997: Dairn presents Laughing Bear with a new atlatl, which breaks in two in only 15 minutes. Annoyed, Dairn makes another one from some of the best wood on the ship, and a javelin to go with it. Both warp as soon as Laughing Bear handles them -- it seems that the dryad has cursed him. Armiger's leg wound is now infected, and hot to the touch. Sienna tells Mariam of a storm they encountered eight days ago. The Finch was then sailing north somewhere between Eaglereach and Atomak, a community of the river people. During the storm's height, a piece of cloud seemed to fall to the ground. Where it hit, they saw a giant, about 100 feet high, lying half in and half out of the river. It was a man, handsome, blond, and dead, without a mark on him. Frightened, the crew sailed on to Kesh. They have since heard that the body has been set upon by scavengers, some of which are quite large. Sienna hopes that the Finch's ballista will be sufficient to keep them away. Moreau is getting sicker and more paranoid. Laughing Bear says it must be because of the headless beast, which is now disguised as the mule. Everyone looks at him in surprise. He explains that while the party was waiting for a boat, he thought that the mule was acting strangely. He cast Beast Summoning, and the mule came to him, but he could sense that the nearest mule was actually much farther away. However, since bad things had happened to him the last time he had attacked a shapechanger, he hadn't thought he should mention it. Various plans for getting the mule off the ship are discussed well into the evening. That night, the ship drops anchor a few hours upstream from Atomak.