The first piece of good news I've had all trip was that I was able to sleep through the assorted religious rituals of greeting the sun; I'll definitely have to follow the routine of sleeping with my head covered by my cloak and blanket, which has the side effect of reducing the number of mosquito bites I suffered last night. I'm not sure why I didn't think of this earlier!

Alas, for a day that started out so auspiciously, today hasn't proven to be all that much better than yesterday or the day before. The weather continues to be cloyingly hot and humid, despite the overcast skies. The scenery is still something that only a kobold or an orc could love, and I'm not sure about the orc. The water is still pretty nasty, but at least it's better than what passes for dry land in this accursed place!

After starting out with what has become our normal morning routine (board the raft, with Leighla up front, followed by me and Haley, then the animals, then Maerlyan Elealion (he's been going by his last name the entire time, apparently) and Dogboy, and finally Mitsy and the paladin), we proceeded down the stream, if I can ennoble such a stagnant and mucky body of water with the name. And surprise of all surprises, the day didn't get far beyond noon when we were attacked by the native wildlife. This time, not one, not two, but three crocodiles decided that we would make a good meal. They somehow capsized the raft, sending all of us into the shallow water, before heading straight for the druid's pony. I suppose I should be grateful that they didn't decide to try snacking on my legs again, but at the time, this was small consolation for the fact that I had just been launched, harp and all, into six feet of mucky water. Fortunately, I was able to get to shore, as were the rest of us. Oh, by the way: guess what Mitsy did! That's right: she screamed!

Leighla was able to take one of the brutes down with a well placed shot of her bow (that woman is proving to be quite a useful companion!), and I blush to say it, but yours truly was responsible for exacting vengeance for my wounds of the other day on a second crocodile (the one that was trying to drag away our rations; obviously a far less intelligent crocodile than most, since the things are utterly tasteless, though Haley seems to like them...). Prihelm, I'm afraid, proved once again to be remarkably ineffective as anything more than cannon fodder, and I have to add that Haley, Mitsy, Maerlyan, and Dogboy weren't of much more help, but fortunately, the last croc decided to be content with munching on pony and left us alone.

In the process of recovering our raft, we discovered some bad news: most of the food had been ruined! Haley particularly seemed to be disconcerted by this turn of events, but I have faith that Leighla will be able to provide for us in quite adequate fashion. I also discovered something far worse: not unexpectedly, my precious harp was in sad shape from it's prolonged exposure to the water (such as it is). However, I was lucky enough to discover a boat that might have proved more serviceable than our raft were it not for the great big hole in the bottom. I say lucky, because in trying to drag it up to shore to see if it could be fixed, Prihelm stumbled (literally; the boy is rather clumsy) upon a chest. When we got it to shore, I was able to open it, discovering spoiled food, spoiled clothes, and (here's the kicker) a pair of magical short swords, the nicer looking of which I now possess (we gave the other to Dogboy, mostly because no one else could use it -- I sincerely hope that mine doesn't turn out to be cursed, though I won't count on it).

The rest of the day was surprisingly uneventful, until we reached nightfall, when we stumbled across a gypsy's wagon (they call them Vistani here, apparently). While the others were rather apprehensive, I assured them that the Vistani could be trusted (as long as they were careful with their possessions). We shared a pleasant evening with Scarengi, his wife, son, and three grand-children, complete with the best meal I've had since I got talked into this stupid trip, although Scarengi and his family seemed to be music haters and elected to not only skip the traditional music after dinner, but even to ask me to stop singing and harping! There's something a little bizarre about that, but different strokes for different folks, as Aunt Leandra used to say. We did learn that we are in a land called Souragne (which none of us have ever heard of), near a village called Marais d'Tarascon (why anyone would want to build a village in this gods-forsaken wilderness is beyond me, but perhaps people here are all a little strange and it's not just Scarengi and his family).

After dinner, Valana (Scarengi's rather attractive fortune telling daughter) emerged from the wagon (the men stared, Mitsy gave her a jealous glare, and Haley and Leighla and I acted normally, which is, sadly, about the usual for this group). Telling our fortunes (it's all a scam anyway, so don't worry), she had plenty of unsettling things to say, although it's a little strange: she claims it all started when she did a reading for "that poor unfortunate madman." If it weren't for the fact that I know she was making it up, I would be a little worried; she told us that we're here because "the lost one has called you! The dead will walk with the coming storm, and you must find a way to put them to rest. If you cannot, the rain will turn to blood! It will drown you -- you and all of Marais d'Tarascon." Silly girl obviously doesn't know the first thing about fortune telling: everyone knows that you have to promise people that they'll meet a tall, dark stranger who will lavish love and money upon them! And you definitely don't do it for free! Funny thing, though: her family seemed greatly disturbed by this "fortune" of ours: I'm not sure what they're angle is, yet, and that worries me. But it's late, and I need to stand watch tonight, so I better wrap this up and get some rest.