The Crystal Kingdom: Part 3

The Black Swamp

They found out the next day that the hill they had stayed on and fought the Dead Warrior, was at the very border of the Gnarled Forest and Black Swamp. Standing at the edge of the swamp Tim and the Lord looked out over a vast land of water and vegetation. Many ducks and birds they could see flying around, but the path they needed to follow, they lost sight off not thirty yards in front of them. High above them the Lords Eagle was soaring.

They started across the Black Swamp, following the path, and trying to stay on it as best that they could. The ground was spongy and extremely wet, making for a slow and difficult journey. The Black Swamp was a mixture of bogs, fens, creeks, and marshes. At times they could see for miles around them, but this was disheartening because they realized how far they had to journey to get to the other side; and at other times they could only see feet around them because of the tall dogwood that was growing all around them.

Not only was it difficult going because of how soft the ground was, they also had the ever present and annoying mosquitoes to deal with. They seemed to bite them anywhere and everywhere;; no matter what they did it didn't help, and as the days slowly crept by they found themselves wishing they could have went around the swamp, and the Lord even wondered why he had left his warm home safe in the stronghold.

Then one day as they were walking, it was no use to try and ride Faithful because of how soft the ground was, they realized they had lost the path. Searching around frantically, they could find no sign of the path. They tried turning back but even after walking miles backwards they could not seem to find any sign of it.

Neither of them could believe that they had lost the trail, it had been right there in front of them, and yet now it was gone. Sitting down to discuss their options, they knew they needed to continue across, and hopefully on the other side they could find the trail again, but it would be difficult going.

As they started heading out across the swamp, it didn't take long for them to find themselves in an even worse situation, not only had they lost the path, they kept finding themselves falling in to the water and muck, at one point the Lord with his armor had gotten stuck and it took Tim’s help to get him out and back on firmer ground.

It seemed like days that they wondered around the swamp, getting attacked constantly by mosquitoes and wearing out from getting stuck in the mud time after time. When all hope seemed lost, and they sat on the ground in complete despair the Lords Eagle flew down and landed in front of them. That was when the Lord realized that his Eagle could be their guide, he was able to see what was in front of them for miles, and keep them on a straight path, and on firmer ground.

With hope restored, they got moving again, and in just a few hours with the Eagle directing them across the swamp, they reached the other side.

They sat down on the rocky ground at the edge of the swamp, joy showing on their face, thankful that they were free of the hopeless trap of the Black Swamp.