Several days had passed since Zarius, the tiefling, and Caedes, the changeling, had left Gazablaak to cross the Marsh Flats into Moonglade in hopes of meeting with the witch who resides there. It was turning into an absolutely miserable journey with frequent flash storms and the incessant buzzing of swarms of nipping insects. Half the time they had to double back to find a path around patches of muddy bog that threatened to swallow any passby whole if they weren’t paying attention to where they stepped. They tried a few times to use the trees to get around particularly swampy areas, but climbing was not very viable given Zarius’ injury. Each day was a slog, and each night was spent fending off hungry mosquitoes and other wildlife.

Due to the rain and the mud and the bugs and the sweat, they did have to change out the bandages on Zarius' arm almost daily in an honest attempt to keep the massive wound clean. Unfortunately for him the process of rebandaging his arm was not a painless one. Unfortunately for Caedes the responsibility of helping with that unpleasant process fell on his shoulders.

Zarius did his best to grin and bear with it, but Caedes could tell the tiefling's condition just teetering on the very edge of taking a dangerous downward spiral. They hadn't talked about it much, but they both knew that if they didn't get to a healer soon then Zarius very well could lose more than just his arm. Every day of travel was a race against time and the very real, very likely chance of infection.

The tiefling tries to put that out of his mind. No point worrying about something they could do nothing about. They just needed to keep focused on the task at hand: getting to Kamille as quickly as possible. With any luck, they wouldn’t run into any trouble along the way.

Reality has a bad sense of humor.

As they step out from the edge of a wooded area, they come across a weird cutline through the trees. Approaching carefully, it soon becomes evident that something very large had carved a path through the cypress-like trees. A deep groove in the soft ground was clear all all peat and moss, exposing the silty mud to the air which would normally make for a clear dry path if water hadn’t backflowed into it.

“What in Charon…” Zarius starts then pauses and listens. There were voices up ahead calling out.

Following along the edge of the muddy bank, they eventually spot a group of travelers with heavy backpacks all huddled on a little island of land in the middle of the freshly made path.

A human man wearing round spectacles on the end of his nose spots them and waves with both arms. "Hey! A little help!"

Zarius squints his eyes and then gets a surprised expression.

"Mister Lloyd?? What are you doing here?" He shouts across the unnatural river.

"Oh! It's you all again! Hello! How did the research go?"

"Uh, good. Ran into some complications. What are you doing over there?”

“Oh! We’re trapped, I’m afraid!" He says with an awkward laugh. "Do not walk in the water by the way! It’s contaminated with acidic slime!”

Zarius looks down at the water. It was very clear and there were no fish or plants visible beneath the surface. Anything that would have been caught in it has long since dissolved. He looks back over to Lloyd and his group of researchers.

”Seems to be a common hazard of the job."

"Haha, well, what is life without a little danger to spice things up?"

"I think this amount of spice might be bad for your health!"

"True, true, we are in quite the pickle. Care to help us out of here?"

Zarius looks at the scene before them. The layer of diluted slime contained in the muddy ditch must be roughly twenty feet across and a foot deep if not more. All the nearby plant life was either fully dissolved or slowly wilting and burning away just from proximity to the slurry.

The ooze that made this trail must be big enough to engulf a whole team of horses and their cart. It didn't appear to be still in the immediate vicinity, but that didn't mean the situation was any less alarming.

Lloyd and his research assistants were basically sitting on a slowly dissolving rock in the middle of a river of deadly acid. Even just being in such close proximity to the acid was having an effect as the fumes are away at the edges of their clothing. If they didn't do something soon, they would surely perish.

"Mister Lloyd, you are the ooze expert, do you not have some idea of how to get out of your current predicament? How did you even get stuck there?"

"Ah, well, about that, the answer is no. You see, we were following this trail as it belongs to an incredible specimen. I call it the Elder Ooze. Gotta nice ring to it and all. Anyway, we were falling behind and needed to cross its trail to try and head it off before we lost sight of it. Unfortunately our path across didn't last particularly long and we ended up stranded here. I'm afraid I ain't no long jumper and we have some fairly heavy gear with us so hopping over without stepping in the slime trail ain't gonna happen."

"Ditch the packs and use them to cross over then!" It seemed like an obvious option. 

"I can't ditch the packs! We need these tools for our research!" Lloyd exclaims with an incredulous tone.

Zarius just gets this unimpressed look on his face. "While I can sympathize with that, you will not be researching much if you melt."

Lloyd pauses a moment to consider that reality. "Touché. Let's say that is a last resort then. See if you can't figure out some way to make us a path!"

Zarius sighs and looks at Caedes. "Any brilliant ideas?"

Several days had passed since their initial departure from Gazablaak; and each day seems to be getting a little worse for Zarius in particular. The changeling is in part a watchful shadow and in part a caretaker: responsible for the painfully agonizing process of un-bandaging, cleaning, and re-bandaging the tiefling's grave wound at the end of each day. It is this same process which gives Caedes worry, as the overall state of his wound grows considerably more concerning with each removal.

