The return crossing carried fewer passengers and attracted the same predators.
Four living heartbeats entered the Styx. Pale shapes gathered beneath the boat before the far landing disappeared, but the Five Knots no longer needed to discover what drew them.
Orin's shoulder remained wrapped, and the damaged brace could not conceal every trace of blood. Min replaced the outer pad before they boarded. Belda secured the remaining rope through the bench rings, while Tessa assigned the same counterweight positions that had kept them aboard during the first crossing.
They did not defeat the creatures. The party kept its weight centered, denied hooked limbs a secure grip, and protected Orin until the ferryman's posts appeared ahead. The pale shapes stopped beyond the landing boundary.
The four climbed out of the boat in their physical bodies.
No quest-completion portal waited for them.
