Swamped

In an effort to work out your next move, you remind yourself of what's happened so far.

As a gesture of goodwill, you greeted them by planting your lance in the desert sands, indicating you had no desire to fight. They responded by firing several bolts at you, only half of which you were able to dodge.

So you pulled your lance back out, knocked one of them off his desert-horse with it, and are currently pointing the end of it at his throat.

They don't seem happy about this, and you don't particularly blame them, but most of them have at least put down their crossbows. So, that's progress.

"Do any of you speak Common?" you ask. You get several unintelligible replies back. Someone seems to point at the man you've got at the point of your spear; you glance at him, and withdraw it ever so slightly.

He holds a hand to his ear and nods, then makes the motions of talking and shakes his head. Then he makes some gestures that look like writing and nods.

So he can understand what you're saying, but he can only speak his own tongue. But he can write in Common, it seems.

"Write in the sand with your finger, then."

He scrawls out as best he can.

LIKE THIS

Perhaps he hasn't mastered punctuation. Well, you can always ask him to clarify if need be.

"Yes, that will do. Why did you attack us?"

He takes a while to consider this.

YOU TRESPASS IN OUR LANDS

How should you respond?

> As you can probably tell, we're a misfit group not from around here. We were transported here by a portal from the swamp, and came back in order to save an acquaintance of mine from dying of desert fever. We hold no interest in taking over your land, and we will leave as soon as we are able. We have nothing to do with whomever you hold a grudge against.

You see no reason to hold back the truth.

"We are here to provide aid to my comrade, who has come down with desert fever. Once we can treat him, we intend to leave as soon as possible. We are not in this particular region of the desert by choice - we came from the swamp, through a gateway that we do not fully understand."

The man on the ground seems to pause for a moment once you mention the swamp. Then he chooses to speak, rather than scrawl.

"Vahad ridus," he says, and you realize you know those words.

"Saren... giol?" you say. "I apologize if my pronunciation is off. It's been ten years since your last message, after all."

He nods. You withdraw your lance. He stands up, and motions to the others to lower their weapons.

He goes over to his desert horse, and pulls out a quill pen and an empty scroll from a pouch.

Matters are not yet settled, Marshguard. As I recall, you are still in our debt.

"We are. But, you have not yet made a request for us to fulfill. I ask for safe passage for myself and my comrades, and by the time we leave the desert, I will personally settle not only the old debt, but this new one as well. Is this acceptable?"

He shakes his head.

I am but one man. I cannot speak with the force of the whole tribe. I can pass your message along, but it will take time for the elders to consider it.

"Unfortunate. I am in a hurry. As I said, my comrade is suffering from the desert fever, and I must aid him as soon as possible. I need passage for this wagon now. Is there any way you can grant that to me? You have my word that I will repay you for it before I leave."

I would risk the anger of the elders. I mean no disrespect, but it will take more than your word to satisfy them.

You thought as much.

In truth, you know little about this group. The Marshguards have had a line of contact to them since long before you joined; but messages between the two groups have been very infrequent. You didn't even realize they were desert-dwellers.

Still, you know enough to have some idea of what their leaders will want from you.

Shoot, they probably want rainspawn information or samples... not exactly the best time or place for you to provide that now!

Maybe they'd be satisfied examining Marshall's arm.

> Your animals. Or at the very least, your animal handling skills. It would give them the upper hand in skirmishes.

At heart, the core reason for your past contact is simple. The Marshguards protect the secrets of the swamp, and this group does the same for the desert. You didn't know where they were based until now, but you understood that to be their general purpose.

You also understand that they're quite curious about their counterparts in the swamp. You fully expect that their leaders will want to question you.

Especially about the rainspawn. Between what the Hermit told you after the last rain, and what you've observed with your own eyes in the last day, it seems almost certain that the desert saw a brief glimpse of your weather.

They'll be disappointed by how little you can tell them. Even if you had the luxury of sharing all that you know, it wouldn't amount to much more.

Well, you can probably dig yourself out of that particular hole when you get there. What matters for the moment is what you can offer this man. You understand his position; it's one you've been in before. He's responsible for negotiating with you, but he answers to an authority that can't be consulted.

