Barge floats merrily downstream, with Justin doing his best to clean the zombie-goop off it. Getting it out of the bilges is a forlorn hope, however. Not long before dawn, it starts to rain heavily.
Rain continues through the rest of the day. Late in the afternoon, nobody notices the up-coming rapids until it's very nearly too late — then, by dint of a herculean effort, they manage to get the barge moored against a steep, bush-covered bank.
Justin went off to see what was what, and as the rain cleared he saw a well-maintained tow-track and a series of winching bollards designed for getting laden barges down through the swiftly-flowing safe channel. On the other side of the river.
Kaelli tries to get her horse out of the barge and up the bank; the horse just looks at her as if she's crazy to expect her to climb up there when she has no opposable thumbs or anything.
Kaelli, Tallis, Justin and Karlof decide to haul the barge along the bank themselves. Careful calculations indicate that they only need to get it about a kilometre up-river to be able to row it over the other side without too much danger of being swept into the rapids. After two hours of groin-straining effort, they manage to pull it almost forty metres. Then Mephisto has a Clever Idea involving string, fairy magic and geometry.
Pandora flies across the river and upstream, trailing three hundred metres of string behind her. She ties it to a convenient tree, and then transforms it into a mighty hawser, whereupon the others let go their mooring and let the current swing the barge across the river. It works, to the relief of all, especially those who would otherwise have to just about kill themselves hauling it far enough upstream to get over the conventionable way.
By this time, evening had come and they tied up to one of the bollards for a well-earned night's rest. Again.
About three hours after sunset, the party is attacked again — this time by a flock of hooting, squawking flying monkeys with bat-wings and little red fez. Mephisto made hiself invisible (a sensible move, in the circumstances), while Justin and Tallis took bow-shots at one monkey that was chewing on the mooring cable. Karlof leaped out of the barge to take the fight to the enemy, and was immediately set upon by a crowd of the little bastards which grabbed him about the head and shoulders and took off with him. Several of the others were also attacked, and found that they had really sharp claws! Pandora saved Karlof by flying up to him and transforming his boots into a hundred kilos or so of lead, whereupon the monkeys, unable to support his suddenly increased weight, dropped him right through the bottom of the barge. Fortunately he acted as a sort of a plug, so it didn't sink immediately.
Mephisto attempted a cunning mirror-image spell which failed utterly; the image appeared alright and fooled the monkeys completely, but when they grabbed it and flew off with it, Mephisto went too! Fortunately, Kaelli's quick thinking saved him: she ran up a tree and out along a convenient branch, and leaping out into the air stabbed one of the monkeys almost to death. It let go of mirror-Mephisto, and the other monkeys were forced to do likewise — Mephisto and Kaelli both plummetted twenty metres down into the river, knocking Mephisto cold. Kaelli swam after him and dragged him out of the river.
Meanwhile, the monkeys on the mooring-cable had gnawed right through it, and the barge (with Karlof sticking through the bottom of it and the unconscious Mephisto along for the ride) started floating off down towards the rapids.
Back on shore, Justin and Tallis both managed to kill a monkey each, and discovered that when they died they went with a terrific blinding flash, leaving them fighting blind. Justin threw his sword into the river for some reason. Fortunately, the flashes also blinded the remaining monkeys, who flew clumsily off.
Everyone managed to get off the runaway barge and on to the bank. Kaelli found and retrieved Justin's sword for him.
Next morning, the semi-exhausted and somewhat damp party followed the tow path which led off up a smaller river that flowed into the Donn, and found a sturdy rope-bridge. Everyone got across without falling to their death, including the horse which was blindfolded and cajoled and illusioned.
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