Swamped

Distraction.

One of you will make bird noises to lead the patrol astray, then take a stealthy shortcut through one of the rooms to rejoin the other.

Then head to the prisoners.

"I think our best bet is to lead the patrol away from them," you say after a little thought.

"Then I'll handle that," Erin says.

"Now hold on a minute!"

"Didn't we already have this argument?"

"That was for Ash's knights. You said this patrol wasn't Ash's."

"Oh, for... We are not having this argument again. I'll be the distraction. And I'll go take care of that now."

"Wait," you say. "I'm not going to talk you out of it, I'm going to tell you what I was planning. Lead the patrol around for a bit, then head back here, to the prisoners. We'll say we stumbled onto the knocked-out guards and then we headed in to make sure they hadn't escaped."

"They'll want to know why we were here in the first place," Erin says skeptically.

"We'll just say we broke curfew for a late-night talk, and the brig was on the way to where we were planning to go. No need to overthink an excuse there."

"I guess. All right, then you wait there and I'll get the patrol's attention." She pauses. "But wait, if I'm going to get caught with you, I shouldn't show myself, should I?"

"You could try crowing," you suggest. "Make them think a bird's gotten loose in the base."

She gives you a baffled look.

"Who would even fall for that?"

"It's worth a shot."

She shrugs, and heads off. Then you slip into the brig.

"It's not time for a new shift yet, is it?" one of the prisoners says, taunting you.

"Not on the schedule," you say. "But something seems to have happened outside. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"There was a bit of noise a while ago," says the other prisoner. "Then the last two guards ran out. That's all we know."

"Yeah, we're pretty out of the loop in here," laughs the first. "Last interesting thing we know about was Viper bailing on us. Not that I blame her, I'd be in a hurry to get out of this dump too."

Well. You're stuck waiting here until Erin leads the patrol along. So what are you going to do?

Listen to rumors, rumors, rumors.

Well. These two seem plenty eager to talk, which will pass the time at least. You just need to get them going.

"What, in all this time there haven't been any gossiping guards? I'm surprised."

"It's all old gossip," grumbles one of the prisoners. "Like, someone lost an arm in the rain, and it's Burgundy's fault. Pah, we heard that one from old Sieve before we even left the fortress!"

"Yeah, but you know, if it's goin' around these parts too, it might actually be true," the other says. "I mean, sure, I've heard more than one tall tale about someone survivin' the rain. Always a real close call, remember they used to say that was how Patch lost an eye? Even though she got her name 'cause she was wearin' the thing the day she turned up?"

"Boy, do I ever. But if they got close enough to reach your eye, your whole face would come off."

"Right, right. But what I mean is, even aside from the obvious flaws, the stories are different. Like, Blackfish, you remember Blackfish, right? Could never keep his story straight. He said Patch killed the thing, which is ridiculous. Now, if you told me Rider killed one, that'd be one thing. I wouldn't buy it, mind, but I wouldn't rule it out immediately. But Patch? She's tough, sure, but she's only human."

You're not feeling comfortable right now, and that may be the point.

"There's no sense in bringing up the rain," you say. "I'm sticking around here no matter what you say."

"Then give us something better to talk about," the first prisoner jeers. "Like I said, we're starved for good conversation. We don't need secrets, but we do need stuff that's more recent."

Well. Do you have anything to say to them?

Rumors about swarms of rats?

"Well, we had a rat infestation a while back," you say calmly. No need to mention how big they were.

"Well! Ain't that thrilling, Sneer? A rat infestation. I know it's just the sort of exciting news I was hoping to hear about."

The other one - Sneer, you suppose - seems a little annoyed.

"Don't go mockin' 'em, Bellow. Rats were a big problem back on the farm. Why, one time they got out in the fields and ruined our wheat harvest. Set us back the whole season. In fact, I hear the fortress had lots of rat problems before Crosswinds came along."

"Now hang on, Sneer! Weren't we just talkin' about not trustin' tall tales? That old story about greblings eating rats is just a filthy lie, they ain't got the teeth for it."

"I didn't say that was it! It's just that Crosswinds is small. Can squeeze into nooks and crannies you and I wouldn't have a hope of fitting into. Which means they can find rat's nests in places humans have trouble with. Sure makes sense to me."

"Wait, you really do have a grebling in your forces?" you ask, surprised. "I've heard the rumors, of course, but I'd never seen them myself. And it's hard to imagine a grebling coming all the way out to this swamp."

