The River Claims Its Prize

Summary of Events (2/26/2025):
11/30/4722

Ahhhh, VICTORY over the caustic horror!

Shakoom’s flames reduced the tentacled ooze to bubbling ash! They found treasure: a Thurable of Calm Emotions—incense that calms the mind!

To the ROOF! Massive brass gears! Crackling arcane energy threatening to electrocute Jotaro! But Kren de Snow—clever Winter Court envoy—disabled the lightning mechanism! Jotaro and Shining Fist inserted both keys simultaneously! The gears ground to life! Black sand swirled in impossible vortices! The chains SPLASHED into the river!

SUCCESS!

But returning to the beach—KONG WAS GONE!

Drag marks leading to the water! A single black feather floating against the current! And there—a small fetch doll woven from river rushes and black feathers, clutching Kong’s feather! A replacement for the stolen Tengu!

Then—crystalline giggling! Three Vergesslings feen—memory-eating fey with mouths for hands! One declared itself “Racist” and fed on Hugh’s memories of Lastwall! Another, Passionate, clawed with tiny fists! The third, Cooperative, sent Jotaro face-first into shallow water—dying!

Hugh saved him with an air bubble spell!

BATTLE! Nadja’s cold iron needles pierced pixie flesh—they shrieked! Shining Fist became a tripping machine! Picard the snow leopard pounced! Hugh crushed Racist beneath his warhammer! Kren de Snow’s icicles struck true! Victory!

But then—SHE appeared!

A Rusalka—river fey woman glowing green beneath the water! She had taken Kong! She called to Kren: “Half-water child! One undine! Come dance in my garden with your crow friend! He’ll be a wonderful pet until I tire of him!”

Kren hurled icicles! The Rusalka laughed and vanished with Kong!

The crew warned: sleep with iron! Marina told them of Petra Dragan in Cronwald—an old pearl diver who knows how to bargain with river folk!

The fetch doll was wrapped in an iron chamber pot for safekeeping! The Cestus sailed downstream toward Cronwald!

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Can they rescue Kong from the Rusalka’s watery garden?