The eastern sky slowly turned dirty yellow, as dawn was approaching the proud city of Restov following the night of the recruitment event. Mist rose from the waters of the Shrike. Rats were playing tag on the riverbank, sniffing for food waste in abandoned crates. The city was waking. A few shops were already open, to the adventurers' luck.
Guelder instructed Pangur to go find Amiri and Linzi and lead them to the boat she'd purchased. Most of the gold she'd looted from other adventurers who had not made it through the night had gone into that purchase. She silently thanked their souls for their contribution. Where they were going, they wouldn't need gold or other useful items she'd nicked off their corpses.
An eventful night was behind her. When Lady Jamandi Aldori had revealed that the recruitment was about cleansing the Stolen Lands from bandits, more specifically the Stag Lord, and organising the land into a state, Guelder had thought this couldn't possibly be any more exciting. Little had she known what the night had in store for her: a furtive assault against Lady Jamandi's mansion, a massacre of the adventurers gathered for the recruitment, arson, destruction, monsters unleashed. Not to mention the friends and enemies she'd made along the way. Of the former, only Linzi, Amiri and a depressed dwarf cleric named Harrim remained by her side. The latter, Tartuccio of Pitax, Linzi's annoying ex-companion, was now the leader of another team striving for the same goal, consisting of a fighter, an inquisitor and a few more survivors. After the pesky gnome had done everything to set her up as the traitor (with at least partial success), Guelder was happy to see him go. She had been worried that he would accidentally end up as leopard feed.
Since Tartuccio did the sensible thing and took the South Rostland Road back to the trading post Linzi had mentioned, Guelder was left with a bold plan. She knew exactly where to find the Stag Lord, which was more than could be said of Tartuccio. This meant she had a headstart on her rival, and she was hellbent on putting it to good use. The best way to do so was to follow the river once again, but this time heading downstream on a boat, all the way down to Lake Tuskwater. As to what they would do once there... Well, she had a few ideas, but she had yet to figure out the details. Four adventurers against an entire gang of bandits terrorising the area... It sounded foolish, and it probably was. Still, they would have the element of surprise, the protection of the forest, and maybe they could even recruit some allies underway.
A soft growl woke her from her musings. Pangur returned with the girls in tow. Amiri took a warm loaf of bread out of her bag, tore it in two, and handed it to Guelder and Harrim. Linzi was pecking at another half loaf.
"Bread, dried meat, potatoes, carrots, dried fruit, waterskins. Extra arrows and crossbow bolts. Whetstone. Rope. First aid kit. A cauldron to cook in."
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"Thanks, ladies," said Guelder. "And here is our boat. I suggest three of us take turns rowing, while Linzi keeps us entertained with music and stories. At least until the river turns south. Then we enter stealth mode."
"Is this our very own boat, then?" enthused Linzi, as she ventured into the boat and took a seat at the front. "Can we name it?"
"Yes, we can," said Guelder. She tore off another piece of bread to munch on, and tucked the rest away into her backpack. "Ideas, please?"
"Fluff?" suggested Linzi. "Like the sound of the waves licking its side. Fluff-fluff-fluff."
"Nothing," muttered Harrim into his beard. "Nothing is a nice name. Our ultimate destination."
Guelder suppressed a sigh. She respected most religions from a healthy distance, but Harrim's nihilistic worldview was getting to her. She wondered how she would make it through the next month without succumbing to depression.
"How about Creeping Doom?" said Amiri.
"I like that!" exclaimed Guelder. "It vibes well with my plans."
The others nodded in agreement. So, after the boat was officially accepted into the team, they all embarked. Guelder untied the rope and jumped in last.
They travelled for hours on end, mostly letting themselves be carried by the current and using the oars only to stay on their course. The sun rose behind their backs, and the mist slowly dispersed. They didn't see many people, except two anglers and a reed collector. Otherwise, it was mostly wildlife: deer drinking from the river, herons and egrets fishing, wild boars feeding on waterweed, mallards herding their young, swans on their nests. Even Linzi fell silent, unwilling to disturb the calm of nature more than necessary (and not only because her song called This Is How We Row a Boat lost its charm very quickly).
Whenever she was not absorbed in the contemplation of nature, Guelder tracked their journey on an old map, comparing it to her memories. The first tributary they left behind was the Kiravoy, flowing into the Shrike where the large river diverted its course from the South Rostland Road and turned due south. The bend was so smooth that they hardly even noticed the change of direction.
Early in the afternoon, they arrived at the mouth of the second tributary, known as the Crooked, marked by a dangerous waterfall. They drove the boat up the right bank and made camp near the water. Guelder and Pangur headed out to hunt, forage and scout, trying not to think of the arduous task waiting for them. Carrying the boat past the waterfall on land would be a real pain. But first, they had a wilderness to explore.