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Banli peered intently into the forest, as Tadek urged his horses onward. Something was bothering Banli but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. His keen senses were telling him he was being followed. Yet visually he could see nothing at all. Maybe it was due to the fact that when travelling through a forest lots of creatures and other forest denizens may be watching you at any moment. He uttered some magic under his breath " Ulatoria Afromaya Sinosi" magical energy surged from within Banli and covered the entire party. He had cast a safety spell that would give him an indication if anyone specifically was trying to target his party. Tadek shot him a dubious and somewhat dirty look which was returned with a smile and a pat on his back in a reassuring way from Banli.

The day continued on without anything interfering with the progress of the party. That was until they came to a section of road that had completely washed out due to the incessant rains over the last few days. In the washout it looked like someone had dropped something or things and for some other reason made a hasty departure. Banli did notice there were animal tracks in the mud of something that would have been large. What what ever this beast or animal was, Banli was sure it would have been incentive for the traveler to continue onwards with a sense of urgency. Right in the middle left of the muck sat a leather bound book. Only one corner of it's entirety sticking out. Tadek had already stopped noticing the same thing. He looked at Banli then spoke up,

"Want me to grab that book for you? It is probably full of magic stuff which I have no interest in"

Banli nodded and Tadek climbed down and off of the carriage walking straight into the muck to retrieve the leather book. Oddly enough when he pulled it out it did not seem that worse for wear. Without even looking in the book, Tadek dusted himself off and climbed back onto the carriage into his usual position. He gave a small snort, then a cursory glace at the book, then handed the book over to Banli. The book itself was made with intricate designs etched into an exquisite leather. The pages were of very good quality although some of them were slightly stained from the muck. Banli noticed it had a pale blue hue about it. He muttered a couple of words and the magical hue disappeared. He recognized the spell as a protection spell from the elements. It was that spell that had kept the book in such good shape. Usually the hue would be much stronger but as each day goes by it gets weaker until it is no longer is effective. Banli was sure it had sat in the muck for a few days judging the weak glow of the protection spell placed on it.

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Upon opening the book Banli was astonished to find that it was a recipe book of sorts. Listing ingredients for different food dishes and the utensils used for each dish. This was a working book as the recipes were large portions meant for maybe a guard watch or large guest party. The hand writing was precise and beautiful. Page after page was filled with informative information a lot of which Banli was unfamiliar with. He wondered if the owner was also going to the culinary competition in Athramas? He decided he would hold on to it for safe keeping. No name or identifier was in the book so he was at a loss as to whom it might belong to.

" Well Tadek it looks like we have ourselves a really good cooking book." It even has a couple of recipes for mead and other drinks. At this new revelation Tadek perked up as he was always interested in anything to do with mead or beer.

"Well then", Tadek replied,

let's get to Westerly so we can try some of the things in that book." With a firm head nod from Banli and a big grin on Tadek's face they set about figuring how to get over the moderately sized mud patch that laid before them. Razrim was scratching at the inside of the carriage door. With a flourish Banli opened the door letting Razrim out while royally bowing to him. Razrim quickly went to the edge of the muddy road and relieved himself. Tadek looked at Banli then at Razrim and both of the men laughed out loud. Razrim not impressed went a few feet off into the edge of the road where it met the woods and settled down on top of a clumpy mossy section of grass.

That is when Tadek had an idea. He with Banli's assistance gathered up a bunch of the tufts of mossy grass and laid them down on the moderately sized mud patch. Then taking his trusty axe from inside of the carriage, Tadek went to work on getting enough wood to lay down on top of the moss. This created a crude like bridge. Nudging Arhere and Argone they were able to slowly but efficiently traverse the mud pit.

Further behind the party a tall man in a green cloak followed them. He was happy he had gone back to the fork in the road. It turn out to be very fortuitous for him as he had caught up with his intended party that he was tracking. His employer would be pleased. Very very pleased.

Banli and Tadek oblivious to all this, continued down the dirt road that slowly transitioned into cobblestone. Confirming that Westerly was not too far away. With the sun slowly setting, they might make it to Athramis within a couple of days.