Swamped

She might be bluffing, but on the other hand, you don't want to risk Erin's life.

Wait. You overheard her before. She mentioned something about debts.

"Leave for where, exactly?" you ask, sounding more confident than you feel. "Back to your debtors? Or maybe you're going to try your luck with the Marshguards, and hope they'll overlook the backs you stabbed? Become a hermit in the swamp, at least until the next rain?"

"Shut up!" she shouts. "It's none of your damn business what I do next. I'm just not going to rot in a damn cell for that bastard Ash's sake!"

You've definitely hit a nerve. But you can't tell if that makes it more or less likely that she'll let Erin go, which is all you're concerned with now.

Erin, for her part, looks utterly terrified. You can't blame her, really. You would be, too...

And you were. Cowering in a barrel, hoping the border guards wouldn't look inside too closely.

You heard one knock on the outside. You held your breath so hard you nearly fainted.

"This one seems partly empty," you heard the guard say. "Sounds hollow when I knock near the top."

"We didn't have enough to fill it, and we didn't have anything smaller. We've loaded up pretty much everything we have in here."

"You don't say. Mind if I have a look?"

In that moment, you nearly died. The lid came up, and you were sure the guard would see your terrified face.

But instead you saw the guard slowly fall down, because Erin had hit him with his own club.

"Change of plans," she said, pulling you out. "We're going to need to leave real fast. You might as well get up front, it'll be more comfortable."

You can't leave Erin like this. You've got to get her out of this mess as fast as you can. You owe her too much to let her continue to suffer.

But how are you going to do that?