It's clear they would have liked to talk to him, more... but his sudden drifting to sleep catches them off guard, and the rest of the trip is made in silence.<br/><br/>They arrive at the edge of the forest an hour before dark. While the party sees it for only the first time, Draiss has known what's coming for hours:<br/><br/>The ground has been rising for the last few miles, and finally the forest itself peters out. Ahead is a stretch of barren ground, about sixty feet wide, ending in a gorge. Roughly a hundred feet wide at its narrowest point, the gorge drops away precipitously to a fast-rushing stream far below. The ancient Dawn Way crosses the cleft on a bridge of stone.<br/>Anchored at both ends to large stone towers with pentagonal roofs, the bridge seems sturdy despite its obvious age. It is, clearly, the only easy way to cross, since the gorge continues as far as the eye can see to the east and west. The four stone towers that anchor the bridge are each forty feet high. A narrow wooden stairway winds around each,<br/>leading up to an open-air watch post at the top.<br/><br/>A small encampment of a half-dozen tents clusters near the northern side of the bridge. Curls of smoke from campfires attest to some sort of activity. A single humanoid figure stands at the watch post on the top of each of the four watchtowers, longbow in hand. A powerfully built hound with glowing red eyes and short ruddy fur sits watchfully<br/>near either end of the bridge. Yet the most impressive creature present is certainly the sleek and menacing green dragon that perches on the roof of the northwestern watchtower on the far side of the gorge. It lies basking in the sun, but its bright yellow eyes are fixed on the bridge.<br/><br/>"Oh shit."