Qawasha also roused at Red's warning, and threw something at the undead. The triple assault was too much, and the dwarf-turned-undead fell silently to the ground, unmoving.

The silence remained unbroken, and eventually the sleepers returned to their bedrolls. The rest of the night passed without incident.

The next two days were relatively quiet. They had a few scuffled with undead as they carried the canoe through the thick jungle, but nothing as dangerous as the dinosaur.

Midafternoon on the third day (15 days since leaving Port Nyanzaru), the thick jungle begins to thin a bit. The ground begins to slope downwards, and soon you find yourself standing at the edge of the treeline.

Ahead of you is the Aldani basin. Thirty miles wide, and stretching almost 100 miles north to south, this lowland basin is a collection of lakes, rivers, and swampland. From here, you can see the River Tath tumbling down as a waterfall into the basin. Directly across from you, and to the south, are tall plateaus, devoid of jungle growth. About 20 miles west of you are the headwaters of the Soshenstar river, which then winds its way north, back into the jungle and eventually back to Port Nyanzaru.

Far to the west, above the jungle tops, the Mistcliff Mountains are just visible.

The scope is a bit dizzying. After two weeks of not being able to see more than about fifty feet in any direction, the openness of the vista is disconcerting. Also, the sun is hot and bright here - out of the shade of the canopy, it feels ten degrees hotter.

Eventually your eyes adjust, and you see creatures moving in the basin. Large dinoaurs, their necks impossibly tall, move slowly through the swamp. Flocks of strange, colourful, long-legged birds rise into the air, circle, then settle again. A troop of flying monkeys takes off from the foliage above you, startling Weed so badly he fell backwards into a puddle. Other creatures, mostly unseen, disturb the water from beneath.

While it is not one big lake, there are enough swamps, rivers, and waterways, that you'll be able canoe most, if not all of the way across it. Of course, once you descend down into the basin, you won't have a view all the way across it, but it is clear the going will be easier here, at least for a while.

Qawasha points out one plateau on the other side and to the south. "The village of Mbala is up there. A friendly village of Chultan locals. It is on the way to the oracle of Orolunga. We should be able to get there the day after tomorrow."

New map and internet art of flying monkeys and the basin on the slide deck.