Swamped

The alarm bell is going off. Mortimer jumps up with a start, and you imagine the other patients are getting similar rude awakenings.

"Wait here," you say, slipping past the curtain. "I'll take a quick look at what's going on out there."

What you see is a muckbeast standing in the emergency door, holding it open. There's no sign of any rider. You also see a lot of patients running around in a panic. Two of them near the exit look to be arguing, probably about whether they should try to push their way past it.

Your first thought is that this seems as though it would be a rather effective distraction. Not so much for kidnapping Mortimer - you poke your head back in just in case he vanished, but he's still sitting on the bed - as for doing, well, anything in an area that's not so crowded.

For instance, it could be an attempt to steal whatever page from Matilda Laikenne's book was so important, done without realizing that it was already stolen. Or for that matter, it could be done to allow the thief to slip out among a crowd of panicking patients, who decide they don't want to take their chances with a muckbeast.

Well, if you could chase the beast away quickly and shut off the alarm, that might disrupt the scheme. But that depends on having a plan for how to chase a muckbeast away.

Loudly squawk like a bird and flap your arms in a threatening manner!

You wish you were more of a naturalist. You don't know that much about muckbeasts - you only incidentally picked up a few tidbits about them while reading up on sea creatures before the voyage. It would be nice to know if they have any natural predators. They're large, true, but a pack of greatrats could probably take a single one.

Wait. Do greatrats form packs, or are they more solitary? You're not sure, you aren't much of a naturalist.

But there's one thing you do know, and it's that most animals fear larger animals. And the muckbeast may be bulky, but it's short. Not to mention it doesn't really have any particular means to fight back. Perhaps if you act threatening enough, it will back away.

So you rush out towards it waving your arms and squawking. This is going to draw a lot of attention to you, and you doubt it will work, but you're desperate to get things at least marginally under control.

The beast seems startled, but remains resolutely in place.

Then another patient runs next to you and starts flapping her own arms and squawking just as wildly. The beast starts to retreat ever so slightly.

People notice. Before you know it, there's a whole crowd gathering near the door and acting like gigantic birds. The beast doesn't seem to know what to do, and backs out, shutting the door. You run over to the bell and hold it still.

"All right, the beast is gone," you say. "Everyone can calm down now."

"Except we don't know who the prankster is who let that thing get so close in the first place," someone interjects.

"Hey, why's he all dressed up, anyhow?" asks another. "You don't look like a doctor to me."

Ah. The hat, not to mention the fact that you look more dressed for going outdoors than most people here. Which probably makes you look a bit suspicious when someone's likely been messing around outside.

You should probably give them a good explanation before this gets out of hand.

I'm a patient. I was just assisting the night doctor with something when the alarm went off. In fact... Better check on Mortimer, in case this was a distraction to get him alone.

"I'm a patient, but I seem to have mostly recovered," you explain. "So I've been helping the night doctor out a bit. This place is understaffed, after all."

Several patients mutter quietly to each other. Still, they seem satisfied that you're not involved in any tricks... or at least they're willing to wait until the night doctor can confirm your story.

The important thing is that they start heading back to their beds. And, just to be sure, you make a run for Mortimer's.

He's still there. But he looks worried - in fact, he's gotten out of bed.

"We need to check on Uncle Leo," he says. "Fast."

Well, you know where that bed is, so you turn around. But you're curious about something.

"All right, but why didn't you bring this up before? Did you just realize something?"

"Not quite," Mortimer says. "I heard someone on the other side of the curtain talking. And they said something real worrying."

They were complaining about all the slime

"They said there was a bunch of slime on the floor and were complaining that they didn't know who was going to clean it up. Reminded me of that weird stuff on my boot earlier." He pauses. "And, well, you said that stuff made me violent. I figured maybe someone put it there to get someone to go after Uncle Leo."

You frown.

"It sounds to me like everyone is in danger if that stuff is around, not just your uncle."

"Um, probably," he admits. Strange. He sounds a bit nervous. Is he just embarassed for only thinking about his uncle... or does he know more about the slime than he's letting on?

"Well, we'll take a quick look at your uncle first, then I'll see what I can do about the slime," you say. If he is hiding something, better to make him think you didn't notice anything odd.

