The walk through the wilted forest was hushed and rushed.  Isiah was in the rear with bow ready and kept looking back but no pursuit came.  Marisol was on point with Cley and Kaspar flanking her.  While walking they perfunctorily went over their remaining spells and abilities.  The plan that formed was simple; use what cover they could find to get into town, fight as necessary to the central church, get the sloop, find the Sunfire Gem, avoid Shutan, and avoid dying.

They had about a mile to cover and at the halfway point the road came out of the trees and onto a rolling moor with occasional rock formations pushing up through the grass like diseased growths.  Marisol pointed towards the mists and said the town would be that way.  They went off road and tried to stay in the low spots as they moved.

Soon they found an escarpment of bare rock that ran southerly.  It was about ten to fifteen feet high and looked like it would provide at least a few hundred yards of good cover.  As they filed down alongside it they heard a distant, animalistic noise, like a cross between a blast of a deep brass horn and the booming of a drum.  They crouched and looked out across the fields.

Three large shapes came out of the mist, heading north.  They appeared to be large ox-like beasts with humanoid riders.  “Hunting party,” whispered Kaspar.  “Doesn’t look like they’ll find our path right away.”

They all continued on at a quick but quiet walk with Cley in the lead.  Isiah occasionally clambered up the rockface to make sure they weren’t surprised.  The beasts and riders had disappeared into the mists.

After a few more minutes, Cley suddenly raised a fist and froze in place.  Everyone else immediately did the same.  The paladin pointed up ahead and they saw a shape laying in the grass and dirt ahead of them.  They started creeping forward slowly until they could see that it was a man sprawled out and unmoving.  Isiah motioned for Kaspar and Caelian to fan out as they approached the body.  It was Miah who first recognized him as the man out looking for his son.  He had red blood welling up from several wounds by sharp weapons.  She knelt next to him and looked up at Cley.  “Just a man looking for his son after all.”

The paladin stood stone faced above her, looking down at the body.  Now that she knew him better, she could see the emotions roiling behind his eyes.  He just nodded and said, “Yeah.”

Isiah went up and saw footprints and signs of a struggle.  The man had been run down and run through and then dumped over the side of the escarpment.  Without another word they all kept moving.

In another hundred feet they saw signs of quarrying rock and the escarpment soon fell away into troughs and cutmarks with weed infested wagon tracks.  They crouched behind a mound of tailings and looked down on a pit.  It was roughly seventy-five feet around and filled in with black water.  On the other side were some overgrown buildings that looked like they housed equipment.  They sat for a while, listening.

Finally, Isiah said, “Giant pit of black goo.  I’m thinking we go way around it.”

Everyone agreed.  They jogged out into the open and made a wide circle around the pit.  As they angled towards the buildings Cley whispered harshly, “Two more undead in there, just keep going.”  They ran past it and clambered over more piles of broken rock.  On the other side they could see the beginnings of the town.  They cleared fifty feet of open space and came up against a house that had mostly collapsed over to one side.  

Cley nodded for them to keep moving.  Kaspar tilted his head from side to side, cracking his neck.  “Here we go.” 

They moved out onto a road as the buildings, all abandoned and falling apart, grew more plentiful.  The town was larger than the one to the north, with many of the buildings made of brick and stone.  Marisol, Isiah, and Miah moved down one side of the road and Cley, Caelian, and Kaspar moved down the other.  They got to a cross street and Cley held up a hand to pause them.  

They listened for a while.  With hand signals, they told each other that they heard activity in all directions.  It was never going to be an easy walk in the park.  

Marisol signaled straight.  They kept walking, picking up the pace a bit.  In fifty more feet they could make out the form of a large rain catchment system up ahead.  The whole structure was fifty feet across and thirty feet high, supported by tall posts and crossbeams.

Underneath it were ten Dromm warriors.  Humanoid, reddish-brown skin, dog-like faces with tusks, and rugged leather clothing.  They saw the party approaching and picked up their weapons.

Miah stepped into the middle of the street.  “Wait,” she said to the others as they started to prepare attacks.  

The Dromm rallied and started rushing forward.

Miah struck her quarterstaff firmly in the ground and raised her arm, hand pointed at the Dromm.  She spoke her spell words with an even firmness and spread her fingers wide.

