Luckborn

"There's something wrong with the comm crystal," Milo informed them when they returned from the recon.

Sage sat on one of the bunks, looking thoroughly bored.

"So we can't use it?" Otter asked.

Milo gave him a flat look. "No."

"Can you fix it?"

"Also, no. I have no idea what's wrong with it, only that it isn't functioning properly. Not that I know how a properly functioning one actually works. But I think I know how to operate one when it works. And this one, as I said, isn't working."

After a brief pause, Otter continued. "So what should we do now?"

"I don't think there's much we can do at the moment," said Sage. "It's dark. We need to rest. Even if someone had been here, we would need to stay the night."

"Sage is right," Erin agreed. "It's too late now to track anyone through this mess. Even if we wanted to look for them, which I know you do, Otter, doing so now would be reckless."

"Okay, so we tuck in for the night and reevaluate in the morning. Maybe someone returns by then and problem solved."

"We can hope," said Sage.

Jasper flopped down on the bunk across from Sage. "I think we should still set a watch. I don't like the idea of something that could take out a group of mid-level adventurers wandering around out there."

"Agreed," said Erin.

Otter volunteered to take first watch. They debated on manning the tower during watches, but decided against it. They were better off in close proximity. Sage would take the last watch as she needed to recover the most mana, which happened the quickest while sleeping.

The team settled in for the night. There was no fire; the outpost was already equipped with a lantern, and they didn't want to draw more attention than necessary. They kept the main hut closed up tight, curtains drawn, door barred, weapons within reach.

Otter sat by the door with his rapier across his knees, ears tuned to the soft creaks of the stilts and the occasional splash as some frog, turtle, or fish broke the surface of the water.

He wished he'd brought something to read, but when you had to carry everything on your back, every ounce counted, so he'd left all books except his journal at home.

The others dozed off one by one. Milo snored softly. Jasper mumbled in his sleep. Erin rolled over once and stilled. Only Sage slept soundlessly, her hands folded beneath her cheek like someone carved from porcelain.

Otter let his thoughts drift. Who had sent that signal? Was it real? A trap? Had they gone to help someone… or to follow bait?

And why hadn't anyone returned? Was that fourth man still out there, watching them now?

At the end of his shift, Otter gently shook Milo awake. The Spell Lord grumbled but sat up, rubbing his eyes. Otter briefed him quietly, then climbed onto the nearest empty bunk and lay back, eyes still scanning the ceiling beams as sleep reluctantly approached.

***

Otter woke the next morning with his shirt already damp from sweat and humidity. He heard the sound of creaking boards and low voices. The sky beyond the shuttered windows was the color of dull pewter, and the stink of wet earth hung in the air.

He rose quietly, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and joined the others at the central table. Milo was scowling at a piece of hardtack like it had personally offended him. Erin leaned over the logbook again, eyes scanning that final entry.

Jasper was the first to speak what they were all thinking. "They're not coming back, are they?"

No one answered for a long moment.

"Doesn't look like it," Erin said finally.

Milo looked up. "So what now? We go back to Brighthaven and report?"

Sage exhaled slowly, her expression unreadable. "That's the safest choice. Our job was to deliver the package, not rescue a missing team."

"But we can't just leave the package in an empty hut. That feels very irresponsible," Otter said. "Plus, if we leave now, and they're still out there—hurt or lost—we're abandoning them."

"That may be true," Sage said, "but we're not prepared for a search-and-recovery operation. We don't know the terrain. We have no way to call for backup. And we don't even know what we're walking into."

"I'm not saying we should wander into the marsh blind," Otter said. "But what about the one they left behind? The one who left the tracks heading north?"

Erin perked up at that. "Right. If they left later than the others, they might not have gotten far. And if something went wrong… maybe they left more signs behind."

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"Shorter trail, higher chance of finding something useful," Jasper said. "I like it better than chasing after a whole team we'll never catch."

"It's still risky," Sage warned. "But… yes. That might give us answers without getting in over our heads. And I agree, not putting this package, whatever it is, into someone's hands feels wrong."

Otter looked around the table. "We'll be careful. We go as far as we can until noon. If we find something or someone, great. If not, we return before dark."

"Agreed," said Erin.

Milo groaned. "Okay, let me cast the bug ward on everybody."

Jasper stood and shouldered his gear. Otter smiled faintly and reached for his own pack. It felt good to be proactive. Unlike the mission to Stonetrail Glen, where he felt like they'd left things unresolved, this time they had a clear trail. A tangible lead. And, hopefully, their efforts would be helpful.

They set out with resolve. The marsh now buzzed with a cacophony of trills and chirps from a multitude of birds and insects. Erin took the lead, eyes scanning the soggy ground. Otter walked a few paces behind her, noting the way she moved—fluid and certain, as if the land itself whispered directions to her. The others followed in silence, letting the swamp swallow their footsteps.

Erin found the trail within minutes.

"Got it," she said, crouching near a spot where the reeds were bent and the mud bore the faint imprint of a boot heel. "Same tread as the tracks I found last night. He went this way."

"Straight north?" Otter asked.

She nodded. "At first."