So you'll have to make him an offer his absent superiors are likely to accept. And you can only think of one.

"If you allow the rest of my company to go on their way, I will surrender myself to your care, and I will bring the item you seek from the wagon with me," you say. "Is that acceptable to you?"

He looks you in the eye. Then he turns to another, and they talk for a few minutes.

Finally, he holds up the scroll and writes his answer.

We cannot accept.

"Unfortunate," you say. "Why not?"

This wagon belongs to a treacherous group that claims to be our ally. I cannot approve any bargain which does not leave it with us, as well as any members of the group who may be on it.

"And I cannot in good conscience leave my troops to the mercy of the desert without a vehicle." You raise your spear ever so slightly. "Nor can I agree to hand over anyone besides myself."

Then we are at an impasse, he writes. He mutters something, and you notice the others reloading their crossbows.

This is not a good sign.

---

"Uh-oh," Starling says, glancing through the slightly-open door. "Can't quite make out what's going on, but it looks like they're this close to a fight breaking out."

You're Corvus again, and by the sounds of it, that's your cue to do something about it.

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You glance over to Marshall.

"Okay, get ready," you say.

"Ready!"

And with that, you shove the door open with your mudpike. A moment later, a wadded-up bedsheet goes flying through.

It spreads out, catching two of the raiders as it expands.

"Right. Starling, get in the driver's seat, and get moving fast. I'll help out Rider. Rivers, you're in charge while I'm gone."

"What the hell? Why me?"

You don't answer. You just rush out into the confused crowd, slamming the door shut behind you.

It looks like there's eight Dune Wanderers here. Rider's knocked three of them off their mounts and is moving to either grab or break their crossbows, and two are tangled up in the sheet.

That leaves three. One of them doesn't have his crossbow ready; instead he seems to be shouting orders at the other two. Both of them are aiming at Rider. They don't seem to have taken notice of you just yet.

What's your next move?

Flying tackle the shouting guy. Bonus points if you pin him with his horse.

I agree with AgentBlue here. At WORST? You're about to essentially pick a fight with someone who might be the boss of these guys, which means probably gonna be tiring to handle. but At BEST or even... maybe... At Normal? If you cut this guy off mid sentence with your flying tackle/possible horse pin, you might distract the archer guys long enough for Rider to move to a more advantageous position, or even completely distract one of/them. I mean, that means pointy things flying at you, but divide and conquer and all that!

It doesn't take you long to settle on what you're doing. When in doubt, go for the guy who's shouting orders.

You plant your mudpike in the sand and use it as leverage to vault onto his desert horse, colliding with him in the process. You don't quite drop him off the horse, but you've got his attention at least.

He tries to shout, but by then you've already started punching him in the face.

"Down!" Rider shouts suddenly. You grab your sparring partner by the shoulders and dive off the horse with him, moments before you feel a bolt just barely whizzing past your elbow.

You're having a hard time keeping track of what's going on around you; wrestling someone tends to require a lot of your attention. You think you hear the wagon start moving, followed by incomprehensible shouts.

What should you do now? Is there a good way to take this guy out of the fight fast, or are you better off just disengaging?

He's still the leader dude, so I'd say shove his face in the sand and try to stop him shouting any more orders

Take him down! BUT.

Suggestion: Roll to swap positions. Put him between you and possible crossbow? Or maybe wait until Rider (hopefully) warns you again? OR- Maybe... uh.. battlefield reading? Probably no way for you to know when someone's going to fire at you, but you gotta get better at fighting some day and now would be a really useful time.

TL;DR - Kick this guy's ass. Go for the knock out, or at least knock the wind or eyesight outta him so you can get the advantage, and maybe use him as a human shield in case of getting shot.

You start by shoving his head down into the sand. You don't think that will stop him long, but he won't be able to get any orders off and you'll have a quick chance to scan the battlefield.

Rider's been hit by quite a few bolts now. Not that it seems to be slowing him down at all. He's heading for the two Wanderers caught in the bedsheet, probably to keep them from interfering once they're free.

