On the top deck, two deckhands busied themselves throwing water on the vomit left by Agathe. Ravendil pondered the drama of human affairs briefly, but returned to matters at hand at the call from the bow, "Fog on the river!" Ravendil peered past the mast, in the waning moon and torch light, to see the phenomenon rapidly approach.
Two men deftly bounded the stairs to the top-deck to man the wheel. The senior man, turning to Ravendil and Agathe, then his second, "Leave my deck, elf, there is work to do. Don't forget your woman."
Ravendil and Agathe took their leave and joined Martin on the mid-deck as the boat's bow cut into the heavy fog. Martin told them of the encounter below and Agathe quickly went below to see the brothers.
In the party's cabin Mein, sporting a black eye and bloodied lip, tended to his unconscious brother lying in a berth. Pounding footsteps of crew could be heard overhead as a great deal of commotion was made as the fog enveloped the boat. The boat lurched suddenly as its keel ground across the bottom of the Reik. The shudder reverberated through the very boots of the party. Martin caught his balance on his warhammer; Mein steadied himself on the berth; Agathe crashed into the cabin wall; Ravendil fell backward into the cabin doorway, hitting his head. The boat did not stop, but it was heart stopping moment. Above them more pounding, running footsteps.
Taking leave of the cabin and the brothers, the rest of the party returned topside to see what was going on. The fog had fully engulfed the boat. The once bright torches were muted, yellow orbs against the dark grey night fog. Visibility was reduced to less than 20 feet. Deckhands met each other and yelled, but their voices would not carry. There was fear in their eyes, but tasks had to be done. Above them the "captain" yelled to his first mate, concentration and worry in his face as he tried to yell orders to his crew, but could hardly be heard. Eerie as the silencing fog was, the oddity of other sounds carried to easily. The sail popped in the light breeze. The splash of water. The creaks of flexing rope.
Ravendil immediately suggested "taking leave" of the boat. The welcome was in question anyway, if not for the brother's beating at the hands of the witch hunter, then the same's display of his trophies on the top deck. It was agreed. They grabbed a oil-cloth bag from the crew gallery and put their cloaks into it. Agathe helped Mein with his brother, Berthold, to the top deck. The plan, scale the side to their barge still tied along side.
In the fog, they stumbled to the starboard side. The visibility was worse now, down to 10 feet. They found the taut, heavy rope towing the barge. Unable to see the river, climbing down this single rope was a certain way to take "a bath and drown." It would be impossible to get Berthold down this way. Agathe left in search of cargo netting to toss over. She returned dragging a heavy net. Ravendil and Agathe tied it off, and Ravendil climbed over the rail onto the netting, following the taut rope down to the river.
Martin followed, while Agathe attempted to figure out how to get the injured Berthold safely down. The fog seems to silence speech and every one was yelling to communicate with people standing 2ft. away. Disturbing splashes could be heard from the bow and stern. Were crew jumping in terror and confusion?
Agathe and the brothers agreed on a plan and Agathe climbed over the railing. The boat suddenly lurched again, coming to a jerking halt for but a second. She lost her grip and fell backward. Her foot caught in the netting, she was hanging upside down and face to face with Martin. Martin climbed back up to see to her foot and freed it. She fell, disappearing into the fog below.
Ravendil had found the barge below. The last grinding bottoming of the boat allowed the barge to "catch up," and if by the hand of a god, Agathe, appearing out of the fog from above, landed on the barge in a heap at Ravendil's feet.
Martin climbed back to the railing to look for the brothers. He found no one. Screaming at the top of his lungs, he was not answered. Martin quickly descended the net and found the barge. Cutting free of the boat, they quickly found themselves in the disquieting fog, pulled away from the boat by the current of the river. They were blind in the fog. They found themselves plunged into a directionless, dark, chilly, wet, and silent world. For a brief moment they thought they heard calls for help from the water, but could see nothing. Only the sounds of desperate splashing could be heard.
Daylight was hours away.
... more to come ...
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