Swamped

"Can I have a turn at that?"

Strings shrugs.

"Sure, if you think you can deal with this old thing. What do you want to play?"

"You already played a request for me, so why don't I play something for you this time?"

She gives that some thought.

"At my last performance with the troupe, we played 'Don't Play By the River'. I find myself humming it when I'm stressed out. I suppose for all the mess that it turned into, I still miss my old life."

Well, you know that one well enough. It's one of the first songs Simone taught you.

The piano really is old, but you can work with it. You haven't played in a good month - it's just too unwieldy to bring a piano along on expeditions, after all. But you're not that out of practice, and by the time you get through the first chorus line, you've more or less worked out how to compensate for the more troublesome keys.

When you finish, Strings applauds enthusiastically.

"Nice, nice. How long have you been playing?"

"Off and on since I was fifteen or so." You find yourself staring at the piano. "So what are you planning to do when this old thing finally falls apart? It can't be easy for a bunch of exiles in a swamp to get another piano."

"We'll manage," Strings says with a shrug. "It'd be nice if we could count on getting a replacement, but we can't. That's just how it is."

You're honestly starting to like her. Maybe that's just because everyone else you've met in this swamp has been so unpleasant.

Of course, you imagine she won't help you get out of here. Which is still all you really want. But on the other hand - every escape attempt you've made so far has gone wrong for one reason or another. Maybe you can put up with this stupid place for a day or so if Strings is the only person you have to see.

What should you do? Wait, or come up with a plan?

you'd rather hang out with strings than escape right now, this is fun

> Interspecies romance, stat.

> dang, these tunes really make you think of home. Playing with Simone safe in the cool of the underground, amid the bustle of the colony, the aroma of scent-sand in the air...

...Wait you do smell scent-sand. Strings do you smell that?

Eh. You're enjoying this. Eventually you'll have to do something else, but even if you're going to pull another wild escape, you can take some time to just relax here.

You ask Strings for a few more requests. Most you don't know, but she just laughs, sits down, and plays them herself. You do play the ones you can, though.

Then she starts teaching you some of the other songs. It really takes you back - back to the one time in your life when a colony really felt like home.

The church organ was larger than the first piano Simone had trained you on, but the principles were much the same. And while there were plenty of worship songs that made you wince, Simone obviously never made you learn any of those. Just the ones thanking Reth for making her stand.

Those were good days, before the church authorities found out about the two of you. You feel like you can even remember the smell of the sands...

Wait. That's no memory. You start sniffing around.

"What's wrong?" Strings asks, looking worried.

"Scent-sand," you say. "I can't tell just how strong it is, the swamp odors are masking it too much."

She sniffs the air too.

"My nose probably isn't as good, but I think I can catch just a whiff of it. It smells a bit like my old boss' Kandrian tobacco."

Well. There's no way it's occurring naturally in the swamp. You start trying to track down the scent more precisely so you can figure out what's going on.

Where is it coming from?

Is it... Under the floorboards? Seeping through the walls?

Better wear your filter so you don't catch desert fever.

oh my reth

we're not in the swamp, are we

Someone is really shouting...Hey Strings, What's a "Rider"?

> Why is it coming from the piano??

The strangest thing about the scent is that it seems to be coming from everywhere, but when you actually smell a specific thing, you can't pick it up at all.

You smell the walls, the floor, the piano. Nothing. But the scent still seems to be all around you.

Suddenly, a thought strikes you. Could you be in the middle of one of the shifts to the desert? You were unconscious when you were brought here, so you can't say for sure... but what if the smell is the desert encroaching on the swamp?

You have no idea how to explain that to Strings, though. She seems even more confused than you.

But... you're starting to feel it. Something is getting closer. Strings seems to be aware of it, too.

And all of a sudden, a man in Marshguard armor appears in the middle of the room, struggling to stand up. His armor is tattered, and he's barely managing to lean on his lance for support. He's staring at a compass in his hand.

Strings faints at the sight. By Reth, you do not want to deal with this on your own.

The man looks up and glances at you.

"Yvonne, I presume?"

How do you respond?

correcting his pronunciation

That compass!!

> Help him from falling over. Ask why he knows your name (you recall telling crosswinds your name was Vivian
Dorret).

correcting his pronunciation

Only Simone pronounces it the way he did.

correcting his pronunciation

Only Simone pronounces it the way he did.

they pronounce it so it rhymes with simone

they pronounce their own name "simon"

"It's pronounced ee-von," you say, almost automatically. Your heart pounds as you think about it - only Simone pronounces it the way he did.

"My apologies," he groans. "But, this is fortunate. It seems I can take care of at least one other matter when I return... assuming I can find my strength, that is."

"Are you saying... you can take me back?"

He nods.

"Not for a while, though. First, I need to regain the strength to stand. And then I have to get back to my room, there's a book I need."

A book? You're an avid reader when you have the time for it, but you wouldn't mess with whatever business he's been involved in just for one book.

Unless, of course, it was special.

"For wizardry?"

"That isn't important right now. I need the book before I can go back."