Silvery strands of webbing shot out and crisscrossed all throughout the posts and beams gathering up the Dromm and entangling them, struggling and writhing, yelling curses in their harsh language.

Isiah heard noises behind them.  “Leave them and bypass!”

The party started running, equipment and weapons jangling.  They skirted around the catchment and the furious Dromm that would spend the next ten minutes hanging helpless.  Miah waved at them with tinkling fingers and a smile as they passed.

They got around to the next street and Cley kept the pace at a jog.  Isiah, in the rear, called up to him.  “Take an alley!”

Cley looked down a side alley and dashed into it.  The rest followed and shortly found themselves on the next street over.  As they got closer to the center of town a standard grid pattern was developing for the streets.  They gathered at the opening between two large stone buildings.

Behind them they heard the yelling Dromm.  They seemed to be coordinating their release with another group that had come up.  From their left they heard more noises, grunts from large animals, the clanking of steel and tack.  To their right was the sharp barking of something doglike.

They started a quick discussion of which direction to go.  While Cley and Kaspar got bogged down in a dissertation on tactics, Miah looked across the street at an abandoned store.  In the broken window was a child, not quite in his teen years yet.  The boy waved at her.  She waved back.  The boy smiled and motioned for them to come into the store.

Miah started walking past the others and out into the street.  Isiah saw her move and followed her gaze.  The boy was still waving for them to come over.

“Miah, no!” shouted the thief.  “Not again!”

The others noticed her moving.  She turned back to them.  “This one’s different.  Trust me.”  She started running across the street.

Isiah followed immediately, then Caelian.  As soon as the cleric started across, Kaspar stopped his talking and followed.  Cley and Marisol, now alone at the edge of the alley, shared a glance and a shrug and ran after them. 

The heavy door creaked open and the boy waved them in.  Miah didn’t hesitate.  The rest followed, weapons ready.  They found themselves in a large room with a high ceiling.  Dusty and grimy like everything else on the island, there were sturdy wooden racks built into the walls and a large table in the middle.  It looked like an empty stonemason’s shop.

The boy stood back as they rushed in and shoved the door shut behind them.  He smiled and bounced up and down on the balls of his feet.  “You’re here to fight the bads, aren’t you?  Everyone said no one would come but I figured there had to be someone out there.”  He talked in a rush, his words tumbling over themselves.  He saw Marisol standing behind the others and gasped.  “You’re the Brilliant Woman who fights!  I knew it!”

Marisol looked at him and the corner of her mouth quirked up.  “I like this kid.”

Miah smiled at the boy.  “Your name’s Tem isn’t it?”

“Yes.  How did you know?”

Miah forced the smile to stay on her face.  “We met your father.  He was looking for you.”

“Oh, yeah, I think I have to keep hiding from him.  I don’t think he’s still normal anymore.”

Isiah stepped up next to his sister, about to ask a question.  The boy turned his head and whispered, “Down!”

Everyone crouched and moved away from the windows.  Outside came the crunch of boots on gravel.  Shadows passed in front of the store as a team of Dromm warriors trooped by.  The noise faded and Tem stood back up.  “The bads are everywhere but they’re stupid.  Sometimes they come into the buildings but not very much and they’re horrible at searching.  One time--”

Isiah interrupted him.  “Tem, wait.  How have you survived so long out here.”

“Oh, yeah, well the island kept lowering and lowering so my Pa said we had to store up food and water.  And when the fog came over the edge we had lots.  But then we started to run out and Ma died.  So then I started to hide my own food and water.  And then Pa got kind of funny strange so I kept out of the house as much as I could.  And then I thought there might be some good stuff here, even though it’s a bad place, but so far I haven’t found anything.  But I still have some good food and water.”

Tem stopped.  It took Isiah a few seconds to realize he’d stopped.  “Ah, that’s amazing, Temmy.  Say, we’re looking for a small skyship.  Have you seen it?  Maybe tied up at the church bell tower?”

Tem beamed.  “Oh, yeah, that’s still there.  Right up at the top.”

“Excellent, Tem,” said Miah.  “Can you lead us there?”

“Oh, yeah, you just go out the back and through the stonefield and then turn left on the avenue and a few blocks later you're in the center of town.  But you don’t want to go there.”

“Why is that, Tem?”

“Because that’s where the Bad King lives.”