Into the Open

"The name is Fred. And you are...?"

"Legolam."

As the elf led him through a succession of passages, Fred said: "So presumably the dragon is not aware of the exit to the valley, if he has not put a ward on it?"

"If a number of us could find it, then I'm sure that he must know of it. I suspect that he is sure that it is impossible for anyone to escape that way, unless of course they had the wings of a dragon, and that he therefore lets his prisoners have the opportunity to feed themselves."

Legolam led Fred on for about twenty minutes, before they turned a sharp corner and Fred saw brightness just ahead. They emerged into late afternoon sunshine. Fred was almost blinded by the unaccustomed glare, and had to almost shut his eyes while they adjusted.

Once Fred could see properly once more, he looked around him. They had emerged on a gentle hill-slope, not far from the foot of the valley. As Legolam had told him, the floor of the valley was mostly grassland, with a small lake in the centre. It was completely ringed by high mountains, but was large enough that its centre would get plenty of sun except perhaps in mid winter. Fred estimated that it was almost circular in shape and about three or four miles in diameter. The surrounding mountains were wooded on their lower flanks, but gradually turned into steep rock above that, with snow in turn higher still. It was so unusual not to see a comparatively low pass at any point, that Fred wondered whether the valley could have been produced by incredibly powerful magic rather than being a natural phenomenon.

1. They encounter the Princess and the painter. The Princess is still naked, though seems surprisingly little bothered by this. (The painter is short and very thin, and none of his clothes would have fit her.)
2. They meet a knight whom Fred knows.
3. They meet a stranger.
4. They see a couple off in the distance.

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