Mouse stepped into the swamplands covering his nose frowning. He stopped walking and turned around looking behind him on the paved road he had been walking on.
"You can come out now. I know you're there."
He watched a shadow land on the path and walk up to him. "Fine… It just happens I also have a mission here. I need to train my body and improve my skills in poisons."
He looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "That's fine with me. But don't follow me. If you have a mission go do it. Why aren't you wearing your mask?"
"I don't need to wear it on this mission. I'm just a normal person like you Mouse."
He looked at her. "What do I call you?"
"You don't know my name?"
Mouse shook his head and rubbed his temples. "No, I don't know your name. I only know it when you wear the mask. You haven't told me, except for calling me names and you spying on me when I bathe."
"Ahh… Yes, that's right. However, I know your name…"
"That's because you follow me everywhere like a bad smell."
"Are you saying I smell bad? Mouse you're terrible."
Mouse turned away from her and started walking deeper into the swamplands. "You can call me Tofana. Why are you heading into the swamplands?"
Mouse stopped walking and looked at her. "I'm looking for something. Not sure exactly, but when I see it, I'll know. Tofana. I'll remember that."
He saw her smile. "Good. I hope the name will never be forgotten, and that it'll be etched into your mind always, and when I'm not around you'll miss me, if not I will send some of my pets your way."
He shook his head and kept walking deeper into the swamp. He frowned as the ground started to become soft as the mud caused him to slow down. "Why don't we stay in the trees?"
Mouse nodded and jumped onto a branch of a nearby tree and looked around him. He ignored Tofana landing behind him. He turned around and looked at her. "Where do you have to go to complete your mission?"
"I'll only answer when you tell me when you knew I was following you?"
Mouse touched his face and scratched his short beard.
"After I left the village. I knew you were following me. Now your turn to answer."
He saw her put her hands on her hips and pout at him. "If you knew back then, why didn't you send me back or get rid of me?"
Mouse shrugged his shoulders. "No idea. I had other things on my mind."
"Thinking and talking to yourself I see… Fine. I hope it was about me. You know I'd be happy if I knew you were thinking about me."
Mouse shook his head waving his arms at her. "No, I wasn't thinking about you. I was thinking about this mission and how I'm going to find what I'm looking for."
Mouse rubbed his temples as Tofana sat down on the branch. "Mouse. You're a bad liar. Even when you don't speak, I know a lie when I hear… I mean see… Sorry"
Mouse frowned. "Seriously… I wasn't thinking about you. I was focused on my mission and was planning how to look through the swamplands to find what I'm looking for."
"Yes… You and your missions. What's it all for anyway? What will you get at the end of it all?"
"Borgis."
"Borgis… Revenge… And then what will you do? What about all the others that have been abused, or even experimented on?"
Mouse looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
He heard her sigh and watched as she played with her hair. "After Borgis. What will you do? In my opinion Borgis was only a middleman. What about the one who told him to do what he did? That person will keep ordering the experiments to continue even if Borgis is removed."
Mouse looked at the soft ground below him in thought and nodded. "You're right. I should be going after the one who's telling Borgis what to do." He looked at her. "Do you know who it is?"
He frowned as she shrugged her shoulders. "No idea… But, at least you're not like other men who don't listen." Mouse stood up and helped Tofana up. She saw her bite her lip as she stood. He dusted himself down and looked at the next branch before jumping. He turned and watched her land on the same branch.
"Mouse… Do you…"
He looked at her with an annoyed face. "What?"
"Nothing… Let's just go and find what you're here looking for." He watched her jump ahead and frowned shaking his head jumping after her.
They traveled in silence as Mouse kept looking around frowning. He looked up and saw firmer ground ahead. He jumped from the branch he was in and landed on the firm ground. He looked around and stared at the ruined building there shaking his head.
"Mouse what are you looking for anyway?"
"I'm looking for signs of battle or of something that doesn't belong here in the swamps."
He watched Tofana sit on a large stone block revealing her long shapely legs. "Why don't you do the same thing you did when we were trying to escape from the Capital…"
He looked at her. "What did I do? You mean the tunnel?"
"No, you dolt… I'm positive you talked to the trees. How else would the roots move when you touched them? Why aren't you talking to them now? The entire swamp is full of them."
Mouse hit himself in the head and looked at the smiling Tofana. "It doesn't work like that. They'll ask for something in return, and I can't keep making deals with them. I've been warned about that many times."
"Did you make a deal when we escaped?"
Mouse shook his head. "I almost did."
"But you didn't? So maybe there's a way you can? What about those scars on your hands? Can they help you?"
Mouse followed her hand as she pointed to his hands. He clenched his hands frowning. "How do you know about them?"
"Duhh… I've been following you for some time. Why do you think that the shadow found you when you were being chased by the guards in the market?"
Mouse walked up to her and looked at her in the eyes. "You were following me back then? Even when I wasn't in the shadows?"
He watched her nod. "Then why didn't you know who I was when I was on the old shadows porch?"
