The next thing on Sam's agenda was finding something to pull the sled the Blacksmith had offered to him. Well, it wasn't really a sled, as the Blacksmith had called it a shield, but... to Sam, it was a sled! He was way too small to use it as a shield, anyhow. And it was pretty! He was excited to be able to use it, but he needed some help. After some advice, he set out again into the caves, this time adventuring further than he ever had.

He had brought the Yelly Home with him and took many naps and rests within it. Sam was thankful for such a cool thing, even if he didn't know what it really was, or what any of the pictures carved on it meant. It made him feel like he had a portable safety spot.

After stopping briefly in Polaris—and, wow, that big glowy stone was super cool!—he set out again, unsure of his final destination. After passing through another tunnel, and taking another break, he found himself in a miserable, spooky looking room. It was dark and dreary, thick with mist and smells. As he neared the Heart, the buzzing of insects was almost deafening to him. He deposited the Yelly Home under a thick group of ferns and set his focus on the creatures nearby.

They were Marsh Striders, although Sam didn't know that. They looked big enough to pull his sled though, he'd just have to befriend one! That's what the Blacksmith had said, right? (Note: this hasn't happened yet in the thread lol). He had no idea how he was supposed to do that, though.

Quietly, he crawled from the ferns toward the creatures. So like, did he just walk up and say hi? Did they speak like the big scaly fish and the Blacksmith?

When he felt like he was close enough to speak, they noticed him before he could open his mouth. They started, heads lifting from their gross wet grazing to look at him, long ears cupped to listen. Was he a threat? He was too small to be a threat... But was he?

"H-hello..." he called out softly, sitting back on his haunches and sitting up, waving with a little paw.

The one closest to him let out a grunt. A warning to the others, but Sam thought it was for him.

"Oh! No, I... M-my name is Wolfwood..." he said, pointing to himself and smiling. And without realizing it, he had extended his magic to the creature that had grunted.

He felt it and the Marsh Strider felt it—and it scared the shit out of both of them.

"WAAH," Sam yelled, turning and fleeing from the group as they turned to flee in the opposite direction. He ran right back to the ferns where he had left the Yelly Home and scurried inside to hide. But when nothing else happened, he peeked his head out to see if they had chased him—they were gone! Aww...

Was it because he had lied to them about his name? What was the tingly feeling he had felt when he had tried to reach out to them? Was it magic...? He hadn't explored much magic yet but apparently that was a thing he had.

Sam crawled free of the tusk and brushed himself off. Maybe if he left Frozen Steel behind too. Did they feel threatened by the sword? He unlatched the weapon from himself and tucked it into the hidden Yelly Home, pulling his cloak tightly around him to feel better about feeling suddenly naked without Frozen Steel at his side.

Well, he'd just have to venture out into this scary marsh in search of more Striders. He didn't know anything about magic... but could he make a light to help him see through the thick foliage?

A little light bloomed into existence before him. It was silvery-white with a tinge of blue at its edges.

"Wow!" he exclaimed, poking at it with a little toe. It didn't feel warm, but it did put out a decent amount of light, at least enough for him to navigate with. "Let's find the creatures!" he said to the wisp, and it started off through the marsh. Sam didn't realize he was subconsciously telling it where to go, so he followed it assuming that it knew the way, and not that he was just aimlessly wandering...

It was cold in the marsh, and it felt like his feet never found solid ground the deeper they went. It was disgusting! Why did these creatures live here!? Ugh. Sam hated the way the mud felt between his toes, and his cloak was getting all dirty!!

He stopped at some point and whined at his wisp friend.

"My toes are freeeezing," he cried, bring a forepaw up to his mouth so that he could blow warm air onto it. But that didn't seem to help. "Warm up, toes!" he pleaded, sloshing it back into the marsh. UGH!

And as if on command—because it had been, but he hadn't realized that—his body began to feel warmer, even his toes. In the reflection of the murky water, he could see that his eyes were glowing with white embers.

"Whoa!" Maybe this magic stuff wasn't so bad! He grinned up to the wisp and continued on, less annoyed by the squelching between his toes.

