As the party progressed towards the Shadowbane Plateau, foothills rose up to either side of the trail. To the south lay a mountain range that eventually ran into the neighbouring dwarven kingdom, whereas to the east were more foothills which housed a gnome community that paid loose fealty to Cordovia. The trail southeast to the plateau was a gentle but steady climb, but visibility to either side was limited by the hills.<br/><br/>Game along the trail mostly consisted of rabbits and other small scurrying creatures. It wasn't hard for Curra to bring down a pair of rabbits with her bow, which would make a decent meal for that evening. Thea couldn't find any evidence of any other party's recent passage, but she did uncover a campsite just off the trail, that had been deliberately covered when abandoned, but not quite well enough to hide from Thea's discerning eye. Marks in the grass and dirt suggested that it had been used by a party of six or seven, and Haysel estimated from the texture of the ashes that the fire had been out for about a week. Ten minutes of hunting for tracks would lead Thea to find a set of tracks, again suggesting six or seven humanoids. The tracks rejoined the trail the party was on, and though they became indistinguishable on the thin dirt of the trail, they were definitely heading in the direction of the plateau.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Kye</div><div class="spoiler_body"><div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/4/40/Bandit0.jpg)</div>Knowing that there was another party on the trail, the travellers were alert to possible danger. About an hour before sunset, Kye heard a faint grinding of stone against stone in the hills that rose on the right-hand side of the path, too loud to be from the movement of a rabbit. Looking in that direction, she spotted a cloaked figure about a hundred feet away, clad in browns and greys to match the terrain, darting from one outcropping to another, moving stealthily parallel to the trail, towards the plateau.<br/></div></div>