Swamped

Throw a pebble at it.

You decide it's best to do a search, which means you ought to put the rock back in place. First, though, you opt to do a quick test.

You grab a handful of sand. There seems to be a decent-sized pebble in it, so you stick with that and let the grains drop.

Then you toss it right at the crystal.

It bounces off harmlessly. The only thing you notice is that there's the slightest hint of a melody in the sound. It's like the sort of note you'd get from hitting a water glass.

The croc growls... oddly enough, at the crystal rather than you. Well, you don't think you want to bother it any more than you really need to. You move the rock back in place and hop on your desert horse.

Before you get to riding, though, you check your quickly-sketched map to see if your guides mentioned anything in the area.

Hmm... Closest thing you can see is the greblings' junkyard, but that's still at least ten minutes of riding from here. You suppose that doesn't rule it out as an option - perhaps Rider found himself another mount - but maybe there's something else. You're not sure where you'd start looking if there were, though.

How do you proceed from here?

You could get to the top of a sand dune or head for other high ground to see if you can gain a better vantage and spot Rider at a distance.

You spot a large sand dune some distance away. It might get you a better vantage point, though since you don't have those long goggles Marshall brought along, you'll have to hope that whatever it shows you is distinctive enough to stand out from a distance.

Well. If Rider happens to be out in the open, his armor should stick out like a sore thumb against all this sand. If not, you'll just have to think of something else.

You ride to the top of the dune and look around. Unfortunately, no sign of anything purple... mostly just these spiky plants, a few large rock formations, another oasis...

Hold on. That oasis doesn't seem to match up with any of the ones you were told about. But it's relatively close to the one you were just at... so why wouldn't the greblings know about it, if they knew about that one? And if they did know, why wouldn't they tell you?

You're curious, but you could waste quite a bit of time if it doesn't pan out. But on the other hand, do you even have any other leads to pursue right now?

You should think carefully about where to go next.

>Maybe don't unless that oasis is weirdly swamp colored.

You're just about to give up and start looking somewhere else, when you happen to catch sight of a large lizard stopping at the water's edge.

It dips its forelegs in, and then seems to be struggling to get away.

Now that's weird. You ride on over to check it out.

The lizard's about half the size of a croc. You didn't know they could get this big. But more importantly, the water's a lot less transparent than it is at the other oases you've seen.

And a little prodding into it with your mudpike lets the lizard loose. It scurries off, clearly not wanting to deal with this strange water.

When you pull your pike out, you find exactly what you expected: a pile of muckweed.

This "oasis" came from the swamp. It's a lot of water to go missing, too. This must be why the greblings didn't know about it... and if Rider did, then it's very likely to be the specific oasis he was looking for.

But he isn't here now. Has he been here and left already? Did he suddenly change his plans? Or could it be your desert horse let you get here before he did?

Well. Whether he's been here or not, maybe you can find some clue as to what he'd want to come here for, at the very least.

>Poke around with the pike while you wait to see if something is hidden in the murks of the water.

This is an awful lot of water. If it was brought here deliberately, maybe there's something in here beyond muckweed. You circle the pool, poking your mudpike in to see if you can find any clue as to what.

Mostly you find more muckweed. You could probably make a real potent net out of this stuff, if you had the right tools to weave it together without getting tangled up in it yourself. As it is, you think you're better off just keeping it out of your way, so you keep tossing it back in.

Theoretically, you could dive in - your uniform's designed for it, after all. But it'd be dangerous with that much muckweed, even if your pike is good for clearing it out. If you had someone to watch you, that would be another matter...

Oh hells, did Rider dive in? You double-check your mask is on tight, and poke your head into the waters.

You don't see Rider. What you do see is a muckdiver swimming around... no, wait, it's not moving at all. It's just drifting, motionless.

It's dead. But it's too light to fall into the muckweed, and too dense to hit the top of the water. And there doesn't seem to be anything else around to eat the corpse.

You pull your head out. You've learned a bit more, but it's not too clear how useful it is to you.

Now what?

>Maybe jab the muckdiver and bring it out of the water. Does it perhaps have something in its mouth, or perhaps any abnormalities you can see better once pulling it out?

