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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lars Frehse" data-source="post: 363120" data-attributes="member: 1674">Chapter 13: A new Hope- part 1The Ghostmaid was rocking gently in the river delta and the sun was rising into the clear blue sky as the heroes went ashore. Since the eastern bank of the river went over into mangroove swamps, making it hardly passable, they landed on the other bank, hoping to find a ford further upriver.The only steeds they took along were Donnangar’s dire wolf and Ben’s horserat, since they weren’t sure whether their horses could manage the terrain they were about to cross. For hours, they walked through marshland, and the sun burned down on them while the ponds and swamps around them were stinking of decomposing plants and animals.The climate around them was much warmer than they expected this far up north. It seemed that Kadum’s blood was warming up the water and the air of the blood sea, so that the toe islands had mangrove swamps and other features one would only expect in tropic areas.Around noon, the stench around them was almost unbearable. At some point, the marsh gas made them gag and they wondered whether they would have to go back and circle around this particular part of the swamp, as a tentacle shot from out of the reeds around them and wrapped itself around Jan. Before he could react, the tentacle pulled Niklas towards the reeds, and now the heroes saw their attackers: They were being attacked by three headed horse-sized toads, and the tentacle was actually a tongue…Immediately, four more got out of the swamps, attacking the heroes with their tongues, which they shot at them in order to wrap them up and swallow them. Jan was able to rip himself free, but Trepat was less lucky. Just after he cast a spell, he was swallowed by one of the toads. At that time, all of his friends were busy with toads that had engaged them.It was dark within the huge toad and the elf felt the beast’s digestive acid burning into his flesh as he was mangled as the internal muscles around him were contracting. Fighting down the feeling of claustrophobia, Trepat remembered that the spell he had cast enabled him to transmit negative energy with his hand.He forcefully moved his hand so that he touched the stomach wall with the palm of his right hand, and as he felt the dark energy streaming through him, the toad’s flesh close to his palm started to wither away. He kept on pressing against the spot as he felt the acid burning ever deeper into him until the toad’s muscles and skin tore apart and there was an opening through which he was able to press himself.It was like a parody of a birth, as he exited the toad’s body, and like a newborn, he was covered in blood. Bile and blood gushed out of the wound which shortly afterwards closed again.By now, his friends had gained the upper hand, and Donnangar came to Trepat’s aid. After he killed the toad with his falchion, he healed the elf.The stench toads were all killed, stinking even worse than before (if such a thing is possible), and they all agreed to leave the swamp as quickly as possible, and a few hours later, they had finally left the swamps and were now in knee-high grassland. They walked along the river’s bank for a few more hours, but since they didn’t find a ford before sunset, they set up camp, intending to look further on the next day.</blockquote>

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