Home, sweet, home. The covetous vegetation that hides one's visage, the insects of known and unknown varieties, the canopy that can leave one incapable of discerning night from day. Baird can't say that he loves everything about the Marsh, but there is an incredible comfort he feels when wading through its waters. So accustomed was he to the dank everglade that he often traversed without transport. This new task would demand just that, though his home would never feel so alien to him than it would these coming days.
   
    The return to Baird's Palugen village would not be solely a social visit. He spoke with the elders. The rites were powerful, but there was hardly proof to satisfy that they were being used towards the divined purpose yet. For this, they gave him a simple goal, but ensured it would not be so simply resolved: the bogaboo. The beastman's home is being hounded. If he is to continue his path with friends and family unscathed, this undeath needs to be dealt with.

    A gargantuan reptile-boar, clad with six limbs of great strength. Formidable, maybe, but not enough to tame the swamp. Especially so when the air began to shift. A mist was crawling across the muck like an ooze. Soon it'd saturate the whole of the area until Baird could hardly see his own elbow held in front of him. He pondered what best to do, seemingly alone at the edge of the dock. The monster was somewhere ahead in the thicket. It began to look like just floundering about was his only option.

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Into the Marsh

Oh man this would be hilarious. Serena had found herself unable to sleep after a day of lounging in some random swamp village. Part of her “pilgrimage” to all sorts of interesting places where leisure could be found, this place was certainly proving hard to squeeze it out of. That was, until she saw the perfect opportunity.



There was a villager standing at the edge of the dock, broodingly looking off into the endless swamp. Serena would tip toe her way over to him, and scare the crap out of em. Sure, he looked like a massive brute who could punch her across the swamp in one swipe. But like, yolo.



The creaks of the dock were unhelpful in her endeavor, she could only hope he was too wrapped up in his swampy surveyance to notice her approach. When close enough to touch, she sprung out from her crouch regardless of being seen ahead of time or not and shouts aloud “BOO!” and then begins chortling in a most unbecoming fashion.



In all honesty, she was probably just extremely bored. An unfortunate condition that usually led to her taking it out on random townsfolk to amuse herself. Serena sat on one of the docks poles to calm herself, letting out a sigh of immense satisfaction before introducing herself.



“You must forgive me, I could not help myself. Serena, a pleasure. This town is quite dull once the fog rolls in is it not? Is that what you seek out in the woodline, Chimera? Entertainment?” She asks lackadaisically, no sense of danger or tact to speak of.

    Although attentive, Baird is in another world when focusing in on a plan. Just as Serena gets close, he turns to see the nearly incandescent paleness glow in the saturated air. In that very instant, every strand of fur and hardened spine across his body stands; that's a ghost! Then "BOO!"

    Baird stiffens like a board, sending his hooves hydroplaning on the wet wood! A humongous splash erupts from the swamp as the tower fell like he'd been struck by a cannonball. From under the water he can make out the distinctly corporeal woman giggling above. Getting a grip on what happened, the beastman lets himself sink to the bottom of the flood in embarrassment. He still listens to the introduction.

    Once Serena finishes, Baird launches upward through the water. Elegantly breaching with force, he lands back onto the walkway with a thud heavy enough to rattle every board in sight.

    Then, he laughs in his ugly, jocund fashion. "HA! You really did get me good! I admit that spirits do send me chills." He kneels down to level with the woman on the post. Once he can get a look at his prankster, he nearly stumbles again at seeing such a gorgeous sight. Now embarrassed twice over, Baird winces as he looks away, as though their disparity was painful to confront. Speaking with a downcast gaze, "Baird, it's my honor to meet you."

    The boar does his best to sound frank, each arm gesticulating in some way, "I'm here for business more than pleasure. I've journeyed home to learn there is an undead, a bogaboo, skulking the thicket in that mist. However long it takes, I have to remove it." A pause overtakes his explanation. For a moment he is able to return to his composure, continuing, "... Only I hardly know how. It'll be deep in there, so first I definitely need to put together a camp to stage this hunt." He turns to look to Serena and once again winces as he pushes through to make eye contact.

Using a hand to stifle any laughter of the scaly beast man climbing out of the marsh, Serena desperately tries to look as though she is taking the man seriously. She was, SHE IS, pull it together woman. His concern is completely vaild, a spooky monster skulking about in a swamp is certainly an issue, especially this close to civilization. Though, it had been almost literal years since the woman had taken anything seriously at face value. Fake it until you make it, wise advice.



Her hand went from containing a giggle, to pensively stroking her chin in an exaggerated manner, attempting to mimic all those wise professors she had suffered. “A Bogaboo, mmmyes quite the issue. Fortunately, you seem to already be halfway to a solution. You see young Baird” Was he young? Impossible to tell surely. “The hardest part is always jumping in.” Her faux wise aura quickly evaporated into a dumb grin as she backed up a bit, before launching into a full on sprint at the end of the dock.



A leap preceded a loud splash, before she came up for air and to flick her now mucky hair around trying to get it out of her eyes. “Luckily for you then, putting the dead to rest is a bit of a specialty of mine!” She shouts up at the beastman, waving him in, and beginning to doggy paddle towards the misty abyssty.

    Two buffoons by different means. Most definitely the Palugen are safe with these 'adventurers' on the case. Baird's face first squinted at her act with an open, quizzical pout. Then as Serena made a break for the edge, his beady eyes turned to saucers with mouth agape! Once she was in the water, a Baird bears bewilderment, bemusedly, because bursting beguile bowls boar-boy's brains belligerently. What a tale shall hence ensue.

    "You- wh- uh-" The boar darts after the girl until he could see her silly charade at swimming. At this, he rubs a thick palm across his snout, "Ah, fuck it." 