It goes without saying that as the days pass, Zarius becomes more and more prone to infection; Caedes is no medic, but even he can see the first signs of disaster beginning to set in. He doesn't mention it, but he's sure Zarius can already feel its effects; there's no point poking, prodding, or babying the tiefling— so Caedes stays quietly vigilant. Ensuring they stop to rest when Zarius starts to look more exhausted than usual; when the bandages need to be fixed; or when it's clear that Zarius is trying to push his limits.

It's a race against time; but he's also trying to ensure the tiefling doesn't quicken the pace of a dreadfully delicate process. Infection is inevitable at this point, and so, it becomes a race to quicken their pace, while slowing the rate of the infection trying to set in upon his wound. He hopes that they'll reach this witch of his quickly; but travel on foot is slow, and travel through a bog is slower...

... and travel with distraction, causes even further delay.

Caedes follows along behind Zarius when he starts to see oddities; leaves crisped at the edges; foliage burned at the tips; and strange cuts in the forest. The oddities grow when they reach an odd treeline; the changeling narrows his eyes, adjusting the hood over his head as they step into the opening created by something... large. "This doesn't look good, does it?" he remarks, quietly observing a glob of burn marks sunk into one of the surviving cypress at the edge of the path; but not a second passes, and voices begin to drift through the air.

Caedes blinks, turning his head towards the sound, before offering Zarius a glance.

Together, the two men follow the muddy banks until they find the source: a group of travelers isolated out on a tiny plot of land, surrounded by the makeshift river void of both flora and fauna. It catches him by surprise when Zarius refers to, none other than the man himself. "That's Lloyd?" he remarks, too quiet for the men across the island to hear him. He listens as Zarius and Lloyd proceed to catch up, via a shouting match, and then he leans closer to Zarius. "He does look like the kind of guy who'd study Oozes for a living, doesn't he?"

He chuckles to himself, one hand over his lips as he listens to the two go back and forth; Lloyd mentions something about the water being acidic, however; in which Caedes winces slightly. "Seriously?" he remarks with a murmur; he looks begrudgingly into the clear river, completely void of a single organic scrap.

The slime explains a lot.

Good thing they didn't try to cross it; Lunala knows the last thing they need is one of them having a leg melted out from beneath them. He frowns, turning his eyes back to Lloyd as he calls out for help. "I think he needs to look for a different kind of spice in his life if the excitement of having your skin melt off is what gets him going." he sighs, begrudgingly looking about the clearing as Zarius starts to call out to the travelers again... but most of the plant life here is quite... well, unfortunate to say the least... they've seen better days, thanks to the acidic fumes.

He wouldn't trust these plants with his life.

He looks back to the travelers, studying the way their clothes have begun to fray, similarly to how the plants have begun to wilt, from the mere proximity of the slime... He offers a side-long glance at Zarius' bandaged arm, then breathes a sigh as the tiefling looks at him. "A change in career path?" he suggests with an innocent smile; he just looks at Zarius and allows the silence to linger just long enough to potentially annoy him, before giving a dismissive wave of his hand and a chuckle.

He cups his hands over his mouth, calling out to the travelers, "What all do you have in the packs? Rope?" He puts his hands on his hips, displacing his cloak as he looks at Zarius. "Worse comes to worse, some of the trees back there look like they've been damaged by the... the elder ooze." He throws up some finger quotations as he speaks the name. "They look like they didn't take the brunt of it, but they could be unsteady enough for us to snap down with a bit of effort. Makeshift bridge, if we can find something to tie them together with... I mean, the swamp is full of vines and such, but given the look of the plants here, dunno how long they'd last if we tossed it over."

He crosses his arms, looking out towards Lloyd and his companions as they fumble carefully in their bags to check the contents.

Zarius just stares unimpressed at Caedes attempt at humor.

Once that moment passes, he looks around at their surroundings as Caedes throws out some suggestions and Lloyd and the researchers start rummaging through their packs for some rope. 

Felling a tree would be difficult. Neither of them had the tools or strength necessary to chop one down. Even if they could take down a tree, they wouldn't be able to move it. They could try and make it fall towards the river, but then they might misjudge the distance and either squash the researchers, or splash the digestive water on them.

He looks down at the muddy bank. If only one of them was a terramancer they could use the earth to make a pathway. Or if they could move the water away that would work too. Neither option was viable though.

Vines were an interesting idea. They could maybe swing one out from a sturdy branch to the researches and have them swing back. Unfortunately, the researchers were a spindly lot. Swinging across might be asking too much of their grip strength.

If only the river wasn't so deep, they could use the same strategy that they had used in the inn with the crates. No. Don't throw out that idea just yet. They could make a raft and ferry it back and forth if they used some sort of pole to propel it and a rope to tow it back to the bank. They would probably have to make multiple rafts though, which would take a long time. And if the raft wasn't buoyant enough then the researcher aboard, or one of them, would be knee deep in the water and mud. 

