>>117250Hopefully that fits under the vest. And hopefully it’s enough protection from the cold
>>117246>>117248>>117241The party pulls ahead, Brie in front. The dogs follow. There’s a pretty decent view of what goes by. Mostly it’s coniferous forest in this area. Though there are some inclines and hills, it’s more flat than not. Occasionally, a steam cuts through, and the road crosses a stone bridge. Birds chirp in the sky regularly, but really it’s more quiet than it isn’t. More than one cart is passed, mostly pulled by oxen. The ponies inside look down or ahead, not at those who pass by, and often cover their faces, presumably because of the cold.
Mostly this road doesn’t have large settlements, or settlements at all. But there is a trend. Individual buildings and small settlements - farm houses, cabins, and less often mills and hamlets - are more likely to look abandoned. Villages and towns may have a guard post in them, and there seem to be ponies living there. The population is becoming centralized. Sometimes, there almost seems to be a line between abandoned and inhabited buildings. There are several buildings that are visibly damaged by artillery, like a windmill that has its top half half blown off, and rubble strewn about.
Of course the forest doesn’t last forever, nor are most of the settlements near the forest. After that, they are meadows, then cattle pastures, more fields of winter wheat, and then fallow field after fallow field. Some naked soil, some planted with clover or grass. Some fields look as if they were burned and never replanted. But most fields have either stubble, clover, or wheat, with occasional crops of Timothy grass, rye, and rapeseed. And all of these are covered in a fine layer of snow, or at least, they usually are. One hamlet seems to be abandoned all together, buildings damaged. The changelings have a definite presence here, even if it is less felt than the pony presence of big red barns, and rustic windmills. Every settlement has a Changeling post near the center. With guards. And a station that has a small fence around it, surely a collection station.
They travel for quite a while