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Tycondrius, Krysaos, and Imperia watched King\'s back as he disappeared into the treeline, towards the marsh... and opposite of whence they came.

The human boy stared into the distance with equal disbelief...

"Ahem," Tycon cleared his throat, "What is your name, young man?"

The boy turned up while biting his upper lip, "M-my sister calls me Sprig."

Tycon pursed his lips, "And where is she? You said her name was... Willow?"

The young... Sprig lowered his gaze, "The Swamp Monster took her away..."

Imperia seemed to be readying an interjection, but Tycon\'s glare made her hesitate.

Information was being granted freely. Even if the source of knowledge was a child, its value could be weighed afterward, at their leisure.

"The others..." The boy continued, "they said... that it was because the Sea God hates her. That\'s why the monster took Sis... just like it took Dad-- like a hundred suns ago."

Tycon crossed his arms in thought. How much truth was in Sprig\'s words?

Normal humans-- normal people, rather, were at the mercies of the gods... subject to their fickle whims, granting divine fortune or enacting cruelty.

Then... concerning the education of children, it was easier to blame the supernatural for difficult-to-explain concepts like birth, death, and disease.

Thus, adults of many species had a tendency to collaborate their lies in order to placate their whelplings.

"Let\'s do it," Krysaos gave Tycon a nod.

"You?" Imperia scoffed, "You, Captain Krysaos, would act against the Sea God?"

"Oh, you dunno?" Krysaos smirked, "That f*cktard stole my gods-damned ship. He\'ll get his..."

"So what\'s this, then?" The dark elf twisted her face into an ugly, nose-upturned sneer, "a childish act of rebellion?"

Tycon inadvertently let out a cough.

"I\'m gonna put a f*cking bullet in the sea god\'s dome-- that\'s what," Krysaos answered without hesitation.

He turned towards Sprig, "Tell you what, kid. Since this is a chance for Krysaos, Captain of the Neptune\'s Revenge, to f-- to mess with the sea god\'s plans, I\'ll save your sister... She\'s uh... how old?"

"Krysaos," Tycon glared.

"Right," Krysaos shut his eyes and nodded sagely, "Don\'t answer that, kid."

"She\'s... twelve?" Sprig answered.

"Quit lookin\' at me like that, LT," Krysaos grimaced. "I\'ll still save her."

Tycon continued to stare at Krysaos... exactly as he was.

"OH! NO! NO, MAN! Come on!" Krysaos raised his hands in surrender, "Not gonna save her in the usual way. Twelve\'s too young, even for me."

"You\'re still scum, human," Imperia scowled.

The young boy raised his hand, "I\'m seven."

...

⟬ Later that sun, early evening. ⟭

"I\'m still mad at you... Sir," Imperia pouted.

"Young lady..." Tycon sighed... "Please understand that I do not care. However... I invite you to clarify."

From the constipated look on the dark elf\'s face, he assumed she was going to tell him, regardless.

"You left me..." She pointed at Krysaos, "with HIM!"

"...I did," Tycon narrowed his eyes.

In order to save time, he had taken the task of delivering the villagers tools to the elves and Coral Boys. He had a storage ring and traveled faster alone.

"Why\'d you take so long to get back?!" Imperia hmphed.

It was true that Tycon could have been faster.

However... there was no pressing need to do so.

Before the trio would brave the marshlands to hunt down Sprig\'s monster, they needed information.

What manner of creature did they seek? What was the nature of the \'sea god\'s curse\' that Sprig mentioned?

Though Imperia wished to find and assist King sooner rather than later, they would be overall more useful as a cohesive unit if they better understood their objectives.

...Perhaps they could even concoct a *semblance* of a plan.

For that... Krysaos needed time.

To that end, Tycon was granted the opportunity to stretch his legs (and his recently healed left arm) for light exercise. He took several breaks to appreciate the beauty of unspoiled nature. He even chanced upon polite conversation with a peaceful, six-legged basilisk named Timothy.

Tycon attempted to change the subject, "I\'d like to know what information we\'ve learned."

"Hold on, Sir!" Imperia waved frantically, "Still mad, here! We... we could have been attacked! Or cursed! This village is WEIRD!!! All that time, and we\'ve met like-- four humans, tops!"

There was no blatant danger in Thorne Village that an Iron-Rank Cleric supported by a Bronze-Rank Buccaneer could not handle... or at the very least, escape from.

The young lady\'s distress earned her a polite smile from Tycon, "I am quite confident in your ability, Miss Imperia-- and by extension, was certain you could keep Captain Krysaos out of harm\'s way."