Making a bridge though, maybe it was possible to use smaller trees, but then how would they move it? It had to be light enough for the two of them to handle, quick to make, but strong enough to hold up the weight of the researchers while spanning the gap. 

He racks his brain then remembers one particularly boring night from his childhood.

---

It was many years ago. His father and mother had gone out to a social event, leaving him with his two siblings, Karize and Eameia. Eameia was reading a book and Zarius was working on his calligraphy in the study. Karize was playing with a carved wooden horse but then sighs. 

"Brother, play with me." The tiefling child demands. 

Zarius sighs. "Play what?"

"I do not know. Make something up!"

Zarius gives him an unimpressed look as Eameia closes her book, places it in her lap and leans forward towards the two. 

"I have a game." She says with a toothy grin. Guess it ran in the family. 

"Oh! What is it?" Karize perks up. 

"Wait here." She says, putting the book down on the side table and running off out of the room. 

Karize bounces in anticipation and Zarius cleans his quill nibs. Eameia returns with a bunch of short sticks and spills them on the polished wooden floor. 

"Pick up sticks?" Zarius asks. 

"No. A challenge. Build the longest bridge using nothing but these sticks!"

"What?"

"In the book I am reading the heroes have to cross a deadly chasm using only broomsticks. I have not gotten to the part where they figure out the solution. I want to see if we can figure it out first!"

"Oh! I want to play! Can I use string?"

"No, you can only use the sticks."

The three tieflings grab handfuls of sticks and try to figure out how to make a bridge. A few minutes go by and Karize huffs. 

"This is impossible!"

Zarius was stumped as well. "Are you sure the solution is not that the brooms can fly?"

"It might be, but look!" She shows off what she made which was a standing bridge made just out of the sticks. 

"Woah!"

"How did you do that?" 

"You just have to use these pieces to lock the other ones together like this." She demonstrates by adding another segment. 

---

Zarius stands before the river of acid. A grin spreads across his face. "I have an idea." He looks at Caedes with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"If this is going to work, we need any rope they have and probably a number of vines to support the weight as we build the sections of the bridge. See that tree there?" He points up to a large cypress tree near the bank that has managed to avoid much damage from the passing elder ooze. "Check for any sturdy branches we can use as a poor man's pulley and gather enough rope and vines to make at least four loops from the branch to the ground. I am going to start pulling over some of these smaller trees that aren't damaged. We have to work as quickly as possible before their skin starts to blister."

With that, and with a bit more energy in his step from the excitement of a plan he feels pretty confident in, Zarius heads to the nearest tree that matches the size he has in his head and starts to pull it free from the swampy ground. 

“Hm?” Caedes hums, tilting his head as Zarius looks at him; he’s got a glint in his eye like a child with a secret, but he can’t determine where such a look could come from. The changeling cocks a brow quizzically, but follows the tiefling’s point as he gestures towards a large cypress tree near the bank. “It’s pretty hard to miss.” he responds matter-of-factly.

Zarius proceeds to continue his ramble, asking him to check for sturdy branches to use as a pulley, in addition to rope and vine to create four loops… Caedes nods thoughtfully, internally cataloguing everything Zarius is describing, even though he’s having a hard time visualizing what kind of bridge he’s trying to make.

“Alright; try not to throw out your back, grandpa.” he chirps as Zarius heads away; although, it’s not his back he’s worried about, really. Turning back to the trapped men, hands folded together behind his back without Zarius to back him up, Caedes smiles— the glint of his cold eyes is somewhat eerie beneath the shade of his hooded cloak.

“So, gentlemen? What did we find in our bags?” He prompts; extending his palms outwards for dramatic effect as he questions them. “Something actually useful to the situation, I hope?”

Lloyd holds up a rolled length of rope proudly; one of his research assistants holds up a smaller, thinner length of cord with a sheepish expression; another one shakes his head with a helpless, guilty shrug; and the last offers up a loose piece of rope… and with the rest of it loose in his bag, he looks a little like a magician while he pulls the endless length from the depths.

“Great, great; two out of four is pretty good. Now, you.” He points at the one with the smaller length of cord, “Help them tie up their ropes. Do not let them get wet, you hear? I need those ropes to be a solid object by the time I come back. If you throw them and they just unfurl into the water? That’s going to be bad news.”

The assistant grimaces slightly and nods, motioning for Lloyd to hand his rope over; the professor hands it over as if it were a delicate piece of glass.

Caedes proceeds to leave them to it, trusting that they’re at least competent enough to secure the ropes while he checks the branches of the cypress that Zarius had pointed out earlier. He pulls back his cloak while he walks towards it to access his belt, and palms his dagger while he judges how much momentum he’ll need to reach the bottom-most branch, given it’s just out of his arm’s reach.