Leonard is still asleep when you arrive, despite all the commotion. Snoring loudly enough that there's no doubt he's still breathing, too. Mortimer breathes a sigh of relief.

"Guess he's fine, then. I'll stick with him, just in case. I hope you can figure out a good way to clean that stuff up."

But you're not thinking of the slime yet. Something's different from the last time you were here, and it worries you.

Lazy leaves!

You see little bits of swampleaf on his table. Probably the sleep-inducing kind, but you can't be sure only by looking.

Someone was here. And apparently their main concern was making sure Leonard Flame didn't wake up. Right around the time that there was a large commotion at the hospital, which would almost certainly have done the job otherwise.

But why? Not to abduct him, it seems. Then why else...

To prevent him from seeing something, perhaps. Or someone.

Well, that's worrying. But short of expending valuable time ether to wake him up on the faint chance he notices whatever it is, you can't see much you can do about it. And there's still the matter of the slime...

Which you thought Mortimer was a little bit cagey about, come to think of it. What if that's what Leonard wasn't supposed to see?

What if, indeed. It's nothing more than a hunch right now. And your experience with Mortimer earlier suggests the slime is a real danger, so you'd best figure out what to do about that. Even though it's likely another distraction, it's one that could put people in danger.

Of course, it would be nice if you could come up with a plan for finding who or what these things are meant to distract from while you were at it.

Bring some to the lab and examine it under a magnifying lens. Maybe the night doctor can give you a professional opinion on its properties.

It would help if you knew more about this slime. And the hospital does have some equipment for doing research, even if it's not their main focus.

You head back to Mortimer's bed, and grab the one boot he still has. A bottle would no doubt be better, but you don't know where to find any empty ones, so you'll settle for this.

You wander around and look for the slime. There's really just one big puddle of it. A few patients are staring at it, but they're keeping their distance.

"Just going to show a bit of this to the doctor, in case it's infectious," you say, putting the boot down in the puddle. "I'll ask him about cleaning it up, too."

And as you head towards him, you keep an eye out for anything unusual. You soon find him back in the office, looking worried and confused.

"I put the sign up, then when I got back, everyone was awake," he says.

"The alarm went off. You didn't hear it?"

"No. I suppose the sound doesn't reach quite that far. Is everyone all right? Was it a real emergency, or a false alarm?"

"There was a muckbeast in the doorway. I chased it off. And I found a strange substance in a puddle on the floor." You hold up the boot, sole first. "I apologize for the crude method of gathering a sample."

"Hmm. Definitely not ideal, but I'll do what I can," the doctor says. "Then again, perhaps I should be calming the patients first. The nurses won't be here for around fifteen minutes. And, well, you're not hospital staff."

"That's fine, just take care of it when you can," you say calmly. You've still got your own investigation to do, anyhow.

And just as the doctor goes back in and puts the boot on the desk, you think you catch sight of something that warrants a closer look.

A tasty sandwich! When's the last time you ate?

There's a table up against the wall, and a plate on it with a sandwich. Uneaten.

And you suddenly realize you never got fed. Probably because it was so busy. The bar across the way is the main source of food here, since it's so close and open all night. Now that you think of it, you wouldn't be surprised if one place was specifically built to be near the other.

But you've seen their food. Both eating there when work ran late, and helping out at meal time. The bread in their sandwiches looks completely different. You wonder if this was here before.

When the doctor returns, you ask him about it.

"It's not mine," he says. "In fact, I don't think that table is usually out there. I'm sorry, but I really have to calm everyone down as best I can right now."

The table isn't usually out? So somebody pulled up a table, put a sandwich on it, and then just left it there? Why?

Your best guess is that a patient was sneaking a midnight snack, then decided it was best not to when the alarm sounded. It's unlikely to be anything sinister, considering the effort it would take to drag a table around. That would be quite hard to do without anybody noticing.

But something gives you pause about just leaving it there. And not just your empty stomach. You feel like you've seen this type of bread somewhere else.

