Swamped

Do you really think I look like a marshguard? It was difficult to find the right shade of purple but those greblings sure come up with some wacky stuff!

Howdy, the name's Pubert, how can I be of service?

You've got no idea if there's a specific bounty, but the Guild would probably be willing to put down a reward for tracking down a runaway. It's not something you'd take a chance on.

Wait, hold on. That gives you a thought on how to bluff your way out of this.

"You think I'm a Marshguard! Really! Ha, and here I was sure this wouldn't work at all."

"What are you on about?" They don't lower the crossbow, but they definitely seem thrown off.

"The name's Pubert. My... employers have an interest in infiltrating the Marshguards, and I was sent out here to meet with a grebling who's good with dyes. Matching the precise color's tough, you see. Unfortunately, my wagon was taken by raiders, and I barely escaped, so I didn't have much choice but to ride out wearing the sample merchandise. If it's good enough to fool you, though, then I guess they'll like it."

"Pubert," the stranger repeats, skeptically. "You really expect me to believe that's your name?"

"Well, no. But would you use your real name to do the sort of business I do?"

The stranger seems to be mulling this over. Unfortunately, they're mulling it over while still pointing the crossbow directly at you. Would have been nice if they were more distracted, so you could either run or get the drop on them.

How should you handle this?

while theyre thinking, you should think too so they dont catch you on your cover story. what groups do you know that would plausibly be doing what youre saying? whats your position in them? whats your plan to get back to them? decide these things now so you dont have to the moment they ask you.

You don't see an opportunity, so you do the best you can and mentally go over the potential holes in your cover story. Best to anticipate what this bounty hunter might ask about... and indeed, they have a question almost immediately.

"And just who are these employers?"

That's an easy one, of course. You can even be honest about the Guild's methods, if not your current role with them.

"They don't like us to say it directly. But I can say they have, shall we say, influence on more than a few bounty boards. Might be hard for you to stay in business if you get on their bad side."

"You threatening me?" the hunter asks.

"Me? No. I'm just a lowly courier, they don't give two craps what happens to me. But they do care if one of their big jobs falls through."

"How exactly were you planning on meeting up with them to deliver the goods, then?"

"There's a meeting place, I send a signal when I get there, then I wait for my contact to arrive."

"What place? What signal?"

Hang on. You did come up with those details... but if your story were actually true, and you told them those things, they'd be able to shoot you, take your stuff and then replace you at the meeting.

You could confront them directly with that point, but maybe it would be better to discourage them a little more subtly.

What's it to you? Oh, wait, I get it. Look, I suppose if you help me out I might be able to give you an introduction to my employers, but I'm not sharing my cut.

tell them that you have no idea who this person is and dont really trust them not to blab the details to other people. maybe theyll feel like telling you who they actually are.

"We keep meeting places and signals secret for a reason," you say. "Can't talk about those freely. We even have to be careful what we share with other members... wait, hang on. Are you looking for a way in? Bounties not paying off regularly enough?"

"Or maybe I think your story sounds fishy," they snap back.

"Yeah? Well, what's the alternative? What's a real Marshguard going to be doing all the way out here, so far from the swamp?"

"Been thinking about that. Been thinking about how every so often, I hear a story about the Rider of the Swamp showing up somewhere strange. And here I see you and I'm thinking, people in bars tend to exaggerate, even before they get a few good drinks in. So maybe instead of a huge man on a swamp beast, this Rider is just a regular old Marshguard sent out on a mission, for Hool knows what reason, who happens to be sitting on an animal. Like that desert horse of yours. If it's dark enough, who'd know the difference?"

"It's not very dark right now," you say.

"Just means I caught you by surprise. Mind, I doubt I can claim the Rider's bounty even if my theory's right, but somebody's bound to have an interest in you."

They don't seem sold on your bluff. On the other hand, they can't be as confident as they sound, considering they haven't made a move against you yet. Even if they still have that crossbow pointed at you.

They also let slip a little bit about what god they worship. Too bad you know barely anything about religion, or you might be able to make use of that somehow.

So. Where do you take things from here?

Well, knowing that the Rider has a big bounty on his head around here might be a good tidbit to keep in your back pocket in case you need to convince this ne'er-do-well to help you track him down, but for now it seems safer to keep up the act.

Be dismissive of their threats. Intimate that fighting, capturing, and transporting you to redeem a bounty that doesn't exist would just be a waste of both your time. The notion that a marshguard would have the funding to travel out here but not bring a less conspicuous outfit is laughable.