Maybe examining the corpse will offer some kind of clue. It's not like you have any other leads.

The simplest option would be to swim out, jab it with your mudpike, and swim back carrying it along. But the muckweed makes that a good deal harder than it sounds.

In fact, it's pretty strange how much muckweed there is here. It doesn't usually get this close to the surface. Maybe the water was transported from the depths of the swamp?

Well. You're out of other ideas, so you suppose you'll go for a swim.

The hardest part is actually the first few steps. The water isn't very deep, so there's little between you and the muckweed. Once you actually have enough space to push off from the ground, it's not nearly as bad, though you do have to push quite a few weeds away.

You try to stick to the path you've already cleared as you make your way back. It gets a bit rough without a free pike, but you soon make your way back to the ground with a dead muckdiver.

And you're not sure how it died.

Usually, muckdivers survive the rain by hiding on the very bottom of the swamp, amidst the muckweed. You've seen what happens to stragglers before, and this isn't it - the only wound is the one where you poked it to drag it along. And its more common predators wouldn't leave this much of a body behind.

But it doesn't look fully matured, so it probably didn't die of old age. So that leaves disease, or... something it ate.

Well, you've already poked a hole pretty close to its stomach. Might as well see what you can find. You slice at it with your mudpike and look inside.

It's mostly plants. Leaves, twigs, stray bits of muckweed... hold on, this twig's got a bit of rope tied to it.

And near that is... a necklace? Looks like silver, but it's deteriorating. Probably what killed the thing...

...and maybe it's what brought the water here, too.

"Pity. Still, most of her meat shouldn't be contaminated, only what's near the throat. And I know someone who could use the meal."

You turn around. It's Rider.

You're about to ask him where the hell he's been, but you stop in shock when you see who's with him.

>Ash would likely be quite a shock to see

A wizard. Not one like Captain Long, but an actual fully fledged wizard.

Long tried to look like a wizard, but the man standing with Rider makes his efforts look downright amateurish. His robes are longer and more worn than Long's cloak, his staff more ornate, and of course there's the hat. He's a bit young for the role - at a glance you'd guess you have five or so years on him - but he seems to already be working on growing a suitable beard.

"Who in the hells is this?" you ask, when you finally find your voice.

"I go by Ember," he says. "Apprentice to the Oracle of the Sands. Not that I imagine you have any idea what that means."

"Okay. Fine. Nice to meet you. Rider, where in the hells have you been, Long and Marshall have vanished."

"They've what?"

He actually seems surprised, and a bit angry. You've never seen him like this before.

"Calm down," Ember says. "It's not the Master's work. Remember, he's stopped opening gateways."

"That's not the point. Long is my student, and I am responsible for Marshall's involvement."

"Sorry, that isn't what I meant. I meant, if it's not the Master, I should be able to follow the trail."

And with that, Rider suddenly seems more focused.

"Hold on, hold on, I think I missed something here. Who's this Master, and what's this Ember guy even doing here?"

Ember lets out a sigh.

"Get on your desert-horse and guide us to where they vanished. I'll explain as best as I can along the way."

"Give me a moment. We have a stop to make along the way," Rider says, bending down and pulling out a knife from his belt. He starts slicing up the muckdiver. "Another obligation for me, but there's something I want you to have a look at there, too."

As Rider continues cutting off the safe meat, something strikes you about what Ember said. You decide to ask him about it.

"Wait, how'd you know I saw where they..."

"Because I have a spell that lets me know everything you're willing to tell me without needing to ask. It saves a good deal of time, even with someone as defensive as you. Naturally, it's only fair that I answer your questions as best as I can in exchange."

You're starting to dislike this guy a little. But, on the other hand, you do have plenty of questions about this whole thing.

Where should you even start?

When did Rider get in contact with him? Whats with all these portals anyway?

Where's the real Oracle and why do we have to deal with their runny-nosed apprentice?

Who's responsible for all these weird magic items popping up all over? And what purpose do they serve?

You have a mess of questions. You try to figure out where to start as you lift yourself up onto the desert horse.

"So you're apprentice to the Oracle of the Sands. What does that even mean? Why are we getting you and not this oracle straight off?"

