Late in the afternoon, we came upon a pool of water caught in a depression formed about a Beforetime pole that had been broken off at shoulder height, the top part of it lying a little distance away. Darga pronounced the water clean, ignoring the pole, but I was hesitant to drink. Maruman demanded irritably what was the use of having a guide if I doubted him, so finally I knelt and broke the thin crust of ice on the water and drank. When I stood up again, I went to examine the broken end of the pole. The cryptic markings upon it were similar to the markings on other such poles I had seen here and there in the Land, and some said they had always been built near Beforetime roads, though none knew what their purpose had been. One actually stood intact close to the Silent Vale. The young Herder priest who had travelled there with us had been terrified of it and had made us pray till our knees ached before he had permitted us to pass by it.

It was strange that no one had ever come across these remnants of the past, but that might be in part because the forays humans had made into the heights had all been made to the west of the range.

The sun slowly descended towards the western peaks and though it shone brightly from a cloudless sky, there was no warmth in it at that height. A brisk wind was flowing over the icy slopes to the west sending long veils of snow flying from the peaks, and we stopped barely long enough to eat and drink before Maruman bade us continue. Tired as we were, no one demurred; it was simply too cold to sit still or to lie down and sleep for hours on end. I did not think of my quest or of what I had left behind. I thought of walking. I felt as if I were on a ship, travelling and yet standing still, only this time it was my thoughts that stayed still and my body that moved.

It took us another night and day to reach the end of the ridge road and Darga kept the lead the whole time. Partway through the night he began to keep so ostentatiously to the eastern edge of the ridge that I asked if the other side was tainted. He agreed that it was and added that the high mountains running along beside us in a line were also tainted, though he could not tell how badly. He could not discern the level of taint, he explained, only that taint poisons were present. Although Darga led us, it was Maruman who had decided that we would take longer rests in the daylight hours, because our blood would freeze if we stopped for more than short periods at night.