Of the other Wanderers, you see three on the ground, one of whom is still lying down. You think that one was mounted when you made your strike, so Rider would have knocked him down. The other two are chasing after Rider.

The two mounted Wanderers include a woman who's carrying your mudpike. She must have grabbed it and re-mounted. At least she doesn't have a crossbow, and she clearly doesn't seem to know how to hold a mudpike. Still, you're not armed or mounted, so it would be trouble if she headed your way.

You also count only six desert horses. The other two must have fled.

Meanwhile, the Wanderer you've been fighting has pulled himself out of the sand. You quickly grab him and put him between you and the mounted Wanderer who still has a crossbow.

Your sparring partner punches you in the gut, hard. You stumble back a bit, and he starts yelling some orders while he has the chance.

If you were in his position, you'd probably be telling the others who to target. A quick glance confirms that one of the dismounted Wanderers is turning towards you, and so is the woman with your mudpike.

What now?

Tell Rivers to release the kraken lizard worm!

Meanwhile, pull off your opponent's desert mask (and be shocked by what you see).

Tell Rivers to release the kraken lizard worm!

Meanwhile, pull off your opponent's desert mask (and be shocked by what you see).

Your opponent appears to be part grebling. You find this revelation repulsive, considering the cultural values you grew up with.

You suddenly hear a loud sound. After you dodge another punch, you make a quick check and see a headless lizard-worm on top of the woman with your mudpike. You then see the wagon's still close by, and Rivers is standing on the roof.

You'd yell at her to get back inside before Pubert tries something, but you're busy at the moment. You grab your opponent's arm and try to pull him down, but he puts up more resistance than you expect.

Then he goes for your arm with his free one. You try to distract him with a quick slap to the face, no time to throw a proper punch.

When you pull your arm back, you've gotten ahold of his mask.

"Hells!"

You didn't want to do that. In the swamp, going for the mask is a low blow. It's barely acceptable in an emergency. And it's not as if the desert is any less deadly.

But when you see his face, you realize that desert fever isn't the main reason he wears the mask. He looks like a man-sized grebling.

Are these Wanderers... halfbreeds? You heard plenty of stories, sure, but you never met anyone who'd actually seen one. You thought they were a fairy tale.

You pull back quickly as you realize his fist is heading your way. He's using your disgust and confusion to his advantage.

This time, you wind up pulling at his glove, and you're even more surprised.

The hand underneath it is made entirely of metal.

Before you can think of what to say, Rivers hits him in the chest with her mudpike and he stumbles back.

"I took care of the last crossbow," she says. "Rider's got your pike, he said we should try to grab their mounts and catch up with the wagon."

"Right, good idea," you say. "What the hell are these people?"

There's a small hole in his chest where Rivers struck him, and you can see some sparking wires. He's moving slowly, clutching the hole with his exposed metal hand.

"Don't know, don't care," Rivers says, pulling you away. "We can worry about that later. You got a plan for how we can grab a horse or two before any more run off?"

>The plan to grab a horse: Just grab a god damn horse before they all spook. Something's got them tossing their heads and shuffling like they could bolt any minute, though you can't imagine why.

"Yeah, I got a plan," you say. "We do it real fast. Can I borrow your mudpike for a second?"

She hands it over, and you vault onto the nearest desert horse.

"Thanks. Grab it and get on, it'll be easier the fewer horses we have to catch."

Rivers picks up the mudpike, and you help her get up behind the hump.

"Do you have any idea how to steer a desert horse?" she asks.

"Well, uh, no."

"Neither do I. So if it starts running, like the rest seem to be, we're stuck going where it wants to go."

Rider comes up a moment later. He hands you your pike.

"I'd love to help, but we don't have time for me to give your ride a talk," he says. "The desert horses are panicked because they felt a tremor deep below. They're more sensitive to that than we are."

You suddenly realize what that means.

"Burrowers."

"Indeed. I can't say how big they are, but they're likely headed for the surface. You'd best follow quickly."

"I would, but it seems our desert friends don't believe in reins."