All that said, you could use their help. Ask how familiar they are with the area and the surrounding oases.

Ask them where they were thinking of taking you anyway, this place is pretty far away from any major settlements isnt it?

"Come on. We're days away from any human settlements, let alone one with a decent bounty board. You must have better things to do with your time than drag me all the way there only to find out there's no bounty on me after all. Hells, even if there was, how profitable could it be?"

"Marshguard bounties get pretty high, actually. Mostly because few hunters are willing to venture into the swamp." The hunter laughs. "Of course, I'm not going to complain about one falling right into my lap."

"And yet you think that's likely? Even if your Rider theory was right, why would a Marshguard wear their uniform before pulling the ruse? Seems it would be easier to pose as a civilian, and if they've got the resources to get out of that swamp unnoticed, they can probably get a change of clothes."

"Well, according to your own story, you've only got that one desert horse. Not many places to stash a uniform with it. And maybe you weren't expecting to see anyone along the way."

Why are they still pushing this theory? It doesn't make any sense. What are they even trying to do, if they're still convinced you're a Marshguard, why haven't they made a move? You can't get a read on them...

Wait a minute. That's it. They're trying to get a read on you.

You're lying through your teeth about a lot of this and they've probably picked up on that. But the theory they're giving is totally wrong, so your reactions to it are natural.

Well, that's all well and good, but what are you supposed to do about it? You don't know what tells they're picking up on, and they've already caught you out lying...

Hold on. Maybe they're not so sure which part you're lying about. Maybe you can bluff them into thinking you're trying to hide an entirely different story... preferably one they don't want to risk asking too many questions about.

But what sort of story could that be? And how could you get them thinking about it?

Make them think you're on the outs with the local religious folks. There are no priests of Reth at the nearest bounty office, right?

What you really want to do is discourage this hunter from probing further. And they're not going to be afraid of a lowlife like Pubert, even if you make vague warnings about how powerful your employer is.

Come to think of it, though... you don't look like a Pubert, do you? Your exercise regimen has left you in much better shape than the average Guild courier. Maybe that's why the hunter doesn't buy your story - but they're also wary of picking a fight with someone who looks as tough as you do. So they don't want to make the first move. Muscles may not be much good against a crossbow, but they're pretty effective against someone who's just fired their crossbow and missed.

In other words, they think you have something to hide, and they're trying to work out if that something is a bounty.

Well. You're pretty sure temples don't pay very good bounties.

"Look, I'd really rather not hang around here much longer. I'm already taking longer than I planned. Had to wait a whole damned night to get out without the blasted priest seeing me..."

"Priest? What priest?"

They definitely seem to think that's significant.

"Some grebling priest and his entourage making a ruckus. Don't know what they were doing, but, ah, my supplier didn't seem to want the church's attention. So I had to hold off on leaving."

You hope your awkward pause didn't come across as too fake.

"Grebling priest. That means church of Reth," the hunter muses.

"I guess so."

The hunter laughs.

"Probably works best for me if I let you loose to distract 'em, then," they say. "Best of luck to you."

The hunter suddenly runs off, at a surprising speed. You're not sure you could catch up, but then, it's probably best to count your blessings that you didn't get a crossbow bolt to the head.

You've wasted a fair amount of time here, though. Now you need to try another oasis, assuming Rider hasn't already left the one he went to.

Just guessing didn't work out too well, so perhaps you should think a little harder about how to make your choice this time.

Head to the oasis that was closest to line of direction Rider was traveling.

You take another look at your quickly-sketched map, and try to mark where you found the nest. You make a line from the camp to the nest, then try extending it. Maybe Rider was already headed in a particular direction when he found his mount.

And indeed, the line comes close to crossing one of the oases. You might have better luck there. You ride over and see what you can find.

What you find turns out to be a very large bird. Large enough to ride on. It's taking a drink. So you may be on the right track, but a little too late.

"Do you talk, by any chance?" you ask the bird. "Seems I can't take that for granted around here."

The bird just glances at you blankly, and continues drinking.

Now what?

Wait for the bird to finish drinking, maybe the bird just really needs some water before it can address you.

Look for signs someone was here.

Even if the bird can help, it looks like it won't pay you much heed until it's done drinking. So you decide to take a look around while it finishes, in case you can get some other lead.

You do see a couple of heavy bootprints in the sand. But only two. Did he dismount and then disappear?

No, you look a little closer. The sand right here is wet. The drier sands wouldn't hold prints as easily, it would only take a modest wind to cover them. You can see faint traces of what might have once been a footprint up ahead.

