Swamped

Dream about sexy mer-people?

For a good while, the answer seems to be nothing. You feel your own presence, but you can't tell where you are. You're surrounded by emptiness.

Then, all of a sudden, it becomes a cold emptiness. Then a wet emptiness.

And then, it's water. You're surrounded by water on all sides. You're even finding it hard to breathe... until, suddenly, you feel the breather mask on your face.

If this were reality, you doubt it would be enough. But this is a dream, so it will do. You start to feel a presence, and swim towards it.

What you find is a grand underwater throne. It doesn't look like the sort of throne a human would make - there are no jewels, and it doesn't look comfortable to sit on. It looks like it grew from the waters themselves.

But it also looks beautiful, in a way you couldn't explain. Glorious.

And Nual is sitting on it. You can't actually see him - but you know he's there, somehow.

And he's dying.

I am far in the future, he bubbles weakly. His voice lacks its usual strength. In the time you are in, the time you came from - I have not learned to speak to the past. It is only now, with my existence nearing its end, that I can reach backwards. And now, I need you to save me.

What must I do? you ask.

From the time you are in, my most sacred of days is approaching. It comes but once a century. On that day, my power will be at its strongest - but, without your help, that will be the last time the day comes. And that is why I have sent you to this time, for you are the one mortal whose mind I have been able to touch so directly. You are the only one I can ask to act.

He goes silent for a while, before finally gurgling out his request.

SpoilerShow

Started posting before I got a suggestion. Obviously what this means is that Nual is a sexy mer-person.

Prevent the children of Goan from corrupting the holy rituals.

Also, make sure any statues and ikons of my likeness accurately reflect my sexiness.

The exiled one is beginning to stir. Very little, but enough to draw one believer. That believer seeks to corrupt the holy rituals. To plant a seed that will sprout within me and slowly destroy me from the inside. You must stop that from happening.

It sounds, for a moment, like Nual is groaning in pain.

But this will not be so easy. The flow of time is potent. You must change as little as possible, or it will lash out at you, with dire consequences for all. So you must not stop the exile's rise, nor kill the believer. Rather, you must let them think they succeeded, so that all else proceeds as it did before. This is what I command.

Well. That could complicate things.

You start to feel the waters fading. Nual will soon leave.

But perhaps, if you hurry, you can ask a question first.

Ask how to identify the believer

How can I find this believer? you ask. It seems like the most important thing to know.

The exile seeks out those who despise the gods, comes the weak reply.

And then you wake up. Seems you won't be getting more information than that.

Unfortunately, it seems the lights have been put out for the night. Not much chance to finish the book, then. You could cast a light spell, but nobody knows you're a wizard yet, and it might be best to keep it that way for now.

But perhaps this is the time to start investigating. The more you know about what this lone believer is trying to do, the better prepared you'll be to intervene. You definitely don't feel up to sleeping.

You stand up, and start dressing yourself in the new clothes. Whatever you do now, you need to be back here before they find anything suspicious. There wasn't any fuss about a missing patient on your second day on the job, after all, so you don't want to be starting anything.

And maybe you can get some productive investigating done while you're here - there's still going to be some sailors from the fight earlier. Perhaps the believer is involved somehow. They might even be in this hospital - you can't rule it out, at the very least.

So you step out past the curtain and think about where to start your search.

First step is probably to find someone who's awake that you can put questions to. Look for any lights among the other patients. Failing that, you can look through your past self's records and find out if there's anything of interest regarding today's patients.

It's dark out here - the lamps have been put out. But you do see a few spots of light, probably patients. They might be awake, or they might be under observation.

You definitely don't want the attention of the staff. So you approach one of the lighted curtains carefully. You see two figures there, and you listen carefully.

"I told you already, we can't give you anything for sleep. It might interfere with the medicine."

"Come on! What about those swamp leaves? Heard they knock you right out."

"We do have a few, but we're still studying them. We haven't been able to figure out exactly how they put you to sleep yet, so we can't be sure they won't cause problems."

So there is someone here. Not a voice you recognize, but then, it was years ago and you weren't all that sociable when you worked here. Still, you'd rather not be caught, so you think it's best that you investigate elsewhere.