The prisoners look at each other. They seem to be thinking about how much to tell you.

"Well, you know how it is in the Marshguards," Bellow says with a shrug. "For the most part, you come here because you've got nowhere else to go."

"I can't believe there's only one grebling like that, though," Sneer says, sounding thoughtful. "Maybe they've got their own place for exiles."

"So why isn't Crosswinds there, instead?"

Sneer shrugs.

"Maybe they aren't welcome. Don't know, and it's not really my business."

You suddenly hear footsteps approaching. Erin must be guiding the patrol here.

Are you just going to wait for them, or is there something you should do first?

You can't think of anything to do, so you just decide to wait. Erin arrives shortly, and the patrol turns up not long after.

"What are you doing here?" one of them asks. "And why are there two unconscious knights in the hall?"

"Well, we were planning on meeting after curfew," you explain. "The route took me past the brig, and I noticed the two knights down on the ground. I came in here to check if the prisoners had escaped."

"And I had the same thought, though it was a bit later," Erin adds.

"Now, we wouldn't go and do a thing like that," Sneer says. "We're responsible prisoners, aren't we Bellow?"

"Yeah, we're just sitting here quietly. We know you'll let us out sooner or later. What's the rush?"

The knight glares at the two of them.

"I wasn't talking to you two. This is a matter between Bogknights."

"Whatever you say," Sneer replies.

Ignoring them, the knight turns to the rest of the patrol.

"Right. John Two-Thirty-Six, you keep an eye on the prisoners. I'll escort these two troublemakers back to their rooms. Everyone else, help with carrying the unconscious guards to the infirmary. Grab the stretcher if you need to."

"Wait, hold on, Stan," one of the knights pipes up. "What if you held off on taking them back, and we had them help out with the injured instead? You could help us with that, too."

"Good idea! You two up for that?"

You're about to agree, but Erin motions to talk. You ask for a moment to discuss it with her.

"Remember, Ash had knights at the infirmary," Erin whispers to you. "This could be trouble."

"Good point. But, if it is trouble, this way we'd have reinforcements. These aren't Ash's knights, right?"

"No. Still, it might be easier if I didn't come along. They'll recognize me for sure. I'll leave it up to you."

Hmm. She does have a point. Should you go to the infirmary or not? And if you do, should you go alone or bring Erin along?

Yeah, you should go. Bring Erin along so security wouldn't be problem.

"I think we should both go. If there is trouble, it's better if there's more of us."

She doesn't argue. You can tell she's worried, though.

Well, in truth, you are too. A fight between Bogknights is going to be a problem no matter which side wins.

You turn back to the patrol leader. You think they said his name was Stan?

"We'll help out," you say.

"Good. That makes things a bit easier. All right, let's get moving."

You and two other knights pick up one of the unconscious guards; Erin and another duo carry the other. The leader walks ahead of you, occasionally shouting a warning when other patrols get in the way.

Finally, you approach the infirmary. And there's the group standing outside.

"Make way!" Stan shouts. "Two unconscious, coming through. Everyone, out of the way!"

Your heart nearly stops. This is it. If they don't let you through, things are going to get ugly.

"Infirmary's off-limits for now," one of them says. "Just leave 'em here and we'll take 'em in when the medic says it's okay."

That wouldn't be so bad for you... but you can't be sure what Ash's knights are planning.

"What do you mean, off-limits?" Stan asks, suspiciously. "It's the infirmary. It's for emergencies. Why would either of the medics ever close it off? It wasn't even closed during the greatrat infestation."

Yeah. That's what you probably would've asked if you were leading the squad.

"All I know is, we got orders not to let anyone in or out until further notice."

"Orders from who, exactly? I think the other officers would be very interested in knowing who was irresponsible enough to blockade the infirmary, and why."

At this point, you can't help but notice that several of the knights in front of the door are putting their hands on their weapons. A fight seems imminent.

Maybe you should be ready to make the first move. You quietly pull out your slicer, and try to get a better look at their weapons. Which one would it be best to surprise?

Whichever one also has a ranged weapon!

It's a bit hard to tell at this distance, but you think you see one with a crossbow. You'll have an easier time if you can fight at range and they can't, so you prepare your throw accordingly.

But you're not going to strike yet. Not until it's clear the line has been crossed.

"I don't need to answer your damn questions. Just leave 'em here and we'll take care of them."

"Tell the medic we're here first."

There's an uncomfortable pause.

"She's busy."

