"Bah, now I see what passes for gratitude in this backwater." Xzar's voice has turned sour, his amiable personality, thin as it was, seems to have vanished entirely. "Well if you do feel like helping the DOWNTRODDEN then maybe you will catch us up in Nashkel. Come Montaron. Mayhaps we'll find people with more steel in their blood than these wasters of time and words." Montaron says nothing as he and Xzar move away, heading in what looks to be a southerly direction. They ignore any further words and soon disappear from sight.

Your path continues on through the pastoral wilderness of the sword coast. Then, just as the sun begins to set, you catch sight of a plume of smoke a little ways off to the north. It's not quite on your path, but you would be cutting close if you kept your current trajectory and would almost certainly be spotted, if that's a concern. You can't make out the source of the smoke, as it's concealed behind some trees and small hills. The map indicates no settlements in the area (though it could be wrong - it's not exhaustive).