"The Oracle has other duties. I am not permitted to explain them to outsiders. Rest assured, however, that when I say apprentice, I do not mean to suggest I am a novice; the Oracle started training me to take her place at a very young age."

As if to drive home the point, Ember starts floating. Rider, meanwhile, has gathered up the meat and put it in a pouch, which he ties onto the rear hump.

"Okay. So what are you even doing here? When did you meet up with Rider, and why?"

"Not long ago," Rider interjects, climbing up behind you. Once he's seated, you start moving. "I found him because he guided my compass to him."

"That's because I realized you were looking for a gateway. And the Master's group seems to have altered their plans - they haven't made a new gateway in more than twelve hours. So I temporarily reactivated one near here."

"Likely the one that brought me here in the first place, considering how close it is to here," Rider adds.

"Okay, but why?"

"Because the Oracle believes we need to help each other. We can get into the details later, once everyone I need to explain things to is in one place."

You're annoyed about that, but it does make sense. Not like you haven't had to wrangle a bunch of people in one place to get them all up to speed before.

"So what's going on with these gateways anyhow? You've mentioned something about a Master having something to do with them?"

"It's the only name we know to call him by. You may not have seen him in person, but you've surely seen his magic at work by now. He's a very powerful wizard - even the Oracle thinks he might be able to overpower her in a direct confrontation. The gateways seem to be his work - though we think many of them aren't actually deliberate."

You look at him, confused.

"What do you mean, not deliberate?"

"From our observations, it seems that when the Master opens a gateway, some of the ether lingers. Eventually, that stray ether forms another gateway in a different place. We're not sure if he's just being careless, or if he's decided the resulting chaos is helpful to his plans."

"Stop here," Rider suddenly says.

Oh, you're at the rock already. Makes sense, it wasn't that far off. You stop the desert horse and lift the rock up; Rider starts feeding the muckdiver meat to the croc, then points at the crystal.

"Ember, you've seen the necklace, and now this. What do you make of it?" he asks.

Ember stares at the crystal for a while, then suddenly shouts. "Oh! That's why!"

"You care to run that by those of us who aren't wizards?" you ask.

"Sorry. It's the missing piece of what I just told you - about how the stray ether tends to form new gateways. Enchanted objects like these can, if properly set up, serve to draw in that ether so the gateway forms around it. So he knows about that side effect and is trying to make use of it."

"But what if someone finds the object and moves it?"

"Or eats it, as the muckdiver did," Rider adds.

"That is an obvious point of failure," Ember agrees. "Perhaps these are meant for lower-priority targets. Or maybe it's simply to prevent a stray gateway from opening somewhere unwanted."

That still doesn't seem quite right to you.

"These aren't cheap trinkets, though. I found one earlier made by a master metalsmith. If they're just a backup plan, why go to all that trouble? But if they're important, why use things that can be easily moved?"

Ember shrugs.

"I won't claim to have all the answers. I can only offer my best guesses. Are you done feeding that creature?"

"Just about," Rider says. "When this is sorted out, however, I would like your help in getting her back to the swamp."

"I'll do what I can. But for now, we should get moving again so we can help your comrades."

Rider finishes up, and you start riding out again. You've got time to ask some more questions, though.

What is this Master trying to accomplish? Why is this all happening now? The Marshguards and Swampknights have been fighting in the swamp for years. Were your factions even meant to get involved?

"So what's this Master trying to do? And what does it have to do with our swamp?"

Ember glances just behind you, probably at Rider. Not that you can see how Rider's reacting.

"I'm sure you've at least heard rumors that there's something hidden deep within the Marsh Fortress. We think the Master wants it, and also wants something we're protecting out here in the desert."

"Well! That sure clears up a lot!" you grumble.

"I apologize for the secrecy, but that really is all I can tell you."

Ah well. You're used to people having secrets. So you move on.

"So why is he moving now? If we do have a whatever-it-is, we've had it for a long time. Probably for as long as we've been fighting the Bogknights, even. Did he just find out about it, or what?"

Ember shakes his head.

"It doesn't seem likely. Granted, anything I say about him is merely speculative, but... given that he's unusually powerful for a wizard, we think he spent quite a bit of time gathering that power. It may even have been a generational effort."

