Last year, we passed a bend in the river where the amount of water seemed to diminish. Back then, Tora’Sor hypothesized the water might be going down into the underground caverns where she was imprisoned. Now she thinks it safe to say she was right. We’ve been following the river farther south for some time after we crossed it, and passed the area with the strange bend early this month. As the river flowed more to the east, we followed a large branch to the west, which Dawn believes is the one flowing from the last valley between the mountain ranges.
This morning, we traveled a greater distance away from the river than usual, and loud, bloodcurdling shrieks echoed off the mountains. Three of us have heard those shrieks before, and the familiarity instantly confirmed my greatest fears about what might be troubling the Sisterhood operatives. The dark and depraved Awa have been stalking us since the bend in the river. When we traveled too far out of sight, they decided to pursue. Fortunate for us, they have difficulty walking on their fins, giving us a major advantage. None of them made it past the arcane powers of the two Sisterhood operatives.
We now believe the underground realm is the origin of these altered Awa. The Dark Lunari no doubt use these foul creations to serve their purpose in the distant waterways of our world, sending them out to wreak havoc with their evil endeavors. This is only our second time encountering these monstrosities in this land, so the odds are against us encountering them again, but that does not mean we should let down our guard. We are enemies of the Dark Lunari, so they will send their minions to stop us.
It was a dangerous morning, but this evening was not without its drama. Boktoseethet has slowly been working on cleaning the sword he took from the ruins of Zitua Ashluk. Tonight he slipped and badly cut his hand. It seems we are fortunate to have two Sisterhood operatives with us. Their skills with medicines are invaluable.