The twelve plainswalkers find themselves along the bank of a clean river. Following a suggestion from Little Chatter, they stop to take a brief rest and quench their thirst.

Little Stub-tail observes that Pekk seems to be back to normal, with no strange symptoms to be seen. None of them can be certain if there is a lingering mutation or infection in Pekk or not, but everyone is relieved to see that he is at least in good spirits.

Even during this little break, none of them can truly relax with the Hexnose Forest looming just ahead. Little Black-ears warns them all about how risky the forest is. The poisonous air found in the forest is a slow-acting poison. One of its many dangers is the fact that victims are often unaware of how affected they are, as the surrounding miasma gradually affects them over time.

Also, while most victims fully recover once returned to fresh air, those that have been exposed to the poison for an extended period of time may face permanent impairments without realizing the damage was even done. Thus, trespassers may escape the forest assuming they’ve returned to normal, unaware they have suffered lasting damage and distortion.