Shlop, shlop, shlup went the muck beneath my boots.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck” went the insides of my head.

I hate the swamp. I hate it here so much. I wanna puke, I–what was that!?

…

Nothing. Nothing at all. Maybe just a squishy spider. Good. Spiders are good. They aren’t, but that’s relative here, I guess. Then again–

“Rye?”

“GAHFUCK!” I nearly jumped out of my armor, turning towards the hand Vinesse had put on my shoulder. “Y–yes?”

“Are we still on the right path?”

“O-oh, uh. I think?” That didn’t make her look all that convinced. “We’re on a path, believe it or not. We’ve passed the pillar. Then the first arch. After the second arch we should see it. Ma’am.”

“How long?” she asked.

It was a normal enough question, but with an undertone of impatience, of unease. Not just from her, or me, though maybe I was just too mired in my own head to think any other way.

“Seven minutes?” I hedged. Her eyebrows didn’t exactly arc up, but she looked at me questioningly. “L–look, we get there when we get there. Believe me, I’m trying to go down the quickest path. But everything looks different. T–the last time I walked through here, I didn’t even have bright light, for gods’ sake!”

My breathing was becoming quicker again as those wretched memories came alive like liquid mud, worming their way out of their leaky box and pulling out my footing from under me.

There’s a spider on my face, a sticky, sticky spider on my face.

Die! Die! DIE! DIE! LET GO ALREADY!

Beware of fish.

Someone is trying to kill me.

Everything was dark and it was smothering. The smell, horrible. The taste, worse. The sounds. The sounds.

“Well, that sounds like it was quite the poor choice, eh?” Ritz’s voice shook me awake, back in the present, where the swamp only loomed with a promise of threats, not yet daring to pull through. Waiting.

“Y–yeah. It was. Haha.” People were looking at each other with a mix of expressions. “I, d–don’t worry! No worries, I can get you all to the chapel. That part is easy. All we’ve got on the way there are spiders. Even I could take them, and I had half a sword back then!”

Vinesse looked mildly less unconvinced. “Ritz, report.”

“I hear a lot, ma’am. Nothing big though. Just a few spiders. And – oh. Wait.” He let his gaze wander the swamp, before settling on a tree some distance ahead. “Something’s got a big heartbeat roughly fifty paces in that direction.”

Vinesse nodded while I was just left to wonder how the hell he could even hear that far. He wasn’t a Bekki. He didn’t have the ears. Or the teeth. Or the claws.

Actually, he’s always wearing gloves. And his weird leather… padded coif-thing around his head. Could it be?

“Alright. We steer clear of that. Ears and eyes, people.”

We walked on a bit further ahead, getting a whole fifty or so steps before the horror of the swamp started to intrude on my mind again.

No. Stop. Not now. I need to, to… meditate. Breathe? Drops in the ocean.

Fear knows me not.

Pain knows me– what was that!? Spider? Fish? Arrow? Ambush? Alarm?

It’s not helping help. Something else. Distraction.

“Ritz?”

“Yep?”

“How can you hear a heartbeat from forty feet away?”

I couldn’t quite take my eyes off the front, half through distrust of the place, half due to the need to be a good guide.

“Well, it’s magic. Got me a boon some time ago. It’s pretty neat, lemme show you.”

A moment later, the sound of wind licked my ears, brushing through twiggy trees and rustling wood against wood as if I were all the way up there. “Huh” I thought, before the rest of the swamp’s sounds swarmed my head. The sloshing of our boots turned unbearably loud. Heartbeats quaking the earth. And the spiders. Chittering, chattering, like a language all over. Tip-tip-tapping. Scraping above. A silent thing, something there. Husky, raspy breathing. Horrid.

I immediately collapsed to my knees and threw up.

Dizzy. Shit. Ugh.

When I looked back up, Vinesse was yelling something at Ritz in the background. Avice was at my side, and Mog too.

“…ye. Rye!”

Dizzy. Everything’s sideways.

