[center][@Zool][@Calle][@Dark Cloud][@Saiyan][@Teyao][@Crusader Lord][@Zapdos][@Eviledd1984][/center]

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[i][b][u]The Mazy Hillocks:[/u][/b] A veritable labyrinth created by thousands of years of wind and rain.  The region is a series of steep hills, ravines, cliffs, earth and rock.  Getting lost is only the initial danger.  Uneven terrain requiring scrambling is enough break an ankle, which might prove lethal on it's own. In addition, too much noise or weight may see one the victim of a rock slide.  Or a sink hole might leave an unlucky soul in the cave network below.  Humans rarely venture into The Mazy Hillocks.  Those who do, rarely come out, for it is home to greater predators than regular wolves.  Somewhere in the bowels of this mighty maze is a conduit of Source that draws to it the fiercest of creatures.  It sustains them, twists them. Makes them stronger, even gives them powers.  Only the strongest survive the competition to make this fortress of nature their home.[/i]

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The following hours were filled with anticipation for the Heroes from the Sky.  With threats ahead and an even bigger threat closing in from behind, it seemed that all of their options were tainted.  The party Cleric, James, who'd quickly become the group's trusted strategist, chose the fastest route through and off they went.

Open communication between the group navigator and the two rangers made for an effective team.  Fenna scouted ahead of the group, reading the tracks on the ground, identifying common animal passages and rights-of-way.  She relayed a steady stream of advice on where the group should avoid leaving their scent, where seemed safe and what size of threat they'd be looking at should a fight break out.  MacKensie maintained her vantage up above, coming down repeatedly to alert the group about wolf sightings, then going back up to watch their movements.  Adam's skilled map reading made effective use of the nooks and crannies of nature, bringing the team along shallow streams where their visibility would be low, or finding small differences in ground elevation to help shield them all from sight in tight situations.  All the while, with all the twists and turns the group had to make, the Druid made sure that they consistently reoriented themselves north.

There were some close calls, with the rangers having to lethally silence a wolf or two in order to maintain their stealth, but the Heroes from the Sky made it through the territory of the two wolf packs.  Leaving the woodlands behind, they reached the Mazy Hillocks at the turn of the afternoon.