A/N: Sorry for the much longer wait than expected. Thursday came and I was gripped with the realization that this had to be two chapters and also that the first one should be from a different perspective than before. Then I started writing, the length got away from me just a little bit (do not look at the new wordcount), then I wanted to get it proofread, it was a whole thing. But it's here now, and I have a much better grasp of the deadlines I can handle. Hope two chapters at once was worth the wait!

Aris' day began as it usually did, with the moon at its zenith in the night sky and a thin stream of its light letting her know that the time for basking in the sun was over.

Reluctantly she got up, stretching and yawning as she did so. Maybe she could stay in her feather-bed for a few more minutes… She'd only just gotten properly warm. But, she scratched the scales on her left arm in contemplation, without the sun around it wasn't like she'd get any warmer.

Sighing, she threw on her work clothes, deftly fitting her tail through the hole in the raggedy tunic-dress' back, wrapped it around her mid-section a few times, and began her morning routine.

Of course, there was no proper start to the day without an offering to the Skies and Earth. She opened the bag she kept next to the lightly-adorned shrine in the corner of her hut, and was distressed to find it almost empty of incense. She'd have to find somebody willing to trade for it today, there was no way the settlement's Supplier would give her any after the dressing down she'd gotten about how much she burned through in a cycle last time…

Still, just enough left for today. She pulled out one of the incense sticks, crushed it in her palm, and dropped the fragments into the burner at her shrine's heart, a rounded little boat of crimson rock, with thin lines of silver running across it. She pulled out her clicker, snapped its stone against the rounded metal orb, and watched a small flame erupt, offering the incense up to the Twin Ends. Finally, two silent prayers, one for each of the Twins. She wordlessly offered gratitude to the Lady of Blades and requested her blessings for the day ahead, then repeated the lines, beseeching the Earth of Scales for his protection during the night.

It was routine by now, but a comforting one.

That done, she grabbed a few pouches off the low-hanging stone table she kept next to her feather-bed, tied them off around her tail, and stood in front of the polished Cephalogon shell she used as a mirror. Her hair was a mess, and she set about quickly setting it back into place with some careful application of her hands, claws and the sculpted bone 'brush' she'd traded away a few Stone Tablets to Seri for. One of the older earthborn grannies had spun a yarn recently about how, before the swamp had even formed, all the richest people of the land would spend hours prettying themselves up with powders and crystals and even fake hair of some kind.

Aris thought it sounded a little ridiculous, but she couldn't deny the story had made her feel a little self-conscious. Not enough to buy into the older woman's tales fully, of course! But taking care of her hair had sounded appealing, and it hadn't cost her too much.

With a little bit of effort, her hair ended up looking straight and smooth enough in the mirror to satisfy her, with her ivory-white horns just barely poking out from beneath the brown locks. She might have to file those down later… But for now, it would do.

Aris of Bones was ready to start her day.

—

The moon was still high in the sky when Aris left her little shack, giving her plenty of time to stop and say "Hi" to the earthborn grannies she still kept in contact with, their roars and growls as difficult to interpret as ever. She even got to catch a glimpse of the stars! Usually the tree cover, mist and clouds conspired to keep the sky above obscured, with only the sun bleakly shining through once day came.

Aris had a good feeling about today, at the time.

With that in mind, she'd gone across a few rope bridges down to the Skull's Head Platform and headed inside the Message Hut with a spring in her step. She wasn't the first to arrive, but she wasn't the last, either. Louri, a skyborn with not even a single scale to her name, was already seated on the floor, resolutely ignoring the skittering of Mabuli's claws across the floor as she chattered at the dark-haired girl. Mabuli was an earthborn with a fully-scaled lizard-like body - save for her vulnerable human head, which had relegated her to message-carrier duty with the rest of them.

They were friends, of a sort. Aris was fond of them anyway.

"Anything to report, ladies?" Aris barked, standing stock-straight like she'd seen a particularly grouchy Hunter do once.

"That was a terrible impression, Aris." Louri replied, not looking up from where she was seated against the corner of their half of the hut. Ouch, she'd been caught out. Rori was always a sharp one, which Aris supposed was meant to come with being fully skyborn.

"Impression? Of who? Oh, it doesn't really matter. I was just telling Louri, the Second Swampwalker Squad came back today!" Mabuli chirped, skittering around on the floor in excitement, her half-grown wings flapping quickly enough to produce a buzzing sound.

"Oh?" Aris perked up with interest. A Walker group coming back usually meant some interesting stories to trade. Ah, to see the world beyond these platforms for herself! But living vicariously through those permitted to venture forth was all she had.

"Mhm! Don't tell anyone, but apparently their take was really low, the Supplier mentioned something about reporting them. That's what I heard, anyway." Mabuli continued, nodding her head excitedly.

"Because they avoided most of the area they were supposed to scout but wouldn't say why, if that nut down by Fourth Rib wasn't lying to me," A low voice rumbled from the doorway.

Their fourth had arrived.

