        Lyra shuddered as they entered the forest.  It felt wild and untamed—much like the Everfree, and the leaden sky gave it a gloomy cast.  Still, Dale was moving confidently enough, so he wasn’t worried about predators, and the early scouts hadn’t reported any large creatures, so it was probably safe.  On the other hoof, the early scouts also hadn’t reported creatures like Dale, so she did wonder how thorough their scouting had actually been.