Galaxy 7: Swamps of Glouq

Bourbia is a planet of warm mud where nothing ever dries. Every puddle hides a maw, every root could be a leech. The settlers had built houses on stilts. The stilts have been gnawed away.

Your boots sink up to the ankles. Something brushes against your leg.

The water lilies of Palus are wide enough to land a fighter on. Beneath them, the weretoads wait, motionless, for prey to pass. Their tongues strike further than a spear, and harder.

A water lily lifts. Two yellow eyes stare at you.

The fog of Brumelle is green, thick, and smells of rotten mint. It stings the eyes, then numbs the limbs, then puts you to sleep for good. The swamp's inhabitants see very well in it. You don't.

Shadows move in the mist. They found you first.

On Glouq-Mineur lives a witch who talks to leeches. She feeds them, tends them, and sends them to fetch whatever she desires. What she desires, these days, is the blood of heroes.

A chant rises from the swamp. The leeches rear up, revived.

The peat of Tourbia has burned for centuries, without flame or smoke. The ground is hot, the air is acrid, and the toads love it. Pockets of gas burst at random, spraying mud and embers.

The ground smokes under your feet. Figures leap out of the steam.

On Croassia, the toads sing with a single voice, all night long. Their chorus announces the arrival of their mistress, the Hydra of the swamps. All the monsters of Glouq gather there to listen.

The singing stops at once. Every head turns towards you.

Hydria is the heart of the swamp, where all the waters of Glouq meet. The Hydra has made its nest there, in the ruins of a drowned temple. Seven heads, seven maws, seven ways to die. Cut one off: the others strike while it grows back. The swamp witches feed it the castaways of Glouq. Command lost two squads before understanding that it had to strike fast. Your team will have to hold under the bites until the last head falls.

The black water rises. Seven pairs of eyes open at once.