They pressed on, picking their way through ankle-deep muck. The path wasn't difficult to follow—more of a wandering line than a trail—but it was clear someone had come this way recently. An hour passed, maybe a little less, before Erin held up a hand and dropped into a crouch.

"There," she said, voice low. "You see that?"

Otter squinted ahead. A faint column of smoke, barely more than a gray smudge, curled above the trees.

"I'll approach first," Sage said, already moving.

The rest of the team spread out behind her, weapons at the ready just in case. But as they neared, the smell of smoke grew stronger, accompanied by the soft crackle of a controlled fire and the unmistakable sound of someone muttering to themselves.

Sage disappeared around a clump of reeds, and Otter heard her voice, speaking softly, followed by a deeper shout of alarm. He rushed ahead and found a small rise, just high enough to keep the surrounding water at bay, and saw a young man in his early twenties, sitting on a flat stone beside a tiny campfire. His clothes were rumpled and damp, though Otter could make out a Spell Lord badge pinned to his chest. His pack lay open beside him, half its contents spilled in disarray.

Sage stood before him, hands out, palms up. "We're Guild Auxiliary," she was saying. "We found your trail and decided to look for you. I'm glad we found you."

The man let out a long, shaking breath and ran both hands through his wet hair. "Oh, thank the gods. I thought I was done for. I've been walking in circles for hours. Did you find the others?"

Sage shook her head. "Are you hurt?"

"No. Just embarrassed. They left me to keep watch, and when no one came back… I panicked."

"Gather your things, and we'll take you back, then figure out what to do next."

***

The return trip was uneventful, though the mood lifted tangibly with the relief of finding someone alive. Once they reached the main building, Jasper retrieved the package from his pack and formally presented it to the young man, who took it with shaky hands and tucked the sealed parcel safely inside a lockbox beneath the desk.

A moment later, all five of their wrisplays vibrated softly.

Otter glanced down.

Objective Complete: Deliver the package to Halverik Marsh.

XP Gained: 50

That's better, thought Otter. If they could complete a mission like this every few days, they should hit level 3 before the end of the summer. Maybe the trick to leveling up faster was completing objectives, not killing monsters.

The Spell Lord they'd rescued, whose name they learned was Fridley, was fiddling with the comm crystal. "Dammit. Still nothing."

Milo watched him closely. "Any idea why it isn't working?"

"No. It started acting up after we got that distress signal. The others were already prepping to leave when I noticed it flickering. After they went, I tried pinging Brighthaven. Nothing. I spent two hours trying to troubleshoot it before I… well, before I panicked."

"Understandable," Sage said, not unkindly. "This is a lot, especially alone."

Otter began re-rolling his bedroll. "Well, you're not alone anymore. We'll file a report back in Brighthaven—"

"No. Wait." Fridley stepped forward quickly, too quickly. "Please don't go. Not yet."

Everyone paused.

"I know you've completed your task," he said, eyes darting between them. "But I can't stay here by myself again. I'm not trained for this. I mean, I'm a decent spellcaster, but I was always part of a team. Someone else always scouted, someone else stood on the front lines. I… I'm not made for this kind of isolation."

Otter exchanged a look with Erin, who had already stopped packing.

Fridley went on, voice quieting. "I don't know what's out there. But my friends didn't come back. And I know I won't sleep tonight if I don't at least try to find them. Please."

"That's not our assignment," Sage said flatly.

"No," Otter agreed, "but it's the right thing to do. And Greaves didn't give us a time limit for this. After all, we found him," Otter jerked his thumb at Fridley, "in just a couple of hours."

"Yeah, but a whole team," said Jasper. "That's different. I'm trying to imagine what could keep an entire team from returning, and I don't like any of the scenarios."

"That's fair. And I'm not saying we run headlong into danger. We should expect an ambush somewhere along the way. Because I have a feeling that the distress signal was bogus, meant to lure them out there. And if I wanted to ambush someone, I wouldn't wait until they got to the destination. I'd set it someplace along the way when they definitely weren't expecting it."

Jasper gave Otter a curious look, but didn't say anything.

"I do think one of us should stay behind, in case they return or someone else comes looking for us, though."

Milo raised his hand a little too quickly. "I will."

"No," Japer and Erin said in unison.

"They're right," said Sage. "Assuming Fridley also comes, having two Spell Lords will greatly increase our odds of surviving a fight. If we're going to do this, we stick together. No splitting the party."

Milo grumbled a bit at the prospect of having to deal with the clouds of biting flies again, but it was a hollow complaint.

"We should at least leave a note," said Jasper, picking up the logbook.

Otter took it from him and began writing in the next clean space.

Day 21, Blazemark Moon.

To any Guild team arriving after us: We've located one member of the Outpost alive. The remaining four left early yesterday on foot toward Myrrh Fen after receiving a distress call via the comm crystal. The crystal is currently nonfunctional. We are following their trail to attempt a recovery.— Auxiliary Team 17-B

Otter placed the logbook in the center of the table, so it would be impossible to miss.

Then his wrisplay buzzed.

New Objective: Find the missing Outpost team.