Chronicled in Duillond of Ered Luin in Eriador,
On this the 33rd day of Firith in the Year 3018 of the Third Age.
Word has reached me that south-east of Duillond, in the town of Bree, there is a great Scholar's Hall that holds unnumbered written works of lore within its walls. By the account told to me, it may rival even the library in Mithlond where my father was an attendant, and where I spent many contented hours during my childhood. And so I deem it necessary that I visit this hall in order to further my studies, for I have nigh exhausted the resources of the Scholar's Enclave of Duillond these past weeks.
Scholars must be much revered in Bree, for many are the landmarks named for them: I am told that there is a 'Scholar's Stair' that leads up to the 'Scholar's Walk' which then follows along to the 'Scholar's Stair Archives', where learned Edain study lore, ancient ruins, and runes. Thus Bree must surely be a place of much culture and sophistication, although the visitor to Duillond who shared these tidings seemed curiously reluctant to elaborate upon its nature.
And little is recorded concerning Bree in the elven annals here in the Scholar's Enclave, save that it is reputed to have been founded long ago in the Second Age by Men from Dunland, when the traffic on the roads was far greater. For Bree stands at an old meeting of ways in the heartland of what once was the kingdom of Arnor; where the ancient North Road crosses the Great East Road, and in former days Men and other folk travelled much upon it. But the Northern Lands have long been desolate, and the Númenórean North Road from Arnor to Gondor is now seldom used; it is grass-grown, and the Bree-folk now call it 'the Greenway'.
It is described as the chief village of the Bree-land. Besides Bree itself, there is Staddle on the other side of Bree-hill, Combe in a deep valley a little further eastward, and Archet on the edge of the Chetwood. Lying round Bree-hill and the villages is a small country of fields and tamed woodland only a few miles broad. Also, Bree is the only place in Ennor where Men and Periannath dwell together in peace.
My map shows that it lies some one hundred leagues from Duillond, a journey of two enquier on foot, and so I deem it would be wise to hire a horse from the local stable. Long have I desired to travel through lands yet unseen by my eyes, and the prospect fills my heart with great eagerness. I shall leave on the morrow.
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