The heroes did some last few preparations. Lucky travelled to Wilmskirk to use the Alient Combination Machine at the Lhankor Mhy temple-library there to study his new spellbook. Erinyr planted some of their fern seeds, which grew rapidly and bore slightly poisonous but nutritious fruit. Barangian told his friends of the possibility of forming a heroband to bind the group together this coming Sacred Time.
Obby traveled to the temple of Humakt at Indrodar’s Necklace to initiate into the hero cult of Indrodar, gaining the divine magic to Destroy Unlife. The priests also walked him through the rituals to gain a new gift from the god, granting him an armor of Death magic, binding him by the geas to never refuse a duel. While there he fought a duel with a prospective sword born into the Greydog Clan, Pelthos Blackhair (named for the way his formerly blond hair suddenly turned black during his initiation into adulthood). Pelthos rushed at Obby, but Obby drew his sword so quickly that Pelthos’ speed merely rushed him into Obby’s blade, taking a serious wound that ended the duel.
Now there only remained an expedition into the Marsh to prove that Obby was ready to devote himself to Humakt, and the group set out to find Shamed By Death again. They entered the marsh from the south, riding a reed boat that Obby named The Quackening. They poled the boat up sluggish channels of icy cold water all day. At one point they snuck past a dragonsnail atop a prominent hill by drawing the mist in close and disguising their boat in reeds. Later they fought off zombie climbing up into the boat out of the water.
When they settled in to sleep for the night, sleeping in shifts in the boat, they saw the approaching torch of what Barangian’s Night Listener spirit told them was a band of broo. Although the better fighters of the group formed a circle to protect the weaker Lucky, Barangian entreated his bonfire spirit to start a fire a stone’s throw away to lead the broo away. It ignited a pocket of swamp gas, triggering an explosion that cleared up much of the mist, but it did draw the broos’ attention. The broos approached the site of the explosion and, after a time, the heroes hiding in their boat, the broos moved on, leaving to the southeast, perhaps hoping to get out of this very dangerous place and go after the easier pickings of Chaos-hating Orlanthi.
In the early morning, they were attacked by four skeletons bearing tarnished bronze axes. One of the shoulders injured Erinyr with an axe blow to their shoulder, but the group took them out in time and got a little more sleep before the morning came.