Speaking of that, the Wanderer you were just fighting seems to be getting up, slowly. You should probably get away, now - preferably in the direction of the wagon.

But how are you supposed to get this desert horse going where you want it to?

A smack on the tush ought to do it! Then use the blunt end of your mudpike to tap the opposite side of the neck from the direction you want it to travel; it should naturally move away from the irritant (assuming it doesn't throw you off in outrage...).

Whew! Lucky that wanderer is running away from you!

Oh all of them are running away from you...or uhm...from the direction you're headed.

You try giving the desert horse a light poke on its right with your mudpike. It responds by turning left.

"Okay, it probably figures there's something to the right, so it turns," you muse. "Now, if only we could go a bit faster..."

You hear a loud slap, and then feel your mount pick up speed. You turn around to glance at Rivers.

"What?" she asks. "I just gave it a good whack on the backside. Figured it was worth a shot."

"Well, I guess it was," you say. Then you notice that the Wanderers are running in the opposite direction from you.

Naturally, this raises the question: what, exactly, are you heading towards?

You turn around, looking for signs of an emerging tunneler up ahead. But you don't see anything. Just the wagon, and Rider, and a few panicking animals running away...

This is worrying. On the other hand, you find it hard to believe that Rider wouldn't take notice of the animals. He can be reckless about his own well-being, sure, but if he thought there was a real problem, he'd warn you and the wagon.

Suddenly, you hear a loud bellow somewhere behind you.

"Tunneler!" Rivers shouts. "Looks to be mature. Those guys we were fighting seem to be heading for it, damned if I know why."

The hell. They stop chasing you to pick a fight with a mature tunneler? That doesn't make any sense. And why are the animals running, then?

"Sandstorm!" Rider shouts suddenly.

Oh. Well, that explains the animals at least.

What now?

Staying here isn't an option, going back the way you came isn't an option, so probably the answer is THROUGH THE SANDSTORM. Unless it's the kind of sandstorm that murders things. Get everybody back into the wagon to prevent being separated? Heck, if the wagon is heavy and loaded down enough, you might be able to block the entrances and weather (heh) the storm. Maybe?

You can see the sandstorm now, it looks thick. You wonder if you might be able to ride through it... but no, that would be reckless. For all you know it's as bad as the rain back home, and that's not a risk you're going to take. Instead, you head towards the wagon.

"Stop!" you call out. A moment later, it does, and Rider as well. You point at the door.

"We should take shelter inside. The Wanderers are busy, and I'd rather be indoors when the storm strikes."

"It may get knocked over," Rider says. "I haven't seen these storms myself, but the greblings said the storms could get quite brutal. They have special equipment keeping their tents secured."

"Then maybe Pubert's got some of the same stuff. The guild doesn't give a damn if their couriers get sick, but they're going to want their cargo arriving in one piece."

You dismount and open the door. Pubert's still tied up. Yvonne and Marshall are standing over a large, thick cloth.

"Oh, good, this was going to be hard with my height and Marshall's one arm," Yvonne says. "We need to cover the wagon with this, so the sand doesn't come in through the holes. There's some poles for holding them in place, too. Better move quick."

"Don't forget to put the shelter up for the horse," Pubert says. "We won't get very far if we have to push the wagon on foot."

"Horses," Rider interjects. He picks up the cloth. "I know a few things about striking camp in a hurry, so I hope no one objects if I take the lead on this."

What happens next is something of a blur. It involves a lot of Rider shouting while you pull the cloth everywhere and shove posts in the ground to tie it down. You're not sure how stable they can be on a foundation of sand, but it's all you've really got.

When it's done, you slip under and head into the wagon. It's crowded, even moreso because Rider's brought the lizard-worm in with him. He explains it would upset the horses, and it's not recovered enough to burrow yet.

So. What's to be done while you wait for the storm to pass?

SpoilerShow

Note that suggestions don't have to be for Corvus specifically. Anyone in the wagon is fine.

Rider needs medical attention. The lizard worm's partially regrown head bears examination. Marshall has a book to read. Pubert needs to use the chamber pot.