[Steve]

The river was fairly wide and the current was lazy here near the sea. The boats were steady, no pitching or rolling as they progressed upriver. The oarsmen had a relatively easy time of it and the helmsmen simply headed into the downstream current.

Before long, Eyvind noticed a round object directly above that seemed to be at a height of about 300 meters. What seemed to be a similar object was about possibly 500 meters astern. It did not take long for Eyvind to realize that these were balloons like the ones used over Taralon by the Gnomes. Distances and sizes were difficult to judge because there was nothing else up there for comparison. One thing was very apparent, whoever was up there had spotted them and seemed to have an interest in the boats.