It was morning again, but Baelisk and his party could barely tell. They were so deep in the forest now that no sunlight pierced the thick canopy of foliage. They were rested and healed from the previous night's harpy incident, and were now slowly picking their way down the forest path. Contrary to what they had expected, the road was steadily becoming smoother and wider.

"Has anyone else wondered who made this path?" Shanju asked with sudden intensity, as though it had just become a matter of life and death.

H'akim looked distantly down the road as the others shrugged.

"What do you think, Westlander?" The cleric glanced over his shoulder and gave H'akim a pointed look. "You live closer to these lands than any of us. Who made this path?"

H'akim shrugged, his mind running over the possibilities but avoiding one in particular. "It could be one of many races, but I do not know. Kesh-Nar-Mah do not travel this far north."

"Well I'm not complaining." Sespheria put in. "I don't think I'd enjoy crashing through this thicket without a path to follow."

-----

"Do you have any idea what's beyond this forest?" Baelisk asked the assassin.

H'akim shook his head slowly. "Few of the Kesh-Nar have traveled past this forest and returned to tell of lands beyond."

He was about to add something else when suddenly there was a soft snarl coming from somewhere ahead of them. The party halted and Baelisk immediately drew his sword. H'akim laid his hand on the hilt of his scimitar, looking around as though he had misplaced a memory.

A few seconds later, an unidentifiable figure with a crooked staff came hobbling up the path toward them. Whatever it was, it was wearing a long brown cloak with a deep hood that shrouded its face. The creature was humming to itself as it walked, then stopped in front of the group, coming so close that it nearly bumped into the leg of Baelisk's catamog. The shrouded figure bobbed its head as though it were about to drop off to sleep in the middle of the road.

-----

Behind the others, H'akim's eyes flared as he recognized the creature. He swiftly pushed past Sespheria and Gaddling and Shanju and stood near the front, just behind Baelisk. The creature stopped nodding, then screeched angrily, revealing a snout full of sharp fangs through the hood of its cloak. It lashed out with its staff, charging past Baelisk and jumping straight for the Westlander. But H'akim was faster, and before the creature struck him he drew out a shuriken and flicked it with a fluid motion. The creature was struck in the stomach and staggered back a few steps before it fell dead in the middle of the path. The others looked at the Westlander in shock.

"What was all of that?" Shanju asked first.

H'akim sighed and ran his tongue over his teeth thoughtfully. "I know who made this path,"

"What was that thing?" Baelisk suddenly blurted, still processing what had just happened.

"A Viradian rathum." H’akim replied with disgust, staring at the fallen creature hatefully.