Swamped

You think you see a swarm of insects a few trees away.

"Are those bees?" you ask.

"Bees? Never heard of bees in this swamp. Hang on."

The woman takes a quick look.

"Well, I can't see them up close, but I can tell they're too small to be murderflies. And most of our other bugs don't really swarm. That's weird, all right, and I didn't see them before now."

Wait, did she just say...

"Murderflies? Those sound, um, more than a little dangerous."

"Not as bad as some of the other stuff out here. Your armor looks plenty strong enough to keep off their stingers, so you don't really need to worry about 'em."

"What about your friend?"

"She knows full well to put her mask and goggles on if there's murderflies about, and those ain't flies anyhow. Not that I can say for sure what they are."

That's strange. You thought they were bees because you've seen a lot of sandhives in the last few years, and they look a lot like the swarms around those. But apparently bees aren't native to this swamp.

Well, come to think of it, you aren't either and you still aren't sure how you got here. Maybe you can find some sort of clue if you take a closer look at the bees... assuming that's what they are.

On the other hand, you might turn up nothing at all. You might have better luck looking for this Starling and hopefully getting your information on how to leave. Not that you know where she is.

What's your next move?

Make a mental note of it, never know when you might encounter a good chance to drop a nest of swarming insects of someone. Continue searching on the path you already were.

You decide to just leave the bees alone for now. Though they might be useful if you end up getting chased.

"Well, I didn't see any signs of anyone over there, and I went all the way to the edge," you say, pointing back the way you came. "Of course, I wasn't exactly focused on searching for anyone, I was just trying to find a way out, or at least to the other side. Might have overlooked something."

"I've looked as best I can the other way," the woman says. "But there were some places I couldn't slip past the guards. You're smaller than me, and you're not in Marshguard armor, so you might have better luck."

"So you take a closer look over there, and I look where you came from? All right. I'll meet you back here if I find her."

"You'd better not try anything again, or I'll see to it you don't leave this swamp. Understood?"

You nod. This is your best shot at getting out of here, no sense in squandering it.

The woman leaves for another tree, and you crawl out on a branch before leaping to the next. You make it some distance before finding a path that's heavily guarded; this must be where the woman gave up on trying to pass.

So what's your plan for getting past here?

distract & glide

You think you can glide across to a tree on the other side of the walkway, but you'll want to divert the attention of these patrollers first.

As you're thinking about how to do that, you hear a loud noise some distance away.

"Did you hear that?" one of the patrollers asks.

"I'll go check it out. Everyone else, stay here."

How convenient. They're all watching the one who's running off. You don't have a lot of time to prepare your glide, but it's enough for a functional flight and landing. You climb into the tree and start looking around.

And that's when you see another young woman in purple - probably Starling. She's crawling out of a tree that's fallen onto the walkway. That explains the noise.

It also explains why there are patrollers running here from several different directions.

Well. Right now, she's your one lead on getting out of this damned swamp, so it's best for you if she doesn't get caught. But what can you even do from here?

start a fire

You only have one thought.

You've heard swamp gas is dangerously flammable. If there were a fire, everyone's attention would turn to dousing it.

But actually starting a fire would be reckless. Fortunately, you have another option. You're carrying a pouch filled with mistflowers - they store moisture well, making them an excellent water source in the harsh desert.

You've studied mistflowers extensively, so you know quite a lot about how their mist can be contaminated easily. And a swamp is full of contamination.

Granted, it won't be that dark. You've only just taken one out of the protective pouch; it's barely had time to gather discoloring agents. Still, you're pressed for time. You toss the flower as far away as you can, and then yell "FIRE!"

Then you leap to another tree. You don't want anyone catching on to your presence.

When you're some distance away, you dare to look. The Bogknights are all rushing towards the "smoke", and you see Starling dive into the water as their attention is elsewhere.

"There's little bits of mistflower here," one of the knights says. "Is someone pulling a prank?"

"Doesn't Dean have some mistflower? I remember him babbling about it when he got back from leave."

"I hear Dean's missing, though."