After a moment of looking the tree up and down, Caedes breaks into a sprint across the silty earth; the cypress comes on fast, and he pushes forth. Using his momentum as a springboard, the changeling manages a few steps up the trunk unhindered by gravity, before springing to the side for the branch. The cypress shudders violently; leaves rustle and drop, fluttering to the earth; as the branch bears the brunt of his weight.

The branch bends, but it doesn’t snap.

Charlotte crawls out from somewhere within his cloak, perching on his chest with a small chittering noise while he hangs; it might be an objection to the sudden movement. “Perfect timing,” he regards the spider. Charlotte tilts her head, or does something that looks kind of like it. “Do me a favour and get some vines from the marsh, would you? Thicker the better; longer the better; as many as you can drag back.” He adjusts his hands as he swings his legs towards the trunk; he uses it like a support, bridging Charlotte an easier path to the tree.

She looks at him a moment longer, fangs clicking, before turning and scurrying her way down the tree.

With that taken care of, he waits until she’s clear of him, and walks his way upright on the branch to continue.

He’s got his eye on a sturdier branch at a nicer angle— a little on the tall side, but he thinks it’ll do nicely if it doesn’t bend or break under his weight. One hand to steady himself on the trunk, Caedes stands; but the branch starts to buckle as his knees straighten, and he flashes it a startled look

No sooner does he leap off the branch to the next without preparation, does the branch snap at the base; it cracks, collapsing in a swing towards the trunk of the tree. Leaves flutter into the acidic water, and are eaten away by the sludge in seconds. Caedes, meanwhile, narrowly saves himself the embarrassment of taking a face-first dive into the dirt, by grabbing onto the next branch with one hand— with the other, he missed by a hair's length.

If he had a heartbeat, it’d be pounding in his chest.

“Alright,” he grumbles, swinging his other arm up to get hold of the branch for a better grip. He pulls his body up and hooks both legs around the branch in an ‘X’, before pulling himself up to the other side. He breathes a sigh as he sits close to the base of the branch, and gives it a tentative shake.

No bend, no break.

He stands up, using the trunk as a support at first, before stepping out once, then twice… and again….

He jumps on it for good measure.

“This one seems good!” he calls over to the tiefling while he’s perched in the middle of the thick cypress branch. “Take a lot to break this one down, I’d thi— HEY!” he suddenly cuts off; his attention redirecting sharply. Lloyd startles from where he was about to try and swing their rope abomination over to the other side, and clutches it to his chest instead. “Don’t throw it until I’m back over there to catch it!”

This is Zarius’ weird employer, right?

“Please.”

“Oop— sorry about that!” Lloyd calls back, laughing nervously. “Just got a little eager, that's all! The fumes really start to get to you after a while! Bit hard to think straight!” He scratches at his jawline sheepishly; his smile is a bit goofy. Caedes rolls his eyes from where he stands on the branch, and moves to lower himself. It takes significantly less time for him to jog back over to where he’d been before.

“Which one of you has the best throwing arm?”

Lloyd looks between his researchers, still holding the ropes, and points out one particularly scrawny looking fellow— the one who hadn’t had any rope with him before. “...You’re sure about that?”

“Quite!” Lloyd agrees, offering the skinny man the ropes. “Toss it as far and hard as you can, John! Show 'em what for!”

Caedes makes a face, but before he can object to this idea, the scrawny man pulls back with surprisingly agile form; and proceeds to throw the ropes clear over the acidic river. It continues to fly, clearing right over Caedes’ head, and into the mud behind him. He follows the arc, watching the rope abomination plop safely onto the ground.

“Huh... Nice arm, actually.”

Zarius gets to work uprooting the smaller trees while Caedes works on the pulley. The idea was simple. They just needed enough segments to bridge the ten foot span to the island. They would use the vines and rope to lift one end of the structure and lower it like a drawbridge over the bank so the researchers could crawl across.

As he pulls and bounces on the smaller trees to knock them loose from the wet soil, he runs through the calculations in his head. The struts of the bridge would have to be at least four feet in length for stability's sake, though they could angle out the legs of the bridge for added stability in the mud.

How many struts they needed depended on how far apart they would be placed. Ideally, they would be close together like the rungs of a ladder, but that would require a ridiculous amount of logs and would be too heavy to move. A strut every two feet would have to do, that means five struts total, maybe six to be safe.

If that was the case, then they needed at least ten logs total for the sides of the bridge. The sides had to be long enough to overlap with each strut, so they needed to be at least five feet long each. What they would end up with was a bridge made of fifteen four to five foot long trees.

He winces at that number, it would be pretty heavy. If the large cypress’ branch broke, the ropes snapped, or the knots slipped, they could drop it in the river and have to start all over. They had to be smart about where they put it together so they could minimize how much they had to shift it into position.

