<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;">2nd Pharast</span><br/><br/><hr/><br/>After an evening of rest and preparation for the travels ahead, on the next day the party set out southwest into the forest at first light. Only that forest wasn't an accurate descriptor and jungle would have been a more appropriate appellation. The frost of late winter and early spring soon disappeared under the shade of the trees. The air was warm and humid, positively steamy at times, a wetness that got into the lungs and made the unaccustomed feel as though they had swallowed a cupful of water down the wrong tube. There were no tracks and the horses' footing was unsure at times in the undergrowth. If it weren't for Lydia's wilderness skills they would surely have gotten lost in the sea of trees. It was as though the jungle cared not for the seasons' passing outside of itself and only played by its own rules.<br/><br/>Visibility was poor with line of sight quickly blocked by a tree trunk or vines hanging from branches. The trees themselves were different breeds than those that should have grown at this latitude. They came in exotic shapes and sizes, some with irregularly shaped trunks, some that looked like woody climbing vines, some with roots hanging down from their branches. Their leaves were thick and broad, unsuitable for cold. Some were already in bloom with bright red and purple flowers beckoning. Bushes and ferns covered the ground, sometimes making it difficult to see the soil, snatching what occasional ray of sun that could filter between the leaves of the canopy high above.<br/><br/>Around them birds chirped and insects buzzed, though these creatures were flighty and went out of sight just as quickly as they came into sight; they were more heard than seen. There was little wind that could navigate long between the trunks and branches, but what little there was sang its own airy tune to the backdrop of the rustling of leaves. The fragrance of flowers was spreading between the trees, occasionally broken by the earthy odor of droppings whose size suggested larger animals, although none had been seen thus far.<br/><br/>Despite the search, the bandit camp was not to be found here. Perhaps it lay deeper in the jungle?<br/><br/><hr/><br/>It was nearing evening when the party came upon something to break the autonomy of trees, heat, humidity, and more trees. They came upon a clearing in the jungle in the rough shape of an arrowhead, shaped this way whether by natural coincidence or artificial means there was nothing obvious suggesting one or the other. Wild radishes grew in abundance in the clearing, the tops of the roots poking up above the soil, hued a curious bluish-white. Scattered throughout the radish patch were four kobolds lying on their backs with bloated bellies. Beside them were baskets filled to overflowing with radishes and half-eaten radishes littering the ground. The kobolds themselves were dark-scaled with colours varying between dark gray and black, wearing crude leather armor with slings and spears close at hand. One of them burped loudly. They hadn't noticed the new arrivals to their radish patch... yet.