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Az sent some messages back and forth with the mainland and the orders received back hadn't changed. They were still to travel to the capital to ensure loyalty. Meanwhile, they still had a big mess on their hands.

Each person attempted to determine some way to give this city some relief and the people living here some protection. Isha searched for more defensible warehouses that people could hole up in and defend from the hungry ghosts. Rath said an unbroken line of salt could keep the ghosts at bay so Isha helped scrounge some of that up too. Az acquired a cadre of hangers-on that he didn't seem to want. Meanwhile, the followers of Adorned in Brass were really playing up their roles in all this.

Either Adorned in Brass caused this in order to solidify his following by protecting them, or… It seemed, given the nature of the disease (magical, following intimacies within a distance), that was very revenge-oriented. What better way to exact revenge on an individual than to kill that person and everyone he/she loves in the most painful and suffering way imaginable?

Isha still half-suspected that creepy anathema on the black ship. She couldn't shake that he was involved somehow, sitting in the bay, admiring his handiwork. She was also a bit steamed that he or his boss seemed to have some claim on these lands given he was sitting here overseeing everything as if he/they owned it. These were Nellens lands by rights. Her group should probably have turned him away and told him next time arrange a formal invitation if he felt he needed to visit for some reason.

Speaking of this Piercing Voice of Winter guy, they had been assuming this Adorned in Brass was a god. But maybe he was another anathema like Piercing Voice of Winter. Perhaps a competing anathema to Piercing Voice of Winter or PVoW's boss? Hence the concern from Piercing Voice of Winter about what was going on here. A competing anathema trying to make a foothold near Piercing Voice of Winter's territory. It would certainly raise some concern for him. His boss was probably that Mask of Winters guy in Thorns, which was fairly close to this place.

Anyway, it was time for them to be heading out. They were considering stopping by Adorned in Brass's hideout if they could figure out where it was. But if not, they'd head on to the capital. They headed down to the river to scout out a boat. After searching for a while, the group found a relatively intact one and began inspecting it for needed repairs. Isha headed below decks to see what damage there was lower in the ship and a shadow detached from the cabin and raised a sword at her. She parlayed, and it turned out to be the captain of the ship. His name was Bounding Flame and he was obviously god blooded or wyld touched or something. Anyway, his crew left and his ship was somewhat damaged so he was stuck here and was trying to get out of here. But he obviously needed a new crew. What luck! We were trying to get downriver too!

So we all picked up and started working on getting the ship seaworthy again. Grant headed off to get his cadre to assist and Isha started inspecting the damage and determining what materials would be needed to effect the repairs. The cadre arrived and put the boat up on stilts, and the repairs began in earnest. At the end of the day, everyone headed back to the compound. Captain Bounding Flame cleaned up well, and enjoyed a night in relative luxury. The next day the repairs were completed and the group set off down the river with the sunset fast approaching.

Az started to feel ill. He started getting sick. Rath and Grant treated him and after a few days he started feeling better. The group anchored the boat one night and were awoken by a loud bang. Grant and Isha went up to investigate were greeted by a river monster.

Isha immediately engaged the monster while Grant fell back and started sending arrows flying. Isha kept trying to get the tail under control, hurting it and/or getting it off the side of the boat. A minute later the head came up. Grant was directed to aim at it's head while Isha continued to wrangle its tail. A moment later, it was greeted by a fireball straight in the face from the interior of the boat. With this distraction, Isha was able to chop into the tail, which flew back under the boat, and she turned and moved to engage the head. The creature spewed a breath weapon into the side of the boat after it recovered itself, and Grant got a few good shots on him.

In her trek to the opposite side of the boat, she determined she could probably make the jump. And so over, up onto the railing she went, and with a mighty leap, slammed her sword down straight into the creature's head. It howled some dying wails and sunk back below the water. And so did Isha. And then she got stuck. A moment later, Az appeared underwater next to her with a rope. She secured it, and the eleventy million soldiers belonging to Grant pulled her up out of the mud and back on deck of the ship.

After everyone was cleaned up, patched up, and the ship was inspected, everyone returned to bed and the next morning pushed out like nothing was amiss. Even though we were being shadowed, and had been since we left Galba.

A few more days down the road, the ship came to an impassible sand bar. And island sat in the middle and the river went around both sides. But each side was silted up to the point that the boat couldn't cross. We disembarked. Isha stood on the left bank at the apex of a dune and Az did the same on the right shore. Grant and Rathimund got the cadre of soldiers out to attempt to pull the boat up the left path while the rest of us kept an eye out. Both Az and I saw groups of about 10 people with varying weapons on each side of the boat, watching.

Once the soldiers pulled the boat to where it couldn't go forward or back, and were taking a rest before pulling again, the group on Isha's side started to rush the party. Bows were fired. Isha moved between the group and the resting soldiers. From afar came fireballs and Grant-sourced arrows. The people dropped like flies. Isha tried to tell them to halt, put their weapons down… after all it was obvious they were under-geared for attacking anyone at all really. But alas, they did not listen. To a one they were struck down by persons not Isha.

Az reported that the group on his side scurried away in retreat. Once everything seemed safe, the group came up to inspect the bodies of those who would attack them for seemingly no reason. They were “adorned in brass”, but their arrows and spears had no tips; they were just wood shafts and that was it. Perhaps we were close to this Adorned in Brass's hideout…

Since none of these survived, it might behoove their group to send Az off to capture at least one of the group nearest to him who retreated in order to lead the group to where this Adorned in Brass might hang out.