"So, what, you think he pulled a vanishing act so he could send us after a fake fire? Whatever for?"

"Dean's no prankster. I bet someone slipped into his room and stole it. Isn't someone sleeping there because of the greatrats?"

"Tom Eighth, I think. But he doesn't strike me as a prankster, either. He's too focused on that project of his."

"I could buy that he'd swipe Dean's stuff and use it for some kind of test, though."

"Then who shouted?"

"Someone who spotted the smoke and thought it was real?"

"Where are they, then? They ought to have come running with the rest of us."

Damn. It sounds like they're getting suspicious. You think you'd best get moving, just in case.

But where to? Back to the meeting spot? Or should you try to talk to Starling first? Or do you have some other idea?

pull the old hand-over-mouth on starling. turnabout is fair play

You decide to follow Starling. Since your appearance might startle her, you decide to sneak up behind her and cover her mouth to keep her from calling out.

Of course, she's gone into the water, which isn't really your element. You decide to try following her movements from the trees, and wait for her to surface, then make your move when the time is right.

The plan hits a snag when you notice that the beast is swimming this way, quite fast. You're not sure if Starling's noticed it, but considering she's your only lead on getting out of this swamp, you'd prefer not to take chances.

So how in the hell are you going to scare off a rampaging swamp beast? Or at least alert Starling to it?

just kill it

You're getting desperate. Starling's your only shot at escaping this swamp. You need to stop that beast.

But there's no way you could kill it. Maybe with some of your gear back at camp you'd have a chance, but right now you don't even have a weapon...

That's when you notice a pike lying on the walkway. One of the soldiers must have dropped it to check on the fire alert.

You're not even thinking straight right now. You glide over to the pike and grab it, making little effort to hide yourself. The beast approaches, and you ready yourself. You leap onto its back, and start trying to stab it, not even thinking about how many eyes might be on you.

Its scales are too hard. Dammit. Maybe it's got a weak underbelly? You'd have to dive into the water to check...

The beast starts thrashing. Seems you've got its attention, at least.

"Rider's beast is running wild again! Anyone in the water, get out!"

Huh. One of the soldiers in purple is yelling that. Did she see Starling dive? Or is she actually warning the enemy?

Well, at least now you shouldn't have to worry about Starling being caught off guard. Of course, you are on the back of a ferocious swamp beast that's trying its hardest to throw you off.

So what exactly do you do next?

If it's wildly trashing about in a direction see if you can't steer it somewhat. If the soldiers are on a walkway and the beast is heavy enough you might be able to bring it down and cause a distraction by putting everyone in the drink.

Maybe you can guide this damned beast. You'll worry about where you lead it to after you've worked out if that's even possible.

Poking its back doesn't seem to do anything, but you happen to stick your stolen pike in the water as you try to hold your balance, and then you notice the beast turning towards it.

So it's drawn to motion in the water. That must have been why it started rushing towards Starling in the first place.

Well, at the least you can use this beast to cross to the other side. You're not sure if there's an exit to the swamp over there, but you're really not at a point where you can plan ahead. You just want to get off this thing's back.

So, you start poking the water in that direction. The beast turns each time, and as it thrashes, it makes its way towards the walkway.

Specifically, one of the posts holding it up. The beast collides with it, and a section of the walkway ruptures.

You hear a splash, but you don't have time to look. You scramble onto the broken walkway, and quickly hop onto a nearby try. You scramble into its branches before surveying the situation below.

One of the soldiers in purple has fallen into the water, and another is dragging him out with the help of a long pole. Fortunately for him, the beast still seems a little dazed by its collision with the post.

In the distance, you spot Starling and the other young woman rushing through the treetops. Many of the soldiers on both sides of the gap are watching the scene; it's enough that the two women are able to slip into the water unnoticed and swim across before the beast regains its bearings.

You're about to head over and meet them, but they're moving faster now that they're on their own side. You lose track of them before long.

Now what are you supposed to do?

Get the animal across.

Well, if you can't find them, your next best option is to let them find you. More specifically, cause another disruption - you're getting good at these.

