The rowboat was even smaller than Orme had thought. It would barely fit the 3 of them and their packs. They piled up inside, and Wren took up the oars. They followed the current, silent for a while.

“What happened up there, Iyona? Why was I tied, why were you guys gone?”

He had to ask. The panic he felt when realising he was all alone in the middle of nowhere with his hands tied hadn’t quite left him yet. He needed answers.

“Well… You collapsed, remember? We kept running, found the river with this boat. There was a fisherman nearby. It's his boat. We asked if we could borrow it, and he agreed. When we came back for you, you seemed dead and the goblins were trying to drag you back to the ruins. Wren screamed, and ran towards them, so I followed. I couldn’t leave the kid alone to fight a whole horde, now could I? When they saw us yelling and running toward them, they fled for some reason. I guess we looked more than half mad.”

Wren nodded and added, “yeah, and we followed. All the way to the ruins, but not inside. We continued a little bit, there’s a village up there, did you know?” Orme shook his head. He didn’t know. “Or rather, what’s left of it… Found a bit of food that was still good, so we took it. And then we returned to find you alive.”

Iyona smiled her warmest smile. “I’m glad you’re not dead after all.”

Orme huffed. “It’d take more than that to kill me, you should know that! But hey, I’m glad too. Thanks for coming back for me.”

They all smiled, nodded, and that was it. 

They kept on rowing down the river, taking turns at the oar. At first Wren and Iyona protested, but Orme insisted and yelled at them so much that they had to agree to let him row as well, in the end.  

Along the way they passed a few trees, but mostly dry, fogged up land. The landscape never seemed to change.

Eventually, the sun set and the companions arrived at some sort of port. There were boats attached, and people milling around. They moored the boat and went up to the central square. 

There was a small, well maintained inn. They entered and found themselves the only customers. The man at the bar lifted his head and smiled grimly. “What can I do for ya?” He asked, with tension in his voice.

“What happened here?” Wren asked. “You seem rather tense. We don’t want you or anyone harm, only some food and a bed or two for the night. No fighting, you have my word.”

The man slowly relaxed. “Food, first. Sit down, I’ll bring you something.”

They waited in silence around a table for a while, looking around. The main room was dark, lit by a few candles scattered on several tables. Dark beams crisscrossed the roof, and that was pretty much it. 

The man returned with 3 plates filled to the brim with delicious river fish and steaming vegetables. It looked simply magnificent. Surprised, Orme didn’t even think to thank him and dug in without a second’s wait.

He was starving. Based on the speed at which they gulped the food down, Iyona and Wren were too. Not a word was uttered while the food disappeared.

After all the food was gone, Wren went to thank the man and ask for beds. Orme could barely lift himself to his feet. For once, a bed sounded good.They got one big bed for the 3 of us, in the best room on the inn, and went to sleep immediately. Soon enough they were all happily snoring.