the cross the twin rivers. A forest now swallowed their path, but they continued through it without fear. There was no sign of man, orc or beast.

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"We shall camp here for the night," Bali stated. "As soon as we find a clearing, we can start a fire and get something to eat."

But it had been done for them. In a small clearing, the dwarves found a campsite and a small ring of stone, with smoke wisping from the wood. No one could be seen.

Durin knelt and inspected the ground. "Man, elf and dwarf tracks. Been here for some time."

Bali moved to his side. "Aye, a month or two at least. But why? The weather is fine, but what about shelter? They have none!"

Erulon gingerly touched the dead wood lying in the campfire. "Warm. This wood was burning an hour ago."

Then the arrow barried itself in the ground, an inch from his outstreched hand.