[Stomoxys]

Judging from the sky, the dragons were approaching and I asked Grogg if they were ready. They responded with a simple yes and hefted their maul over their shoulder. Nuur-Karif wanted to go to Ælios' cabin, presumably to look for Yana, and Wolfram agreed. They were badly hurt and wanted to find Ælios and ask for healing magic. I found it a bit odd, considering that they suspected Ælios of necromancy. Grogg wanted to stay on deck and wait for the dragons. I would like to stay with them, but Ninos said that something had happened with Ælios. It looked like it would take a while for the dragons to arrive, so I decided to go down with the others. Grogg decided to come along as well, but asked Kra to stay on deck and keep watch. The spirit raven made a racket and through the ring, I could see them jumping around Grogg's feet as if they was looking for something. Probably Grogg's shadow.

Grogg and I made our way down through the dark hold to the cabin. All the lanterns were out in Ælios' laboratory leaving it in a deep gloom. My shiny pebble had gone out, but the shimmer coin was still glowing and with a little bit of extra energy, I could use it to light up the room sufficiently to see.

At the far end of the cabin, Ælios was slumped against the wall. Nuur-Karif went into the office, but Wolfram was sitting on a barrel that looked familiar. Walking up to them, I felt the odd citrus smell again and my suspicions were confirmed. It was Darwan's barrel.

Wolfram acted completely oblivious and I told them to get off the barrel. They were already under Jori's influence and adding Darwan as well could not lead to anything good. They refused to budge, but I began checking the barrel for energies. I could not immediately sense anything, but when I gingerly touched the barrel, I sensed that there were some kind of energies inside. Again, I reiterated that Wolfram should get away from the barrel, but they obstinately remained seated and instead asked me suspiciously what I had done in the mast. They muttered something about trying to capture the demon. I was about to tell them that I had no interest in demonic corruption, but I was interrupted by Ælios.

The surgeon had roused themselves and said something along the lines of "I hope you did not also ...", but they trailed off before they finished. I walked over to them to take a closer look and they appeared to be unhurt, but exhausted. I asked them what had happened, but they only waved a hand and indicated that they wanted the barrel gone. Wolfram finally got up, but held on to the barrel and dragged it along over to the patients.

Ælios relaxed a bit when the barrel was removed, but still looked tense. I carefully touched them to see if their pulse was normal. They started when I touched them, but I think I was more distressed. From the touch, I got a sense of intense stress and anxiety, so much that it was infecting me. I let go immediately and backed away.

Wolfram had taken the barrel with them into the office, while Grogg announced that nothing was happening and they would return to the deck. I had heard Hylda's and Yana's voices in the office, but they did not seem to know what had happened. I followed Wolfram, but met Nuur-Karif in the doorway. They asked where Grogg was heading and set off after I told them. To their back, I said that it was Darwan's barrel.

In the office, Wolfram had put down the barrel and, strangely, reseated themselves on it. I asked them why they were obsessing so much about the barrel, but only got a nonsensical response that they had to keep it from me. I could not help but wonder if they were had gotten the taste for demonic powers. They next asked if Darwan might be in the barrel and looked almost disappointed when I said that whatever was in the barrel was not nearly powerful enough to contain a demon. Was this why they wanted to capture Volkir? As a side note, the barrel appeared to be made of cocobolo wood, another indication that Darwan came from somewhere near The Homeland.

Arguing with Wolfram would be pointless and Nuur-Karif returned, so I recounted what Volkir had said, emphasizing how hysterical the demon had sounded. While I talked, Hylda got up and asked where Grogg was. Like Grogg, they did not have a shadow. They did not know how it happened, but asked us to tell them if Grogg came back. Yana had their shadow, but something appeared to be wrong with their vision.

Ælios was incapacitated, so Nuur-Karif began to see to Wolfram's wounds. Despite the presence of a bed that would make it easier, Wolfram remained on the barrel. I opened the window to look out and the red hue was spreading across the sky and getting nearer. It did not look like it would reach us for a while yet, so I went back to the lab to ask Ælios what had happened.

The surgeon was sitting on a stool, holding a book opened on a blank page and a quill in their hand. However, they were staring blankly into space instead of writing anything. I asked them how they were doing and they pulled themselves out of their reverie. After taking a few seconds to gather themselves, they whispered that their masterpiece had not been what they envisioned. I asked them to elaborate, but they only said it would be best if we took the patients with us when we left.

I carefully touched Ælios and again felt a wave of anxiety coming, but it was less intense this time. They said they had fixed the patients and I asked why they were not more pleased, noting that they had not said "healed". They only shook their head, so I told them there had been a demon in the room. They muttered that they knew and looked down for a few seconds. They then turned back to me and asked how much time they had and if it would be possible to hide.

They seemed to have had some kind of interaction with the demon, so I told them honestly that I did not really know. They insisted that we should take the patients and the barrel away if they were to have any chance of escaping. They admitted they had entered their agreement willingly, but now they had to get as far away as possibly. It was unusual to see an apeoid that was aware of their mistakes and I asked if I could see their aura. They said I could do whatever I wished as long as we took the patients and the barrel. Their aura looked normal and I could not detect any hint of a demonic taint. I told them as much, but it did not seem to bring them any relief. They wondered if they should wake the patients so we could get going immediately, but I answered that Wolfram and Grogg were too wounded to move immediately.

I returned to the office and told them that Ælios had made some sort of deal with Darwan and we had to take the patients. Nuur-Karif wanted to fetch Grogg and I followed them up on deck. Two guards were keeping a watch on us, but they made no attempt to stop us. The ships traveled swiftly on the river, so we could no longer see Byblos. In the west, Ajaw had reached the horizon, which was a deep red hue. To the east, dark tendrils were reaching out from the solid blackness on the horizon.

Grogg was slumped near the bow with the needle protruding from their neck. Nuur-Karif walked over and pulled it out. Grogg tried to swat away the disturbance, but Nuur-Karif dodged easily and said that Hylda were looking for them. This convinced Grogg to join us downstairs. Grogg and Hylda discussed their lack of shadows and Hylda said they had had a dream were they had to run after Grogg to get them back. It sounded plausible that it was related to their missing shadows and perhaps it can be used to get Grogg's shadow back. Unpleasant side effects seems to be a theme for demonic gifts. After they finished their discussion, Grogg promptly inserted the needle back into their neck. Meanwhile, I helped Nuur-Karif reapply the cast on Grogg's arm. It turned out Nuur-Karif had gotten the needle from Ælios and given it to Grogg.