The closest light source you find isn't one of the beds, though. It's in the records room. The door is open, too, but you don't see anyone here. And you distinctly remember heading home before dark.

Strange. You consider going in to refresh your memory on the records, in case that gives you useful information, but you aren't entirely sure the room is empty. After all, it certainly looks like it's in use.

If only there were some way to be sure.

Is it safe to use magic? Are you saturated with time magic?

You can probably get away with using magic, so long as it isn't too visible and there isn't another mage here. You suppose there's a chance of causing trouble if your younger self notices the ether and becomes aware of his power a few years early, but he isn't here right now. If he somehow is, the timeline's already been thrown off.

So you cast a quick life-sensing spell and...

These records are a mess. Making new ones isn't too hard so far, but whoever they had here last time around clearly didn't have a head for organization. But it'll have to wait for tomorrow. I'll just have to remember to bring some boxes to store them in while I'm sorting through.

Heading out, John?

Yes, I'm calling it a day. My roommate said she had something special planned for dinner to celebrate the new job.

Wouldn't want to keep you, then. We don't usually get a lot of patients at night, I can handle those.

As long as you don't just toss them in a pile when you're done. I've got enough to sort through as it is.

It takes you a moment to realize what's happened. You've got time magic flowing through you, keeping you here. And that ether flowed into your spell, so you ended up detecting people who were here in the recent past.

That also means you've got less time before you get pulled back. Fortunately, as that was a simple spell, you haven't used up too much. But you'll have to be very judicious in your casting, as you don't know how much time you're going to need.

As far as information goes, though, it clarifies why the door is open and the lights are on. One of the doctors on night shift is handling the records for patients who arrive in the middle of the night. He's probably not in there right now, but he might come back at any moment. So the question is if it's worth the risk of discovery, or if you're better off looking elsewhere for information.

It's worth the risk. You can always act like an addled old man recovering from trauma if you need to explain why you're wandering around at night. And a glimpse at the records should make it easier to pick a room to enter, or at least learn something about the patient who wanted a sleeping aid...

And if the person on duty happened to leave their mug of tea sitting out, you might be able to slip some soporific swamp leaf into their drink and pursue your investigations in relative peace.

Well, getting caught might be manageable if you can make a convincing cover story. You're not quite old enough to pass yourself off as feebleminded - your hair is only mostly graying. But you're probably old enough to get away with forgetting about the chamber pot near your bed.

And the records are a mess. If you said you were looking to see if there was any general information on where they kept the chamber pots, well... there's definitely no obvious place it would be in all this clutter.

Still, you don't want to be too obvious about what you're doing. You opt to start by just looking around. Even if you end up getting sent back to bed, you might get another chance and have a better idea where to focus your search.

Although, the main thing you catch on your first glance isn't anything in any of the papers strewn about, but the two bins of swampleaf lying out in the open. They're even marked "Lazy" and "Normal" to make it clear which one is which. Good thing too, because you certainly can't tell at a glance.

But you can tell at a glance that whoever was here didn't finish their tea. Which suggests they're not planning to be gone long, or they wouldn't give it a chance to get cold.

Well. Maybe you can get them out of action for a while. For a moment you worry about knocking a health professional unconscious... but then you realize that if someone had needed any sort of treatment during the night, there would be a record of that. And you specifically recall the nurse commenting on how there hadn't been any the previous night when she explained that system to you on your second day.

So it seems to be safe. You grab a leaf from the "Lazy" bin, crumble it up, and slip it into the tea. Just in time - you hear footsteps approaching.

You wonder if it's better to be caught, or to hide and wait for them to drink the tea. But before you can make up your mind, you happen to glance at a piece of paper and see something unusual written on it.

"In the name of Goan..."

In the name of Goan...

That's the name of the "exile", you think. At least, it's the name the cultists were apparently using.

Except, it seems you only saw that at a glance. As you lean in closer, you see it says In the name of Goanthe the Woodcutter, we bring you great savings and fresh lumber!

An advertisement. You can't say you're surprised it's mixed in with all this, given how disorganized everything is. Still, there's a chance the name is more than a coincidence, and it's not an official document, so you may want to investigate later. Your younger self would just discard it tomorrow anyway.

