Maze of shadows and death

I was burning with hatred; how could she have done that, how could she have set my Volante on fire, something so precious... I had worked so hard to get it...burnt...well still burning in front of me. And Sillia backed her up...do I have absolutely not value in their eyes? Am I truly nothing to them?
 
At that point I didn't care anymore, they wanted to be reckless, fine, I could too... I walked into the ruins and yelled out for the smuggler to come out. He didn't...but a shadow did. AND SILLIA AND BARI TRIED TO TALK TO IT!
 
I think that snapped me out of my initial recklessness...Someone in the group needed to be sensible. They were not taking my words seriously. I really needed to make them understand that these things are dangerous. They can go through walls and can maybe even possess you...and normal weapons can't hit them. For some reason my spear can hit them. I guess it is special. I mean, I knew it was strange, because it made that portal, but...I guess it is also good against smoke monsters. I should not lose this.
 
And since the situation wasn't dangerous enough, Ezra jumped down into one of the holes in the floor! Alone! In absolute darkness! A place where the smoke monsters have the most power.
 
We can't go against these smoke monsters alone! We roped down and tried to follow her. There was a whole underground part to the ruins. We did not know which way she went and took a guess. Somehow me and Vaso got separated.
 
The smoke monster seemed to be able to make us see things...They made me ses Gabriel and Garruk... and, I'm not sure, but at one point, Vaso seemed to just stop...as if time had stopped...Imrie once talked about time stopping, but it seemed so impossible, but now, not so much. Was Imrie's time stop caused but a shadow creature or something else ?
 
When Vaso began moving again, we when on (for the way had come was now blocked). He was mumbling something about people being in the walls. Aaaand then there was a gigantic deadly monster with horns. At least it was slow. We ran, happened to find the others, who were battling a cube thing...a translucent, form-changing thing...it didn't even have eyes.
 
We got past it, Bari ordered me to get a pale square leaf from inside the cube...I didn't think it would burn so much but I grabbed the leaf! The pain almost made me loose consciousness ... a consciousness I lost when I fell from the ledge.
 
When I came round, the cube thing was gone and so was the horned monster. I quickly realised that Ezra had tried to break my fall. Ezra. She had tried to help me? The one that had taken and burnt my volante, was now helping...
 
...and crying. She opened up her bag and gently pulled out the still body of her little owl. Raja was dead. My hatred for Ezra vanished. What was a volante compared to a living, breathing creature. Vaso in that moment shouted something at us, "you are strings" I think it was... and handed me a bunch of knotted threads and rope. I think it was his way to say that we were to stop being angry at each other... and I agree. Ezra seemed so lost, I kept an eye on her as the rest of the party climbed out of the crevasse we were in. She kept staring out into one of the corridors. Standing there soaked and shivering. I don't know how she got to be soaked as she was; did she fall into some water?
 
We soon found a place to rest, a place where the body of a long dead dwarf lay. We burnt Raja's little body and Erza tried to dry off. Vaso kindly gave her a little wooden bird. I morn Raja even now. I don't even being to know how Ezra must feel.
 
For now we rest. The others seemed to have found other square leaves and they apparently have magical properties (no wonder Bari asked me to risk getting one). Niramia stared at the pale square leaves and suddenly she began speaking, but it was not her speaking... I mean, it was her voice, but not her words. The leaves were maybe casting message to her mind...is that even possible...when I glanced at them, I only saw drawings.
 
Anyway, Niramia spoke much and there were some very interesting details:
 
The black river seemed to have given this smuggler elf magic...I wonder..we also passed what they call the river of blood..I fell in...I wonder if that is why i suddenly feel I can grasp magic...until this place, I had always had trouble with magic...I wonder...
 
The smuggler elf, Orinok Blackriver, he seemed to have a way to get to Venumbra. His blind spot seems to be accessible only by boat. "Venumbra’s gaze doesn’t tend toward the Void, despite Old Necropolis being on the edge of the Coward Cove". There also seem to be dangers in the water...great more to worry about.
 
The leaves also mentioned that the dead can't swim. That is good to know. "An old structure from the once-great city still pokes out of the water there, and that’s the way in." More words I need to remember, that and the fact that Blackriver's boat crashed on the edge of the dreadwoods...the dreadwood where the spiders were...and apparently, Venumbra's tower is in full view from there. Close by also seem to be hills.
 
In one of the leaves, Orinok seemed to speak of our lands...and if he was able to go to our lands... then we can too. But there seems to be something worse than Venumbra...I dread to think what.
 
For now I need to speak to lady Sillia. I keep forgetting important details...she is so going to be angry at me, again.