If they had enough material and time, maybe they could reinforce the fulcrums with rope. They couldn’t count on that though, the island the researchers were on was slowly eroding away.

The tiefling drags over the felled trees and piles them near the cypress. He can only move one at a time with his good arm, so he has to make multiple trips back and forth.

He’s sweating by the time Caedes calls down to him from the branch. He gives a thumbs up in response. His head was pounding from the exertion and he had to lean against the big cypress to catch his breath. The acidic fumes from the river sting his lungs and he coughs a bit. They need to get out of this area quickly.

While Caedes is organizing the rope situation with the researchers, the tiefling starts laying out the sections in the pattern his sister had figured out all those years ago. Oh, it turned out that the writer wasn’t as clever as her. They simply had one of the main characters discover they had magic and used that to turn the brooms into flying ones. They burned the book later that evening.

Once things are laid out properly, he looks over at Caedes who has now collected the bundle of rope the researchers have thrown over.

“Alright. You need to tie enough of those together so we can lower the far end of this over the water. Then you need to secure one end to either side of this strut here,” he points to the log laying on the ground and then points up at the sturdy branch of the cypress, “and string the ropes and vines up over the branch and back down to the base of the tree.”

He breathes and coughs again before continuing. “Once you are done with that, I will need help lifting each section into place since I only have one arm to work with.”

The tiefling looks over at Lloyd and the researchers. “If you are able to throw any of your packs across that would speed things up!”

Lloyd considers it. “I’d rather carry our stuff over to keep it from getting melted, but we can rearrange our gear to toss over less important stuff and make the packs lighter!”

“Fine, get to it!” He shouts back a little annoyed that they care more about their things than their own skin.

Caedes turns on his heel, picking up the mangled ropes as Zarius starts speaking; he looks up at the tiefling as he rises to his feet, following his gesture towards the log and the branch. He listens quietly to his instructions; but the tiefling’s inhale and following cough has him glancing back at him with an unspoken concern.

It’s hard for him to tell, given it’s been a long time since he really needed to breathe; so, the acidity in the air is not affecting him nearly as much as it is Zarius given it’s a choice. Not to mention, he already has problems of his own unrelated to the air quality in this part of the marsh. It’s uncertain how much of his current condition is attributed to a setting infection, rather than the essence of ooze lingering in the air; Caedes breathes a slow exhale, nodding his agreement.

“Sure.” he remarks, unwinding the cord from the rope; he lets it unfurl around his feet, coiling like a snake, before looking back up at Zarius. “I sent Charlotte out to grab vines; when you’re done with uprooting the wildlife, I bet she could use the one hand you’ve got left… I’ll take care of your morons and the rope, in the meantime.” He smirks, nodding towards the researchers as they fumble through their gear; although, the request holds an ulterior motive: one to get the tiefling a small reprieve from the primary source of the acidity in the air.

It’s up to him to take that offer, though.

He turns, cloak fluttering with the quick motion; and he heads back towards the branch of the cypress to begin setting up according to Zarius’ instructions. Tying the knots is easy enough; a couple of fishermen’s knots between the two lengths of rope does the job well. After tightening and testing them to ensure their stability and that the knots he’s tied won’t slip, he moves to throw the rope over top of their sturdy branch.

Charlotte does eventually return with her vines— the determined little spider chugging away as she drags them through the mud by her mandibles. Caedes gives her a grateful pat, takes them off her metaphorical hands, and continues; as vines are brought back and added, he’s able to tie them together— weaving thinner ones together for strength— until he has enough to start lowering their base over the water.

In the meantime, the trapped men on the island occasionally toss over random items from their bags to make their respective packs lighter; he hears a small, “Oops,” following the occasional splash when someone misses a toss.

He works as quickly as he can, keeping in mind the time limit they’re on, and mumbling to himself every now and then to ensure he doesn’t forget the instructions that Zarius had relayed; using the smaller cords, he ties a secure knot to the closest strut of the log, and tests its stability once it’s connected to their makeshift pulley. He steps back, testing a few of the lines he’s made, as well as the stability of the vines brought back from the marsh… it’s subtle, but Caedes doesn’t seem particularly out of breath despite all of his flitting about.

He tugs one last time on the taut end of a rope, before letting it lie, and moving to where Zarius has gathered the trees for their use. “So,” he remarks, grabbing onto a branch, he hoists one of the smaller trees up over his shoulder. “Just tell me where to put them, then. Where’s it off to?”

Ulterior motive or not, Zarius nods in agreement with Caedes instructions. He is too focused on the task at hand to suspect the assassin of any other motives. He helps Chalotte drag more of the vines back to her master, slogging through the deep mud while the spider skitters across it with ease. He envied the arachnid. 

Once Caedes has finished securing and testing the makeshift lines, the tiefling waits for him to help with the hard part of setting up the bridge. It was important that they get this right the first time and do their best not to waste too much time. Even thought the lengths of the trees were manageable, they were a far cry from the small sticks he and his siblings had used. Their branches at least provided some leverage and could even help hold the struts while they arranged each side of the section. 