"And she's going to be busier because of these two. Which means she'll want to know that so she can figure out what to do about it. What in the hells is so hard about this?"

Stan's sounding real angry. The other knights around you are on edge, and they've already put down the wounded. Nobody else has drawn a weapon yet, though Erin's got a hand on her club.

"I've got my orders," the knight at the door says stubbornly.

"Well. Your orders make no sense. Do I have to go see Burgundy and drag her down here myself to make that clear, or are you going to stop being so damn stubborn?"

And that's when the fighting starts. Your slicer hits the crossbow just as its owner finishes loading it; as it drops to the floor, it fires and the bolt hits their squad leader in the shoulder. It's enough of a distraction for Stan to knock him to the floor.

"I'll get help!" the crossbow-wielder shouts, running away. Stan rushes for him, but two other knights quickly get in his way.

Damn. You hadn't thought about reinforcements. Your group can probably take this one, through numbers and your early advantage, but if you have to deal with more knights taking their side... well, that's a problem.

Your slicer's come back to you, at least. So what's your next move?

Finish off the squad leader, then disable the Knights blocking the way

You take a glance at the opposing squad leader. He's down, but not quite out; but one of the knights on your side has him pinned.

So you decide to help out Stan by throwing your slicer at one of the knights in his way. You hit them right in the head, and he howls in pain. It's enough of a diversion for Stan to push past the other one, and then go running after the crossbow knight.

You hope he catches up in time, but both are soon out of view. Both of your squads are leaderless now, but you've got the edge in numbers and your early hits left them in disarray. The knights who were in Stan's way soon fall to the ground, and the other two promptly surrender.

After all that mess, you knock on the infirmary door. Eve opens it, and looks at the mess around her.

"Four unconscious, and that one's injured," you say, pointing to the squad leader. Then Stan comes back, dragging the crossbow-wielder behind him. "Make that five unconscious. The rest of us might have taken a few blows, too."

"Right. No time to ask what happened, I'll leave that mess for somebody else to sort out. My job is to heal the injured. First things first, get the unconscious ones inside. I'll have a look at the rest of you when they're all stable."

It takes a few minutes, but you manage to drag everyone inside. Stan orders two knights to keep watch on the ones who surrendered.

The enemy squad leader doesn't say a word. He just gives a dirty look to his squadmates. Probably mad at them for giving up.

Stan turns to you.

"At this point, I don't think it's a good idea to escort you two back," he says. "Between this skirmish and the fact that two prison guards were knocked out, it looks like we've got a mutiny brewing. So I'm going to ask you to stick with us until we have a better sense of what's going on."

Well. Maybe you should tell him what you know about it, then. You glance at Erin; she nods at you.

"Actually, we might have some idea of what's going on," you say.

What should you explain to him first?

Ash has some harebrained scheme, engineering an attack on the base that he can fend off singlehandedly to prove his superiority as an officer and justify more aggressive action against the marshguards. Unfortunately, the allies he recruited to feign the assault have proven to be more aggressive and unpredictable than he anticipated. He's probably in damage control mode, trying to keep the rest of the base in the dark while his more "trustworthy" knights clean up the problem so that he can still get his moment of glory out of it.

"Let's start with the easy part. Did you hear about the digging machines?"

Stan nods.

"We got a heads-up about those a while ago, but didn't see anything."

"Well. Here's the thing. Sergeant Ash is managing that response, and he's desperate to keep any other officer from showing him up. To the point where he tried to block off the commander's office so Burgundy wouldn't even hear about it."

Stan looks less surprised than you expected, considering you just accused a top officer.

"Just like the squad that kept us out of here, huh?"

"That's right. We tried to help Burgundy escape pursuit, but we lost track of her. She was escorting someone to the infirmary, so the squad was either keeping her in here or lying in wait."

"But here's the big thing," Erin interjects. "We listened in on Ash talking to Roxley. They seemed to know who sent the digging machines. Not only that, but they talked like it was someone they were working with... at least until the attack happened."

"Right. They were going to try to negotiate with whoever it is. Roxley was skeptical, that's all we picked up about it... oh, except we tailed them a bit and found out where they're meeting. Ash asked a squad to keep watch near the abandoned storage room."

Stan stands up.

"Real serious charges you're making there. But I guess if we find Ash and Roxley talking to someone suspicious in the storeroom, that'll prove your story, won't it."

"You want to go now? We were just in a fight! You took quite a few blows, too!"

