Chapter 1: Departure (Day 2)

Nearly all of Viani's response after 'eggs that we can eat' gets lost in most of the frog-people hopping away to cower at the other end of the boat. Even Bronk shrinks away, a tiny froggy whisper coming out. "You... eat the eggs?" Bronk says.

Bronk looks from Viani to Verrian and back again. "I understand?" says Bronk carefully, but the questioning inflection makes it sound awfully uncertain. "I am glad that you friends do not eat other friends."

It gives Viani a long, unreadable stare, and then goes back to helping take the boat across the lake. This conversation -- and the opportunity for further conversation -- seems to be over for now.

The frogs do not seem particularly afraid of Yelnar, and Bronk seems perfectly willing to talk. "Family? Is like friends? Helping friends is good," Bronk says, head bobbing in the affirmative. "Gromp once said that friends from behind the Wall That Is Not a Wall would help us be free of the knife birds. That we should watch for them. We will watch for you to come back to the place where you leave the boat?" The other frogs nearby bob their heads as well.

As you approach your destination, the small harbor town of Viamard, you're able to get a look at it from a distance. The closely-built stone structures butt up against the lakeshore, surrounding a few docks where four small fishing vessels are moored. Your boat moves closer, and you note that there is no apparent activity in the town. It looks more like an old ruin than the thriving lakeside village it used to be. Away from the shore, you can see a taller building, some sort of small citadel or fortress, with a single spire rising above the rest of the squat building. Some of the buildings near the shore bear the scorch marks of a fire, a few have started to crumble around the edges. Some gulls wheel overhead, but this seems to be the only thing moving.

The frog-people bring your boat into the docks, and quickly leap off to tie off. Bronk and Brack both hop over and shoo their people back to allow you plenty of space to disembark. "Please be careful, friends," says Brack, with Bronk bobbing its head in agreement. "We have seen other friends like you here sometimes, but we do not share words with them. They smell of grains that have gone sour, and they sometimes throw things at us from the docks. Be wary."

Bronk and the other frog-people hop back to the boat as your party finishes unloading. Brack adds to Yelnar, "We will watch for you to return to the docks." It puts both hands on Yelnar's arm. "I wish that you will find your family friends safe."