The other side is a forest. It's in a rocky area, so the trees are rather thinly spread. They're old and gnarled, looking like pine trees, but the scent isn't quite pine. Alec was waiting a head. In front of him was a road. It was mostly smooth, but there were still ruts in the ground and it was unpaved, wide enough for two large wagons to pass each other easily. It steadily rose up at a gentle slope. Seeing that Mel made it through okay, he pointed out the road. "This used to be a river bed. But we ... well my ancestors, diverted the river when they drained the lake that hid the valley we're going to. From there they built the city at the mouth of the valley. The mountains we're in are called the Dragonride Mountains. They span from the sea out east for thousands of ... um miles, dividing the continant in half. We're about a month's ride from the ocean, west and a day's ride from the foot of the mountains, south."