Gares was a former Hunter with a heavy scale coverage, demoted to the rank of Message-carrier for a reason that had never been made public, and the room quieted at his arrival. He wasn't disliked, per se, but Aris had never heard of any Hunter losing their rank aside from him.

Whatever he had done, Aris had heard rumors he'd been one step from going into containment. She held back a shudder at the mere thought of that hole.

"Y-yeah, that's right…" Mabuli awkwardly trailed off. Gares grunted and shuffled off into the corner opposite of Louri, not looking at anyone.

Well, they were all here. Technically there was a little bit of time before their group had to start, but looking out the circular window, Aris could tell dawn was just about to break.

Being the closest one and for no other reason, she moved towards the door that led to the second half of the Message Hut, and knocked.

"First Message-Carrying Squad, reporting for duty? Are the scribes done?" She called out, her voice steadying as she spoke. They did have a job to do, after all.

After a few moments, one of the reptillian-faced earthborn poked their head out, glanced around, and then gave her a clawed thumbs up, before shutting the door again. A few more moments and the door opened again, with a heavy sack of stone tablets containing the day's messages being shoved into her hands. She stumbled a bit, then steadied herself, stepping out of the way.

Rori came to the door, receiving her own, slightly lighter sack with an "Oof", and Mabuli waited patiently at the doorway as the sack was slowly affixed to her back. Eventually, growing tired of the scribe's clumsy attempts at tying the sack's knots, Gares leaned down and finished them himself, waiting at the doorway with his arms crossed until he received his own.

They were finally ready to leave.

Aris of Bones was ready to truly start her day.

—

Aris of Bones hadn't been even a little bit ready to start her day.

It had been nothing more than a flicker of movement in the corner of her vision catching her eye. Just movement that was a little too high up for her to dismiss.

She turned around, and saw them.

A man in a thick black cloak, with a silvery staff in one hand and a thin object wrapped in white cloth on his back, being carried by a young-looking lady with dark hair and a darker, purple-lined garb, floating down in the wind.

It took her brain a moment to catch up with what she was seeing, and when it did she immediately rushed over.

The Imaginary Sword had come to pay Bones a visit once more. The incident five cycles ago, and what the Keeper had done to the message-carrier from back then for not showing 'appropriate respect', was still fresh in Aris' mind.

"Lady Yasuri! It's an honour, great honour, to see you," She spoke, making sure to bow as deeply as the half-remembered etiquette in the back of her mind told her to, "This one's name is Aris, um, what - what brings you here today? And, er."

She eyed the Empty Blade's companion warily. What was a sorcerer doing all the way out here? And an outlander, too. Nobody would ibe caught dead wearing a cloak like that in any of Yusi's settlements. A visitor from South Paug, maybe? People from that displaced city rarely ventured out.

Aris entertained the thought that he was here to face judgement just long enough to dismiss it. If Lady Yasuri wished to judge somebody, they would be rotting in some forgotten corner of Yusi's swamplands already, or dealing with whichever other punishment she deemed appropriate.

"Miss Aris, thank you for welcoming me. You're a message-carrier, I see. That's good, I have a few things I'd like to ask of you. Walk with me?" Lady Yasuri started moving without waiting for an answer. Her cloaked companion followed, and, after a brief pause, Aris did so as well, her bag skittering and skipping across the ground until she regained enough of her mental faculties to lift it back up properly.

Lady Yasuri had called her by her name. She felt like she was going to faint.

Aris snuck a quick glance back at the rest of her Squad. Even at a distance, Mabuli's worried expression was clear to see, and Louri's slight squint conveyed her worry just as well. Gares stared back with narrowed eyes, looking like he might say something. Aris tried to smile, to reassure them, and she wasn't sure if it worked but Gares stayed his tongue nonetheless. That would have to be enough.

She'd gone first for a reason - now it was up to her to show 'appropriate respect'.

The man in the cloak stayed curiously silent, and Aris really wanted to ask why he was here but Lady Yasuri had other plans for the conversation.

"Ah, by the way Miss Aris, weren't there five members in the First Message Squad before? Did something happen?" The Lady of Blades asked curiously, looking back over her shoulder. Aris hurriedly tried to match her pace.

"Er, I guess you wouldn't know since it was after you left, Lady Yasuri, not that there's anything wrong with you not knowing, I mean," Aris trailed off for a moment, before catching herself, "Sorry. Shinedo, our former squad head, is in containment. For, ah, inappropriate disrespect towards, er, you."

Lady Yasuri tilted her head. Aris couldn't quite read her expression, but it looked a little flatter than before, somehow.

"I'll have to talk with Bones' Keeper a little longer than I intended, then…" Lady Yasuri mused, "By the way, Miss Aris, feel free to refer to me as Lady Nanami. I've already broken the ice on referring to you by your first name, so it would be poor manners to not offer you the same."

Aris felt herself inching ever closer to a blackout.

"I couldn't possibly- I mean, that is- If, if that is your wish, Lady Nanami," Aris spoke, closing her eyes and cringing reflexively. No retaliation came, though, and when she opened her eyes again, she saw Lady Yasuri walking a few steps ahead, but otherwise looking remarkably casual. No Hunters dropped from the sky to punish her for the disrespect, either.

