Skulda summons horses for those interested, and the caravan gets under way shortly after the sun rises above the horizon. Lacking Skulda's raven for scouting, your group rides out ahead of the caravan, covering about two miles before turning back until the caravan was once again in sight, and one of you waved an arm indicating that all was well.
On your next scout you pass the next farm, noticing goats in a wicker pen and smoke coming from the smoke hole in the roof. You enter the yard and a middle-aged man exits the home with some tools, and asks if he can help you. When you ask about the abandoned farm, he tells you that a troll attack a couple months back killed the older landowner and one of his horses, as well as all his goats. His wife had been visiting another farm at the time, but didn't want to live there by herself any more. She was now living at a farm a few miles away, down a smaller road to the north, with her sister's family. She had taken what she could along with her, and was planning to sell the farm in the spring.
You continue scouting back and forth, passing a few more farms with men working in their yards, chopping wood under the clear sky in preparation for the coming winter. Though today's weather is nice, reaching the low-40's after just a few hours of sunlight, freezing nights will be upon the region soon.
After about three hours of your staggered travel you start to notice that there is no movement at the farms you pass, from either men or beasts. The homes look well-kept, the split logs stacked in piles show the paleness of recently-split wood, not the weathered brown of fully-cured splits. There is just no one around.
A quick check of the next farm you pass shows there is fresh hay stacked in piles on the far side of the longhouse, but the fires are cold, there are very little supplies left in the home, and there is no sign of any people or livestock around.
You move at 4 mph on the horses; the caravan moves at 2 mph. I'm assuming you are moving forward 2 miles, then turning back until the caravan comes into sight, then traveling 2 more miles, etc. Two miles forward, 2/3 of a mile back, 2 miles forward, 2/3 of a mile back, and on and on.