It was not too long before they had come upon the Marsh Striders again. Sam shooed the wisp to hide in the ferns and he patted himself down to build up courage. It was okay. He could do this. Yeah!

He felt a little better about the magic now. As he approached the creatures, one looked at him again, and the same one grunted another warning. Others that were still grazing flicked their ears, and some looked up as well.

"Hello, I'm sorry about uh, before," he began, wondering if they could understand his apology. He bowed his head and scratched behind his ear. Oh, why did it make him feel so awkward?

"Anyway, I know I said my name was Wolfwood, but that's... who I'm trying to be, you know?" he explained, gesturing to nothing in particular, but waving his hand all the same. The Marsh Strider was still just staring at him. Sooo did it not speak? Did it understand him?

"My name is actually Samael, but I guess Sam is okay, if you want to use that. But I would prefer Wolfwood. I'm trying, at least..." he continued, and offered the strider a friendly smile.

Again, the fizzing feeling bubbled up inside of him, and though he couldn't see it, his stone was glowing beneath his cloak. It was scary, for sure, but he just wanted to ask them to be his friend. But again, whatever he was trying to reach out with had failed, and the strider took several steps back, shaking its head. Some of the ones in the group had fled again, but others cautiously remained, including the brave one that had stood up to him twice now.

It had not harmed him too badly, and he hoped it had not harmed the strider, either. He rubbed his paws together and apologized again with a quick, "sorry!" He could feel a headache brewing in his skull and his back hurt quite a bit. Was it because his stone was there, and it was hurting his entire spine? He knew basically nothing about all of this! Ugh, it was so frustrating!

"I'm still... trying to figure it out," he admitted with a soft tone. Other striders were beginning to step away, and all of the ones that remained were staring him down. He wasn't a threat, but he was strange, and they didn't like strange either. Even though they lived in this weird place! As Sam reached out again with his magic, he offered another smile.

But this time, it had hurt.

A lot.

A sharp pain shot through his whole body and it felt like his head was going to explode. He crumpled into the waters of Cetus with a shrieking "AAAGH!" The strider had also cried out, and the entire group fled toward where the others had gone.

Sam couldn't bring himself to follow them any more. After he cried in the mud for some time, he picked himself up, sniffling, and gestured to the wisp. "Let's just go back to the Yelly Home for now," he said sadly.

They picked their way back to his carved tusk tucked beneath the ferns and Sam curled around Frozen Steel to sleep. What a terrible experience. He would try again later. The wisp eventually fizzled out as Sam fell into a twitching, writhing sleep, still sniffling as his consciousness faded to dreams.

Sam wasn't sure how long he had slept, but by the time he woke up, the striders were back out in their original area. He stared at them from the comfort of his bone tusk, with a low-hanging fern curtain. Should he even try again? Would it hurt as bad as last time? Had it hurt the strider as badly as it had hurt him?

For a while, he only laid there and watched them mosey about. What did they eat? It looked nasty. I would never eat that, he thought, grimacing. Ugh. When it was suggested to him to find a friend to help him out, he didn't think it would be this taxing. It was scary, and painful! And it made him sad! His cloak was tattered at the edges and it was dirty and smelled. This whole place really sucked! But these creatures seemed worth it. They were the perfect size and stature for what he needed.

He readjusted Frozen Steel within the Yelly Home and crawled back out into the marsh. They were right before him, but he hesitated in reaching out or even saying hello. It seemed impossible to tell them apart, so he was not sure where the one he had met before was, but he hoped it was okay.

Finally, he cleared his throat.

"Hello... again," he said quietly, his voice almost a whisper. A few of the closest striders flicked an ear, and some looked up from their grazing to see what had made the sound.

But even as he reached a paw out to wave, the magic gripped his entire spine again and he collapsed. The strider closest to him let out a terrible sound and the whole lot of them fled. The pain made him feel sick and he retched into the shallow water, sobbing into his mess.

Struggling, Sam managed to pull himself through the mud and back into the Yelly Home, where he curled up to cry again. Why? Why was it so hard, and so mean!? He felt exhausted and he was in intense pain, pain that he did not even know how to explain. It felt like his whole body had a crushing weight pressing down on him.

"Please," he whimpered as his body relaxed, sleep finding him again.