"Ah, then, Lady Nanami," Aris spoke again, testing the words carefully, "If you wouldn't mind me asking, who is your companion?"

The cloaked man still hadn't spoken a word. Aris was starting to worry he was, perhaps, a walking corpse.

"Yes, I suppose I should introduce him. This is Garnt, of… somewhere." Nanami said, nodding in his direction. Garnt was walking a few steps behind them, and Aris pointedly did not voice how awkward this made the motion, "Garnt is my new wielder, having passed the trials less than a day ago. He came to me with a specific quest in mind, so after I finish informing the Keeper of my temporary absence and… discussing a few other matters, we'll be setting off. Truthfully, we came here because Garnt needs to resupply on some materials."

"A new wielder, really?" Aris tamped down on her initial shock. Lady Yas-Nanami had extended a great deal of trust, and she wasn't about to spoil that by overreacting to every bit of news. Still, a new wielder-! Oh the stories somebody capable of passing the trials could tell! It had been over a hundred cycles since the last one! Ah, she'd have to sneak in a few questions before they left, and there was hardly any time at all! "Surely that would be a cause for some celebration, at least?"

"Unfortunately, we are a little pressed for time. I'm sure the Keeper will organise something after we're gone, once she's done answering my questions, so help Garnt find the things he needs in my stead, if you would. I'm off for a little chat. We will meet up at the Great Skull once you're done, okay?" Lady Nanami finished with a smile, and then wandered off back in the direction they had come from without even waiting for an answer.

The moment she left, the man next to her suddenly came to life.

"Apologies for my rudeness, Miss Aris, but what is it you were discussing just now? The particulars were, I'll confess, rather lost on me." The man, Garnt, politely inquired, as they resumed their pace.

"Ah, Lady Nanami was just asking a few questions about the person who greeted her the last time she arrived. There was a bit of an incident, and the message-carrier who'd greeted her is still in… containment." Aris replied, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. So he was the type to get lost in his thoughts, then.

That was another thought she did not voice. It was not that Garnt was particularly intimidating in his appearance, Gares was at least a full head taller than him and bulkier besides, but… Maybe it was knowing he had passed the trials, or that his staff must have housed all kinds of sorcerous tricks, but the man felt dangerous.

"I see…" The sorcerer said, trailing off. When he got lost in his thoughts like that, he really did seem dead. It was disturbing - if not for the sound of his cloak shuffling about, it would feel like a statue was following her around.

"It's honestly unbelievable that Anu'en is still in there, in my opinion," Aris said in a low voice, leaning a little closer to the cloaked man, "That we're still using containment on our own people is… I mean, I know why those holes were made, there's a lot of beasts the swamps produce that can't really be killed, but. It's just too much, I think."

"Holes…?" Garnt replied, keeping his voice equally low, "Dark, lightless holes, look a little bigger on the inside than on the outside?"

Aris nodded. She'd been put in containment, once. It was-

The shifting of the cloak brought her back to reality before she could get too lost in her memories. Garnt had readjusted the cloth around his face, and his sharp blue-eyed stare was directed back in the direction Lady Nanami had gone.

"I thought Nanami looked irritated…" He muttered, quiet enough that she could barely hear, "If she does nothing, I'll handle it."

Aris was torn between being scandalized by his familiar tone of address with the Lady of Blades, and confusion. Handle it? Handle what? Before she could decide, he spoke up again.

"So, I believe you are to be my guide? It is nothing major I need, simply some supplies and perhaps a better map of the area." He continued as they reached one of the ropebridges that connected Bones' platforms. Actually, those sounded doable enough, but reaching the rope bridge reminded her of her actual job, and with that came a quick shot of panic.

"Ah, yes, that's right, and I will but, er, that is, Sir Garnt," How to word this in such a way that he wouldn't refuse… "I, have other tasks I need done? You caught me right as I was carrying messages out, tasks for the day, memos, delivery notices, that kind of thing… Would it be alright if we delivered them along the way?"

"Well, I don't see why not." He replied after a brief pause. Aris let out a breath - if they were as short on time as Lady Nanami had implied, she wouldn't have been surprised if the man before her had simply refused.

He was a sorcerer, right? Sorcerers liked collecting knowledge, she was pretty sure. She'd just make sure to make his trip extra knowledge-ful, as his guide!

Aris snuck a glance inside her bag, to see who she was delivering to first. The scribes stacking the tablets in order of priority was as convenient as ever.

Ris, Swamp-Hunters' Bookkeeper, 2nd Shack, Third Rib

Off to Third Rib they went, then!

Swampwalker's Insignia

A badge signifying membership in the Walkers, the Run-offs' scouting regiment.

The symbol indicates both the Walker's settlement of origin and their squad's number.

Walkers would once scour the swamps, trees and skies for resources, but now, nothing remains to be taken. An emblem of little value, but perhaps somebody still treasures it.