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[hr][h1][color=9e0039][b]Down the River[/b][/color][/h1]
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Collaboration of: [@ERode] [@Th3King0fChaos] [@OwO]


[color=C69E6B]"I’m an ice mage,"[/color] he told Argen [color=C69E6B]"so I can make ice."[/color]


[hider=Repost of what happened]
Downstream, the river became even wider, splitting off into individual streams. Some carved deeply into the marshy land, while others spread out, ice forming over them as cold water dispersed further. Each step through the frozen swamps was accompanied with a solid crunch of ice, but observing the network of streams from a distance, it was clear that the landscape there was made of smoother, more slippery ice. A broken ankle wasn’t a job-ending injury, of course, not when they had Katya to offer benedictions of mending onto them, but if the horses slipped? The effect that it’d have on the wagon would be much greater. There was no magical healing that could repair a shattered wheel, and a wet sack of grain was functionally worthless.
Still, the swamplands made for easy travelling otherwise, and the further they went down, the more dispersed the river became. If they truly committed to it, by travelling southwards enough, perhaps they’d reach the point where the river simply died off, leaving easy travels for them all? It was something to dream about.
Argen and Renault, of course, could also dream about the other future where they earn the approval of the giant female knight by dragging the log bridge over to where the wagon was, and flat-out repairing it on the spot. After all, a swift stream could only pull a large log for so long, and once it spread out, there it was: the thirty meter long tree just lying in line with the wider river, clear water flowing around it. Looking at it now, it was only maybe two to three meters wide itself, easy for adventurers to cross but requiring some other method for a wagon laden with grains to traverse.
It was the bridge though. It could be used.
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Argen looks off towards the deeper swamps as it might be advantageous to keep going, as the reason they are out here is to find a way to bring the wagon over. He looked back at the log and sighed as well because it would also be great to have a bridge to bring people over. And if they check the depth of the water near where they are it could be possible that it is low enough that the horse could cross with the wagon. 
[color=#C0C0C0]“Hmm, this would be a great idea having a bridge we could use. We would need to bring it back to the camp and that would be quite a bit of work and effort just to get it moving”[/color].

As Argen looked back towards the deeper swamps as he continued, [color=#C0C0C0]“Yet it would also be smart to check deeper to find if the river just disperses and if it does it would make sense to do that and not waste energy with the log. Besides to me it doesn't look like it’s going anywhere right now”[/color].

Renauld had looked at the displaced bridge. Indeed, the large size of it was obviously too much for the two of them. If Ettamri had been there, they could have possibly moved it. It was much better to leave it there, though. He didn’t want to waste the group’s strength in simply moving a bridge.
[color=C69E6B]"Considering my magic, I could secure the bridge here and we can have a slight detour. I don’t quite feel comfortable in moving a big hunk of wood that far. Going further, we could probably just check a few things out. Might as well, since we’re here already."[/color]

As Argen readjusts himself, he sighs out, [color=#C0C0C0]“Well that settles it, time to head farther and see what is in the swamp”[/color]. As he begins to walk at a slower pace in anticipation of his companion catching up before assuming his normal speed. Argen did take note of how the water dispersed. Maybe it would flow out enough where there will be a ton of small areas where they could just go and walk across. Or they could just find a large area covered in ice. 

Yet whatever is in front of them they will find it in due time, until then, Argen will take his time making sure they do not run into obvious traps, and hopefully they don’t find resistance here. Most creatures should be in hibernation or areas where warmth is more readily available and wind can be broken. As long as they stray away from the more dangerous areas like caves and stick to clearings there should be no problem with something trying to sneak attack them. All they need to do is keep their head on a swivel and keep their ears open.

Eventually, the river did indeed spread out wide enough that it was merely a trickle, ice crusting over it. By now, the two adventurers were a good one hour walking through the swamp, and it was clear that their vigilance was fairly pointless: no monsters popped up, nor even any wildlife at all. It was certainly peaceful, and this far away from the mountains, there were no caves hiding monstrosities either, leaving Argen and Renault to travel in peace.
No, perhaps there wasn’t [i]nothing[/i] down this trail. There were, after all, some quite obvious tracks tracing through the network of streams now. Though snow would have normally covered it, ice froze the deep grooves in the swamp, leaving clear indications of a portion where a wagon must have been driven through.

[color=#C0C0C0]"Seems like it was a good idea coming all this way. It seems this is the path taken by those before us. May it be good or bad this seems to be our way through"[/color]. Argen says this after he inspects the tracks and fully erecting himself.

He looks back towards Renauld as he then says, [color=#C0C0C0]"Well. We should start heading back and tell the others. It will be a walk and we'll be losing daylight if we just sit around"[/color].

Before they leave he takes one last look around, even if nothing is here,  Argen doesn't like the feeling he has. It feels like something is constantly gnawing at him, like there should be something but he doesn't know what it is. 

[color=C69E6B]"Indeed,."[/color] Renauld had replied, [color=C69E6B]”let’s head back and see if we can’t cross over here.”[/color]

Even if it was an hour away, having the ability to easily cross what remained of the river was great. For the cost of only a mild detour, they would be unaffected by the risk of falling into the river. The cart tracks leading further on were proof of safe crossing. Additionally, the tracks also could act as navigation. If the wagon that had made them got to the fort safely, then it would be a great route to follow. The problem was what if the wagon was ambushed or had gotten lost.

Still, it was an easy place to cross.