Phae trusts herself to apply her cavaliers' wards, at least (...especially more than she trusts Ivy). 

Three sets of eyes to catch mistakes helps.

Once everyone's done, they can go, yes?

One final check, thanking Lady Pent for her assistance, then - yes.

"Don't try to use necromancy while in the River," she warns them after directing them to secure themselves to the bone shuttle. 

"Will it have worse than usual consequences?"

"Yes. It will drag you - and potentially everyone with you - deeper into the River, threatening to drown all of us."

"Noted."

Slight nod. "Is everyone ready?"

Nods all around.

She'll give a countdown, then - 

They drop into the River. It isn't obvious at first - a deep cold, colder than even the a Ninth - a faint change to the light, a congealing and then a darkening - 

- And then water starts bubbling up through every tiny pore in the bone at the floor of the shuttle, streaks of bloody red mixed into it. There's a dull thud as something wet and pliant hits then slides off the front of the shuttle. 

Ellyn doesn't like the River. She keeps her fists clenched and focuses on her breathing.

There's bodies in the water - reaching through the increasingly porous walls - and she likes to swim, likes the darkness - but she's being wrapped in ice, ghosts dancing beyond her blurring vision, the blood congealing around her - bones grabbing her wrists and ankles - a light behind her back pressing into her, seven lights arrayed before her behind decaying faces -

Telling herself that she's just hallucinating isn't, actually, particularly helpful.

Unpleasant. This is unpleasant and Phoe does not like this. How long was this supposed to take again, because if this water gets up to her face it's going to ruin her makeup and then she's going to cry. She might cry anyway.

She's giving callouts! Including for how much longer she expects the main ghost ward to last - it's actively boiling, the blood it's drawn in bubbling up and peeling away, and the estimated time is about thirty seconds short of her total estimate -

Can't even try to fix it, no necromancy in the River, no matter how tempting it gets-

It doesn't fade at the expected time, though - still holds on by a string - "A commendation for the Lady Pent," Ivy mutters - it holds until ten seconds before they're expected to surface, shattering and peeling away - the wards on their own bodies begin to burn, the water rises far above their heads, bodies press against theirs -

Ten seconds ten seconds ten seconds -

no no no nO NO-

Don't. Panic. She's fine. Almost there.

- And the water falls, shatters - the temperature soars painfully - the sudden loss of pressure is almost as bad -

But they're out.

Hhhhhhhooooly fuck.

Where are they out at?

Somewhere brightly lit, accompanied by a few startled shouts from outside the sealed bone shuttle -

Followed by the bone distintegrating, revealing a truly massive hangar, the walls covered by great arches of bone, full of ships and workers - and one woman dressed in a simple uniform, blonde hair pulled back smartly, her posture relaxed, holding a thin tablet -

She looks exactly like Tamerlane.

"Ivy," She says, and the voice of God is surpringly mundane even when she's implicitly scolding one of Her Lyctors.

"My Lord." She flutters her eyelashes. "I present Your new Lyctors."

Her Celestial Kindliness pinches the bridge of Her nose, and She asks, "Can you all walk?"

That is weird and creepy.

"Except for the dead woman," Ellyn says, standing.