"Not to my legs. I can run just fine, and it sounds like we better get there in a hurry." He pauses. "But I can't bring the whole squad, not when we've got these troublemakers to watch."

"And we still don't know where Burgundy is," Erin points out. "She's going to want to know about this, too."

"Plus, we don't know how to get into the storeroom, short of going outside and using the hole," you add. "That's the main reason we didn't keep following them."

"Well, we've got an officer right here we can tell about it, even if she's a bit busy," Stan says. "And if the hole's the only way we know, the hole's how we get there. I'm more concerned about numbers. Think I could spare myself and one of my squad, but that's it."

"It would also be good to have some kind of plan, rather than just barging in there," Erin adds.

You decide to give that some thought.

"Okay," you say, mostly thinking aloud. "First off, what matters is that we have a witness. Someone who can report what happens there, and have their accusations taken seriously."

Stan folds his arms.

"I'm in charge of the squad that patrols the area around the brig. They don't give just anyone that kind of assignment, you know."

"That's a pretty big deal, but Ash is going to go after you hard if it's your word against his," Erin says.

"Let him."

"Then what we need to do is get you there so you can listen in, and get you out once you've heard enough. That's it. But we need to be ready to fight in case they realize someone's there."

"Seems pretty straightforward to me," Stan says. "We head to the docks, take a lifeboat over near the hole, listen in, get out. I'll bring one of my squad along, and fill in another on the details so they can pass it along to Eve. Question is, who'd be best for helping with this kind of job."

Stan thinks about this for a moment. Perhaps you can make suggestions about what sort of knight would be particularly helpful.

A good swimmer, of course. You have to move fast to get there and get away before the meeting concludes, and it's easy for things to go awry when you're in a rush. If the lifeboat capsizes or you have to scatter to escape, swimming will be important.

"You got any good swimmers on your squad? If we need to get away in a hurry, it'll be easiest if we've got someone who can handle themselves without the lifeboat."

Stan nods.

"Good thought. Mary Tenth, Colin! Over here, now."

Stan quickly explains things to two of his knights, and introduces you to Mary Tenth.

"I'm not that good at aquatic combat, but I can move fast in the water," she explains. "So if that's what you need, then yeah, I can do it."

"Then I guess we're as ready as we're going to be," Stan says. "Now we'd better hope they're still talking."

You make your way over to the docks. You don't need to be nearly as careful of patrols, given Stan's authority, but you still advance carefully in case you run into any more knights working for Ash.

And of course, when you reach the docks, there's a squad in front of the doors. Erin confirms they're one of Ash's.

"We can't risk a fight here," Stan says. "We don't have a numbers advantage, and it'll take too long. So, any ideas for how we get past 'em?"

Distraction. Got any object you don't miss?

"Easiest way is to get them looking somewhere else," you muse. "I could toss my slicer to make some noise... of course, then we're in even bigger trouble if we get in a fight..."

"Wouldn't get the whole squad's attention," Stan says. "A squad on patrol might check out a suspicious noise together for safety - in fact, we were chasing one down before we found you - but here their main goal is guarding the docks. They wouldn't all go unless it was something that sounded too big for one or two knights."

"Don't suppose any of you can make a greatrat call?" Erin asks sarcastically.

"I can barely make a regular rat call," Mary says. "So, no. Maybe we can squawk like a really big bird."

"I need ideas, not jokes," Stan says sternly.

"I've got an idea," says a voice behind you. "The acting commander asks why there's a squad guarding the door to the docks when we already have a perfectly good patrol on the barge."

Much to your surprise, Burgundy walks right past you. How long was she there?

She marches right up to the squad and asks very pointedly what they're doing there and who ordered them to take this position.

"Well, um, you see..." the leader says nervously. "Sergeant Ash said we were attacked, and whoever it was might go after the barge..."

"Without informing me," she says.

"It probably just slipped his mind?"

"Then why don't you go find him and give him a reminder," Burgundy says.

"Well, sir, I don't know where he is..."

"Then you'd best start looking now instead of running your mouth, hadn't you."

The entire group looks nervous, and you don't think they've even seen the rest of you yet. There's a tense pause before the leader nods, and the whole squad runs off.

"Bunch of cowards," Burgundy sighs. "Disciplining them all is going to be a real problem after we sort out this mess."

She turns back to you.

"So what's all this about, anyhow."

Stan salutes.

"Sir! I received a report from these two that Sergeant Ash is holding a suspicious meeting in the old storage room. Since that room is boarded up, we were going to take a lifeboat in order to investigate."

