After they got up in the morning, the road began to take them northeast along the bank of a large river. Oakhamping, the next major city on the route, was built along the banks so that they could have plenty of fresh water, but Karl did wonder if they had problems with spring floods.
The road itself was in rough shape, but it showed signs of having been groomed. There were drag marks where something large, perhaps a group of logs, had been pulled along the muddy road surface to flatten it.
The traffic was light, and the fields were busier, with more livestock and fewer pulse crops. It made the area feel more alive, even if the ambience still felt somewhat unwelcoming to Karl.
There was no good reason for it that he could tell. The people were kind enough and happy to see him, but he got the feeling that the land itself was rejecting him.