You take the paper and slip it into a pocket on your new shirt. As you do, you realize there's something else in the pocket. Something very small.

A dead bug?!

It's a dead bug. But what's disturbing is what sort of bug it is - namely, a murderfly.

Thankfully, it's just the husk. No sign of any blood, so you shouldn't be in danger from it. But as you look closer, you see a tiny hole in it. As if someone put a pin in it and drained the blood out.

But why? Murderfly toxin doesn't keep very well. And the flies themselves are only found in swamps. There must be much easier ways to get ahold of poison.

You don't have much more time to think about that, because someone comes in.

"What are you doing here?" he asks angrily.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm a patient. Just brought in earlier today. Couldn't find my chamberpot, and I saw a light here, so I figured I'd wait for someone to help me out."

"The nurse didn't show you where it was?" he asks.

Well, you were going to pretend you just forgot... but now that he mentions it, no, she didn't.

"She might have? Hard to remember. Though, I came in unconscious, and she might have been a bit busy when I woke up. And I didn't feel like I needed it right then, so I didn't think to ask about it."

The doctor sighs.

"I suppose we have had more patients than usual today. Not to mention explaining things to the new clerk. Terribly sorry you were neglected like that. Well, let's see... name?"

"Ah, John Long."

"Good thing you came today, the new clerk has much better recordkeeping practices. Here we go... hmm, no John Long. But wait, you said you were brought in unconscious? Maybe we didn't get your name in time. Ah, yes, here we go, Unknown Patient with today's date. Well, this tells me where your bed is, in case you forgot to keep track of that. So why don't we take you there?"

"Thank you," you say.

"Let me just have a sip of tea first. Don't want it getting any colder." He grabs the mug and drinks quite a bit more than a sip.

Fortunately, you were ready to catch him. You sit him down in the desk. Hopefully he'll think this was all a dream. And now you can search a little more thoroughly.

What do you look at first?

I suppose the most recent intake forms for details about today's patients

Well. The doctor just showed you where the most recent records are - and since those were done by you, they'll be better organized.

There's also a single sheet near the pile he was looking through. The time indicates it was someone brought in after dark. You don't know if that has any relevance, but you may as well take a glance at it.

Oh. That's a name you recognize, though you wouldn't have at the time. And as you flip through the names of today's patients, you see three more names that clearly go with it. Odd, but you can't say for sure that it has anything to do with your mission.

Though on a second glance through, you focus on the injuries the patients have been brought in for. And that's where you catch something that looks very relevant.

You feel like you have enough to start investigating now, but you do one more quick check just in case you overlooked something.

All good. Get moving!

You don't catch anything in particular on the last check. So you decide to investigate the injury first, since it's almost certainly got something to do with this whole mess. You need to look over a map to recall how the codes identify a bed, but that doesn't take very long. You make a note of your points of interest and make your way to the first.

And when you reach it, you realize that it's the same bed where you saw the light earlier. It's still on, in fact. That means the patient is probably still awake... yes, you can see a shadow sitting up and moving a little behind the curtain.

That means you can't really have a look around. On the other hand, you could have a conversation - though that runs the risk of drawing too much attention to yourself.

You wish you'd thought to bring a leaf with you. You could still go back and get one, but you're not sure if it's worth the time. You don't want to be out of bed too long if you can help it.

Well, whatever you decide to do, best to decide quickly.

SpoilerShow

In case it wasn't clear, I was leaving the patients/injury/other information up to suggestions. I consider those prompts to still be open until I say something definitive about them in-story.

You need to find out how the patient got their injuries. Especially the branding, and what it signifies. Try speaking with the patient to see if they're willing to divulge.

According to the records, the patient has a large gash on the right side of their chest, and a strange mark on the left side. It appears to have been made with a branding iron and was still hot when they were brought in, but it doesn't match any recognized brand. There was a sketch of it, and it certainly didn't seem any more recognizable to you.

The strangest thing about all that is that the patient was brought in from the winery where they worked. What could even cause a gash of that size at a winery? But you also worry that the mark might have something to do with Goan.

