Week 16: Smoke on the Water

The group headed down to the docks to meet up with the boat that was to take them into the Durba Swamp to find Itzal. The guide (and lone boatsman) turned out to be a teenager named Telismar Gaspard, wearing a blue gator-skin jacket. He pestered the group for a bit about their experiences in the outside world, then asked them where they were headed and drew a rough map in the sand showing the local highlights. He got excited when they mentioned they were looking for Lefty, and then Kova Ori showed up and compared his map of Salter camps with Teli's map. Teli asked Armen if he'd ever seen a perkunas, saying he'd like to see one some day himself — Armen allowed that maybe Teli should be careful what he wished for.

The group set off paddling upstream, learning that the southern bank was home to poisonwood trees and hence totally inhospitable. They passed one of Baron Aitor's farms, and Telismar noted that the going would get a little rougher now with all the water hyacinth clogging the river: it used to go all the way up to the city, but since the Baron's new farm went in the water had cleared out downstream of it.

Telismar told them what he knew of Lefty: when his own grandfather was a child, Lefty had lived in the same Durba village. He'd made his living as a rogue and thief, even robbing graves in the old Typor Citadel (which few had ever approached and returned alive to tell the tale). Lefty had loved a woman named Jakinda, and brought her gifts including a violet cloak of the finest material, a delicate pair of eyeglasses, and numerous other baubles, but she rejected him in favor of another man named Constantine who brought her only a bouquet of her namesake jakinda flowers. She said she could not love a thief.

Lefty made a final attempt to woo her, showing up at her wedding to Constantine with an urn he claimed was full of the “Sap of Life” which could keep her young forever, but Jakinda said she'd rather grow old with Constantine than live forever with Lefty. Lefty then attempted to grab her, when Constantine drew his machete and chopped of Lefty's hand. In shock, Lefty cauterized the wound in a nearby fire and shoved the hand into the urn he'd been carrying, running off into the swamp. He'd been sighted in the Smoky Swamp from time to time, but it had been a decade or so since he was last seen — at least until Kova Ori traded with him recently.

The group continued on paddling until they were attacked by a group of river mahksi. The fight was short lived, as they both recognized Kova Ori and saw that Kyamu — a fellow mahksi — was traveling with the group. They explained that they'd grown tired of the Baron's farm destroying their habitat and that he'd refused to take their entreaties seriously, so they'd decided to try to capture some Typori to use as leverage. But seeing that the group were not Typori, and after hearing tales of Itzal that reminded them of something in their village, they invited the group back to meet their elders.

As night fell, Kyamu was comforted by the sight of some phosphorescent points in a moss-like kelp that grew into the trees lining the river. He seemed to draw extra strength from it. This proved fortuitous when they were attacked by a group of blood-sucking swamp bats, soon joined by some of the giant nutria they'd seen in the fighting pits. The group barely escaped with their lives, then collapsed for the night before making their way to the mahksi village.

At the village, they met with the elders and talked about Kilpo Bay and some of their experiences before finding that there was a human child living with them. Maro had grown up nawabe, and had vague memories of “a purple man in a mirror” and “shadowy monsters” assaulting his family and killing his parents before attempting to grab Maro — he'd jumped into the river, eventually washing up on shore and wandering for days or weeks before being taken in by the river mahksi a few years ago.

The group set out for the Smoky Swamp, determined to find Lefty and get any information he might have about the scabbard, safe approach to the citadel, or the local lands. As night neared, the delta-like river got shallower and shallower. A river serpent attacked and nearly dragged Armen away to feast on, but the group rescued him. Putting in at a muddy islet, Telismar explained that they were on the edge of the Smoky Swamp and he could go no further, but he and Kova agreed to wait 2 nights for the group to return before heading out. The group set off into the dense haze, attempting to mark their way with druidcrafted flowers and blazons on trees. Unfortunately, they found themselves apart from the creek and lost in the dense haze. As they contemplated which way to go, the gentle sound of bells rang out from not far off to the west . . .