Zarius had Caedes do most of the lifting while he arranged the pieces to lock into place together, relying heavily on gravity and the friction between the bark of each tree to hold them in place. By the time they work their to the last section, he has to help Caedes with the lifting and kick out with a foot to knock a strut into place. 

By the end they have what looks like a curved ladder with branches poking out every which way. The structure could hold its own weight and with any luck it would hold the weight of someone crossing it. 

"Don't mean to interrupt but we're running out of land here!" Lloyd calls as a piece of their island weakens and slumps into the acidic water. 

"Do not move and make it worse then!" Zarius calls back at the researcher. "We are going to swing and lower this end over to you, make sure to grab it and immediately push down on it so it does not fall apart once you can reach it!"

"Okay, we'll do our very best!" Lloyd gives an chipper thumbs up. Either he didn't really understand the gravity of the situation, or he had no shadow of doubt in his mind that the two knew what they were doing. 

Zarius walks over to the lines Caedes has set up and looks back at the changeling. "I am going to lift it up as much as I can so you can push it out, make sure that if any of the pieces start to bend or shift that you push them back into place. If you think it is holding enough to swing out safely, give it a shove out to then and help me support the weight."

With instructions provided, Zarius gathers both ends of the lines that are dangling from the above branch in his good hand and tucks them behind his back and under his bad arm so he can use his body weight to put tension on them.^[1] He leans back and digs his feet into the mud as he pulls down on the ropes. They don't slide easy, but the small tiefling gets some solid footing by bracing against the exposed roots of the tree and leans far back, straining his arm, abdominal, and leg muscles to get as much force behind him as possible. 

The end of the makeshift bridge lifts free of the mud with a slorp noise and hangs freely for Caedes to push out. All of the logs seem to be holding up well enough to position the bridge as per the tiefling's instructions. 

---

[1] Iron Grip 

Once Zarius is ready, the changeling joins him to assist in the heavier lifting; he is amiable, following Zarius’ instructions and directions without complaint. The branches provide some leverage as he, and occasionally Zarius, drag them into position; because he’s got little reference for what they’re building, Caedes defers to him often before placing a piece and allowing him to handle the rest. Charlotte, too, attempts to help; the black widow scurries every which way over pieces that are in place, mandibles clacking, and spits webs as if trying to get it to stick.

He’s not sure if it does much honestly, but he appreciates the attempt from the arachnid.

It gets easier as they go; with some of the bridge built, Caedes is able to work faster and more confidently without looking to the tiefling for guidance. For as long as he can, anyways; eventually, the weight of the trees becomes too much for him to efficiently drag on his own, and Zarius needs to lend him his only hand.

Caedes sighs, hands on his hips, as he watches Zarius kick the last strut into place; Charlotte crawls from beneath one of the logs, clicking curiously at them. “Nicely done.” Caedes remarks; though, he’s interrupted by Lloyd’s call. He looks over his shoulder at the researchers, watching calmly as a piece of their little island slides into the ooze. It gurgles and boils until it’s become nothing; Lloyd seems quite confident, even as Zarius calls back to him… but his research assistants are starting to look a little antsy.

He shakes his head at the group, cocking an impatient brow at Zarius. “Aren’t researchers meant to be a more… self-aware sort?” he sighs, reaching out to Charlotte as Zarius walks over to the lines. The black widow crawls up his arm, disappearing as she reaches his shoulders— but he still feels her weight bearing down on him. He walks around the bridge, waiting patiently for Zarius as he gathers the lines together, and begins to pull back.

His attention shifts; he watches as the bridge begins to lift. It shlorps out of the mud, and as it lifts, he readjusts a couple of shifting struts in the areas of the bridge with the least tension given to them. For the most part, though— it’s solid— and it doesn't look like it’s going to collapse, shatter, or bend to the extent that they’ll lose the whole thing. He’s impressed with Zarius’ ingenuity, honestly.

“If you don’t want to become sludge, I’ll need a couple of hands over here!” Caedes calls back to the researchers as he positions himself to push out the bridge. He hears shuffling from behind; and there’s a small conversation as he heaves the bridge out, and parrots Zarius’ directions to the researchers on positioning it. He watches, cautious as the researchers drop the other end of the bridge against what remains of their alcove of safety. His eyes narrow as it sinks deep into the mud on the other side— the ooze seeps in behind it, and there’s a small hiss that resounds in the air.

It's not much now, but the longer the bridge sits on the other side, the more pressure it puts on their little island... the sooner it sinks.

“Well! Would you look at that!”

“— Less talking, more crossing the bridge, please. There will be time to talk when you’re not at risk of cooking alive.”

“Oops— Righto!” Cheerfully, Lloyd obliges— the first to test their makeshift bridge.

