Jurdes 24, 5677

We left Torheem today. The first thing we noticed was the telefs were gone. Their tracks headed west, so they’re probably going home. Unfortunately, there is no way we can catch up to them. I hope we one day meet them again so I can say hello to Mo’Amu and see her child.

To keep us capable of traveling faster than we can travel by walking, Pelmarco purchased horses for us. Prince Nomolo, I request reimbursement for this Red Exemplar. He has taken upon himself almost every expense my expedition incurs. His coffers seem bottomless, but that does not mean his generosity remain unreturned. As a note on this request, Pelmarco did not ask it of me. In fact, he happened to glance over my shoulder just now, and requested I remove it from my journal. I disagree. Such generosity, even if never reimbursed, is still worth a mention.

Niahla’Sen said she feels more comfortable on the horse than she ever did on Gair. Horses are familiar and easier for her to control since she’s probably ridden them many times during her assignments as a Sisterhood operative. She never was able to develop as strong a bond with Gair as Rar did, and that probably contributed to our growing problems with the telefs during the past few months. Now that I’m riding a horse again, I wonder if I should name him.

We’re heading west, currently following the same general path the telefs took, but plan to turn more toward the southwest in a few days. The goal is to try following one of the ancient roads to Nazada if it even still exists in some rundown fashion. Perhaps it will be lined with stone as the portion of road we found leading into Lake Icavor, or it might be nothing but a lost, overgrown path of packed dirt. Either way, any type of path, even if it’s overgrown, should result in faster travel than if we make our own path through the wilderness.