"Their leader's allied with someone I hate. The usual, really."

"We're not exactly looking to get caught up in any local conflicts."

"Most people aren't. There's rumors of a war coming, though. Wars don't much care about people who'd rather be left alone."

"Great. What's the fastest way out of the conflict zone."

"Hm. You two aren't Elves, so you can't go to fancy elf place... North's got dragons... This whole subcontinent through to the western ocean is either abandoned and inhospitable or about to be a war zone... About a thousand miles east will get you to the frontiers that probably won't be involved, just will have armies passing through... South's... More than a thousand miles to get out of it."

"Seems we've landed in trouble," she says to Bellona.

"A lot. Can the war be stopped?"

"The continent spanning part of it's mostly being driven by one asshole. A couple might step in if he fell, but they'd have trouble pulling off the same scale. The one asshole is also incredibly obnoxiously hard to kill, though."

"So travel a thousand miles, fight a war, or kill someone who is resistant to death. I just wanted about six months of quiet."

"...Killing someone who's resistant to death at least sounds kinda fun?"

Agon snorts. "Wars take a while to ramp up, so you might have some time for quiet first."

"We need somewhere to stay, anyway."

"There's only a few human settlements around here. Major settlements would be northwest or southeast, with the larger kingdoms in the south. I can lead you along either road."

"North or south?" she asks Bellona.

"Hm... South, I think, especially if it's much colder up north."

"South then, please."

"Very well. The southern road is also the best route around this mountain chain, if you end up deciding you want to head east, regardless of whether you go through Moria - the dwarven kingdom - or farther south through Rohan - a human kingdom. The Moria route's closer, and Moria might not be a bad place to hunker down, anyways, if you can stand dwarves."

"We haven't met dwarves before."

"They're not exceptionally common, most places. Often a bit surly with outsiders." Her lips twitch a bit. "Rumored to be hard workers. Live underground. Treasure knowledge, generally - I've never seen it, but their library's supposed to rival those of Rivendell and Minas Tirith. They treasure craft more. They'd appreciate her armor, I think." She nods at Bellona. "They'll probably also be one of the last strongholds to fall, if the war goes sour - especially after allying with the dragons."

"Sounds like a good place."

"Depends on how much they like you."

"One way to find out."

"That is true. They might not much like me - though I would've also predicted they wouldn't much like dragons, a decade ago - but I can lead you two as far as the gates."

"Thanks."

"Why wouldn't they like you?"