Once the bridge is in place, Zarius lets go of the vines and slips in the mud, landing on his ass. A wave of pain shoots up his bad arm from hitting the ground when he lands. He's broken out in a sweat from the exertion and his legs are shaking. His vision blurs and a dizzy spell sets in. Doubling over, he focuses on his breathing to try and keep from losing consciousness.

After a few moments of the sound of his own heartbeat pounding in his head, he recovers a bit and pulls himself out of the mud. Back on his feet, he feels a bit nauseous as he watches Lloyd cross the bridge. 

The monster researcher's weight does push the bridge down deeper into the mud, but it holds steady and seems to be level enough. The extra branches make for great hand holds as he teeters across to the bank. 

With a plop, Lloyd's feet make it safely to the other side. "Well, I'll be damned, that was some smart construction work right there. The rest of you better get a move on before you start swimming!"

The assistants all exchange looks of exhausted relief. One by one, the others make their way tentatively across. They're more timid than Lloyd is in their crossing and some opt for basically crawling on their hands and knees instead of standing. There is a tense moment when the bridge shifts a bit from more of the island sloughing off into the acid, but the bridge settles again long enough for the last assistant to scramble across. 

Once the last one sets foot on the bank, Zarius breathes a sigh of relief and leans against the tree exhausted. 

Lloyd however sets his assistants off to collect the gear that was tossed across the river. He then turns to Caedes. "Thank you! I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting. Let me guess, you must be Mister Zarius' apprentice!"

Zarius doesn't have the energy to correct Lloyd and just slides down against the tree to rest for a bit. 

Lloyd glances over and notices Zarius sitting in the mud against the tree. He leans over to Caedes and whispers. "Is uh..is he okay? He don't look to good."

Caedes looks over his shoulder just as Zarius begins to pick himself out of the mud; he seems like he’s doing his best to hold himself together, but there’s an air of ailing coming from the tiefling behind him. He blinks, turning his eyes back to Lloyd as he starts to step onto the bridge. It is with great misfortune, that he has to admit he cannot be in two places at once: so he defers the responsibility the best he can.

“Charlotte? Go keep our new friend company; warn me if he starts to look too bad.”

His voice is quiet, and as Lloyd nears the opposite bank from the bridge, Caedes offers a gloved hand to help him across. As he moves, Charlotte complies with his orders. The black widow refracts light from above as she creeps down the back of his cloak; displacing the fabric slightly as she goes. She becomes visible once she hits the ground; there’s an urgency in her steps, but a caution all the same.

Charlotte skitters close to Zarius, soft and concerned clicks emitting from her mandibles; she tilts her head at him in a way that could be read as curious or concerned.

Lloyd takes his hand as he reaches the bridge, and Caedes uses the leverage to ensure the professor makes it fully onto the silty earth. “Zarius is full of good ideas.” he remarks back, motioning for the other assistants to cross. It takes some time, and the bridge holds until the end, when the dirt begins to slough from the island once more; and even then, it settles long enough for the last to make it. Caedes pulls his hand forth, allowing the assistant to jump from the bridge, further inland, with the assisted momentum.

A breath of relief is had between all of the researchers; most are still a bit shaky, but Lloyd seems as chipper as ever. Caedes turns to face them, eyes drifting over their shoulders to where Zarius is leaning against a tree farther back. Charlotte is still accompanying him, and settles close to his feet like a loyal dog. Before he can remark, or otherwise check on the tiefling, Lloyd starts to speak.

Caedes’ pale eyes turn back to him, and a polite smile crosses his face. “What a sharp eye, professor.” he remarks, lying as though he knows for a fact the sky is green; but it’s easier than correcting him. “I am indeed; Caedes, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, as well. Zarius has told me much of you; we were more than happy to stop and help.”

From his peripheral vision, Zarius slides down the tree. Charlotte looks at him, clicking and clacking, and doing an anxious little dance around his sitting figure. She is incredibly unsubtle, but maybe he forgot to elaborate on that; frankly, he thought it was a given.

The tiefling is ailing enough for even the oblivious Lloyd to notice, however.

This is a pit stop they truly did not need to make; and energy that Zarius could not afford to spare.

“He’ll be okay.” he answers, offering Lloyd a smile. “He caught ill, and hasn’t been getting much sleep while traveling through the flats. I imagine this was all a little much; he just needs a moment to catch his breath.”

Lloyd nods at Caedes explanation. "Gotta be careful out in the Marsh Flats. All sorts of bug floating about, real easy to catch something." 

It's pretty clear the researcher is not very perceptive when it comes to lies or context clues. Probably explains why he didn't notice the ground literally melting away at his feet until it was too late. He makes sure his assistants are okay and have gathered up all their belongings while giving Caedes a chance to check on Zarius. 

The tiefling wipes the sweat from his brow on his shoulder. His clothes are pretty muddy now but he doesn't pay that much mind. He looks at Charlotte doing her anxious little spider arm wiggles.

