[i]''I really should stop smoking before sleeping,''[/i] Balen thought to himself as he slowly carved a path for himself through the woods while trying to keep his hat from getting stuck in stray branches. He preferred the scenic route to the roads, as the view was more preferable in his opinion, and most bandits preyed on the road instead of the forest. Balen had put on his armor under his robe nonetheless, and was confident that he could take down one bandit or two, but he knew better than to try his luck with fighting. After all, there were people more suited for that job. 

After about fifteen minutes of walking, Balen finally got infuriated with his hat clinging onto foliage, and pulled it off. He looked like a priest with the thing on anyway, and plus, it was foggy and cloudy as Coldharbor. The sun wouldn’t be searing his scalp anytime soon. Exposing his head to the cold refreshed him and shook him a bit, which gave him newfound energy to move faster. 

Balen kept moving quickly, only stopping on occasion to take a deep breath, and feel the long-reaching breeze of Lake Ilinalta. He did not understand why the people of the hold preferred to avoid the lake. There was a rumor that an Imperial Fort was swallowed by the lake, but Balen hadn’t found any traces of a fort when he had gone swimming in it a few days ago. The only bone chilling thing about the lake was the temperature of the water.

Balen slowed down his pace as the ground started to slope downwards, and started holding onto the branches for a more secure footing. The fog was thick around these parts, and he did not want to slip on a cluster of dead leaves, or accidentally step on a broken branch. He guessed that he was closer now, considering how the tree line was getting thinner, and tried to move a bit more silently, and try to cover his towering figure, in case of danger waiting for him at his destination. But unfortunately for him, there was a small piece of twig half covered in the soil, waiting for someone to crack it with a step. And Balen was the lucky candidate.

He raised his head, and saw the armored figure waiting by a door. Before Balen could instinctively draw his 'dagger', however, the figure chuckled and started speaking, with a masculine voice further deepened thanks to the helmet.

''Oh, it’s you. How was your journey?''

Balen stopped, somewhat relieved. ''Sibassius?'' He asked, and his eyes answered his question after glancing at his oddly shaped shield. ''It’s nice to see you again. The road was uneventful. I was afraid of being late – I took the scenic route, you see.'' Balen looked around, but could not see anyone else. ''I guess I’m not, however. Got anything to say about the place?''