Quoted By:
>Take a hike
You nod. "Indeed! And we shall be taking a hike! The Fen is highly scenic, and it is a beautiful morning. I see no downsides."
"...Won't it take a while?"
"It wouldn't be scenic if it didn't take a while, would it?"
"Uh... sure." Gil appears unconvinced by your impeccable logic. "But, I mean, if the goal is to rescue Pat, and we're dicking around in the woods..."
"Well, we don't know when Management will show up! It could very well be much later. Also, if she's in Us, then time goes all funny there. It'll be fine!"
"If you say so."
"It will! What's the matter?" You contemplate. "Wait, have you ever been inside Fenpelok?"
"...Early on..."
"Early on? When? Oh." The current. "Gil! It won't be anything like that."
"I-I just think there was a lot of murder last time! And giant murder worms, and I was melting, and you were melting, and there was a god, and—"
"None of those things will happen! There won't be any giant worms, because mine exploded. And there won't be any gods, unless Horse Face..." Surely not. "Yeah! Unless Horse Face is off doing something stupid again. And nobody's going to *melt.* Besides, it's broad daylight, so there won't be that many wild animals. No really big ones, anyways. It'll be fine. Now, you don't want to dawdle, do you? You won't make us late? Or Pat will be murder-tortured without us?"
You bat your eyelashes at Gil, who looks at his feet, rubs his nose, and straightens up.
"See! That's the spirit!"
You embark.
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>81
As predicted, your and Gil's trek goes as smoothly as can be— yes, you do stumble upon a raft of sleeping alligators, and yes, Gil trips into a pond's worth of quicksand, but the gators go unawakened and goo proves to be buoyant, not to mention stain-resistant. Your positive aura keeps away clouds of biting minnows and stinging 'phores and any and all fish-made traps and tripwires. Easy! So easy! And it's nice to see so much green after being trapped underground in Hell.
The greatest challenge of all proves to be, not the wilderness, but Branwen's handiwork. After you invaded her scary stone barn, avoided the gibbering of the Name Turtle, and hopped the barrier into the snake pen, you discovered the sewer trapdoor hammered and nailed shut. "Damn it!"
"Was i-i-it not always like that?" Gil has kindly entered the pen with you, but is keeping a wary eye on the mottled snake nearby. (It appears unharmed from its earlier snakenapping.)
"No! It was open! Do you think I can use The Sword? You wouldn't have a nail remover, would you?"
"Um..." Yes. Gil would have a nail remover, though he seems surprised himself that he does, and it really just looks like a hammer. (You don't know anything about tools, okay?) You set him to work, though you make sure to poke around with The Sword anyways, to look like you're helping.
(1/3)
