Put back together

44. Through the swamp

Silence streched over the four of them when Logan had finished.

"You make that sound so easy," Roman said and his voice sounded weirdly hollow.

"I'm fully aware that it's not but right now it's our best chance. Besides, even if Patton and I are only two of about eight I believe there's plenty of magical power between the two of us. We just have to figure out how to use it then we could use it to our advantage."

Logan studied Patton's and Roman's faces. He wasn't good at reading people but he wanted to know if they trusted him with this.

Patton looked unsure, scared even, but he nodded slowly.

Roman was biting his lower lip.

"Alright," he finally said with a sigh. "Let's just hope we won't have to do that and that we'll just have to convince father. But that shouldn't be to hard once he sees you two glow."

"How long should the journey back to Sallerow take?" Patton asked.

"Not longer than the journey here if all goes well. But we'll have to go through a swamp and soon. If we keep a good pace most likely even today," Logan pointed at the Heratc swamp on the map. "But there should be marked paths so it's significantly less dangerous than the Cursed Islands."

"Then let's get going," Roman said and stood up.

They packed quickly having unpacked barely anything in the first place. They still had a lot of food too (one thing they could thank Virgil for if they ever saw him again) but Roman insisted on buying a loaf of bread from a small bakery.
Logan noticed the distant look in Patton's eyes as they stood in the small shop but decided not to mention it.
He missed the library too.

Instead he took Patton's hand in his own once they had left the village behind.
Emotions were complicated but he hoped that the marks would help somewhat.
Patton shot him a small smile so Logan assumed that it was working.

The walk was rather uneventful to Logan's surprise.
Not once did they spot soldiers in the towns and villages they passed through or in the distance behind them.

It was actually quite nice.

Terona was a beautiful country with fascinating flora and fauna, wonderful architecture and interesting sights.
Compared to the dull and scary hike through the cursed forest walking without having to fear for once life was great.

Logan hoped that they'd be able to walk like this for as long as possible.

It was early in the afternoon when they caught sight of the swamp in the distance and about an hour later they reached it.

There were wooden footbridges through the whole swamp and signs to keep travelers from getting lost. There were also a few warning signs not to fall for fairy lights, pixies trying to lure humans into the swamp or kelpie that might be found.

The water around them was almost black and smelt foul. The trees reminded Logan of the ones on the Cursed Islands in how they seemed too dark and old.

"I don't like this place," Patton mumbled.

"Me neither," Roman swatted a fly away.

"I don't think anyone would like a place like this," Logan agreed even if part of him was fascinated by it. He still didn't want to stay here longer than necessary.
Or go in the water.

For a moment he thought he saw movement just next to the footbridge in the dark water.
It was still weird just how much he could see now but even he couldn't tell just what had moved there. It had seemed too big for a fish.
He decided not to mention it.
Whatever it was likely wasn't hostile and he didn't want to cause Patton and Roman any unnecessary worries.

The deeper they got into the swamp the mistier it got.
At some point Roman stopped and pulled a rope out of his bag.

"Tie this around you wrists so we won't lose eachother," he instructed.

"The mist isn't that bad," Logan argued but took the rope anyway.

"Well, I already can't see further than maybe two metres and it could get even worse. Soon we might not be able to see at all. Better safe than sorry, right?"

Logan couldn't argue with that even if he himself could see a lot further than Roman could.
He said so aswell.

"Really?" Patton asked squinting into the mist.

"Guess you'll have to take the lead once Patton and I can't see anything," Roman shrugged and they went on.

Roman had been right about the mist getting worse.
Logan took the lead when he himself could barely see past the figurative five metre mark.

Again he noticed something shift in the water but again ignored it. Whatever that was didn't matter right now.

In the distance a light appeared over the water.

"That's a fairy light," Logan told Patton and Roman before either of them could even get the idea of following the light.

A wild cackle cut through the air and made all three of them jump.
There was a splashing noise and something laughing so hard that it seemed to have trouble breathing.

"That's... not a pixie," Roman frowned.

Logan forced them to go faster. He had a feeling that he didn't want to know what it was.

They reached a crossroad and Logan paused. His Falé was rusty and the old signs were hard to read after years of humid surroundings but he managed.

'Certain Death!'

'Yunip'

'Witch Temple'
'Not so certain Death'

He scowled at the signs but pulled Patton and Roman down the path that lead to Yunip.

After a while he noticed that the mist was starting to clear and relive washed over him.

"I can see again!" Patton noticed a bit later.

They could speed up now that Patton and Roman didn't have to completely rely on Logan to guide them.
And maybe just pulling them along at the rope hadn't been the best thing to do on his part, he realised a little too late.

"How far can you see?" he asked after a while wanting to get a picture of just how big the difference was.

"Up to that... post? It's a post right?" Patton squinted at where he only saw a silhouette.

"So about three metres," Logan noted. So they saw about four metres less than he did.

The mist cleared even further.

For the third time he saw something move under the surface of the swamp.
Something big moved past them and suddenly a tentacle shot out of the muddy water.
It crashed onto the footbridge and mud sprayed in every direction.

Logan stumbled backwards.

That couldn't be good.

No shit, Logan!

The next chapter will have some warnings again *sighs*. But what can you do?~ (Answer: Hoard toilet paper)

As always feel free to comment, ask questions or roast me for spelling errors!

Have a nice (gay) day!