Rider might not be that far away, then, since the bird's still here rather than returning to its nest. Unless it's a different bird, or it's been drinking for quite a while. You've got no idea how much water this thing needs. Could be it loads up on a week's worth of water all at once or something.

Right now, it looks like you've caught sight of Rider's trail, but you're not sure how to follow it from here. Maybe there's some other sign of his presence that might give you an idea of what to do?

There's a peculiar smell... is it the swamp?

You should probably make bird noises at the bird, to be polite.

Hang on. You smell something.

It always takes you a while to notice new scents, since you're so used to the strong smells of the swamp. You've kind of trained yourself not to pay too much attention to what your nose is telling you.

But this... yeah, this is definitely a swamp smell. Maybe some creature's crossed over again, in which case Rider might have gone to investigate. Make sure the poor thing's not straining too much in the desert sands.

It's something to track, anyways.

You start to head off, but you feel you ought to thank the bird. It may not have done much directly, but it's pointed you on what may be a lead.

"Thanks," you call out. Then, for good measure, you make a few weak squawks. Doing your best to sound non-threatening.

The bird stands up, and it's even taller than it first looked. Maybe taller than your desert horse.

It turns towards you and lets out a loud HONK.

Then it goes back to drinking. At least it wasn't aggressive, you suppose.

You start following the scent as best you can, and before long you come across a large rock.

And you think you hear something under it.

The smell seems to be coming from here, but you're not sure if it's worth investigating. The rock is big enough for Rider to hide under, but he's not one for hiding in general.

Unless, it suddenly occurs to you, the gateway he's looking for is under there.

What should you do?

Investigate the rock.

Well. If nothing else, confirming the source of the smell might help you figure out if Rider's been this way. And it's not like you don't know how to deal with swamp creatures.

You carefully lift up the rock, just a little bit.

And you see a rather irritated swamp crocodile staring back at you.

You put the rock back down, gently. The croc must be getting too much sun, and it's hiding under the rock for shade. But they also aren't very good at digging, so it must have had help getting under there.

So Rider was here. More importantly - it means he intends to come back. He wouldn't abandon a creature like that. Maybe he wanted to check where the gateway would appear, and make sure it was safe before bringing the croc back to the swamp. So you could just wait here for him to show up.

On the other hand, maybe he's planning on saving that for the return trip. However long that takes. He'd know better than you how long the crocodile can hold up under there.

And with all the suspicious characters poking around the desert... well, you can't say for sure he hasn't run into trouble, even if he did intend to come back soon for the croc. Waiting may not be such a sure bet.

How should you handle this?

As you sit near the rock, with no particular ideas coming to mind, you wonder if you were too hasty in putting it back down. Your armor's built to take worse blows than croc bites, after all, and maybe a closer investigation would help you find Rider.

But on the other hand, that protection's hardly perfect, and there's no dedicated smith at the grebling camp. And even a small breach could be enough to give you desert fever.

Well. Worst case, the greblings can take care of you, and they've got plenty of tools that could probably patch up your armor. You lift up the rock again.

The crocodile growls at you. But it also doesn't seem very energetic. Maybe it's hungry, or sick?

If that's the case, Rider's definitely planning on coming back for it. So maybe you should wait. On the other hand, his plans might not necessarily work out.

Hold on. The croc seems to be curled up around something. What is that?

A gemstone perhaps

You back away a bit to get a better look. About all you can tell is that it's shiny... a crystal? A gemstone?

...Oh hells, it's not another of these damned magical items, is it? That's the last thing you need right now. Especially if it was a trap and Rider fell into it.

Hold on, though. The other strange items you found, one was in the camp and one wasn't far from it. This one is all the way out in the middle of nowhere.

Could Rider have found it, and hidden it here with the crocodile as a guard? Not likely in the poor thing's current state. It wouldn't be much of a guard against a determined foe, and the object might be dangerous to the beast. Unless the item's not magical after all... or if it's something that belongs to Rider in the first place, and he knows exactly what it can do.

But if it wasn't him... then does that mean there's something important around here? And if so, could that be where Rider went?

Maybe you'd know more if you could get a closer look at the crystal, or whatever it is. But that croc doesn't look cooperative, even if it's tired. And of course, if it is magic, it might be trapped somehow. Might be better off leaving it, and just searching the area more thoroughly instead.

You need to think about what to do.

>Search the area a bit more closely before trying any croc wrestling