Lots and lots and lots of combat! This session was about 90% combat, and definitely the longest-ever drawn-out battle I've run in Savage Worlds yet. The beastlings continue to attack, and this time a new hero joins in the fray.

Atallah's sister, the healer Safiyyah, has been following the party in secret since they left the colony. She's been watching them from the shadows, waiting for the right moment to make herself known. Unfortunately, while she watched them congregate at the entrance to the cave at the base of the waterfall, she was set upon by one of the beastlings! It hurt her tremendously, but she managed to outsmart it and take it out. By that time, though, the others had split up, three going in the cave and Ulrik remaining outside, where he was also set upon by the foul creatures.

Several rounds of combat later, Ulrik had fallen, and everyone else except Atallah had been hurt. Ulrik came back to consciousness and then proceeded to consistently rock the Jokers for the rest of the game, while Atallah continued to consistently act last.

Afterwards, the heroes set to healing themselves. With three characters in the party possessing Healing skills, most of the lasting wounds were eliminated pretty quickly and efficiently. I'm positive that in the future, with careful planning of their fights and a bit more practiced and accumulated inter-party coordination, they won't have many problems with their post-battle cleanup - provided, of course, that the situation allows post-battle cleanups, heheheh.

They went back to the abandoned village and found the old woman missing. They spent the night there with Atallah on watch. The rest of the night went by with an eerie silence in the valley.

The next morning, Rassmus woke early and went to the lake, where he saw an enormous pike fish swimming slowly in a figure-eight. Along the sandy shore were signs that the old woman had been there, and recently. Rassmus extended his mind out and found that of the pike, and using his connection to the natural world he was able to contact and communicate, and was a bit unsettled by the clarity of thought he encountered. At the end of the short discussion, he knew the following:

* He must find a way to kill the Betrayer
* The Betrayer's name is Tooroak
* The Betrayer cannot be killed in battle
* The Betrayer is the pike

Puzzling over this information, he follows the old woman's tracks and finds that they lead back into the dark cave.

Meanwhile, the others are searching for more information through the village, and in one of the huts they find an old hidden cellar. They bust inside and find several casks, a couple of chests, and a rack containing a dozen spears. Inside the chests they find a full suit of polished Northwardik battle armor, sized for a woman, and a stack of very expensive dresses of fine silk and satin, mostly aged beyond practical use.

The session ends here, with the heroes making plans to mount a trek into the deeper darkness of the Misty Valley.