We left out adventuring duo to escape the swamp monster, which currently is 
thrashing about trying to get out of a living cage of swamp matter animated 
by Phaedrus.  Raincrow mumbles constantly about hating things slimier than 
ale ooze, which almost everything in the swamp is...

.............

With the sounds of a swamp beast thrashing in much receding behind their 
travels, Phaedrus begins to become aware that the plants he seeks are 
slowly showing up.  After a bit more travel, he finds a patch of them, and 
caringly digs up three plants. Raincrow says, "Only three plants?  You 
can't make a full net out of only three plants."  Phaedrus says, "Oh." and 
proceeds to ignore raincrow.  Raincrow shrugs, and then begins in earnest 
to make the goal of his quest.

No one can get through the forest in one day by walking from one side to 
the other, and this includes raincrow and Phaedrus.  Having agreed not to 
use any alternate forms of transportation, they make camp for the night on 
a rotting stump that protrudes a good 5 feet from the roiling swamp 
surface.  Besides being attacked by another swamp monster and a horde of 
pigeon sized mosquitoes and a three legged swamp sucker and no less than a 
score flying brain yankers, nothing happens during the night.

Morning eventually happens, as it usually does, and the two take down camp 
(takes approxiametly 20 seconds for them to do so) and begin their travels 
anew.

They trudge through the boot sucking ooze like ants through peanut butter 
and find a bit of high ground that has escaped the ooze and muck of the 
swamp.  Upon it there is a tree and Phaedrus nods to the tree, explaining 
to raincrow that the tree is the heart of the swamp and it's always best to 
be nice and cordial to the hearts of power.  Raincrow agrees and promises 
not to let any dog run loose in this part of the swamp.

 They leave this bit of tranquility and enter the buzzing atmosphere of the 
swamp, warding off biting hordes of swamp wasps and creepy crawlers of such 
nightmarish quantities that one would think they multiply for years just 
waiting for the occasional traveler.

Traveling through this bit of madness makes one wonder just how important 
is this bet?  These two, Phaedrus and raincrow, are easily the best at what 
they do.  Nearly legends in their own time, hotshot adventurers who boast 
about killing dragons and similar exploits grow silent as these two walk 
into a bar or pub.  Fathers tell their children that if they want to be 
like raincrow they've got to eat their greens, and mothers tell their 
children that if they want to be like Phaedrus must do what they are told 
because that's what Phaedrus did when he was a child.  

None of this crosses the minds of these two men as they go through the 
swamp, though, they are simply annoyed by the amount of bugs.  Finally they 
can travel no longer as it is getting dark.  Finding another stump, they 
camp for the night, experiencing only the occasional swamp marauder.

...................

Surprising them with its punctuality, morning shows up right on schedule 
and they begin another day's trek which should, if no mishap arrives, take 
them to the edge of the swamp where it is rumored a goblin town awaits.  
Raincrow looks eager as he walks, the smell of goblin blood in the air, the 
sound as his arrows whistle to their mark.  Phaedrus doesn't look so happy 
to be going to a goblin city.  He has what he wants, but will accompany 
raincrow to his destination if not only to heal him when the goblins decide 
he's taken enough of their tongues and decide to return the favor. 

Toward midday the ground gets harder and toward a bit after midday, the 
swamp turns into low deciduous woods.  There is the smell of smoke in the 
air, and cooking, and stink as if from dung piles. Phaedrus and raincrow 
travel slowly and carefully, each of them almost invisible in their 
surroundings due to their skill and various abilities to not be seen.  A 
little while later they see the goblin town.  It is walled with cut trees, 
and on the wall stand three guards.  They are quite unattentive, and as two 
watch one guard fall they laugh at his mistake.  Then they notice raincrow 
as he aims, and make to sound an alarm.  Raincrow fires an arrow and then 
so swiftly does he knock and fire another, the first arrow hadn't even made 
it's mark when the next was off.  As the guards fall, one helmet comes off 
in the air, falling directly toward a large flat rock.  Suddenly vines 
envelope the rock and the helmet lands softly making no noise.

Phaedrus and raincrow hide the bodies and then skulk to the wall, which 
suddenly melts into a doorway, and enter.  The wall then seemingly by 
itself repairs the hole...

Stay Tuned for Part 3