Then Vinesse showed up, a sufficiently cowed troublemaker in tow. She nodded him towards me, and he knelt down, looking me straight in the eye.

“Ah, I… sorry. Sorry Rye. I didn’t mean for it to do… that. The sound, you see, I can make it louder or quieter in places. But, well, I kinda forgot that I can’t hear if it’s too loud for you. Sorry, again. Really, I am.”

I just looked at him, my mind still half stunned, half surprised. Too much to really think.

“A… a…” I tried to say, but even my own words felt tilted. “Above.”

Everyone looked up. Just in time to witness the sickly pale form of some five-legged abomination make its last steps down from between the trees towering above. It’s torso in the middle turned to face us and it looked like a person, wrapped in blankets of skin pulled taught. Eight eyes stared at nothing in particular and when it opened its mouth to scream, the world turned fuzzy once again.

I held my ears closed, the sound coming in flaying waves, pulling at my skin, tearing at eyes and hair. The smell of iron dripped down my nose as I squirmed my way through the mud behind the nearest tree, though it didn’t help much.

The rest of the group wasn’t faring all that well either. Vinesse and Avice clutched their heads, while Moggen was frantically trying to swipe at the creature while wobbling on unsteady feet. It was close, but every time I thought he had it, it simply bobbed up like a puppet attached with unseen strings.

Gotta do something. Throw my sword. Climb a tree, hit it with my shield. Ugh, this fucking sound!

Ritz yelled something and stood up, pulling Vinesse close to him. I didn’t hear what either were saying, but she pulled Avice close as well.

I took a rock and threw it at the creature. It missed.

The group arrived at Moggen, who almost immediately stopped swinging. The monster redoubled its efforts to scream the four people so conveniently gathered together to death, but they fought back, somehow unbothered by it. Spears poked at its body, missing by mere inches at first. But the monster simply lifted itself higher and continued the barrage. I took another rock and threw it at the pale manspider thing.

Hit! Yes!

It turned to look at me, a single eye wincing closed and trailing yellow ichor. The waterfall of screams subsided, and I heard a high-pitched chitter, before the thing opened its mouth towards me. I saw and felt the air flow and turn like water in a narrow cone.

Ah shit.

I yanked up my shield, hoping against reason that it would stop it. The sturdy wood did, somewhat, as all the remaining dried paint on the front side was torn off. The air had a weight to it, and I was pushed back to my knees before the attack abruptly stopped.

We don’t have bows. No bolts, nor arrows, not a sling. We can’t kill it and it can just yell us dead. What do we, do what do we do?

“Vinesse, what now?” I yelled but could barely hear my own voice. I was only bleeding mildly out of my ears.

But as I peeked over my great shield, I saw that the battle was already over. The tip of a spear’s blade peeked out of the back of the manspider’s head, the creature hanging stiffly, its strings cut. My gaze went to it, then to Avice, who was already attempting to retrieve her weapon.

Holy grug. Avice killed it. And everyone’s alive. It’s ok, we’re all ok. Gods, that was… ugh. Swamps. Never again.

I waved at them as the thing remained completely still roundabout ten feet above our heads. Vinesse looked like she was yelling something, but I couldn’t hear anything she was saying. We gathered together, and suddenly the sound was back, albeit muffled. I looked into the round, and everyone was somewhat shook, somewhat wounded, but in general doing alright. Ritz was pale and absolutely drenched in sweat.

“Anyone wounded?” Vinesse asked.

There were a bunch of ‘yeps’ and ‘yeahs’ all around. The screaming did a number on everyone’s ears. Avice was bleeding from her eyes and as she wiped away a bloody tear, she looked at it cross-eyed before unscrewing one of her flasks and downing it in its entirety.

“Alright. Light check.” She said.

“Thirty-four-ten” said Avice.

Moggen had the most of us. “Fifty-six-sixteen.”

“Uh, me? Thirty-two dim, nine bright.” I said. “So that’s like, one foot of bright light, and maybe one or two dim?”

