Your name, out here at least, is Legs. It’s not one you care for, but then, it’s not like you cared for your old name either.
After your failed ambush, you had to swim back to shore and meet up with the rest of your squad. Unfortunately, your squad leader was not among them, and as he was the last one you saw up there before getting shoved off the barge, you had to assume he’s been captured.
Shorty is also unaccounted for, but Greeneye said she saw him slip onto the barge. So he’ll either have gotten himself found like the clumsy oaf he is, or he’ll be running around getting in over his head on a rescue mission.
And Rider told you to find out just what the two of them are doing, and to bring them back if feasible. You’re the most senior remaining member on the squad, after all. This wouldn’t be so bad if you had the rest of the squad with you, but Rider also insisted that this is a clear sign you’re all out of practice from the rain. So, everyone else has had to go into immediate remedial training.
Hell, you’d be happy just to have Greeneye here to navigate. You took a wrong turn somewhere and you’ve got no idea where the Bogknight base is. You’ve got half a mind to just wait out the night until someone finds you in the morning, but then you’d be looking at either another lecture from Rider or the inside of a cell, depending on who found you.
And, of course, it’s not safe to stay out in the swamp at night. You can already see something moving in the water nearby, and you have no intention of sticking around long enough to find out what it is. You paddle away as fast as you can, not so much heading in any particular direction as just looking for the nearest walkway.
When you find one, you climb on immediately. A few seconds later, you hear a loud chomping sound, and look back to find your raft in pieces.
Gods, you hate this swamp.
At least you’re near what passes for civilization around here. The walkways don’t build themselves, after all. You take a closer look at the path beneath your feet; it doesn’t look like it’s one strong breeze away from falling apart, so this must be Bogknight territory.
Suddenly, you hear footsteps approaching. Someone on night patrol, no doubt. You’d better make a move fast if you don’t want to get spotted.
Suggestions:
Climb down and hang onto the underside of the walkway
Leave something for them to trip on
Climb a tree.
Author’s Note:
One of the earliest ideas to hit me after I started this adventure was that the Marshguards wouldn’t use their old names. This actually happened before a suggestion named Legs.
The first post with a nickname is Shorty’s introduction, but this is the first one where we really see how standard this is.
Rider is also a name that we’ll be hearing a lot more.