That's the kind of hardtack that the chef on the expedition used to whip up

It takes you a moment to realize where you've seen it. This isn't really bread - it's hardtack. But the ship's cook had a special recipe that resembled bread more closely than hardtack.

The same cook who turned out to be a spy with magical capabilities.

You don't know what to make of this. And you're not sure you have the time right now - you want to find whoever set off the alarm, or at least figure out what they did while it was causing a ruckus. It's unlikely they left a sandwich, because even if that helped them somehow, there would have been far easier ways to do that. What sort of sandwich even is it?

You open it just to get a better glance, and you're stunned. This is clearly scutterfish meat with red kelp paste. The same meal you had for lunch every day for six months. You just had it open-faced.

Now this feels like a message specifically for you. Has someone else from the ship come to the past with you?

You try to reassure yourself that somehow this must be a coincidence. Perhaps the spy learned to cook from someone in this town, the same person who made this sandwich. Scutterfish and red kelp aren't common near the shorelines, but they're quite easy to find on most of the major shipping routes. It's just the hardtack that's distinctive.

On the other hand, none of that explains why holding it seems to make you even hungrier. More than you'd expect even with how long it's been since you last ate. In fact, before you know it you've put the top piece back on and lifted it to your mouth. You didn't consciously think about any of that.

You still aren't when you bite into it. And then, suddenly, it all makes sense as a thought pops unbidden into your head - Nual is responsible for the sandwich, somehow. He wanted your attention.

Unfortunately, you don't get much explanation for why. Only a request that doesn't really clarify anything.

"Follow the beast."

Follow the beast.

You have a lot of questions, but this seems to be a fairly clear divine directive. To cut down on panic, you decide to head for the front door. Fortunately, nobody notices, though you could probably give a reasonable cover story about trying to warn the city guard.

When you leave, though, Sunflower is waiting for you.

"Did you see where the beast went?" you ask. "I'm thinking it might be more productive to follow it than to try and figure out what's been going on here."

"It wandered for a while, now it seems to be settled in front of the door to the library," he says. "Speaking of which, I hope you're planning on giving that book back."

You glance down at your hand.

"Oh. Forgot I still had this." Surely you put it down to eat the sandwich? You can't really remember. You put the book in your pocket for the moment. "Remind me about it sometime when things have calmed down. So, this beast is at the library?"

"Yeah, Black's keeping watch on it." Sunflower smirks. "I've got bigger news for you, though. Already picked up an interesting lead on that Laikenne actor you wanted to know about earlier."

They're under censure by the authorities but were seen at a traveler's hostel recently

"Seems the show had some sort of scandal attached to it. One that the local bigwigs tried to keep quiet. Didn't get the details on what it was; my informant wanted more than I was willing to spend on that point. But I did find out a lot of the people involved aren't local. A bunch of them are staying at Feldspar's hostel. Including Laikenne."

"Interesting," you say. "And where is this hostel?"

You actually know that, but you don't see a need to be clear as to how well you know this town.

"About three blocks in that direction, then turn left and you'll see it just past the blacksmith's," Sunflower replies. "But you'd best hurry. Seems they have some sort of rivalry with a group that's coming in for Nual's holy day, so they're leaving first thing in the morning before that gets underway."

Now that's a strange story. But you think you'd best investigate the beast first, seeing as you were divinely guided towards that.

"I think I want to see what that beast is doing at the library first," you say. "Whoever rides it is likely to be turning up there, and I have a hunch we'll need all the help we can get."

"Hope that means you'll work your magic this time," Sunflower says quietly. You don't reply, and just follow him to the library.

You don't see anyone else around when you arrive. But you expect Black is still there somewhere - just not in sight.

What you do see is that the beast is glancing down at an open book on the ground. Is it actually reading?

It doesn't even try flip the pages at all, so probably not. It's still a strange sight. Although seeing it attempt to flip pages with its legs would probably be even stranger.

Maybe Nual was trying to guide you to the book? It certainly seems worth a glance, just in case. But you'd need to get closer, which doesn't seem feasible while the beast is around.

Throw something at it

You glance down at the ground and find a loose cobblestone. Loose enough to pick up.