“I’m at… thirty-five-ten.” Ritz said tiredly and sighed. “Sorry. If I had told everyone about my magic, I could’ve covered you if we had huddled close together.”

Silence reigned, an awkward one, but also relaxing, gentle on the ears.

Vinesse was the first to speak up. “You are… not wrong. However…” she let her eyes glide across the round “… as with all magic, learned or acquired, it is best to keep your cards hidden.”

Ritz nodded. “I’d still rather reveal what I can and cannot do right here and now. It’s for the best of us all.”

No one really had anything to say against it. And there were most likely scant few ears listening in on a conversation in the middle of the swamp. We were safe, for now.

And then Ritz began stripping.

“Uhhh.” I said as he shed part of his gambeson and went to work on the tunic below. Avice covered her eyes while Vinesse and Moggen looked on with sharp interest. I couldn’t exactly withhold mine and the decision to look away was very neatly undermined by constantly sneaking peeks back at his exposing chest.

He looks to be doing… well. Not all that corpselike. Stringy muscles. A healthy skin tone. Good for him.

Then, he pulled the last of his fabric over his shoulder and exposed his left side. I stared at it in full now, a spiraling array of symbols. They covered his entire left side, twisting over torso and back, carved into his skin, flesh and deeper. As if the writing had eaten into him. The wounds still glowed lightly in tones of pink and red, as if they never healed.

“Magic.” He said, half proud, half ashamed. “Makes sounds louder or quieter in a place I choose. It’s easy up close, but gets harder the further away that position is.”

Vinesse took in a sharp breath of air. There was conflict written on her face. She had to have known about it. Of course she did, that’s why she constantly put him on observation duty. But judging by that look, she never saw what it actually looked like.

“I know what you’re all thinking. Yes, it cost me more than the burnsalve. Yes, I’ve had it for a while. No, I don’t know the full extent of what I can do with it. And no, I regret nothing. Ladies love scars.”

There was quiet again, as he slowly put his arm back through his padded armor and wordlessly closed it up.

“You never told me your sigil was that large.” Vinesse eventually said. “A lot of power. But demanding. Draining. I hope you’ve learned a bit more how that immense power can be put to use. Responsibly. Remember, you’re not cast-rated”

“I’d hope not.” He said and turned a worried glance downwards. “And sorry, again, for that. I… well, I was kind of hoping to reveal it in a different way. Y’know, maybe just magnify the sound of a fart or Moggen snoring by a hundred.”

That got a few of us to chuckle, our laughs goading him to double down on it. “Seriously, you could cut wood with it even on good days.”

“I do not snore.” Mog said between the joking and laughing, indignant.

“Alright then. Boon check.” Vinesse said. “If you don’t want to reveal yours, just say as much. Ritz was first, and I shall go second. As you know, I have magic. But it is learned magic. The boon I have chosen was for my eyes.”

She pointed at them, a deep yellow staring at each of us in turn with two knife-like slits.

“These eyes are of a certain Bekki heritage. I can see in dim light as if it were bright. No movement is too small to go unnoticed.”

She turned to Moggen, and he nodded. “I have a moderate magical rune. It creates vines around my body. They grasp whatever’s close. With them, I can hold my ground twice as well. They also make for good climbing implements.”

Eyes fell on me, and I immediately felt a lot less useful than I was already feeling. “I… I’ve got nothing. Trading with souls, with my own soul, is taboo. It’s bad.”

“It isn’t that bad.” Moggen spoke up.

“Easy for you to say.”

“Yes. I’ve done it, after all.”

I stomped my foot. “Glom’s a toad!”

“And?”

“She’s a, a… it’s wrong.”

“Rye.” Vinesse said, carefully. “Are you afraid of making a pact?”

I stared at her without blinking for an odd moment. That was the crux of the matter, of course. I feared what I didn’t understand. If I sold my soul, who was to say that I wasn’t losing memory, losing what made me me? What if I lost my dreams? What if I lost my family?

