An escort led them back through the swamps, headed towards the north, where Mother Kreboak had said that there were drylanders, loggers who harvested trees on the edges of the swamps, hunters and trackers and traders, some of whom ventured into the swamps to trade with the kritihik who lived there. Mother Kreboak had not been able to say much more beyond that, of who may have been behind it but only that Shaman Reebor had meant to speak with some of them, for the humans had begun encroaching upon the swamps of the kritihik.

They waded back through the deep waters, sweltering beneath the enshrouding canopied of the trees above, hounded by the insects that swarmed about.

“I do not quite follow this korkorun business,” Ivkarha said to Aedmorn as they followed behind a kritihik guide who slid through the murky waters with nary a ripple. “Surely they have had these korkorun lost before, or broken, and what of those hatched when none are available?”

“I can not say how they handle those situations,” Aedmorn told her, “Only that it would not do to discard the concept entirely, for long has their society held to it and they believe it if nothing else. Either way, it harms us not to aid them and it will be of benefit to them.”

“We have not much to go on, no names or descriptions; it will be a challenge.”

Aedmorn chuckled softly. “It is ever the case for us; nothing comes easy.”

“There is some truth in that,” Ivkarha agreed before falling silent again.

The guide led them in time to a place where the waters grew shallow, and the trees began to open out. Patches of dry ground poked above the water, here and there and they could once more see blue sky above, the green shroud parting. The krithik guide croaked something before disappearing back into the swamp, so silent that it was as if he had never been there to begin with.

Aedmorn led them onwards, up onto a path that began to follow dry ground; around them they could see stumps of trees where they had been felled and off in the far distance the sound of axes at work.

Uncertain where to go, they headed towards the sounds, the last patches of the swamp drying up as they slowly climbed a rise up out of it, one where trees had once grown thick but now had been thinned out by the work of woodcutters.

They ran into the first team of them a short distance off, a band of men working at a giant tree with their axes, men of a number of nations, from pale Thegurians to the dark Ashventha. A team of bullocks waited patently to haul the log away once it had been felled.

One of the workers spotted them coming and held up a hand to stop the chopping. A stout, florid man with a clean shaven head and a thick blond beard, he eyed them cautiously, axe in hand but held down it his side.

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“It is best you not come this way, strangers,” he told them rather bluntly. “It is not safe to do so. We don’t want any accidents.”

“We will not disturb you long.” Aedmorn told them, “For we only seek directions to the nearest encampment.”

The man looked them over before speaking. “If you head that way,” he said at last, pointing off towards the north, where a rough trail could be seen cut into the landscape, “There is a small township that you can visit.”

“Thank you,” Aedmorn responded. “Tell me, do you have much interaction with the krithik?”

“The frogs?” the man asked sounding surprised. “No. They stay in the swamps and we stay out of it.”

“There is talk that some have been venturing into the swamps,” Aedmorn said, “That they have been encroaching on krithik lands.”

The man scowled. “We don’t do that. We know where we are to go, and there are trees aplenty outside the swamps.”

One of the workers, a tall, dark haired man, stripped to the waist and sweating in the heat, axe slung over his shoulder, spoke up. “Boss, what of Asgyr?”

The man turned to look at the worker, then back to Aedmorn. “If any would do such a thing, it would be Asgyr,” he admitted, “But there is no proof of such a thing.”

“Where can we find this Asgyr?” Ivkarha demanded.

“Not sure where his team works, but ask around in Edhest, the township. If he is not there, then they might now.”

“My thanks,” Aedmorn replied before setting off in the direction indicated.

The trail they followed was a rough one gouged out of the ground by the track of bullocks heavy loads behind them, a scar in the once green land. Aedmorn’s face darkened as they made their way along it, climbing up the slope above.

“Fah,” said he, “I like not the manner in which this is developing, even if a part of me understands the necessity for it. If may be that I needs contact the priesthood of the Green Goddess so that one of the cruaith shall be sent, to observe all that transpires here and prevent harm beyond that which is necessary.”

Up the slope they clambered, the ground in parts turning to mud beneath their feet, until at last they stood atop it, looking down over a small river below them, and beyond it the lands opening up into plains. A small town was built along the banks of the river, a crude place little more substantial than the dwellings of the krithik, though less in tune with nature, for the region around it had been felled, and smoke rose from many fires. The ground had largely turned to bog through which people waded, while bullocks laboured to drag logs to a yard to store and cut, ready to laid upon barges that waited at a dock there.

“A place of squalor and misery,” said Aedmorn with a shake of his head, “A breeding place of sickness and disease.”

“How could any choose to live this way?” Ivkarha asked, for among her people they had dwelt in small tribes that were for the most nomadic and such places were largely alien to her as to their designs and foundations.

“Many have little choice,” Aedmorn replied quietly. “We live in troubled times and many seek refuge where they can. Yes, it is high time a cruaith came here, to aid them, if they would accept one. Come, let us go down and discover what we may, for I desire not to stay in this place any longer than needs must.”