About eight hours of floating pass before a wall of fog stands tall above our wooden raft; Mago had ordered the raft’s construction and it decently fit the party of eight. I stare in awe at the almost dreamlike mist that crawls over the water’s surface. Looking up, it rises about twenty feet before trailing off like smoke.

I must have had quite the worried expression on my face because Mago began to pat my shoulder and spoke reassuringly, “This is Abra’s last chance to turn back. Once we enter, it would be more dangerous to turn back than it would be to press forward.”

I gulp and steel my nerves. We’d already made it this far. I was surrounded by able hunters and Gebo and the others had made this run several times in the past so my company was the best it could be given the circumstances.

I give Mago my best smile and point my palms outward. Focusing my consciousness on my hands, I send mana to the tips of my fingers. I let it gather briefly before twisting my hands clockwise and extend my will upon the air. The moment the feeling of weightlessness overtakes my hands, I let forth the gathered energy and send it forward in an expanding spiral towards the mist. A corkscrew tears through the thick fog creating a tunnel about three yards deep. Rouk and Daru grab their paddles and soon we find ourselves eaten by the haze. Gando raises a staff and two balls of light appear by his side to serve as our lanterns. I repeat my magic again and bore us another tunnel as the previous swallows the path behind.

The first leg through the fog was simple enough. There was scant wildlife in the area and if there were, they would easily be scared off. I was to keep opening us a hole straight forward while Gando lit the way. The others would paddle us forward at a medium pace in shifts. According to Gebo, we would reach the first checkpoint by nightfall.

It was the way after that we would need Tuuk’s ears and Jambo’s jump height. The water would be infested with crocodiles so our best way through would be Tuuk serving as lookout and Jambo leaping high to make sure we were heading the right way, or so Gebo said.

Two hours pass, and my fingers begin to go numb. Immediately I cut the magic and stumble forward. I didn’t realize it, but my knees had locked after standing for so long, but luckily Mago catches me.

“I’m fine, really. I just need a break to shake out my hands.” I check my fingers over and find that they’re still there with no damage. I try to reassure him with gasping breaths, “Normally, hah…I can do this sort of thing for longer but...hah, the humidity’s getting to me.”

“Do not underestimate the swamp Abra. Rest as much as you need,” replies Mago.

I take a seat and Gando cuts his light. The rowers likewise sit adjacent to me.

Tuuk stands. Normally he’d be one of the hardest to spot in the swamp, but his dark hues accentuate him as a void in the mist—a shadow darker than the rest. “It’s my turn now, you all rest,” he says before closing his eyes and stands still as a statue. At the sides of Tuuk’s head, two reverberating circles form and let out a low hum.

So that’s how frogs hear, I think as I watch curiously.

Several moments pass before Tuuk’s ‘ears’ stop vibrating. Opening his eyes he says, “There’s a large object coming from where we entered, possibly a croc. It looks like it’s caught our scent but is coming slowly. I don’t think it will get closer any time soon. About two hundred feet west there’s about five crocs eating something, but they have not noticed us. There’s suckers to the southeast but they too are too far to notice. Aside from a few trees, there should not be hurdles to our first checkpoint.”

“Great work as always,” says Mago, “for now let’s give our tired Abra and the rowers one hour rest. We will move forward after. Tuuk keep hearing in ten minute gaps to make sure.”

