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When Torben opened his eyes, he knew he was dreaming. Neither the roof of the blockhouse where he had dozed off nor the village of Haltwic were visible anymore. Instead, he stood on a rocky, jagged slope that was carpeted by squat, hardy looking trees. Through the spaces in the foliage, he could see another slope ascending upwards, he guessed less than a mile across from where he stood. Below Torben, the two slopes met, forming a steep-sided valley, which stretched down as far as Torben could see in the dark towards a blanket of treetops further down.
As he tracked his vision back up the valley, straining his eyes to pick out any concrete landmarks in the area, he noticed the faintest glimmer amongst the trees on the valley floor. There was a yellow glow that flickered, almost disappe