"I'll get it," you say, leading him to the piano bench. "You stay here. You need rest."

"I doubt Razor would let you roam the base freely," Rider says. "And he'd hardly believe I gave you permission unless he saw me himself. Which, frankly, I'd rather avoid. If he finds out I'm here, he'll never let me leave."

"Well, we could try to rouse Strings and have her get it..."

"I would have preferred to do this without anyone realizing I was here, but I suppose it's too late for that. She's seen me already, and if you were to just vanish there'd be a needless panic." He sighs. "But I suppose I should know by now, plans are never as simple as you think they'll be."

Well. Now the question is, how do you wake up Strings.

the old roger rabbit, play half a tune and they'll HAVE to fill in the rest

the old roger rabbit, play half a tune and they'll HAVE to fill in the rest

Brilliant

You have a thought. You sit down by Rider and start on "Don't Play By the River", but stop a few bars in.

Strings starts tapping her fingers to the beat, and continues even after you stop. A short while later, she gets up.

Then she turns around and nearly falls over again.

"Rider... He's really back," she says, blankly. "It wasn't a dream?"

"I can't stay long," Rider says, still leaning on his spear. "There's too much to be done. Strings, I'm afraid I can't recall. You can read music, but can you read words?"

"Uh, some. Not a lot."

"There's a book in Common on my shelf. Dreamers of Alexandria: Forbidden Romance in the Desert. The author's name is Christopher; you probably won't recognize the last name."

"I should be able to make out most of those words. Alexandria and Forbidden would be a bit rough, but unless you've got a lot of other books like that, I can manage."

"Good," Rider groans. "And don't tell anyone you saw me. It would just cause needless trouble."

"What if someone sees me go into your room?"

Rider groans.

"I suppose it would be best for you to use the secret passage."

He explains its location, and with that, Strings runs off. It's just you and Rider in here.

So now what?

> Ask how he knew your name.

> You're kinda a big deal here, huh?

> I heard you fought a wizard.

Ask about the compass

"So. Seems you're a bigshot around here," you say.

"That doesn't matter right now. There's urgent work to be done in the desert. I'll resume my duties once that's taken care of."

"Things got real bad after I got sent here, huh?"

"So your team informs me."

You glance at the compass in his hands.

"We dug that up a while ago," you say. "You figured out what it does?"

"I wouldn't say we discerned its purpose," Rider says. "But it seems to point towards the nearest gateway. It seems they drift a bit, and open at unpredictable intervals. Or, unpredictable without the compass, at least."

"Hang on, that compass is a few centuries old. But if the gateways were opening and closing as much as they are now, we would've noticed something a long time ago."

"Agreed. Something must have changed recently."

His tone of voice gives the impression that he has an idea of what that "something" is.

Should you press him on it, or move onto another topic of conversation? Or is there something else you could do while you wait for Strings to get back?

Show Content

SpoilerHey people, there's a shiny new discussion thread for this adventure! Feel free to make use of it.

Ask the Rider about his injuries/inability to stand.

"What happened to you, anyways? You're not in good shape at all."

Rider laughs, weakly.

"What hasn't happened? Last night, Long surprised me by igniting a pocket of swamp gas. The next thing I knew, we were in a tunneler's nest, barely conscious. I found an exit, and we went through it, then we had to fend off a pair of thornbeasts. It didn't go that well." He pauses and glances down at his damaged armor. "Poor Long came out of that worse than I did. Fortunately, I saw tracks from your group's wagon. We followed them to where you'd set up camp."

"Oh. They must have been worried about me," you say.

"Indeed. We compared notes, and reasoned that their missing researcher - you - had probably gotten swept up in the same phenomenon that brought us here. They were relieved, but I knew the swamp's dangers well... but I decided not to dash their hopes, not until I could say for sure what had happened."

"I'm glad," you say. You feel a little bad about causing so much trouble for his group. "I'll be able to see them all again."

"Well. Assuming we make it back. Long came down with desert fever, and your treatment options were designed for greblings. I knew I could help him if I could get back here, so I borrowed the compass in order to find a gateway. Theodore suspected there was a connection, at any rate, and it was our only lead. I suppose it's confirmed now."

He hands you the compass.

"I suppose it's best that I return it now... hmm?"

The compass' needle is moving.

"Is this pointing to our exit?"

"That's worrying. I wouldn't want anyone else getting caught in the desert. Hmm... but it doesn't seem to indicate the gateway opening for quite some time."

"How can you tell?"

"It's barely glowing."

You take a look at the needle again. You can see a very faint blue light around it.

"The glow tells you how close it is to opening?"

"So it seems. It was quite bright before my last transport." He slowly gets to his feet. "Well. It seems to me it would be best to use the time to work out the exact location, and make sure nobody else gets dragged along with us."

"There's a problem with that plan. We're both trying to keep low profiles. And you're still not in any shape to walk right now."

"That's a matter of exhaustion, not injury. I can feel my strength starting to return. But yes, this must be done with discretion. How do you think we should approach this?"

He's asking you? This is his base, not yours. But you suppose if you've got any ideas, it can't hurt to mention them.