"I am fine. Just give me a few minutes." He says under his breath. 

He doesn't actually know if Charlotte understands anyone else besides Caedes. The opposite is certainly true as Zarius has no idea what all Charlotte's clicking means but Caedes seems to understand the spider perfectly. He wonders if that was unique to Caedes and Charlotte or if the Shadow Crawlers were all able to communicate with spiders. That certainly would make their work easier since most tend to pay the smaller varieties of arachnids no mind. Maybe spiders were the reasoning behind the 'Crawlers' part of their name. Clever. Very clever. 

His head hurts. More than anything right now he wishes they were already at the Witch's House. He'd welcome Kamille's warm hospitality even at the risk of her trying something underhanded. It had crossed his mind that he would be in no condition to defend himself by the time they arrived. If the mage wanted as such, she could leverage the situation to her advantage. Caedes hadn't met her yet from the sounds of things, best to give him a warning of what to expect before they arrive.

He rests his head back against the tree and takes a few deep breaths, the nausea slowly settling down the more time passes. Glancing at Caedes, he smiles up at the pale assassin.

"Good work. It is no surprise you follow orders well." He meant it as a compliment, though it could easily be taken otherwise. He wasn't really in the right frame of mind to consider how Caedes could take that poorly. 

Lloyd shuffles through the mud over to the pair, a bit of anxiousness evident in his body language. 

"I hate to ask this since you're sick and all, but..." Lloyd looks between Zarius and Caedes hopefully. "The elder ooze can't be that far away. We're still needing to go after it to finish research it and finish up my guide. Would you two help us get close enough to take some samples and run a few tests? I promise it will be well worth both the time and effort!"

Zarius grimmaces a bit. He really was not in any condition to fight another ooze especially one big enough to carve rivers of acid. Still, if Lloyd and his assistants were left on their own, all this effort would have just been to delay their horrific deaths. He sighs and looks to Lloyd. 

"Can you not just observe it from a safe distance?"

"Unfortunately not, we need samples which means getting right up to the green goober."

"'Green goober'?"

"Elder ooze does sound the best, huh?"

"Yes, maybe leave 'green goober' out of the final print draft of your book."

"Noted. So, will you help? You don't need to kill the thing, just tire it out a bit so we can get close safely."

Zarius looks at Caedes. He's tired and he's sure the changeling doesn't very much care if these idiots die. Still, there's a chance that whatever the researchers are going to do with the samples could result in a more rapid solution to his own current arm dilemma. It was a long shot and unlikely, but it might be worth the effort. 

"What do you say? You managed to slow down that other one at the inn."

Charlotte’s arms curl as Zarius affirms he’s okay; the spider seems to settle down a bit, insinuating that she does understand him to whatever degree it may be. Her mandibles still click, eight eyes focused on Zarius until she hears the footsteps of her master; the spider turns in full to face the pale assassin as he departs from Lloyd and the assistants. His boots squelch in the weak, shifting earth as he approaches Zarius. “How are you holding up?” he remarks, watching the way that Zarius rolls his head back to rest against the tree.

He smiles up at him, despite his current wellbeing.

"Good work. It is no surprise you follow orders well."

“When it counts—” The assassin’s eyes narrow as he crouches down to get on eye-level with Zarius; he’ll let the comment slide, but he does feel some slight perturbation with the insinuation of his response. Of course, the Shadow Crawlers have built their legacy on loyalty; but they had more worth to them than just playing their hands as the hitmen of the Crimson Hand. He takes a breath, feeling the acidic air for the first time in some time slip into his lungs, and he lifts a hand. “I can follow them just fine.”

He slips one glove off, and leans forwards to rest the back of his hand against the tiefling’s forehead.

Zarius is burning up— but in contrast, Caedes’ hand is ice cold— as though the changeling hasn’t felt warmth in some time.

... Either way, it’s not a great indicator of Zarius’ condition, due to the abnormality of Caedes’ own. Still, he wouldn’t be surprised if Zarius had been feverish for quite some time, and makes the assumption that infection is likely starting to take its toll based on the symptoms he's been showing thus far.

Caedes’ fingers curl into his palm and he withdraws his hand as Lloyd approaches from behind them; Charlotte clicks, looking at the professor, while Caedes slips his glove back onto his hand. The look he offers Zarius is not one of optimism as he stands to his full height and turns to the professor, arms crossed over his chest. “I don’t think…” he trails off as Zarius interjects, his voice about as pleased as Caedes feels with the professor’s offer.

… But Zarius is posing as an assistant, and Caedes is posing as his assistant.

They really don’t have time for this, and that shows, unspoken, in the way that Caedes looks back at the tiefling from over his shoulder. But… Zarius has already promised to help this guy; it would do them well to maintain those personas. “...So long as it’s a quick operation.”

Lloyd brightens, hands clapping together in front of them; he's delighted. “Quick as can be!”

Caedes has doubts about that.