It didn't take too much longer for Msaka to clear the broken terrain and emerge onto the relatively flat savanna again. He continued walking for the rest of the night, not encountering any further trouble.

As the sky began to brighten, he started watching for a good place to stop for the day. In that regard, the broken terrain would have been better - there were plenty of places to conceal oneself. The flat ground here offered fewer opportunities for that, though if he kept looking long enough, he would eventually find something suitable.

The thoughts of a resting spot were pushed aside when he spotted something ahead. A signpost, sitting there in the middle of nowhere. Msaka frowned. Signposts like this were endemic to the region. No one knew where they came from, when and where they would appear, or how long they had existed. They were known to appear on occasion bearing a message, usually relevant to the reader, and then disappear once the person left, never to be seen again. Attempts at divining their nature by magic were as unsuccessful as more physical methods, and they remained one of Fricana's great mysteries.

Msaka approached it cautiously. The signs normally weren't dangerous, but the fate of Mkosi had leapt to mind upon seeing it. He and Mkosi had found a similar sign three months ago. It had displayed the cryptic phrase, "F=MA", and less than a second after reading it, Mkosi had received a fatal head wound from a falling branch. Msaka did not care to have another experience like that, especially when he was the only one around for something bad to happen to.

Taking one last wary glance around him to assure himself that there were no sources of imminent demise nearby, Msaka read the sign. "You aren't here." it said, an arrow beneath the words pointing down at the ground the sign was standing in. Msaka frowned, considering that a rather pointless message. Nonetheless, he was relieved to find himself still alive after reading it.

Failing to see any use in remaining around this apparently useless sign, he continued his journey, leaving the sign behind, though he found himself glancing skyward a little more often than normal for several minutes after leaving.

The sun was just beginning to rise when he came across a clump of trees, perfectly suited for resting unnoticed within. He quickly entered them, and set his pack down. Unable to shake the nervous feeling seeing the sign had left in him, he checked that the branches above him were secure by pulling at them with Fetch spells. Finding that they were all securely attached to their respective trees, he sighed and lay down. "I am becoming paranoid." he thought, "Though I suppose it's not too bad a thing right now. There really will be a tree trying to kill me soon enough."

He was soon asleep, and the trees performed their function well. He was undisturbed for the entire day, awakening much refreshed the next evening. He ate ravenously from the food in his pack, all of the travelling of the last while having made him quite hungry.

Setting his pack aside, he stood up. "I have had this spell for several days now, and not tested it." he thought, "It is time I did so."

He incanted the words to the spell which he had learned from the apothecary's scroll, placing his hands over his ears as the spell required. As he completed it, a curious sensation filled his ears, almost as if they were filling with a trickle of warm wax. Whatever the case, on lowering his hands, he found that he couldn't hear a thing. Even when he tried speaking, he couldn't hear himself. He realized that the spell's effects might be a mixed blessing, if he couldn't hear his opponents' movements, even though it would keep him safe from magic like the ghost trees' songs. "At least it seems to work correctly." he thought, "Though it probably won't last very long just yet. I shall remedy that now."

He spent the next ten minutes repeatedly casting the spell, familiarizing himself with it and the flow of magic it produced. Fortunately, recasting it while it was already in effect didn't seem to have any side effects, not even an earache. It would last a while longer now, but still not long enough for comfort, "I shall have practice it again in the morning." he resolved, looking down at the amulet the liontaur sorceress had given him. "Just in case this doesn't work."

A nasty thought crossed his mind. Could she have been trying to set him up, and given him a fake protective charm? It didn't seem likely, but it was always possible. "Another good reason to have the spell ready as a backup." he concluded grimly.

Msaka frowned. Being distrustful of outsiders was something he was quite accustomed to, and considered a wise idea, as did all of his tribe, but at times it could be frustrating. Not being able to take anything from others at face value was inherently limiting in a lot of ways. It certainly didn't win any friends, and influenced people poorly at best.

Sighing, he shouldered his pack and set off again, heading northeast this time. Considering that he was nearing the area where the ghost trees might be found, he realized that he'd soon find out whether the amulet would be effective or not.