And, well. You don't have a particular use for this pike you've been lugging around. You're not exactly trained to fight, after all.

So you drop it in the water, causing the beast to rush towards it. Naturally, this gets the soldiers in a panic again.

And fortunately, you see Starling and her friend among the soldiers running around.

Less fortunately, they're with some other soldiers. You'd really prefer not to expose yourself to these humans more than you already have.

You start moving towards them, but you're not sure how you'll actually talk to them. You got the impression they were junior members; they're not likely to be left on their own in an emergency.

So what are you going to do?

make clicking noises

You consider making an odd noise, in hopes that your acquaintance realizes you're around. Assuming she has any intention of making good on her promise, of course.

But the only sound to come to mind is a clicking noise you can make with your tongue. You spend a while doing that, listening carefully to the soldiers' conversations.

"The hell is that noise?" someone asks. "Is this another weird animal turning up?"

"Quiet! Didn't you hear? They caught some Bogknights sneaking around in our territory. Don't go talking about things like that, what if there's more of them lurking around?"

"Sorry, sorry. So, hang on, which squad are these two girls on? They were just patrolling by themselves."

"We're on Corvus' squad," says a voice that you recognize. "He told us to stay here. Didn't see him all night after that."

"Sounds like he got himself in trouble. You ought to have gone for help."

There's an awkward pause.

"We didn't think of it," says another voice. Starling, probably. "We're, um, still in training."

"Still? After three years?"

"Well, keep in mind, they are Corvus Squad. Probably slow learners."

"Hey, not all of us came here ready to be soldiers," the familiar woman growls. "Maybe you were military or a bandit or whatever the hell before you got here, but we weren't."

"Whatever. Let's find your boss. Did he say where he was going?"

Ugh. By the sounds of it, those two aren't going to be alone for a good while. Even if your acquaintance realizes you're making the sound, she can't do a whole lot.

You'll just have to wait for a better chance...

"We should probably take the whole squad back to base afterwards," says one of the older-sounding voices. "If something did happen, they'll need a debriefing."

Ugh. Sounds like your only shot at another meeting is if you slip into their base. Which is no doubt just crawling with soldiers.

You can see it from here, and you can probably jump and glide in that general direction easily enough. But the one entrance you can see is heavily guarded.

So how are you going to get in?

distraction!

SpoilerShow

Okay, what kind of distraction?

bait the beast to the gate

Use the power of bees

You consider using the beast again, but it's a good distance away. You'd need several lures, and you're not sure where you'd get them.

But taking a quick look around, you see another swarm of bees. These ones aren't as far off as the last swarm, and you can see that they are, in fact, the same type of bees you've seen in the desert.

Something odd is definitely happening here.

Unfortunately, the same force that brought you and the bees here doesn't seem to have brought any sweetcactus along, at least not within sight. They just seem to be buzzing around the tree. Perhaps their hive is there, or perhaps they simply haven't realized that it isn't.

Regardless, they'd be a useful distraction if you could upset them, or at least lure them to the soldiers. You did make extensive notes on them, but with your notebook missing, you'll have to rely on your memory here. What do you know about desert bees that could help you out here?

bees of a feather flock together

if you're non aggressive desert bees tend to leave you alone, however they can be whipped up into a frenzy by the scent of blood

There's two main things you can remember. The first is that desert bees aren't territorial within their species; individual bees will readily join swarms from other hives, and indeed, you've known colonies to outright combine.

The second thing is that they feel threatened when they smell blood. You suspect that's because they mostly encounter it after one of the swarm has stung something and made it angry.

Now you just need a source of blood. Preferably not your own. You'd rather not risk yourself by directly attacking the soldiers, either.

You look around, hoping to see an animal that you can wound reasonably. But you don't...

Wait. Did something just move on the next tree over?

You look a little closer, and manage to just barely make out a very brown lizard on the tree trunk. That seems like a viable target.

You just have to think about how best to wound it, preferably without being noticed. You dropped the stolen pike already, so your options are rather limited.