The elves and their human companion descend from the hills into a soggy stretch of land crossed by rotting boardwalks and dotted with an occasional abandoned hut. Some have been uninhabited for years, while the owners of others have cleared out recently to avoid the current conflict. Or maybe they are now bolstering the militia or the undead ranks participating in it.
The riders dismount their ponies to lower their profile and decrease the weight load on the unreliable ground. Tric hands over Mesquite’s reins to Heledd and carefully picks the group’s way through the swamp, poking at each tussock in front of him with his bow before stepping onto it. Meanwhile, Heppa advises the others, who have never spent time in swamps, on the dangers to look out for in this environment. These include saurians who might steal halberds, as well as various undead partial to murky waters. When a ghast lurches out of some nearby reeds, Heppa is able to immediately identify the large, disgustingly bloated creature. As they step back in alarm, she warns Heledd and Endathalas that these mounds of putrid muscle like to chew on flesh, regardless of its state of decay. The rather academic analysis helps Heppa keep from being too afraid of the creature.
Further ahead, Tric spins around to see what the commotion is. “Keep your distance,” Tric calls out. “And save whatever poison knives you have,” he adds to Heledd. “Poison won’t work on this beast. They are poisonous themselves.” Heledd may not be able to throw straight anyway. She keeps her face steady, but Tric can see from her shaking hands that the ghast has unnerved her just like the undead down under South Tower did.
Heppa, Heledd, and Endathalass all back cautiously away from the creature, but Endathalas is the unlucky one in the end. His foot hits a patch of unstable ground, and the ghast catches him with one of its sets of long claws, pulling him into a tight embrace. Tric brings up his bow, but rather than nock an arrow in it, he uses it to sight his faerie fire. It’s probably a crime to use a Dunefolk weapon for magic, he reflects, but that does not stop him. With Endathalas in the firing zone, Tric tamps down how much energy he pours into the attack. Unfortunately, it is not enough for the bolts that do land on the ghast to burn through the moist layers of mud and ichor on its back.
At Heppa’s behest, the reeds around the ghast begin buffeting the undead creature. It turns its attention away from trying to bite the struggling elf in its arms and instead starts swatting at the reeds. Endathalas wriggles out of the ghast’s one-armed hold and scrambles out of the way. The reeds continue to whack at the ghast, but it is essentially a large sponge of swollen flesh. The plants are more an annoyance than a danger as it wades after its quarry. This time when the ghast snags Endathalas, it bites down quickly on his arm, piercing through the leather sleeve. Infection seeps into his bloodstream, and he screams at the pain. “Get it off me!” Endathalas shouts. The little scratches and singes the ghast has suffered so far begin to heal over.
Given the relative ineffectiveness of faerie fire on this moist opponent, Tric uses his bow for its intended purpose, peppering the ghast with arrows. Heledd has shaken off her fright enough to sling knives at the creature as well. The ghast makes a satisfying pincushion. As arrow after arrow slams into it, the creature groans, releasing Endathalas from its jaws. The scout splashes down into the muck, and Tric just keeps shooting, glad now of the lessened risk of hitting his friend. Heppa rushes in to grab Endathalas and pull him completely out of harm’s way.
Master undead hunter that he is, Tric makes sure that the ghast will never be getting up again. Meanwhile, Heppa assures Endathalas that she has treated this exact type of injury in the past. From some pointed questions and a bit of prodding, she ascertains that his wounds are infected from the ghast’s slobber. Thanks to the medical lessons she learned in the Heart Mountains working on Tric and Ash, she swiftly applies the necessary poultices to begin the healing process. She hurries that along with her magic, but some of these bites are quite deep and will need time to heal completely. As she works, she tells her audience everything she knows about ghasts.
Tric slips off a little ways, having noticed an abandoned hovel made of piled rocks. It is on its own little island, which provides some protection, at least from surface-level threats. Tric deems it safe enough for his purposes. Everyone else is still outside as he finishes his interior inspection, so no one sees him secure a silvery gray ribbon within. Tric figures this is a good place to bring Kachen in, since they can just claim they were meeting him here. We are meeting him here, he tells himself.
The flash of light that ensues is so bright it leaves Tric momentarily blind. When his vision clears, Kachen is standing in the small room. He holds his staff with his left hand, while with the right he secures his satchel strap and a baldrick against his chest. The human mage looks well enough, but wisps of smoke are coming off the silvery wood in his hand. “This seemed suitable and out of sight,” Tric says, as Kachen takes in his surroundings. “It’s good to see you!” he adds enthusiastically.
“Yes, it is good to see you as well,” Kachen replies. Then he notices the smoke and where it is coming from. He looks down at his staff in dismay and begins gliding his hands along it to sense the damage.
Tric leans in closer and quietly tells him, “Heledd is also here. We didn’t ask her to come to the battle, but she essentially stowed away with the human army. We thought it better that she join our group than stay out there.”
Bent over his staff as he is, Kachen conceals from Tric the concern that ripples across his features at that news. He delays responding, concentrating instead on arcanely mending the magical damage the implement suffered.
“Why don’t you wait in here for a couple minutes,” Tric goes on. “Do you want me to send Heledd in? You’re going to have to talk to her at some point.”
“It would be better for that to be when we are not alone,” Kachen replies.
Tric is confused by that response. He had thought those two were close. “So you don’t want to be alone? Okay. I can send her and Heppa in. Heppa will want to check on you, I’m sure.”
“Is there a reason that you have summoned me to this hut and you don’t want me to leave it?” Kachen asks, also confused now. He has come ready for a confrontation, with not just his staff but also Gaenyn’s sword at his hip.
“No, no, you can leave the hut, it’s just that there’s another elf among our companions. He was already injured. He might want to head back, and that would just be one less thing we have to explain.”
“Ah, you wish to get rid of him. Carry on.”