Swamped

punk kid kicked you out! but...

There should be a nook in the wall nearby. You can scurry just under the floorboards...

...hey that sounds like Strings...who is she talking to??

When in doubt, make bird calls.

You can't come up with an actual plan, so you do what you've done all day when you've been desperate: you make bird calls.

"Is there a bird in there?" you hear the unseen Marshguard ask. Damn, they must not have moved far enough away yet.

"Don't have time to worry about it, can't keep Razor waiting," Crook says hurriedly.

"I can take over that for you..."

"No, it's quite all right, I volunteered for this, I'll see it through. Plus Razor might let me out faster if I've got laundry to pass along."

The cart moves for a while, then you feel someone reaching in.

"You're not a bird," Crook says.

"If you just put me down, I'll get out of your hair."

Crook seems to be weighing this.

"Now hang on a minute, I've got no idea who you are. I'm not letting a spy run loose..."

"You mean other than the one you're hiding in your laundry cart?"

Crook gives you a glare.

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"I don't see you checking."

"Waste of time, it's clearly a trick to get me to take my eye off you."

Well. You definitely don't want to deal with Razor again. How are you going to get out of this mess?

Would a spy make bird calls to get your attention? Tell him you don't have time for this, you've got to get back to Rider's ghost. Can't you see this compass, Crook? You're taking me the wrong way.

"You think a spy is gonna go around making bird calls to get some stranger's attention?"

"Could be. Maybe you've been watching me, think you can get me to do your dirty work. I don't know what goes through your head."

Well. This isn't working out. Maybe you can act like you've lost it.

"Look, you don't get it. The Rider's spirit told me to follow the compass. Look at it! You're going the wrong way, I've got to get back."

You shove the compass in his face and he just stares.

"I'm pretty sure that ain't north. What's this about Rider, now?"

"The Rider spoke to me! He can guide me home!"

Crook seems to be thinking hard about this.

"I'm telling you, he really asked me to!"

Hmm? That's Strings' voice. Crook shoves you back in the laundry cart suddenly; apparently he still hasn't decided what to do with you.

"I really don't appreciate being toyed with, Strings. If Rider's back, why are you the only one he's talked to?"

Have you heard that voice? You poke your head out slightly to try and listen better. Unfortunately, the conversation's gotten too far away for you to hear more, but Crook's staring at you with wide eyes.

"Something's going on here, isn't it," he says. "All right, tell you what. Prove to me you talked to Rider, or his ghost or whatever, and I'll pretend this whole mess never happened. You can just go on your way, and nobody else hears a word of it."

Well, that's a tough one. What can you offer as proof?

the compass!

He told me about a secret passage to his bedroom where he keeps his smutty romance novels

He told me about a secret passage to his bedroom where he keeps his smutty romance novels

the compass will take us to it

"He told me about a secret passage to his room," you say. "I could tell you where it is."

"That passage is turnin' out to be less of a secret than I thought," Crook said. "It got used more than once today. You might have stumbled in there, or seen someone use it. You got a way to prove Rider told you about..."

You're just thinking about bringing up the book when you realize Crook's gone silent. You turn around, and spot Rider some distance down the hall, still wearing the robe.

He glances this way a moment. Doesn't say anything and just continues on. It's not much, but Crook seems sold.

"I dunno what you did, but I'm not messin' with Rider whether he's dead or alive," Crook says. He lifts you out and puts you down. "Good luck with whatever it is you're doin'. I gotta go see Razor. Which might just be scarier."

Then he rushes off with the cart. Leaving you alone for now.

What your next move? Head back to the gateway? Follow Strings? Try to catch up to Rider? Or is there something else that needs your attention?

Go with Strings!

Strings!!!!

Stay hidden, though. Strings looks like she's in a bad mood.

You can't help it. You're worried too much about what's going on with Strings. Did she find the book? Is she telling someone you're here?

You slip under the floorboards and head in the direction you think you heard her voice from.

It's quiet here - not many people around, it seems. So when you hear sounds above you, you decide to risk making a hole.

You peek through the hole to try and identify who's talking. You can see Strings, but you also see the woman with the metal claws you ran into earlier. This seems like trouble. You get back down, and just listen now.

