Swamped

We're gonna need costumes.

You look around.

You'd mostly been focused on the piano before, but now that you're looking again, this seems to be a sort of storage room. You recall that Crosswinds mentioned a sort of acting company... maybe they keep their props here.

In fact, with a little bit of poking around, you find a box labeled "COSTUMES".

"Well, there's this," you say, opening the box.

A few of the costumes seem to be just your size. Maybe Crosswinds is part of this. There's some more that are big enough for Rider.

Of course, there's a problem that immediately comes to mind: all of these costumes would be strikingly out of place. Everyone here wears a uniform, after all, so even something that would be entirely normal in a city would stand out.

But maybe there's something you can do with these. You need to think about it for a bit.

you disguise yourself as a human, rider disguises himself as a woman

Definitely use some stilts to disguise yourself as human, that sounds fun.

Ask Rider what general facilities are in the direction where the compass is pointing. Maybe a partial costume will be effective depending on the types of activities that typically take place there.

Definitely use some stilts to disguise yourself as human, that sounds fun.

Ask Rider what general facilities are in the direction where the compass is pointing. Maybe a partial costume will be effective depending on the types of activities that typically take place there.

rider not only disguises himself as a woman, but as a nurse thanks to a sexy halloween costume

Nurse Hottbottom left the swamp years ago! Rider would be noticed instantly!

Midway through crafting your plan, Rider shoves you into a satchel...Strings is taking too long...she must have made a detour to report to someone.

Nurse Hottbottom

this is really just M*A*S*H isn't it

I searched "M*A*R*S*H" into Google and it gave me:

8.3144598 m3 kg s-1 A K-1 mol-1

So now that is a suggestion for the pseudomagical science of this world. The MARSH factor.

"You got any idea where the compass is pointing?" you ask. "I mean, what's in that general direction."

"Sleeping quarters," Rider says. "That's about it. Which means we could run into almost anyone."

You go poking through the box. You find a pair of stilts. You suppose you could pass for human height if you did, but you're hardly trained at walking like that.

"I guess we could act like we're pulling some kind of prank," you say with a shrug, playing around with the stilts. "You've gotta have some people here who'd steal some costumes to mess with the prisoners or whatever."

"That would only cause more problems if we were spotted. I want to avoid drawing attention."

You dig around some more and find a bedsheet with eyes cut out. Really? A ghost costume? That's so pathetic...

An idea strikes you.

"Everybody thinks you're gone, right? So how about we play that up. Get you looking like a ghost. Anyone who sees you will think it's the vengeful spirit of Rider."

"I am not putting that sheet over my head."

"Nah, I figured... if we got you chains to rattle, or whatever. I don't know what kind of ghost stories you have out here."

"Hmm. I have concerns, but I can't see a better approach. We'll just have to hope we don't run into anyone clever enough to see through the ruse."

Well, you've got some kind of plan, at least. Now, which of these costumes can you make use of for this?

disguise yourselves in pajamas so it just looks like you're about to go to sleep

You dig around a bit and find a black robe.

"How's this?"

"That looks like someone's bathrobe with the trim cut off."

"Hmm, so it does," you mutter. "But as long as no one gets too close, they shouldn't be able to tell the difference. That's probably how they use it on stage, anyways."

You help Rider put it on, over his armor but under his cloak. Now he looks a little more like a shade. It's not much, but it's better than a bedsheet with eyes poked in it.

"Maybe there's something I can use to add to the illusion," you mutter. But then you feel Rider lifting you up.

"We don't have time. Strings should have been back by now."

He puts you in a sack and slings it over his shoulder.

"I apologize for the indignity, but I'd prefer that we not get separated. Just tell me what the compass says when I ask."

Ugh. This is unpleasant, but at least you'll get back home in less than an hour if all goes well. So, you can go along with it for now.

You guide Rider through the halls, and suddenly the compass needle starts moving wildly.

"I think we're here," you whisper. You peek out of the sack and see... a fairly ordinary hallway.

The compass' glow is just getting noticeable.

"Good. Only a few of our soldiers have rooms near here; there shouldn't be that many people to avoid." Rider pauses. "Now there's just the matter of the book. Perhaps I should go myself... but then again, I'd risk being spotted, and Strings might already be on her way back with it."

He seems to be having trouble making up his mind. Do you have any thoughts to offer him?

> BABY WE CAN DO IT TAKE YOUR TIME DO IT RIGHT WE CAN DO IT BABY DO IT TO-NIGHT

"I think it'd be best to wait for her," you say. "She might get worried if she can't find you, and I'm pretty sure you didn't want to cause a panic."

"A good point. I worry she may have been delayed, but if I leave without the book, it's all for naught. And I can't afford to run around."

So, with that, you just wait, keeping an ear out for any footsteps. A while later, you hear someone wheeling a cart not too far off.

"A laundry cart?" Rider says, sounding a little confused. "Usually that would have been taken care of much earlier in the day."

