He ascended a tall larch, from whose boughs he had a view out over the Lake; the shore seemed to go almost directly west.

There were no islands, and no land in sight; the water was open and clear.

Next day he started for the sea; he wished to see it for its own sake, and, secondly, because if he could trace the trend of the shore, he would perhaps be able to put together a mental map of the country, and so assure himself of the right route to pursue when he started for Thyma Castle.
His guides took him directly south, and in three marches (three days) brought him to the strand.

This journey was not in a straight line; they considered it was about five-and-thirty or forty miles to the sea, but the country was covered with almost impenetrable forests, which compelled a circuitous path.

They had also to avoid a great ridge of hills, and to slip through a pass or river valley, because these hills were frequently traversed by the gipsies who were said, indeed, to travel along them for hundreds of miles.