Swamped

"There's an old story of an ascetic who wanted to experience life without senses. She filled a barrel with very cold water, closed her eyes, plugged her nose and ears as best she could, and just floated along for as long as she could hold her breath."

You're starting to dislike the sound of this.

"How does that solve the problem of knowing when I've arrived?"

"We drop the barrel and transport it as it's falling. That should give a fairly clear indication. And of course, I'll be going along too."

You're not sure whether to be relieved, or worried that he'll try something reckless.

"Are you going to be in a barrel?"

"It would be safer that way," Rider agrees.

"Problem. We don't have the water to spare," says Emilio.

You think back to the swampwater oasis you found. You don't really need the water to be clean for this...

"No, water isn't a big issue," you say. "We just need big enough barrels."

"That could be a problem, too," says Emilio. "We can't carry large barrels very easily, so ours are pretty small."

Before you can continue, you spot three of the Protectors standing close to each other. One is the very small and fast one. Just as you're about to ask what's going on, the fast one runs off.

Well. That's not going to stop you, is it?

"What's going on?"

You're not expecting a reply at all, but you do get a hand-signal to wait. Well, you suppose that's something.

After a little bit of waiting, the tiny grebling rushes back, this time with the leader of the Protectors. You're not sure what's going on.

"I understand you need some very large barrels," the leader says.

"That's our plan, yes."

The leader looks you right in the eyes.

"We can help with that. But we must ask something in return."

Great. What could he possibly want from you?