“Rrribit,” he croaks with a salute.

~~~

By the time my gusts reveal the roots of trees, the fog was quickly fading to dim shades of grays and blacks. From Tuuk’s sonar, the large figure he heard earlier was still following. Based on the ripples of the waves alone, he estimated it to be about as thick as a tree trunk and over thirty feet long. He also reported no immediate dangers on the mangrove island but found packs of crocodiles were swimming nearby, so sleeping in shifts was advised.

My shoulders hang and my head pounds with a migraine. I feel like I’d just ran a marathon—which, constantly casting magic probably counted as. Gando, who just had to focus on gathering his mana in one spot, looks unfazed.

The rest get to work anchoring our wooden raft and preparing bedding. Rouk’s burly frame dives below the water, rope in hand, and our boat jerks to the side as the rope pulls taut. Swimming back up, he gesticulates with his hands that he tied the boat. Daru and Gando start unpacking their things to reveal leaf packets of dried meat and crickets. Mago and Gebo jump onto the mangrove cluster and begin hacking away at the soft branches and leaves. Apparently that would serve as our bedding for the night. Jambo dives straight off the edge and swims away.

Alarmed, I ask Tuuk, “Uhm, where’s he going?”

“Jambo will do what he does best. Jump.”

No sooner than he replied did I hear a loud boom resonate from beyond my vision. Looking that way, I am met with white blur before being splashed in the face with swamp water.

“Blegh! Pffpfft!” I exclaim as I spit out a clump of moss from my mouth.

The white frog Jambo emerges from the water with an apologetic look, “Sorry Abra. I didn’t think you’d be so close to the edge.”

“SO WHERE ARE WE?” Tuuk shouts. A pained expression streaks across his face as he cups his ears.

“This is the right landmark. We just need to circle about halfway around and then the second group of trees should be a few hours straight ahead.”

“That is good to hear,” Mago’s unseen voice rings from the trees, “come up here and help Mago and Gebo get these leaves.”

“Rrribit.”

I check on Tuuk who appears to have recovered from Jambo’s outburst. “Are you okay?”

Still grimacing, he replies, “Tuuk is fine, but now you see what Tuuk means about Jambo. Not subtle, always loud.

”About that, aren’t we just going to attract more things toward us if we’re that loud?”

“Normal noise yes, but with Jambo no. His tallest jumps mimic the roar of a mighty dragon.”

At the mention of the legendary fire breathing beast, I ask curiously, “Dragons? You have those around here? I’d never heard of anyone mentioning dragons here.”

“Well we do, but you would not be able to find one nearby. They reside at the swamp shallows far east. Dragons are very dangerous. As the elders say, ‘in muddy waters, dragons make fools of frogs’.”

Wanting to know more, I begin to open my mouth until the boat tilts dangerously to the side. Tuuk’s slimy body slams against my soaked clothes in a resounding SLAP. Barely able to hold our bearings, me and Tuuk help each other to our feet.

Assessing our situation, Daru and Gando have fallen into the water, but the food still appears to be dry. Rouk is nowhere to be found, and from the edge of the tree line Jambo and Mago aim their spears toward the water. Following their intense gazes, I find flashes of dark orange entangled in what appear to be twisting branches. No, not branches. Summoning a light, I more clearly see Gebo being strangled by a wood patterned snake.

Looking to Mago, I shout, “What happened!?”

“Wood pythons!” he shouts back. “There were some laying in wait in the trees.”

Tuuk lets out a distressed croak, “Tuuk…Tuuk swears there was nothing there!”

Mago turns to him, “It is fine Tuuk. Those that can stand, ready your spears and aim for the snake’s head. Do not throw at Gebo, you will pierce him too! There should be three and Rouk is squeezing them as we speak. Be patient, and aim true.”

Panicking, my first thought is to send off a thin vacuum of air to cut through the snake, but there’s no guarantees I won’t cut through Gebo as well. Fire and heat likewise would be bad ideas. Earth magic is arguably my worst attribute.

Gebo lets out strangled groans as he flails about with one free arm, while the other pushes against the python’s tight grip. The water is a mess of foam and bubbles that it’s hard to tell if Gebo was being strangled by one snake or many.

As the stress of the situation renders me incapable of doing anything but watch, two square snake maws burst from the water. A dark green mass follows shortly after, Rouk, who is holding their jaws away from his face by pressing on their underside with his webbed hands and locking their necks between his biceps, one snake each.

“ROUUUUUUUK,” he bellows, and four spears find their marks—two on each snake—and the heads go limp.

Mago dives into the water to retrieve his spear. He relays to the rest of us, “Do not forget! Snakes have two souls. One to control the head, and the other to control the body.”

More panic settles into me as I realize that indeed, the mass of bodies remained tightly bound to the now blue Gebo. His eyes were bulging from their sockets and his free arm had gone limp. The unseen surviving snake circles around the mangrove patch, taking Gebo with him.

Mago, Jambo, and Rouk swim after it. Gando and Daru hurriedly pull at the ropes to unanchor the raft from the roots. Tuuk’s ears vibrate as he mutters, “The big croc is coming…” Repeating himself but louder he shouts, “THE BIG CROC IS COMING!”

Sure enough a large silhouette darts in the direction of the strangled Gebo and the others. Even with my light I’m only able to highlight about five feet of the silhouette at a time, but I could easily tell it was large. Browns and mossy greens propel themselves in a blur before everyone on the raft is knocked to their feet as the creature rams itself against the mangrove.

Splashes are heard in the distance. Croaks of undiscernible origin ring out in pain and despair—then silence. I fear the worst had happened to the Grouak’s ahead. The crocodilian silhouette then turns towards the direction of the boat, and I send for all the mana I can muster to my hand. Sparks sputter and coalesce until I hold a mote of white flame. The fear and adrenaline numb the pain of casting untamed power straight from my hand.

My flame shines bright and illuminates a large orange snout on the unknown creature. The snout grows arms and legs and lets out a roar.

“KRAAAA! Kigo has saved the Papa Gebo from the jaws of death! Therefore, as set by tribal custom, Kigo is an adult!”