Risible Adventures of Rita Arthurs

Chapter 13 ~ Searching the Swamps

  "Ugh! Where are those cursed goblins?!" Rita moaned as she was pulling out one of the Amberians who was drowning in the swamps. Despite their look, the swamps were quite a dangerous place to walk around let alone live. Rita already had to rescue her team about five times by now and they were nowhere near where the map indicated. Rita and her team were still merely at the North of the swamps while the goblin hideout was supposedly far South East. Just how much longer must I endure this? They are such a burden... if it was up to Rita – she would travel alone but since it was an entire lair they were talking about, she would have needed the extra people. At least if I were with someone like Kiera, I wouldn't need to pull her out and just laugh at how she drowned... Ellancelot probably would have been lost and Did would probably fall right through the swamps with her luggage Rita quietly laughed at the thought as she pressed onwards.

"Sir Arthur? Umm..." one of the Amethystines tapped on Rita's shoulder, "We may have a problem..."

"What is it?" Rita turned around lazily and noticed that there were fewer people following her.

"We have some people missing..." another Amethystine said nervously as she looked around cautiously.

"...You, Sapphirite" Rita turned towards the Sapphirite in her group.

"Yes, sir?" the Sapphirite straightened their back.

"Can you detect where they are and draw it on the map?" Rita extended her hand with the map.

"May I have a minute?" Rita nodded and the Sapphirite began to concentrate. After a few minutes, they finally opened their eyes and pointed at the map, leaving a blue mark on it behind, "They are here, sir."

Rita examined where the blue mark only to blink in surprise; they were at least half way through the swamp ahead of them. How did they get there so fast...? Something's not right here... Rita decided that they would need to carry on walking since the rest of their team mates were ahead of them anyway and since no one could leave the swamps currently, they were bound to meet them at some point.

Time passed but they were nowhere near the point they were supposed to be. Rita's map not only was showing where the goblins were but also where their current location was which was somewhere in the middle of the swamps. This swamp is not that large; why is this taking so long? Rita could not help but frown at the map.

"You there!" Rita turned to the Sapphirite, "Are you sure this thing is working properly?"

"W-why of course!" the Sapphirite seemed a bit offended as Rita kept frowning and turned forward again.

It was already night time when the map has shown that Rita and the others were only just three quarters down the map. It's like we keep going slower and slower... But our pace did not change! Rita was starting to be very suspicious of this and her team mates seemed to be disappearing one by one again. This is just like that incident in the forest... Is this the work of the Order again? the only thing which didn't add up was how the Order had anything to do with the goblins. Rita stopped. She was alone but she just realised something she should have ages ago – why did the goblins attack in the first place? The swamps are nowhere near Glenton and it didn't seem like they were that keen on attacking since most have fled leading them to...here!

Rita quickly spun around realising that this whole thing was a setup just as she found herself surrounded by goblins and figures in gold and black robes.

"I see my little pet did not rid the world from you" Chancellor Pansy menacingly stepped forward from behind the figures in robes, "You have gotten in our way far too many times, Arthurs."