Sunlight breaks over the treeline, filling the campsite with the morning's rays.
The party prepares for the day ahead. Zook, still smiling to himself, finishes his tea and straps on his banded mail. Lucan, with no armor and just a little gear to prepare, winks at Zook as he helps the gnome with his armor. Manzanita, expressionless, finishes her breakfast and readies Busephelous for the day ahead. Goven does a quick search around the campsite, gathers his belongings, and readies Brinsey for the day's journey. As Goven and Dunathar finish their minimal preparations, they head together to scout out the western trail.
Goven, studying the tracks, feel that where there were once six sets of footprints, there are now just six.
Leaving their small glimps of sunlight, the group enters the shade of the forest canopy. Goven and Dunathar scout ahead, while the others follow on their mounts. Goldtooth, Zook's riding dog, stares longingly at some squirrels, eager to give chase.
The trail continues west through the old forest. The trail is scattered with dead leaves and twigs which crackle under your feet, making stealth difficult.
The landscape gets hillier, and remembering the view of the forest from above, you think you are now entering the hilliest part of the forest, the northwest section.
After a few hours you come across a small stream, flowing from the north and heading south. The trail continues north along the side of the stream. The stream itself is only a foot or so deep, the stream bed filled with smooth river rocks. As the trail turns north, another trail intersects it from the south. Searching for tracks, Goven sees that the six sets of footprints continue north. There are an additional two sets of tracks coming from the south as well. As best Goven can tell, these two groups did not meet each other. He thinks the set of six tracks passed through here first, but he can't tell for sure.
