Darkness filled the countryside as the clouds obscured the moon and stars above. A lone, shadowy figure walked down the path towards an old rusty gate. Pausing for a moment, they looked at the land ahead of them. Slowly, they lowered their hood and let out a low humming sound before raising the lantern to a sign that read: Whitefield Farm. The person's pale skin could be seen as the lantern’s light shone down on it. He was a young man with golden-flecked brown eyes that almost seemed to twinkle and dance as the fire from within his lantern reflected within them, making them appear almost supernatural. With a shake of his head, the man’s nose twitched at the smell from ahead of him. It was a mixture of marsh and muck, not a combination that was easy on the nose. The land before him rested on the edge of the Lost Travellers Marsh, a place that could be dangerous for anyone traversing the place to reach the other side. There was only one other way around the marsh, and that was by boat.

The nearest town to Whitefield farm was a couple of hours’ walk to the Forest town of Lightmist Village. Nelson absolutely hated coming here, but he had little choice in the matter. It was the only town close enough for him to buy supplies to feed his pigs, and without his pigs, he couldn’t make ends meet. Inleet had agreed to come with him in order to act as his servant, but the truth was to scout around for any information.The reason Nelson hated coming here, however, almost overpowered his wish to survive, and she was wheeling towards him with the foulest of looks plastered all over her face. Nelson braced himself for having to deal with her again.Lynnette…Her brown hair was cut shorter than he remembered it being. He guessed she had finally had enough of it being in her way all the time, but that was all that had changed about her. The only nice thing he could say was that the mobility chair the Rattus had invented really wa

With the pig’s trough filled, Nelson knew he could sneak out a lot easier than he might have without. It was still not a foolproof way of getting out of the farm without them alerting his exit, but they were quieter than they could have been.Moving swiftly so that he could reach the town in less than the two hours it would take to get there, Nelson kept himself hidden under his cloak’s hood. As soon as he reached the town, he wasted no time sneaking into the rattus’ room.He took a quick glance within to make sure the man was either not there or asleep. A vague body shape in the bed told him which one it was. He nodded and snuck in quietly and checked the draws and bags within the room. All Nelson found were a few scrolls and notes about locating and figuring out more about him as a noble. Nothing really to suggest that the rattus was involved in anything, especially not slavery.However, what he found sug

The ripples zoomed towards him with such speed that Nelson didn’t have time to think twice about what he was doing. He held up the bag and called at the top of his voice, “if you want them back you can have them! I want nothing to do with stealing your children!”Atraas and Inleet stared at him from their positions, ready to help fight if required, but trusted Nelson’s instincts to know how to handle the situation.“Can they even understand the common tongue?” Atraas asked, curious as he watched the water suddenly rise along with the head of the serpentine.Although snake-like in appearance, they also had humanoid features for their bodies. Bulky arms ended in claw-like hands. A very thin line of greenish-brown hair lined the top of the serpentine’s head. It continued to rise out of the water, using its muscular snake-like body to hold itself up tall. It easily stood taller than even the gnarly tree.Atraas and In

Morning came early for Nelson and the twins. He hated mornings, but he knew he had to get a move on soon. If they waited too long, the serpentines would wake up and be on the prowl. He woke the twins and made Atraas cook them some breakfast. As soon as they had finished, he had them back on what little path there was. Everything seemed normal at first. Birds sang when they flew overhead, frogs and fish moved about in the waters and bugs kept bothering them. Then suddenly everything was silent. Nelson halted the group with a single gesture of his hand. He was pretty damn sure something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t see anything. After a while, he had them continue. Nothing large had moved, so he assumed there was something else the creatures were hiding from, perhaps just a snake or a large fish. Whatever it was, it had been big enough to spook the wildlife. “How much longer do we have to go?” Inleet complained as she dragged her feet behind them. “My feet are