For a moment, our perspective shifts to a band of bandits standing by a familiar quicksand pit. The especially nasty one in the distinctively large hat is named Vidal, the leader of this crew of vultures, and he's brought along a stuttering mage who explains that at this range he can feel the exact location of the Eye - Four metres under the quicksand. Declaring that knowing its location should make retrieval easy, Vidal kicks the mage into the pit and continues marching for revenge upon our party, who in the meantime are venturing into hostile territory.

Zev wasn't on Tuskar's side, but he takes the lead as the resident expert on war machines. Maybe the party can find a defensible position here, but the least they can do is seal the Alchemic Drive that's pouring mutagenic sludge into the Neverglades.

Zev

Once a mech pilot, he left his army days behind with nothing but a dream and a heavily used exosuit. His skills are still sharp, despite the rust on the armor. What will he be capable of once he's fully repaired?

Some detours and broken hardware later, our crew is shaking down the bridge. From this elevated viewpoint, they can see the port town Puerto de Oro in the north, their best bet for getting off this island and away from their pursuers. Zev attempts to scavenge the fancy captain's chair to redo his suit's upholstery, but ends up destroying the leather with a survival knife. Koschei gathers up all the navigation logs he can find in an effort to figure out how the hell a boat got itself grounded a day's walk inland. It's all ciphered so he can't read it himself, but he's got a contact in Puerto de Oro who should have the know-how. Kyu, perhaps thinking of more immediate problems, breaks into a locked case to get a cool Corporal's Dagger, a fresh magic weapon.

Kyu

A travelling chef and dancer, Kyu seeks new experiences alongside their lovable shaggy dog, Donny. A heavy dose of wanderlust explains why they'd become familiar with a band of ne'er-do-wells, but what future do they see that motivates them to stick with the group?

Working their way backwards from the bridge to the engine room, the party enters the galley to find two imp slimes riding on mutant frogs, engaging in play jousting. The slimes decide to make our crew part of their game, and a fight ensues. Certain frogs explode. The crew doesn't escape unscathed, but Kyu finds some unrefrigerated bug steaks and whips up a comforting soul food meal with them

After shaking down nearby rooms for what they can scavenge, the party is left at the door to the engine room. Aside from the stream of mutagens bleeding from the Alchemic Drive into the surrounding swamps, they can hear something else moving in there. Bracing for a confrontation, they venture in...