Smoke and Ashes

Now that his mind is beginning to clear, Thane Béortnoth recalls seeing smoke and ashes in the air near the eaves of Fangorn when he was wandering back to Thornhope from the forest.

Description
Stage 1

'${PLAYER}, it occurs to me now that I recall seeing smoke and ashes in the air near the eaves of Fangorn while I was wandering back from Blackthorn's grove. Now that I consider it, it seems strange, for the forest there was not burned, and my folk seldom go so close to Fangorn.

'Will you journey to that place -- it is west of here -- and learn if my memories are true and not simply imaginings of my maddened mind?'

The place where Béortnoth recalled seeing the ashes and smoke lies to the west of Thornhope.

Thane Béortnoth has asked you to investigate the cause of the smoke he saw.