A Bend in the Dark Forest Path
You continue your journey through the skeletal trees, shivering at the darkness, despite the hot air blowing around you. After several minutes, Icadia motions for you to stop; you promptly obey and throw her a questioning look.
'Look,' she says, 'between those trees!' Your eyes follow her pointing finger, but to no avail. You don't see a blasted thing! 'Oh, come on! Humans. Hmpf! Follow me.' And with those insulting words, the dark angel leads you away from the path and into the dark trees. 'There.' You stare. It is a small, red and violet dog-like animal, crouched in the trees. Startled when it sees you, it leaps to its feet.
'This is a Kiira,' Icadia explains. 'Kiiran are small, incredibly soft creatures that only dwell in darkness. In fact, they can't live in areas with sunlight. Anyway, Troevre, our Kiira, is an adult now. He's a cute little thing, though, don't you agree?' You nod; he really is.
You move slowly off the path in an attempt to get closer to the small Kiira. Without warning, he jumps up and darts away. Sadly, you return to Icadia with a sigh.
'Alright, we'd better turn around. Well, come along!' As you follow Icadia back to the path, you see a ragged sheet of parchment nailed to a tree:
You stretch slightly and shake yourself; better catch up with Icadia!