"So... they've been biding their time, making preparations, and now they feel ready to strike?" You feel a little skeptical. "I don't know. On the surface it makes sense... but it'd probably be a better plan to stick with the subtle acts even after getting enough power. And if they're patient enough to wait years, maybe even generations, to pull off this plan, well, it seems weird to risk it that much all of a sudden."

Ember nods.

"You raise a good point. I suspect something happened that forced their hand, but again, I couldn't say for sure."

"If this Master is so powerful, what could possibly scare him that much..."

You suddenly remember the crow-man.

"The gods," you say.

"Pardon?"

"A servant of the gods showed up last night, when we were trying to do a prisoner exchange. The wizard - this Master - showed up to challenge him. So maybe that's why the risks, the gods were starting to catch on to whatever he's trying to do."

"Perhaps," Ember says noncommittally. He seems surprisingly calm about it - maybe he already suspected as much. After all, he apparently knows what the Master is actually looking for.

You can see the camp in the distance now. You'll arrive fairly soon. But maybe you have some other questions to ask first.

Where does the oracle stand with the gods?

You think you hit the major points. Didn't get as much info as you would have liked, but you feel like you understand what's going on with this Master now. Except for what he actually wants.

So you might as well clarify some things about your new friend.

"So if the gods are taking an interest, what do they think of your Oracle?"

Ember pauses for a moment.

"The first Oracle was chosen by Reth. Since then, no god has seen fit to contact us, for good or for ill."

"That doesn't really answer my question."

"I believe the gods have an interest in the work of the Oracle. And I believe if the gods were dissatisfied with that work, they would make that very clear. But I make no claims to know for certain what any god thinks."

Vague on key details, as usual, but you suppose he did technically answer what you asked.

You're getting very close to camp. But Rider suddenly speaks.

"It is probably best I stay away from the camp," he says. You hear him jumping down from the desert-horse. "I would not wish to agitate the prisoner you told me about. But I will help you rescue Marshall and Captain Long."

"That means I've got to explain our new friend here to the greblings," you grumble. "Not too keen on having more delays."

"I'll wait out here, too," Ember says calmly. "Just come back here with the object you found. It'll be easier if the greblings see I'm with Rider."

"How'd you know I... oh, wait, that thing about knowing what I'm willing to tell you. You know, it could get real annoying real fast if you keep doing that."

"I would have summarized what I learned from you on the way, but I assumed you had more pressing questions. And I also assume you're in something of a hurry to rescue these people."

Well, irritated as you are, he's got a point. You ride into camp to look for Dominique.

But the moment you ride in, it becomes clear it's not going to be all that smooth. You see the crowd of greblings - the ones Rudolph said were former guards - all standing together.

But what exactly are they doing?

Eating food.

MENACINGLY.

You take a closer look and they just seem to be chewing on carrots. But there's something unpleasant about the whole thing.

It's like they're claiming the area for themselves. There aren't any tents in it, but it still seems like an aggressive act. But not so aggressive that it would be easy to justify chasing them off.

It's worrying, but it's also largely out of your hands. Still, you feel more than a little unsettled by the crowd.

And it doesn't help that feeling when two of the greblings step out from it and start heading your way.

They can't be looking for a fight, can they? You're mounted, and while you might not be particularly trained in fighting on a desert horse, they wouldn't know that for sure. On the other hand, you'd be in trouble if the whole group attacked you, but there's no real reason for them to do that, you're just one person...

Unless they suspect you aren't alone. If that's all it is, they'll see that you are, and hopefully that will be it.

But maybe you should prepare yourself just in case things get worse.

Even while mounted, you could use your mudpike to kick some sand into their eyes if it comes to that.

Be casual

You don't really want this to turn into a fight. You can just stir up some sand with your mudpike as a diversion if it comes to it.

For now, you just act as if nothing's wrong as the two of them approach.

"Where's Jeremy?" one of them asks. The other takes an aggressive pose, clearly ready to strike if needed.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since the Director gave him an earful."

Your answer is greeted with only silence. You're not sure if that's a good sign or a bad one. This group doesn't seem very talkative in general.

After about a minute without any apparent response, it seems clear that one way or another, you're going to have to be the one to get things moving here.