The boat rocked back and forth then sank pretty low as Owl stepped into it. It was one of those square boats with a flat bottom and a fan on the back. Owl didn't stop moving as she stepped towards the back and took a seat at the steering column. The air was humid and I could feel it start to lay across my skin. I was standing on a little dock that extended out into an endless bayou. Trees twisted down into the ground, their roots sticking out then spearing down into the swamp.
The air held the scent of rotted wood and decaying plant matter. Frogs were chirping in the distance and periodically a fish would splash in the water. Owl shifted in her seat, adjusting to the boat, then looked at me, “Are you coming?’
I looked at the edge of the rented boat and the distance from the water, “Will it hold us?”
“People use these things to travel all over here. They haul way more than the two of us weigh. Just stay in the front, it will help us balance a little better.”
I stepped off the dock onto the boat and could feel it shift under my feet. I grabbed the side of the boat to keep my balance and moved to the front and took a seat facing Owl. She nodded at me then turned the key, starting the engine. The fan behind her slowly spun up until it was a blur. She pushed the lever on the column forward and the boat lurched forward from the dock.
The blades behind the fan turned as Owl directed where the boat was going and the docks disappeared behind us. I leaned forward and reset my elbow on my knee, catching my chin in my palm, “Do you really need me to recover this one Owl?”
“Of course. You are back up plan number seventy two. I will also be able to collect data on how the mystical side of this swamp reacts to your presence.” She replied over the sound of the engine running.
I looked around at the trees and the rest of the swamp. The sunlight was fighting its way through the thick canopy overhead but it was still surprisingly dark inside the bayou. There were weird four legged furry animals running from tree to tree above us and some darker colored smaller birds. The tree roots that stood out of the water sometimes had turtles laying on them, escaping the dark waters under us. There were small plants floating on top of the water as we rode through the swamp, “What kind of mystical side are you talking about?”
“Swamp witches.” She replied.
I gave a shrug at that. I didn't know what those were but I could probably make a mess of them, “Do you know where the stone is?”
She gave a nod as she steered us around a massive tree. The thing was as wide as the boat we were in. “I have an idea. I think one of the swamp witches has it.”
“If i am plan seventy two then what was plan number one?”
“Irrelevant. We are on plan fifteen now.” She replied.
“What is plan fifteen then?”
“Plans one through fourteen were them coming to us. Plan fifteen relies on us finding them.”
“Why would they have come to us?” I asked Owl.
“Divination or something of the like. Maybe they had knowledge and planned for us.”
“Do you have a plan for everything?”
Owl pulled back on the throttle and swung us slowly around a bend in the swamp. “Most things.” She replied.
I felt something hit the bottom of the boat with a thump. Owl pushed the lever forward and the fan spun faster pushing us through the bayou. I leaned to the side and looked behind us as we sped away. A log popped up out of the water in our trail. I let out a huff and centered myself on the boat again, “Going through life like that sounds extremely boring.”
“I am scared.” She answered while still steering us around.
“What? Why?”
“I know fifty two different ways to destroy the planet with just what we have in this boat. I have a deep understanding that easily our planet can get swatted by a meteor or something and end all life. I can point out fifteen diseases that can easily mutate and kill every human in existence. I realize that our sun could flare and throw gamma rays at earth, stripping our atmosphere layer that shields us from cosmic rays.
I have a plan for most things because of how aware I am. It helps me feel safe.”
“Oh.” What do you say to that? “Sorry.”
“It’s fine. You didn't know. We are close.”
I turned in my seat and saw houses stretched out in a row. They were standing on pillars driven into the ground. They all had sloped roofs and were spaced quite a few feet apart. The houses did not look very sealed but seemed very sturdy. Some places had front porches and people were sitting on them fishing.
Owl slowed us down as we got closer. The people of the houses waved at us as we floated past. Owl killed the throttle then yelled out to a man in overalls sitting on his porch, “We are looking for Maudena. Do you know which house is hers?”
This close I could see the boat floating under his house. It had a really small propeller engine on the back. He was an older man and his house had trinkets and dream catchers hanging from the rafters, “What do you need her for?”
“Shes got something I would like to trade for.” Owl replied.
He scanned us, Owl in her power armor and Me in my jeans and tshirt. He stroked his chin then nodded, “Down at the end. Hang a left, you can't miss it.”