What if I lost Sam?

No. Not her. Not the good memories.

I slowly nodded and that seemed to get everyone to relent from pestering me any further.

“Lastly, Avice.” She said and all eyes were on the masked lady. She too was silent for a moment.

“I… am possessed of a boon. But I wish not to divulge anything further.” Surprisingly, no one took any issue with that. But then, she raised her voice once more. “What about curses? I… heard those with boons are cursed. In a manner of speaking.”

That got the atmosphere to once again turn heavy and slightly sour.

“Curses?” I asked.

Avice nodded. “Yes. A boon is paid for in soul, but the power comes with a curse. So I’ve heard.”

That sounds horrible. I am never getting a boon. Ever. But then again, it could help. And it could give me magic…

“There will be no talk of curse mumbo-jumbo.” Vinesse said dismissively. “They exist, but they are even better kept hidden.”

And that was the end of that discussion.

“Yep. Well, sitting around, talking magic and whatnot is all fine and dandy, but we best get going. We’ve got some miracle water to find.” Said Ritz.

That was also the first I’d heard of it, our goal. Then again, there were many eyes and ears in the temple. With the recent rush for treasure beneath it in the catacombs, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone was inspired to do bad and worse should they hear we were going after… well, any kind of valuable stuff really.

I saw what the burnsalve did. That stuff is magical. And magic is power. But so is endurance. And armor. And a good, sturdy shield.

I’d still not count my chances highly if I had to fight against Ritz. He probably doesn’t realize how damn scary the way he used his magic was.

“Moving on, Avice?” Vinesse said and my dear three-handed friend perked up nervously. “Good throw. More like that and we’ll get that healing water to Krah in no time.”

Avice nervously scratched her chin. Behind the side of her stone-faced mask, she was half embarrassed, half beaming.

Good for her. But now I really want to know what boon she picked. Does it have to do with her spear? With her footing? Some sort of magic I can’t see? Is it the ‘water’ she’s been drinking?

Maybe she can make magical potions.

I sighed as we all got up and got ready to move on out.

No use thinking in circles. If she wants to reveal it, she’ll do so. If not, well, it isn’t the end of the world. Incessantly poking around would be rude as well. And I’m not rude. I’m a good egg.

With that, we continued on the short trek to the sunken chapel.

“Man, what happened to this place? Did a giant lean against it or why is it all kinds of shifted and tilty?”

Ritz was right. With our light, much of its insides were revealed, though it only showed further how much it had decayed. The building was slanted forwards and to the left, sinking into the swampy foundation. The wooden pews were strewn in half-disarray, half forgotten orderliness. And as before, there were people, corpses rather, sitting motionless and dotting the building with an eerie gloom.

“Let’s stay together. We can return to loot another time.” Vinesse said, but no one thought it was a good idea to loot a temple. It was a very bad idea, but instead of saying anything, the air simply took on a ghastly chill.

We walked down the middle between two rows of wooden benches. Weapons were readied, our leader’s eyes focused on things beyond our sight, and I could make out the faint sound of indistinct chatter coming from Ritz’s direction. He fumbled with one hand in the air for a bit. It looked kind of like he was pinching it closer or pushing it further away in parts.

“Nothing here, ma’am.” He finally said, “Nothing living at least. It’s all outside.”

“Concerning. Where exactly is this healing water you speak of?” Moggen asked Vinesse.

“Somewhere. Look for anything hidden. Latches, levers, chests, loose tiles.”

We searched for a while, always staying within close distance to another. We progressed further and further forwards, the ground getting muddier, the pews less and less whole until they were swallowed by the deep tarry muck.

“It’s not here.” Moggen said, pointing out the obvious.

“Would be nice to know what it exactly looks like.” Said Ritz.

I’d be inclined to agree, not wanting to wade further into the mud. Like, really, really not wanting to do that. But as always, my luck didn’t turn out all that great.

