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The silhouette of the trumpeting mammoth fades into view, its mechanical body jerking and coming to a halt. Standing on the edge of the tugboat, a man named [[Will]] struggles with the operation manual. [[Junebug]] approaches and the two talk about the [[Echo River]], where he's been traveling for over half his life. Will notes that they picked her and the group up at the [[Bureau of Reclaimed Spaces|Bureau]], and says he hopes that this doesn't mean she had been traveling the {{ZeroLink}}.
[[Shannon]] stands at the helm of the ''[[Mucky Mammoth]]'', looking out at the water. She circles around the side of boat to talk to Will, and asks him for his story – a classically trained organist with a minor in French literature, he used to teach theater at the local university until a budget cut hit and he was demoted, left to do odd jobs around the campus. Eventually, he found his way to the Echo, where he met [[Cate]], the captain, and has been traveling up and down the river ever since, and helps with maintenance, mail, trash, and recording their journey. Shannon goes to talk to Cate, who assures her that they're indeed on their way to [[File:The Mucky Mammoth.png|thumb|left|''CONWAY: I've got to repay my debt. Hell, I should be grateful for the opportunity — if you want to die with any dignity, you've got to settle up. That's why it's such a damned shame when people go sudden.'']] Shannon goes to talk to Cate, who assures her that they're indeed on their way to [[Dogwood Drive]], the site of [[Conway]]'s delivery, but notes that the river is dicey tonight; in addition, they must make other stops as well – dropping off mail, picking up garbage, and delivering on a few favors – before reaching the [[Silo of Late Reflections|Silo]] mail stop. She introduces Shannon to her dog [[Valkyrie]], whom she calls Val, and tells her to take advantage of the amenities: fresh air, cozy beds, and hot tea – and also mentions that the video room on the boat contains some interesting-but-weird VCR tapes, including one of a woman talking with no sound except for a strange hum. As Cate heads back inside, [[Ezra]] runs up to Shannon and asks for batteries for a tape recorder [[Johnny]] lent him.
Ezra heads inside the cabin where he encounters Junebug and Johnny sitting with another musician named [[Clara]]. They tell him that him she's come from Lithuania to play a concert on the Echo River, after which she'll continue on to play in Nashville and Atlanta, and then the coast. Junebug also mentions another musician, [[Cyrano]], and notes that he's playing tonight at the [[Rum Colony]] where she was supposed to meet with a woman to pick up some old engine parts three hours ago. Johnny sends Ezra out with his tape recorder to collect "found sounds" for Clara to use in her performance. As he exits, Conway walks into the room and grabs a beer from the fridge with his now-skeletal right arm after being sober for 15 months. He heads outside and has a conversation with Shannon about his drinking. He reminisces about [[Lysette]]'s kindness, and says that he has to repay his debt to the [[Hard Times Distillery|distillery]].
