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Sondo bit his lower lip. Bingo's (invited) and Rory's (uninvited) comments had confirmed his suspicions. There were more forces at work here than simply eight hobbits trying to return home. Something about the very nature of the landscape was against them, driving them on against their will deeper into the forest. The shallow dips they had encountered earlier were becoming ravines, and they were getting harder and harder to climb out of. The hobbits were getting edgy, too, as Rory's scuffle had proven. He glanced around and saw Rory looking at him queerly. Sondo flashed a grin, though it felt weak under the oppressive mood of the forest.
Presently another ravine appeared in front of them as if out of nowhere, the deepest and steepest one they had yet encountered. The opposite side appeared undercut, and Sondo doubted they would be able to climb out the other side.
"I don't think we should try to climb through this one just yet," he said. "Let's try following it south. Maybe it will get shallower." Sondo thought it was south, anyway. He was starting to get turned around. They had gone barely ten yards, however, when it was almost as if the dirt underneath their feet began to crumble away. Feeling himself falling, he scrambled to get his footing. Someone behind him tripped, though, and knocked Sondo over. The ground yawned open in front of him, and he felt himself falling head first as the bottom of the ravine rushed up to greet him. He found himself accompanied by about half their troupe. He could not see over the edge, but all seemed to have settled out.
"What happened?" someone asked behind him. No one had a clear answer, and everyone's tale differed slightly. The only consistency was ending up on the ground, whether in the crag or on top. Sondo looked up hopelessly. No way were they going to be able to climb back up; both sides were slick and undercut, and at least two feet over his head.
"I don't like this," he muttered. The sun was sinking low, and like Bingo he had no desire to be caught in this place at night. Already the Forest was growing more sinister.
"Didn't we have a rope left over from the raft?" he asked. Everyone dug into the supplies, and one skinny rope, perhaps ten feet long, was turned up. An end was let down, and Sondo grabbed ahold. "I'm the lightest," he said, "and I'm not sure this will support me. Try to pull me up, and I'll brace against the sides." He felt the slack go tight, and he was slowly pulled upward. He was about to grasp the edge of the ravine and hoist himself up when someone shouted and the rope slackened again. Sondo fell back to the bottom, and Rory came right behind. "That tree root tripped me!" he complained.
"There goes that plan," sighed Sondo. "The rest of you, stay away from the edge so you don't fall in, too. It looks like we're going to have to follow this ravine after all; the southward way looks impassable." He hesitated, noting the growing shadows. "And everyone? It looks like we're going to be spending the night here. Be on your guard. This place... I'd bet anything that it's far more dangerous to us than those Big Folk ever were."
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