“It’s at the deep end.” Said Vinesse. “Has to be. There’s an altar, or something of the sorts. Any volunteers?”

She looked at me and Moggen. I shrunk together, but he raised a good point about armor, sinking and whatnot. Avice quietly stood aside, unsuspiciously avoiding eye contact.

Then Ritz spoke up. “I’ll go. If it’s really deep, I can swim.”

“No.” Vinesse said. “You are on observation duty. I will go.”

Moggen and Ritz looked ready to protest, but she stopped them before they could utter a word.

She’s going. She’s really going to walk all the way down there. The chapel is so sunken on that end, the roof almost touches the ground.

But she seemed resolved. “U-um. Vinesse? Ma’am?” I sheepishly took off my ring and handed it to her. “Here. In case you drown. Also, beware of fish.” No one really seemed to understand what I meant by it. Except for Vinesse.

She didn’t say anything of course, simply inspecting the ring before putting it on. Then, she walked forward, testing the ground before her with her staff. We all watched as she sunk from her ankles to her calves, then to her knees, then struggled forwards as she sunk past her hips.

The boys looked absolutely ready to jump in for her. Which, well, Ritz I could understand, but Mog? Is he oathsworn, is he related to her?

As the water reached her belly-button, I suddenly understood that conflicted look on his face. The readied hand on his sword. The unrest in his legs.

He’s worried. He… he likes her. Love? I think he loves her. Holy grug, she’s got two of our boys pining for her. That’s, that’s… one-hundred percent of all boys here!

But she kept on going, the water-sludge-muck rising. To her chest. Above her shoulders. The sloshing of mud filled the air, and no one said a word, as if waiting for the worst to happen.

Then she stopped. She felt around in the water for a bit, then dove under. All we saw was the tip of her copper pole sticking out of the mud.

Seconds passed. Horrible seconds. They felt like someone took minutes and hours and smashed them together into an unholy mess of indefinite tension.

PleaseNoFish.

“That’s it, I’m going in.” Mog said, but Ritz held him back. They shared a look, but even I could see that Ritz’ trust was being tested.

Then, a bubble. And a head, surfacing from the water. Vinesse spat out globs of dirt and algae before blindly wading towards us.

“Here! Over here! This way!” I yelled and a few others joined in.

She reached the shallow parts and significantly sped up, copper staff in one hand, a gunk-covered mess of something in her other.

She reached us without running into any of the pews and we all cheered. Moggen and Ritz simultaneously offered her a handkerchief, which she gladly took before setting her things down and wiping her face.

She was filthy. Horrible. Every inch stuck with green, brown and blank gunk. Her pretty hair was oozing with the stuff.

She’s gonna have such a problem getting that out again. But at least nothing worse happened. Thank the gods.

“Avice? A water flask please.”

“B–but it’s drinking water.” She stammered, taking another swig as if to prove it.

“I didn’t ask for buts. I asked for water.” She blinked her eyes open but reflexively shut them again.

Avice reluctantly parted with her flask and looked near tears as Vinesse poured out half the contents on her face to wash her eyes, and half on the ground as she still couldn’t quite keep them open.

Ok, that water has to be something special. Is it spiked with… stuff? Stuff like… banana-sugar? Or some kind of berry? Or–

“Ah, shit.” Ritz swore, before turning to our leader. “We’ve got people outside, walking towards us. Close.”

“How many?”

“Twelve– no wait, thirteen. Thirteen people. Moderately heavy. I hear chainmail. And furs. And people shushing each other.”

The way everyone tensed up, especially Vinesse and Moggen, only further reinforced my fears. We were being ambushed. And as I looked out the thick blurry windows, I noticed glowing things sneaking alongside outside of them.

Everyone readied their weapons and faced towards the exit, walking forward until we had more solid footing. Avice downed a whole two flasks of water and was starting on her third when a horrid voice boomed out from the entryway.

“Well, looky ‘ere. It’s the puppit, an’ her motley crew. What a coincidence.”