Shalelu nodded, and the others gave signs of agreement as well.<br/><br/>Fortunately, or unfortunately, there'd be no sign of the bird, for the rest of the trip.<br/><br/>Several days later, in the lowlands leading north, they'd come to a bridge that had been washed out in a storm. "The river's flowing fairly fast... trying to ford it would cost us a lot of time, and be fairly risky. The alternative is we head either up or downriver, and look for another location to cross; hard to know if there's anything around, though, and it's going to cost us a lot of time," Sandru asked.