"Should we check that out?"

Before Rider can answer, you hear some other footsteps. You think you hear someone running, and someone else walking.

"I'm not so confident in our ruse that I'd care to test it," Rider says. "But... it's possible one of those people is Strings, and it would simplify matters if we could get the book now."

He's looking thoughtful. You should probably weigh in.

SpoilerShow

Which of the footsteps do you want to investigate, if any?

what if you hid in the laundry cart

Never fear, you're now an expert at making bird calls. Make a bird call that sounds like the first bar of "Don't Play By The River" and do it loud enough that you can be heard from both directions.

"If one of those sets of footsteps is Strings, I may be able to get her attention," you say.

"Won't you draw the attention of whoever else is around?"

"It'll just sound like a bird. Trust me, I've had a lot of practice with that today."

"All right. If someone else comes, I'll try to scare them off, then retreat to the storeroom."

So you start cawing Don't Play By The River - not the whole thing, but enough that Strings should be able to pick up on it.

You think you hear some footsteps coming closer. You slip into the sack just in case.

"Gah!"

Suddenly, Rider cries out in pain and you feel the sack fall. It takes you a little bit to get your head out, but you don't see Rider or Strings. Or anyone, for that matter.

But you do hear the laundry cart nearby. Well, that's a place to hide where Crosswinds might not find you. You run towards it and...

Well, it looks like the Marshguard pushing it is taking a sizable pile of laundry out into a room. You don't know why, but as long as there's enough left to hide in, that works for you. You hop into the cart and fortunately, there still seems to be a good load in there.

So you slip in and wait.

And then somebody dumps a lot more sheets onto your head.

Ugh. Not only was that unpleasant, you're not sure you can dig your way back out of these. You can barely hear anything under all this laundry, either.

Now what are you going to do?

hi marshall. fancy meeting you in a place like this

hi marshall. fancy meeting you in a place like this

Seconded.

Suddenly, you feel the laundry shifting underneath you. Is the cart that bumpy or something?

When things settle enough for you to actually get your bearings, you find yourself staring someone in the face. They're wearing a helmet, but it looks more like what the Bogknights were wearing than the Marshguard gear.

You barely restrain yourself from screaming. It looks like the other stowaway is doing the same.

The tension is lifted, slightly, as you feel a pile of laundry get pulled off your head. It's enough that you can hear some voices.

"No, no! This is where the clean sheets go! You can't just dump your filthy laundry in there, Clams!"

"Hmmph. The stuff I took out wasn't exactly clean, Crook. What's it matter?"

"We have to ration the laundry powder. It's a good thing I caught you when I did, looks like only one sheet got filth from your stuff on it. And why'd you run off with the cart in the first place, I was using that!"

"I needed to change my damn sheets. I figured it wasn't worth waiting around for you."

"Tough. I've got cart duty, I decide where the cart goes. I'll overlook it this time, but if you cross me one more time, you can bet Razor's going to hear about it."

"Bah. Whatever. I'm too tired for this."

You feel the cart start moving again.

"That was close," Crook whispers. "Sorry about that. And oh gods, my heart's pounding. I can't believe I stood up to Clams."

You get the distinct feeling you just got yourself caught up in a whole new set of problems. Exactly what you didn't need.

So now what are you going to do?

thank goodness you know sign language. oh wait, kid's got one arm

Make sure you still have the compass! Check how much it's glowing, and see which way the next rift is (relative to the way you're now headed).

You don't want to make noise, but you don't want to worry this human kid either. Whatever's going on here, you don't want to get any more involved in it.

So you attempt to start signing, and hope the kid acknowledges. You start simple, with "Peace".

The kid raises a hand in response and... oh. Only one arm. Well, now you feel a little awkward. You think they're signing "want what"... oh, they want to know what you're after.

"Escape".

They seem to be thinking hard about their response. The signal goes, as best as you can tell... "tell... thief... question"?

Oh, wait. The one pushing the cart, he was named Crook, right? And seems to know about one of his passengers. So the question is, should you let him in on it?

That's a bit awkward. You can't even tell where you are... wait, you do still have the compass. You sign "wait a moment" while you consult it.

Hmm. Seems you're moving away from the rift right now.

So. How are you going to answer the human kid's question?

make a "turn around" gesture

You signal that you want to turn around. The kid signals back "can't".

They must be headed somewhere in particular. Wonderful. So you either slip out now or you wait for them to arrive.

You signal "how soon", but the cart suddenly stops.

"Hey, Crook!" someone shouts. "Razor wants to talk to you. He said he'd be in the dining hall."

"Err! Can you, ah, tell him I'm busy with the laundry?"

"Ha! Not a chance, I know what he'll do if I try that. This is your problem, Crook, deal with it."

Well, now it sounds like you're getting taken even further away. You should probably get out of this cart as soon as you can.

What's the best way to do that?

i don't know