On The Road...
--East of Ganse stretches rough, no-mans land of grass and rock for many miles. Poor roads and paths meander among sparse patches of laurel and elm wood, followed further east by a sea of foggy hills and spooky fields, where dwell the scattered, superstitious Kinless. A great Laurel forest seperates the broken lands from the Holubuska Hills of the Kinless. After asking about town before their departure, the "justice-seekers" ascertained it would be a three day journey to reach the bawn of this wood. It was said by those in Ganse the group had questioned, that most of the bandit clans had hideouts in this very wood. Talia Bladedancer had mentioned this forest as well. Her caravan had circumnavigated it, on their journey towards Ganse, but when the bandits struck, she remembered they had come from the direction of the forest. Aerex as well, found a few more passages on general banditry east of Ganse, and confirmed the forest a good a place as any to start.
--Leaving town on foot, since even if the group had the funds to purchase mounts it would be quite difficult to find six available horses in this decrepid place, the companions by necessity and serendipity, followed the beaten road east. After three or four hours of somewhat forced and uncomfortable silent marching, (after all, they were strangers!) they paused beside the road to collect their thoughts and eat cheese, bread, and wild onions. A thick twisted laurel tree, a few hundred feet from the road, on a knoll of burnt orange grass, served as their base. The sun was less than an hour from its descent. A few thought of revenge, a few of justice, and a few of boredom and sore feet.
No travelers passed along the road. A flock of screeching crows flew past, and disappeared behind a distant hill. A persistant breeze blew from east, as if gently urging the group back from whence they came. A light drizzle began to fall.