Finch, it turned out, was being swallowed whole by some kind of big fish. It turned out that he'd hurt it with his first blow, but it hadn't really helped him much. He was still smaller than the thing that was eating him.

The others chased across the water in another coracle to help him. It was a close run thing - they could cover the ground but would they be too late? Luckily for him, Finch seems to be made of sterner stuff that many of the others, he kept fighting. Jade and Andra arrived in the knick of time, and Jade swung that dirty great axe of hers, killing the beast in one go. Finch was rescued - but not before the rest of the camp was hit. The others were undefended, and were being attacked. All hands back in the boat, and another short row across the water (after the Axe had been recovered, of course - that might be needed!)

When they got back to the main boat, it had moved - it was being paddled away. Gehecha and the others had been overcome by the bad booze last night, and had been captured. But all was not as it seemed. Those moving the boat away were rousing the others, they were freeing them from the nets they'd been tied up in.

It seems the village is a den of evil and chaos - these are, according to those who'd rescued our friends, ogres. They have a way of killing people that *really* hurts. The rescuers, lead by a chap named Burlock, tells our friends more. The ogres are in league with the dark boatman. They've been working together to bring death and suffering to the people around this village. There are humans in the village too - but these were held captive by fear. Burlock and his four companions had escaped with nothing by helping us. Even their close friends and relatives could not be saved.

They returned almost to the edge of the river - there was another boat of ogres out on patrol and the plan was to spot it and intercept it as it returned. No sign of it was seen after several hours, so our friends returned to the Five Eyes temple and sent a message to Corflu for us to join them for an assault on the ogres. Unfortunately Five Eyes do not have the resources or the warriors to join in any attack on an ogre village.

Burlock left to inform the other river folk about what had been going on. In a few days, the river folk were to hold a council, and Andra and the others are invited. At that meeting they hear a long and sorry tale.

It could be getting on for five years that the ogres have been causing trouble here. But it's only recently that the dark boatman has joined it. The ogres live in fear of him, and even they are disturbed by the way he deals with his prey. Strangely, the dark boatman has never been seen at the village (Dark Roach) by any of the survivors.

The council goes on to tell a story of how the ogres interact with the other settlements and peoples of the water. Their main contacts are called Rattlesnake and Bone Breaker. This last one is definitely an ogre - the other (and Traderman who is another of their contacts) nobody is sure about. They blend in so well.

The council ends with the riverfolk being apprehensive but clear that action must be taken. They're preparing to fight, and Andra tells them how we are on our way to join in with the group and help with the attack. She calls on them to do what they can - we agree that there is no point just driving the ogres away to set up somewhere else and terrorise others. They need to be dealt with.

I and the others arrive a day after this council takes place. We're already tooling up for the job.