You consider throwing it at the beast as a distraction. After all, what you remember of muckbeasts is that they don't move especially fast on land, as their legs are more developed for swimming. If you angered it, you could probably outrun it. And even if you're underestimating it, well, you could definitely escape with a little time magic. That would be a desperate enough situation to take the risk.

Still, you feel hesitant. Perhaps because it hasn't shown any actual signs of aggression. You're not even all that sure of what's going on.

Maybe you can just hit it in the shell. From the side, so the stone won't bounce off onto anything more sensitive.

You position yourself for the throw, and are just about to make it, when you're startled by a shrill cry from behind. The beast makes its own identical cry, and turns towards you.

You step to the side, and glance at the space behind you.

There's another beast. And the two of them are shrieking at each other. They're slowly approaching, each eyeing the other.

On the one hand, that technically qualifies as the distraction you were hoping for. On the other hand, you're not sure if it's a good idea to be nearby if they start fighting.

You also can't help but notice that Sunflower isn't around. Probably done the sensible thing and gotten out of the way. So you're probably not getting much help out of him or Black.

Maybe it would be better if you stayed back, too. You could wait for a better opportunity to grab the book. Then again, it could end up a casualty of the fight.

Whatever you do, it's probably best to decide quickly.

Could this be a breeding pair? Make no sudden moves, but nab the book

Of course, they might not be fighting. All they've done so far is cry out. It might be a mating ritual for all you know. Their faces aren't especially expressive, so you're having a hard time telling if they're aggressive towards each other at all. But it doesn't make that much of a difference - you'd prefer not to be around for that either.

Whatever it is they're doing, they seem to be taking their time about getting started. Still just crying out and only taking tentative steps.

Wait. What if they're simply trying to communicate? Perhaps they want to know if they can trust each other. If that's the case, you definitely don't want to interrupt, or they might both decide you're a problem.

So you just move a step closer to the book whenever the beasts move. They each give you a glance the first time you try it, but they don't seem to give it any further thought and just resume their cries.

A few steps later, you're within an arm's length of the book. To avoid startling the beasts, though, you slowly crouch before reaching out to take it. Then you slowly get up, and feel something cold and metal on your neck.

"I'll be taking that, thank you."

It's Rebecca's voice. How is that possible?

"Taking what?" you ask innocently.

"Don't play games with me. Hand over that book now, and no one gets hurt. Just hold it behind your back. And don't turn around."

Not much you can do except cooperate. You do manage to get a glance at the book's title, though: Fall of Alexandria.

You feel the book leave your hand, and the pressure lift from your neck.

"Thank you. I'd advise you to make your way home now. There's likely to be trouble tonight. Don't move until you hear the bell."

And then silence. You don't even hear footsteps. After what feels like a minute later, a bell rings. You turn around, perhaps hoping you might find some sort of clue.

But all you find is Sunflower, standing eerily still, eyes wide open in shock.

Hello? Sunflower, buddy? Ring that bell twice if you understand me

You shake him, wave a hand in front of his face, and even kick him in the shin, but you don't get any response. You do notice he's holding a bell in his hand, with a string tied to it. Is it the same one you heard a moment ago?

You try ringing it experimentally, but Sunflower remains still. In desperation, you check him for ether. And you're even more confused once you do.

"The hell are you doing?" Black asks. You turn, and realize you're seeing him for the first time.

He's a lot shorter than you expected. Was he standing on something when he grabbed you? It might explain why he tried to stay out of sight.

"I think he's been paralyzed. With magic. It seems to be a light-based spell, so a melodic sound like the bell should snap him out of it..."

Black groans.

"He's deaf. Can't hear that bell at all."

You blink.

"He's what?"

"Deaf as a stone. But very good at lip-reading, and with those eyes of his he can do it from quite a ways off. Even learned how to read that lizard's lips, if you can believe it. Comes to him so naturally he just calls it hearing."

You're not sure that makes any sense.

"But you were making calls to each other earlier..."

Black sighs deeply, as if he was expecting this.

"I made sure he'd be able to see me and he read my lips. Made the noise to be sure I didn't accidentally say something and confuse him. Look, never mind all that, how we worked with it doesn't matter right now. What matters is, have you got another way to break the damn spell?"