### 345

You are awoken several times during the night by explosive booms of thunder that roll and reverberate along the gorge. For a while you sit up and watch the wild and terrible beauty of this ferocious storm, but the fatigue of your long day’s march cannot be suppressed for too long and you find yourself drifting off into fits of restless sleep.

It is an hour after dawn when you finally decide to leave the dry hollow and press on with your long trek north. The worst of the storm has passed but the rains persist to hamper swift progress. During the morning of the third day you catch sight of a trail that bisects the forest, running north to south. The heavy rain has transformed this dirt trail into a quagmire and several Eldenoran army wagons, laden with weapons and supplies, have become bogged down in the gluey mud. The troops attached to these wagons have sought shelter among the trees and, to avoid running into them, you make a short detour to the east before continuing northwards once more.

During the afternoon of the fourth day you stumble upon a clearing close to the northern perimeter of the forest. The ground is studded with sawn stumps and the soft soil is freshly turned, indicating that this area has only recently been cleared of trees. As you look across the clearing you feel a prickling sensation at the nape of your neck. It is your Kai Sixth Sense and it is warning you that this place harbours a sinister secret.

If you possess Kai-alchemy, turn to 36.

If you do not possess this Discipline, turn to 191.