Editing Wreck of the Venerable Drake (section)

==Retrieving the Goods==
The trip upriver was uneventful, and the wrecked barge was quickly located. Grounded on a sand bar a score yards from the bank, the Venerable Drake was seemingly abandoned. The water being only a few feet deep, the party boarded the barge and began their search. Most of the goods were ruined by the water and the below-decks were flooded. Through magic and potions, the party descended into the water to continue their search without fear of drowning. Moments after entering the hold, however, they discovered the barge had not truly been abandoned. A pair of Merfolk warriors confronted the party demanding they leave "this holy place." While Nigel and Kimo parlayed, Regina kept to the shadows and discovered the sought-after chest behind a hidden panel. The Merfolk revealed that they had captured the barge to reclaim an artifact of their deity, Gos, which artifact the party quickly realized was in the chest they were sent to retrieve. A brief underwater melee ensued, with Nigel and Kimo fighting a holding action while the rest of the party climbed onto the main deck. 

The situation became grim, as the party was now stranded on the barge well away from the shore. The Merfolk warriors began firing on the party from the river, supported by a powerful shaman. As the Companions considered making a dash to shore, their plans were literally cut off by the summoning of a water elemental to reinforce the Merfolk. Seemingly impervious to the attacks of the party, the elemental began slamming the barge itself, threatening to stave it in and drop the Companions into the river. With a surge of might, the Companions struck at the warriors, and Jericho sent forth the Searing Light of Pelor, which racked the elemental, driving in back with a grievous wound. The battle was pitched and the Companions yet at risk of losing the day. Seeing her opening, Regina strode to the fore and boldly thrust the chest above her head, visible to all, and shouted "BEHOLD! Your god has abandoned you! He sees that you are weak and unworthy of him and chooses US in your stead!"

The Merfolk stood stunned, the shaman with his mouth agape. Then his head and shoulders sagged, his spirit broken. One of the warriors, too, dropped his guard, a mask of anguish on his face. The other persisted; "No! It cannot be!" But he was chastened by the shaman-- "They are right. We have proven unworthy of Gos. He has abandoned us. And yet we cannot bar his way..." At that, the shaman led the warriors and elemental away, clearing the path for the Companions to regain the safety of the shore.