Owl pushed the throttle forward with a thank you and we left him behind. We passed a few houses then when Owl got the chance she swung us to the left. The path was different and Owl had to slow us down quite a bit. It was narrower, the trees around us felt like they were trying to swallow us. The canopy was lower, almost touching the top of the boat. It was darker, less sunlight was piercing the canopy.
The path was sweeping. Owl piloted us through slowly. The guy said we couldn't miss it and he was right. The path opened up and showed us a house that made the ones we saw before look like mud huts. It was a massive house built on pillars of wood that had been driven into the bayou. Three stories and painted white with glass windows and a dock out front.
Owl pulled us over to the dock and shut down the boat. I crawled out of the boat and onto the dock, Owl tied the boat off then followed behind me. Owl stepped past me towards the house. Wooden steps lead up to a front door that Owl climbed then knocked on. It was a light wrap of her knuckles but it boomed through the air.
“Just a second.” Was called out from inside.
Owl stepped backwards off the steps and stood near me. The door opened and an older lady appeared. She didn't cross the doorway but she had a grin on her face. She scanned Owls form and her grin widened then she turned to me. I must have been ugly to her because her face fell flat and she spat out, “What do you want?”
Owl held out her forearm and a wireframe of the stone appeared, “We are looking for something like this.”
The lady looked at the frame intently then shook her head, “I don't have anything like that.”
“We are here to trade.” Owl replied.
“You don't have anything that would interest me.” The lady threw back.
Owl dropped her forearm and shifted in her cloak before pulling out a sealed disposable lunch baggy. Inside was full of a white powder. Owl just held it out and stared at the lady. The lady ran her tongue across her teeth then started chewing on her lip. She shifted her weight and crossed her arm before sighing, “Fine. wait here.”
The door slammed in front of us and Owl dropped her arm. I looked at the baggy she held then up at her mask. What the fuck. The lady came back with the stone in her hand. She crossed the doorway and stepped down the steps, holding the stone out to Owl with her other hand held out to accept the bag. Owl took the stone and handed her the bag then turned away from her. The lady pulled the bag to her chest and scampered back into her house.
I turned and followed Owl. I heard the door slam shut behind us. Owl hopped down into the boat and I waited for her to take her seat before following. Owl started the boat this time and she didn't wait around. She punched the throttle, the engine screamed and we spun in a circle. I grabbed the seat below me and hung on as we shot from the dock to the tunnel.
Owl weaved us through it like she had driven the boat her whole life and soon we were back in the rest of the bayou. Owl didn't slow down and soon we were flying past the houses we saw earlier, "What's the rush!?”
“That was a swamp witch!.” She yelled back over the screaming engine.
“I don't know what that is or what that means!” I yelled back.
“It's a hag! Evil witch that uses curses! Things like that!” She replied with a yell.
“Is she going to throw curses at us or something?!”
“No! What do you think was in that bag?!” Owl asked with a yell.
“Cocaine?!?”
“Twenty eight hundred year old corpse dust mixed with something Doctor Kathor threw in!”
“What?!?” I yelled back in confusion.
“Twenty Ei- Owl started to repeat but I cut in.
“I heard that! Did you go back and collect some from the tomb last night?!”
Owl started to slow down the boat. We had gotten pretty far from the swamp hag. The engine went from screaming to a calm rumble. “I talked to Doctor Kathor last night and he came up with the idea. I collected the dust and he laced it with some other alchemical ingredient. It's subtle so she won't be able to tell the difference but we just gave her jetfuel laced with TNT.”
I turned in my seat, letting it go now that we were driving slow, and faced Owl, “So it's going to blow up when she uses it?”
“There is a good chance of that.”
“Are swamp witches really that bad?”
“Doctor Kathor would know more but from what I know they are. They have a general curse that they lay over an area. The people that live in that area have really bad luck and things like that. They take something from that and use it to extend their lifespan.” Owl answered.
“I could have just killed her.”
Owl shook her head, “The situation was handled. Doctor Kathor knows what he's doing.”
“So what did you learn from me being here?” I asked Owl.
She turned us around a tree and answered. “Swamp hags don't like you. She didn't think she could beat you so she took the trade. I was a free meal until she saw you.”
That was quite a bit. I looked down at the boat we were in, “I am surprised we didn't just teleport out of there like we usually do.”
Owl slowed the boat down and I felt the thump as we hit the log again, “that would force someone to go out and collect it. Driving it back is a simple endeavor."