"I see," Burgundy says. "Go ahead, then. I'd go with you, but I've got a lot on my plate already."

You have more than a few questions about what she's been doing and how she got here, but there isn't really time. Stan leads you to a lifeboat, and you start rowing outside.

Before long, you can spot the hole. You stop the boat a good distance away, so as not to be spotted, and then start swimming closer. Mary easily takes a lead on the rest of you.

But when you arrive... you see Ash and Roxley through the hole, but no one else. They seem impatient.

"I think we're being stood up," Roxley mutters after a while. "So that's it. We're just screwed, then."

"They'll be here," Ash says confidently.

"It's been nearly a half hour!"

"I've waited longer before." He pauses. "In fact... I think they're just about to arrive."

You turn and look back out on the swamp, but you don't see any sign of someone approaching. So what does Ash see, then?

"Apologies for the delay," someone says. "We have other concerns that needed to be attended to."

You turn back, and there's a tall figure in a brown cloak standing in front of Ash and Roxley. How did they get there?

And what, exactly, are they discussing?

A swamphen imbalance.

"I don't suppose you're going to explain what those other matters are," Roxley grumbles.

"We don't have time to press the matter anyhow," Ash fires back. "I'll cut to the chase. Why did you send your digging machines out tonight, without any warning to me?"

The cloaked figure seems unmoved.

"I understand that swamphen flocks are very territorial," the stranger says. "And sometimes, when two flocks compete, the winning flock gains such a huge advantage that it chases out the losing flock entirely. Taking hold in their territory. Until another flock comes along and chases them out, of course."

Roxley seems annoyed.

"What are you getting at?" she asks.

"Right now, there are two flocks of humans in the swamp. The Bogknights and the Marshguards. If all goes well tonight, there will only be one flock; but as they'd still be hostile to us, we need them out of the way."

"I've been working on that!" Ash protests.

"We do not have the time to wait for your plans to succeed. This is not personal; we do appreciate the aid you have already offered us. It is simply that you taking command of the Bogknights is hardly our top priority."

"Wait! If you're attacking anyhow, I can use that! Give us a full-scale assault, and let me put on a show of stopping it!"

The cloaked figure suddenly seems confused.

"Five hundred machines is not a full-scale assault by your reckoning?"

"What do you mean?" Ash asks. "There was one attack by three machines, that's it. We've been on guard for more, but nobody's sounded the alarm..."

"You're not bothered by the fact that apparently they tried to launch a massive assault on us?" Roxley asks. "Because that's what I got out of that."

Five hundred? You'd surely have heard something if that many were already attacking. Something must have interfered.

The cloaked figure seems to have the same idea. They aren't even responding, but instead seem to be turning to leave. Which means, walking towards the hole in the wall you're watching through.

Stan gives you a glance. You can tell what it means - this is your one chance to capture the cloaked figure, who clearly knows quite a bit about what's going on. On the other hand, you have no idea what they're capable of, and you'd reveal yourselves to Ash and Roxley. No telling whose side they'd take at this point if a fight breaks out.

So. Do you go for it, or just run?

Capture the cloaked figure.

You give a nod. It's four on three, but you've got the element of surprise, and your potential opponents are hardly all on the same page.

You make the first move by tossing your slicer. The cloaked figure suddenly grabs it out of the air without much effort.

But their reflexes don't fare so well against Stan's tackle a moment later. That's what they get for showing off, you suppose.

"Well, that's it," Roxley says. "They found us. We're screwed."

"If you're that worried about being caught, help me with these troublemakers and I'll take you out of here," the cloaked figure says, wrestling with Stan. They dropped your slicer, so you pick that up; looks like you might have to fight all three after all.

"I don't plan on leaving, but I'm happy to resume our conversation once this is dealt with." Ash says, drawing his sword and advancing. "Roxley, could you get the door? I believe with the help of Amelia's squad, we should be able to take care of these intruders."

"You're really going for this."

"What other choice do we have at this point? Surrender?"

"All right, hang on."

Roxely heads for the door. Erin rushes to intercept her, but Roxley knocks her down almost effortlessly.

"So. You've turned on us now? How disappointing."

"Come on, Roxley," Erin groans, struggling to her feet. "You know as well as I do that Ash has completely lost it. You're better off cutting your losses at this point."

Meanwhile, Mary's trying to keep Ash away from Stan, who's still wrestling with the cloaked figure. He's holding on, but you think he's losing ground.

Time to think about where your slicer can do the most good.