Quila's Quag

They made it across safely, the grapple having latched onto a large branch within the brambles of the tree.

"That was lucky," Erigos said, seeing how the grapple was positioned with one claw holding on.

"Sometimes the world works in our favor," Rothox winked at Harim. "How am I getting this one back though?" He really didn't want to lose another rope and grapple.

"You can get the grapple but I doubt you can get the rope," Harim said. Rothox wasn't convinced he couldn't get it.

"Alright, let's keep going, it's a long way around the quag," Erigos said.

"Around, I thought we were in a rush?" Rothox summoned a dagger and threw it as far across the water as he could, at the rope. He missed. He threw another one, it nicked the rope. The third one weakened it again. He climbed back up the tree, freed the grapple, and pulled, the rope snapped sending him backward into the trunk almost sending him off the tree.

As his feet landed back on the forest floor. "I thought we were in a rush." Erigos gave him a stink eye as he mimicked him.

"Hey, that was quick and this has come in handy multiple times, we may need it." Rothox defended himself. He noticed Alissa was gone. "Where's Alissa?"

Erigos turned around to where she was standing. "She was right here."

"Are you guys coming!" She yelled from the forest. "Aren't we in a rush?" They could hear her giggling to herself.

"Let's go." Erigos trudged after her.

The putrid smell reached them first followed by screams and wails. Then the forest turned darker, trees were dead or dying, the ground became muddy and black. A large fallen tree blocked their path. Erigos climbed over it first as he had taken the lead a while back. When the others followed they saw a bubbling bog filled with blotches of dead trees, large weeping willows, and islands of mud.

"What makes it bubble like that?" Rothox asked while pinching his nose shut.

"It's escaping gas." Harim said.

"It smells so bad." Alissa was also pinching her nose closed.

"That would be the decay and methane," Erigos said, "It's hard to get used to. You are the ones that wanted to go through it. Who's first?" He stepped aside.

"Maybe we should tackle it in the morning?" Rothox said, looking up at the black sky.

"It's only early afternoon, we rested after the river," Harim reminded him.

"Why is it so dark then?"

"The quag, it has a magical darkness around it, no matter the time it's always dark. I warned you guys, this place is evil," Erigos kept his eyes on the rotten bog.

"We could always go around." Harim was rethinking their plan.

"Stupid dragon, why couldn't he fly us over this?" Rothox tossed a dead branch into the swamp. It slowly got absorbed by the muddy water.

"It will probably take five days to a week to go around," Erigos said.

"And through it?"

"One night, if we choose to sleep."

That was a big difference.

"I say we go through, we made up time with the dragon, we don't want to lose those days." Harim suggested. He had a point.

"I'm in," Alissa said, she had already summoned her globules of light.

"You sure, Lis?"

"Eri, We can handle it. I'll be with you the whole time." She remembered his fear of swamps.

"Alright then, into the swamp we go," Erigos swallowed the lump in his throat. He went to take the first step.

"Oh, wait!" Alissa had an idea.

"Oh thank goodness, we are going around." He pulled his foot back.

"Erigos is this the swamp you got lost in as a child?" Harim could see it in his eyes and the nervous sweat dripping down his forehead.

He sighed, "Yes, I was drawn in by the sounds of crying. My dad had to find and rescue me." He gave Alissa an apologetic look. He had lied to her about being saved by a stranger.

"So you weren't saved from a crocodile by a stranger?" She looked disappointed.

"No...well everything is true but the stranger, Lis. I was still mad at my dad back then, so I made up the stranger saving me." He hung his head, he hated lying to Alissa.

"Hey," she grabbed his arm. "It's okay, you've grown since then, you aren't the same person. You've made peace with your dad, Right?"

Erigos nodded.

"I have something for you, for all you guys." Alissa began to cast a spell and placed her hand on each of them. "There, now we won't fall in."

"What did you do?" Erigos felt no different.

"This," she pushed past him and stepped out into the swamp. Instead of sinking into the vile waters, she stood on top of it.

"Alissa...how," Erigos stammered in shock.

"I figured...just in case, I'd teach myself how to do this. You all can do it too."

Rothox and Harim ventured onto the murky liquid.

"This is amazing! Thanks, Alissa." Harim smiled at her.

She looked at Erigos, "Come on, Eri."

Gingerly he stepped out. It was a weird sensation, he chuckled to himself.

"Oh, it is only temporary, I'm not sure how long it will last but I can always cast it on us again."

"How will we know--" Rothox began to ask before realizing it was a stupid question. Alissa giggled and began to prance across the dreary quag.

A few minutes into the swamp what they had thought were rocks and mud jutting out of the water turned out to be crocodiles. However, since they weren't disturbing the water they didn't draw anything to them so long as they kept quiet.

Alissa made it to the first dried mud island with a large willow draping over it. She was so excited by her magic she didn't notice the giant anaconda wrapped around a large branch, nearly as wide as the branch and twice as long. She looked back at the other guys and waved, they had been more cautious still worried about drawing the attention of the many crocodiles. Rothox saw it first, the snake's green had lowered behind Alissa. Without thinking he threw two daggers. Alissa saw him, her eyes going wide in panic before ducking out of the way as the daggers flew past her cutting into the enormous snake. Hissing in anger it lunged forward wrapping its thick body around Alissa. She screamed.

That alerted Erigos and Harim and the other nearby predators. The crocodiles idling around started to swim towards the sound. Alissa felt the snake's body begin to tighten around her; constricting. She drew the fire from inside her, her hands ignited, already in direct contact with the snake's flesh. The smell of burning snake mixed with the already terrible smell of the quag. It hissed with anger and squeezed tighter. Two more daggers pierced its extending neck. It wasn't phased; it wanted to eat this being it held in its body. The jaw unhinged and it went down to swallow Alissa screamed again. Green blood spurted out of the decapitated head of the snake as Erigos's sword sliced through the meat with ease.

He panted over top of the dead body of the snake, having sprinted to get to her. The muscles no longer constricting Alissa, she freed herself, the body slumping to the ground with a sickening slurp. She hugged Erigos.

"Guys, we have more problems." Harim backed away as four large crocodiles made their way towards them.

Rothox tossed a few daggers, they struggled to find a way through the hard hide on the beast's back. They all back up onto the small island. A few more crocodiles joined their friends. They counted at least ten.

Harim kicked the head of the most eager one that rushed the island. That caused them to pause and reevaluate their prey.

"Push the snake's body in, maybe that'll distract them." Rothox grabbed the head and tossed it, it landed with a splurge. Two crocodiles attacked it. All together they rolled the large body into the water. It was a frenzy.

"Quick to the other side." Harim rounded the willow's trunk and stepped into the swamp, he sank to his knees. Erigos and Rothox pulled him out, the spell had run out.

"Do we make a break for it?" Rothox looked back at the thrashing in the water.

"We will never outrun them in their environment. Alissa, can you cast that spell again?" Harim looked at her. Normally a brave girl she looked horrified and with a shaky finger she pointed out past him. They followed her finger. Standing fifty feet away on top of the water, not touching it, but floating above it was an incorporeal figure. It was a female form, with a tattered dress and long white hair hanging in front of the left side of her face, leaving one red eye free. When they all looked it drifted backward and vanished.