"Now you're just making excuses. Nobody in the storage room? Oh look, the costume trunk isn't where I left it! You think I'm going to buy that story?"

Oof. This isn't sounding good for Strings.

"I wouldn't lie about something like this! Claws, come on, you know I've never caused any problems. I only went there because Rider said he needed help, and didn't want anyone to know he was back."

"What a load of nonsense," Claws grumbles. "I'm through humoring you. You're confined to quarters until further notice. Better hope the Council doesn't vote for a stronger punishment."

Well, this is sounding like a problem. You feel bad about it - you were the one who suggested sending Strings out, after all.

Is there any way you can help her?

visit strings in their quarters

Follow Claws under the floorboards and make embarrassing flatulent noises whenever they're around others.

Both Strings and Claws are happy to find you. Just give them that compass, they say...it's more valuable than you know.

You decide to follow Strings, and wait for her to arrive in her quarters. You slip out, slowly, so she has time to recognize you.

"So I take it things didn't go so well," you say.

"The book wasn't there," she says. "And Claws caught me."

"I overheard that part. What do you mean, the book wasn't there?"

"I think someone beat me to it. Probably wouldn't have been caught if I hadn't tried looking so hard for it... well, not much I can do about it now except plead to the Council," Strings sighs. "I guess you'd better tell Rider."

"Now hang on a minute, I can't just leave you here..."

Strings smiles weakly.

"I appreciate the thought, but it'll be fine. I can talk my way through this. And if I can't... well, I'll just have a month or so of unpleasant jobs. Nothing I can't handle."

"But it was my idea to get you involved in the first place..."

"Look. Rider came all the way back here for that book, and he's planning to leave again. I don't know his reasons, but I know it matters to him, that's reason enough to help. Don't worry about me. Just tell him the book's gone, he might have a guess as to who could have run off with it."

Ugh. Everything she's saying is right, but you just can't stand the thought of abandoning her just to clean up your mess.

You want to help her... but you can't just brush off Rider, not after he took so many risks to help you get back.

What can you do? What can you even say?

> HUGS

> HUGS

Might as well fill her in on the details about messing with the costumes and dressing Rider up as a ghost, then head back toward the imminent rift.

Right now, words won't cut it. You head over to Strings and give her a hug.

"Hope you can get this mess sorted out," you say with a sigh. "Oh, yeah, Rider's going around doing his best to look like a ghost. Maybe it'll help things if you can clear up that rumor once you're gone."

"Oh, so, that's why the costume trunk was out."

"Yeah, well, we got a little impatient," you say apologetically. "Guess I'll try and get the news to Rider."

"Good luck."

"You too."

You can't remember ever liking a human this much. You'll miss her, but you miss your team more.

For now, though, you need to find Rider and tell him the book's gone. You crawl under the floor again, and try to think about how you're going to track him down.

You could release one of his animals

You could release one of his animals

It has a very keen sense of smell, and if let out of its pen, will immediately go hunting for its favourite human(s). Whoever among its preferred handlers is closest gets grody-but-affectionate greeting licks.

A thought strikes you. The menagerie you saw before. Those are Rider's animals.

You paid enough attention to the route that you can get back there from the storage room. You do some quick scratching to work out your current position relative to it, and you think you've found another way to the animals.

You make your way over there. A quick check confirms there's no humans around, only beasts. It would be convenient if Rider made a stop over here, but he evidently doesn't have time.

So you'll need something that's safe to handle, and also a good tracker. You're no expert on swamp animals, though, so you'll have to rely on your general knowledge of beasts, and hope the swamp variant doesn't attack you.

You glance around, and see something. A small swamphog.

You know that hogs have a good sense of smell, but how dangerous they are to greblings varies quite a bit. This one's not very big, though, and its tusks aren't that sharp. It might be able to pierce your suit if it made a concerted effort at it, but if you don't actually provoke it, you'll probably be fine.

So, you take a chance and let it out of its pen. It starts dashing through the halls.

Damn, you hadn't thought to worry about how fast it was. Still, it was rolling in mud in its pen, so it's not hard to follow its tracks.

On the other hand, someone else might follow them, too. And even if no one noticed the pig, you can't exactly follow the trail while you're below the floor.

What should you do?

release more pigs, use the confusion to your advantage