"I... errghhh..." Imperia groaned, "I\'d never do that-- not for. ArrrghhHHHGH!!"

"Ooh, do it again, girlie," Krysaos chuckled as he walked out of a nearby house, Sprig at his side. "I like hearing you scream."

"You\'re a f*cking pervert, Krysaos," Imperia shot back.

"...Oh, wait. I didn\'t mean it like that," The Captain looked away.

Tycon shook his head. It was possible that his captain was incapable of... non-perverse speech.

"The sea god\'s curse, Brother-Captain," He urged.

"Right," Krysaos nodded, "with the help of Sprig here, we actually found a few villagers that were willin\' to talk with us. Details of the beastie we\'re lookin\' for... general dates for the disappearances."

"...Only four, you say," Tycon frowned. "From the number of houses in Thorne Village, there are well over a hundred."

"Everyone else is just shy," The boy explained. "Not me, though."

Tycon... doubted that was the case.

"Why would *adult* humans flee from the very sight of us?" Imperia grumbled, "We\'re adults, too! We don\'t bite."

"Speak for yerself, girlie," Captain Krysaos winked.

"You\'re filthy, Krysaos."

"Guilty as charged."

"Everyone that\'s been in the village for awhile is really shy!" Sprig insisted. "That\'s... that\'s what my dad said before the monster took him."

"The humans say the monster is a scaled creature..." Imperia frowned, "A terrible creature with scales as thick as iron plates... with great wings on its back and a fearsome roar that shakes the earth. Sir Maedar... I think we\'re facing a--"

"Hold on," Krysaos held his hand out as he turned to Sprig. "You\'re tellin\' us that the four families we talked to-- they only recently moved to the village? And everyone else isn\'t?"

"I think so?" Sprig scratched his head. "Everyone else\'s been in Thorne Village for... at least fifty years."

That was... an oddly specific number. Was there some significance in it?

"Mister Sprig," Tycon narrowed his eyes, "Why... fifty?"

"Fifty\'s a big number-- and people can\'t live for more than a hundred?"

"Very well."

There was no significance to it.

Krysaos looked over to Tycon, "Here\'s the thing, LT. People\'ve been disappearin\' once a moon. The four willing to talk to us-- their families all had the same thing happen to \'em... with Sprig\'s sister bein\' the fifth and most recent."

Imperia raised her hand, "I say I bring my karkinii here and we slaughter the whole village."

"I like the way you think, girlie," Krysaos nodded, "but let\'s hold off on that for now."

"You disgust me, pig."

Tycon pursed his lips.

"...Full marks for decisiveness and utilization of your resources, Miss Imperia," He nodded.

The young lady\'s eyes widened... almost sparkling, "You think so? Could you... maybe tell King that I did good?"

"However," Tycon continued, "I propose we investigate further. There is value in discovering the whereabouts of the missing villagers... and perhaps we might find the purpose behind them being spirited away."

"Yeah! Makes sense," Imperia nodded eagerly. "And then we can crush the village beneath our heels!"

Tycon had essentially stated the same thing Krysaos had.

It seemed that the Captain could figuratively twist and bend some women around his finger... while others, he\'d have the opposite effect.

...Or was Imperia\'s attitude her response to being charmed?

"Yeah, I got an idea where the villagers went," Krysaos grimaced... "and it\'s actually somethin\' the girlie noticed but kept to her gods-damned self until she let it slip."

"Like I\'d offer you any useful information, scum," Imperia sneered... "But... how about you remind the Maedar what genius information you gleaned from my intelligent mind?"

Krysaos shook his head, "Head home, kid. It\'s gonna get dark real soon."

"And where are you guys going?" Sprig asked.

"Where else? To the marsh."

...

⟬ A short trek outside the village later. ⟭

Not five minutes past the tree line, the vegetation became sparse and the soil turned to mud. Within the next half-bell, Tycon and Krysaos were knee-deep in marshy water... with Imperia slightly deeper.

The young human boy, Sprig-- or... Rickert, as Tycon discovered his actual name to be, warned the trio at length about the dangers of the swamp.

There were a host of hostile creatures that made it difficult for hunters to gather meat.

Many species of large fish were scavengers with sharp teeth that might mistake swooshing feet for struggling prey. Crocodilians hid in the waters, perfectly still and difficult to spot until prey came close. Large, indolent, constrictor snakes slithered through tree branches.

Those in particular, he had questions for.

In particular: how does one keep warm in the swamps?