Swamped

"That's all well and good, but even if it's something else, where would you even hide it?" Black asks skeptically.

"The water. Muck beasts can stay submerged in swamps for days."

"Hold on, now. Muck beast is a bit vague, isn't it?" Sunflower interjects. "I've heard lots of swamp critters called that. Gators, mudvipers, bogcats. Hells, even heard someone call a swamp mallow that once. You'll have to be a bit more specific."

"Ah, of course. This is a particular type of reptile that's actually called a 'beast' by animal specialists. They're bigger than gators and they have thick shells that are tough to pierce. There's a few kinds, but muck beasts are the main one that gets ridden. Mostly by greblings."

"Grebs," Black mutters. "This print's real big for a greb, isn't it, though? Sure looks like a human's boot to me."

You nod.

"That's true. Greblings have an easier time holding on when the beast goes at full speed. The few human riders I've heard of are very skilled, not to mention skinny. So if this belonged to our hypothetical abductor, it would be hard for them to ride very far with a passenger as well. Much more weight to account for."

Sunflower doesn't say anything for a moment. He just stares past you.

"It's about a half-mile offshore," he says quietly after a pause. "Not moving. Guessing the eyes on us are waiting to see if we leave before they call for it."

"Didn't you say they stopped?" Black asks. "If they were waiting for a chance to leave, it'd be better to stay on us."

"Well, if all worked as planned, when we stopped talking they stopped being sure if we were people at all, and didn't want to risk getting closer," Sunflower replies. "But they likely heard our voices before that, so they aren't sure it's safe."

"Okay, so say they're still nearby. How do we catch 'em?" Black asks.