However, if they were forcibly branded, they probably wouldn't be the believer. And if Goan only has one believer... well, it would be strange for them to try to injure themselves. So you think it's worth asking questions. You slip in.

"Excuse me," you say. "Couldn't sleep, and I noticed your light was on. And the doctors here aren't very exciting conversationalists. I don't suppose you'd be up for a little talk before I wander back to bed?"

The patient snickers.

"You got that right. All they want to talk is treatment, or what you can't do, or are your bandages holdin' up," they sneer. "Maybe I just want to get my mind off it all for a bit! But nope, they don't want to talk, and I ain't a reader, so there ain't much I can do."

They start moving their hand around absentmindedly.

"Would be another matter if they'd let me have a pencil and paper so I could at least sketch something. Mind, I'd probably go bored out of my skull before long even with that, since I'm just seein' the same stuff the whole time."

"You're an artist, then?"

"Not accordin' to my paychecks, but yeah, in my heart I am. 'Course, it would help if I could afford paints. Pencil sketches don't sell for much."

Hmm. With how they complained about the doctors focusing on the injury, you probably don't want to directly raise the topic. It would be better if you could think of a subtle way to lead the conversation to it.

Maybe bringing up your own "injury" will encourage them to loosen their tongue. You can mention you had a boating mishap and ended up here, and ask how it compares with their seafaring experiences.

Perhaps you can get the subject onto boating, and use that to bring up what happened to you. Then they might be more inclined to volunteer how they ended up here.

"What do you usually draw, then?"

"Whatever I see that looks interestin'. There's folk who like to draw things they think up in their heads, but I ain't got the imagination for that."

"Any favorites? I doubt you can show them to me right now, but I'd be interested in hearing about them."

"My best work's portaits. If I can get someone to sit still long enough to draw 'em." They smirk a little. "Don't suppose you'd be interested when they let us out of here?"

You think you might be able to work with this.

"I'm leaving tomorrow, but I'm not expecting to be in town long after that. Though admittedly, since the whole reason I'm here is that my boat sank, I'm not entirely sure when I'll have a way back."

"Well, you're not gonna be hiring any boats out until after the holy day celebrations," the patient replies. "And they'd damn well better let me out before then."

"Oh, is it an important day for you?"

"Don't get me wrong. The gods ain't done much for me, but at a party like this, everyone likes a good drink. Especially the sailors. That means a winery makes a good bit of extra money. Which means those of us workin' to make sure there's enough wine to sell get a nice bonus. So I'm really hopin' to get out soon. 'Course, it'd help if I could get some sleep now."

Well, this seems like a chance to move the subject where you want it.

"They haven't told you how long you'll be here?"

There's a pause.

"They say it depends on how I look tomorrow. Definitely won't be able to do any of the heavy lifting if I get back to work, but there's plenty of easier stuff I can still do."

You try to look as befuddled as you can, since you really shouldn't already know the injuries.

"Is it that hard to know how long the injury will need?" Of course, you know it is. You may not have been a doctor, but you heard them talk about that sort of thing often enough.

"Well, there's always some people who heal sooner and some people who heal later. They do think the weird mark over my heart's gonna be there for a while, but it doesn't actually hurt, so who gives a crap. The other side's where they figure things could go bad."

"Mark?"

"Some madman came rushing at me with a sword and a hot poker. Got no clue what he wanted. Never gonna forget his face, though." They shudder a little. "Got a real good look at it. I'd wager I could even draw it from memory, and I hardly ever do that. 'Course, I ain't gonna find out, seein' as I still ain't got anythin' to draw with."

Well, there's blank paper and pencils in the records room. Not to mention some swampleaf to help them sleep. That would take valuable time, but their attacker might just be the believer you're looking for. So it seems worth the risk.

The problem is, it's not as if you can just say "well, if I get you drawing tools and a sleep aid, will you let me keep a picture of your attacker?" That's going to seem extremely strange, if not downright suspicious. You'll have to lead the conversation a bit to get there without coming across as too odd.

You can mention that you saw a pencil and paper in the office, and ask more about the wacko with the poker. Why would they do that?