Swamped

Simplest solution: punch him in the face. If you don't hit him now, you might not get a better chance. But a little distraction wouldn't hurt.

"The swamp holds answers for you," you say as you raise your fist. You knock him backwards, and he falls to the ground, dropping his other knife.

Now you turn to the wizard.

"Would you mind telling me what in the hells is going on?"

"I'm trying to figure out a lot of that myself," the wizard grumbles. "I didn't want to involve you, but I was in a desperate situation - and not just because of him." He seems to be shaking his head very hard. "I'm not even sure the other part of it's quite over yet."

"Let's try something a little simpler, then. We'll find a nice secluded place to talk..."

You suddenly hear a loud noise and you get the impression that there isn't going to be much time to compare notes.

"I'd love to, but I'm afraid it's a bit late for that," the wizard groans. "It's probably best if you stick with me and keep an eye out for threats in the immediate area, and don't worry too much about the big picture. I'm heading into the hospital."

"Can you talk as we walk?" you ask.

"I'm not even sure where to start, and I don't know who might be listening in. But I'll see what I can do."

He tells you about Nual's festival, and that he got a warning that someone was going to try to sabotage it somehow. Then there's something about a family called the Flames with shady connections who were injured and are in this hospital. And he mentions that he was investigating a theater troupe in the bar across the way, where he ran across Leonard Flame's brother mixing something up. Now apparently he's trying to get ahold of a neutralizing agent by talking to the doctor here, and then meet with someone to tell them he did that. He also mentions that he needs a sea terror's needle as proof, but Jack Flame ran off with the terror.

For a moment, you ponder trying to track down this Jack Flame while the wizard takes care of his stuff. But then you realize that you don't know this town in the slightest. You'd just be stumbling around blind.

Your conversation gets interrupted when the wizard spots the doctor. You listen in on the conversation, hoping it might shed a tiny amount of light on the situation, but you also keep glancing around. Both to get your bearings, and to keep an eye out for potential trouble.

And you think you just spotted something.