    Crouching down then springing forth, Baird flopped his whole form into the water across, landing just behind Serena. A geyser of water shooting in every direction and a forceful ebb would wash forward. The subject of her silliness then matched the wave from below, rising as he smoothly traverses the opaque brine. Baird swims like a killer whale, a shallow rise and fall he learned from years spent in these very waters.
    
    He aims to carry her on his shoulders; Comparatively, she'd practically be laying on a queen sized bed. An oily, pungent, and occasionally prickly bed. Really, he just felt it a privilege to be of use. Once his head finds open air, he speaks earnestly, "I'd be mortified if a crocodile snapped at you after all that. Thank you for helping me! I don't know what you are after, but I'll cook ya something exquisite just for your effort."

Her joy turned into momentary amazement as she turned to see if the Boar-boy would follow. Indeed he would, the extended body falling quite quickly behind her. The wavy of muddy water quickly overcame the priestess, sending her tumbling momentarily. Before she knew it, Serena was once more afloat. This time, however, it would seem afloat on a rather hairy raft of muscle and politeness. "My goodness, I probably should have been more prepared for this outcome."


She relaxed once Baird had made it obvious of his intention, reclining slightly to begin twisting the murky water from her robes. “Much obliged my friend” Serena offered, “And I look forward to the culinary exploration of this swamps various delights. Worry not for what I am after, boredom will propel oneself to great lengths to find alleviation.”



In truth, there was one thing she was after. Happenstance would find that her objective was simply in line with the beastmans. A small leatherbound package rested in her pouch, to be delivered to a benign stump in the middle of the swamp. Dedicated from persons whose names were declined to being given, and addressed to aliases unknowable to the common man. It was not her business, though getting there alive would be a nice bonus.



“Mr. Baird sir, you had said this was your homeland? What could take you away from such natural splendor for long enough that a misty undead could creep in the back door, so to speak?” Serena asked, her eyes wandering idly among the trees that occasionally popped into view from the oppressive mist. It was only partially sarcastic, she did not personally know the preferences for comfort amongst giant beastmen.

    A submerged root structure, flotsam, the occasional animal; more or less constantly Baird would have to veer course to avoid collision. Sticking to what he knows of progress, he did his best to maintain a single direction into the mist. With keeping busy navigating the water and the polite conversation, he wouldn't yet wonder at what truly motivates Serena to dive into this foreboding wilderness.

    "Yes indeed! I am raised Palugen, one of the lost fae to return home." The boar spoke in spurts, when the bob of his body allowed his head to crane above the surface. "I felt it my passion to learn and share- -the teachings of the Storyteller. Knowing there is a wider world out there, I venture around to broaden the horizons- -of those that don't have the privilege to meet people unlike them." Splitting his focus with avoiding a crash has this response roll off matter-of-factly. On top of that, a thing or two would catch his eye while on the move. His arm rising to harvest a patch of moss, a few fish not reacting quick enough to get away, and the bark of richly brown trees. Each of these and a few other bits and pieces, Baird would reach up and pin the item to the spines on his shoulders.

    Keeping the conversation going, "Well, what brought you to such a luxurious locale? Never do I judge on appearances, it'd be- -hypocritical, but you're regal for the Capitol's standards. I don't mean to pry- -of course."

His reasonings sounded oddly familiar, though her context would shape it quite differently.



“Weelllll pretty much what you’re doing! We call it a Pilgrimage at the Temple of the Sun, but it sounds like the motives are awfully alike. Mostly to expand the sisters world view so we don’t get all stuck up like the really noble people.” Serena said kicking her legs in idle amusement in the water on Bairds back whilst he bobbed and weaved throughout the swamp. “Supposedly one of the requirements is a ton of charity, so I figured helping you would count!”



Her eyebrows raised only slightly at the fish that was now impaled on his shoulder, staring at her blankly whilst it’s poor mouth still struggled to breathe. This most definitely counted towards the worldliness portion at the very least. She would leave out the parts about this mostly being a longass vacation for herself. He probably wasn’t going to snitch on her to the clerical society, but it was easy to let one’s guard down. The package would have to remain a secret as well. "So yeah that's pretty much it!"


Up ahead in the mist, a gigantic outcropping of flat-topped boulders would begin to peek out among the fog. Ancient tanning beds for the local lizard population surely, but would probably make for some quite nice camping in the midst of the damp swamp.

    A gladness soaks through Baird hearing about the Temple's seemingly egalitarian perspective, though he could only hope that Selena's words are true. Perhaps the elders were right. Good spirits don't stop at the doorstep of civilized society, they find their way in there too.
    
    Having waded awhile at this point, it was a good time to come across a place of rest. Baird raised an arm to brace his passenger as he planted his hooves onto whatever sure surfaces were beneath him. Raising out of the water a few feet, he saw the stones she may have signaled to him. Perfection! Nevertheless, this good fortune could be the last they receive on this hunt for such an intense creature. The rest will come down to their capability and grit. Baird was hardly aware that he was very likely to be the lesser capable of the two in the coming battle against malevolent undeath.

    The Palugen beast skimmed just by the stones so that Selena may disembark. "I must apologize, I hadn't thought to acquire supplies for camping until after we left! Give me just a bit." Without pause, he climbed the largest tree he could in search of adequate building material. At least the hearthmoss he picked on the way would keep them warm, if all else fails.

    Returning after a time with a bundle of branches between one pair of arms, a large clump of soft plant matter in another, and dozens of oozing scratches all over; Baird would glow with pride like a little boy. "We can put together some shelter!" However it may come along, it was time to build a place to rest and get to cooking!