"If I did say something then, you'd get upset and annoyed, asking questions like why didn't I save you from Borgis when he attacked you? Or…" Mouse waved his hand at her and walked a few steps away. He started pacing. He stopped mid pace and looked at her raising a finger and pointing it at her.
"You…"
He took a deep breath and let it out. He lowered his hand and walked to a fallen tree.
"Bang!"
He watched as a group of nearby birds took flight into the sky circling above him. He frowned and looked at Tofana."I can't be angry for what happened in the past. You had to make choices, and whatever your reasons were I have to live with them now."
"You're not angry with me because I didn't interfere?"
Mouse shook his head. "If you did. Then I wouldn't be where I'm now. I wouldn't have the strength to fight back."
"What if I said I couldn't help? I didn't have my… body back then?"
Mouse looked at her in confusion and shook his head. "Don't worry about it. We have other things to think about now."
"So, are you going to talk to them?"
Mouse nodded and jumped landing on a branch above him. He sat on the branch and closed his eyes.
"Hello sapling… It hasn't been to long since we chatted last. What shall we chat about today?"
Mouse walked up to the pulsing object and touched it with his hand. "Hello my friend. You know I'm in the swamplands, and currently I'm looking for signs out of the ordinary, things that shouldn't belong in the swamplands. Battles or anything."
"Ahh… Sapling there have been many battles that have taken place in the swamplands of the ages of time. You need to be more specific."
Mouse cursed and nodded. "How about recently. You also told me of taint in the swamplands as well."
"Then yes. I can tell you about that."
Mouse nodded and sat on a pulsating vine. "Please."
"There is a taint like I told you in the swamplands. Also, there was a battle with someone fighting against them. The trees say, the person turned those attacking into ash. The taint tracked them throughout the swamplands through the ruins."
"What happened then?"
"The person who was fighting back disappeared into a large ruin, and didn't return in the swamplands…"
Mouse stood up smiling. "Can the trees in the swamplands point me to the battle site?"
"Yes. We can point you… As long as you fight against the taint that is still in the swamplands."
Mouse looked at the pulsating object and cursed. "You want me to fight against the taint on my own?"
"You have the strength and skills to do it… You don't want to?"
Mouse shook his head. "No. I'll do it. If you say I have the strength to do it. I won't say no. However, are the trees willing to help?"
"Hohohoho… Sapling. The trees always want to help you. Sure, they'll help. You just need to ask them."
Mouse smiled nodding. "Thank you… Point me in the direction and we'll cleanse the place of taint."
"Just remember sapling. Ask for help. Don't try and do everything on your own. If you do that, then you'll have to give us all of you in deals to become stronger."
Mouse nodded. "I'll ask for help more often. I've already been given these mouths, and I have been feeding building my strength and speed up."
"Yes, I can see that. It seems your body sapling is about to make a breakthrough."
"
Mouse looked at the pulsating object smiling. "That's great news. Umm about asking the trees. How do I ask?"
"Talk to them sapling. That's all you have to do."
Mouse cursed. "Funny thing is that I can't talk, can I?"
"Neither can trees. You just need to talk with your heart. Be open and genuine. They're always listening to you, waiting to hear your heart... We are all connected remember. It seems sapling that you forget things at times... Those flowers blooming and fruit given... We don't have to do everything for a deal you know."
Mouse waved his hand at the pulsating object. "Okay. I'll try. Thanks for chatting with me."
"Looking forward to our next chat. I only have you and the trees to talk to… They see everything you know?"
Mouse looked at the pulsating object. "Everything? So, you know where that warrior is now who was fighting the taint?"
"Yes, Sapling I do know that… Right now, he's currently fighting the taint in the windy plains with two others."
"Interesting…"
"Remember you need to finish killing the taint in the swamps. I know you want to chase after the warrior sapling. There's no rush. I'll ask the trees to keep an eye out for them for you if you'd like?"
Mouse nodded. "Yes. I'd be interested in meeting this warrior and those others you mentioned and see how they're fighting the taint."
"Good sapling… Farewell. We shall chat again soon I hope."
Mouse opened his eyes and looked at Tofana sitting in front of him looking at him in confusion. He looked at her surprised face. "What is it?"
He watched her face start to redden. "Ahhh nothing… What did the trees say?"
Mouse stood up on the branch he was sitting on and put his hand on the trunk of the tree. He heard Tofana curse as the branch started moving. Mouse pointed in the direction that the branch was pointing in. "We go that way. The tracks are that way, also there's a few beasts in the swamps we need to kill."
"Kill? I thought you were only doing an intelligence mission."
Mouse nodded. "I've got the intel already., now it's time to clean the swamp of the beasts and the taint that they bring. Walking death." He looked at her. "Do you want to help? I'm sure your body will become stronger being around their poison."
"Count me in Mouse. Where you go, I'll follow."
Mouse started jumping from branch to branch in the direction that the trees pointed out for him. When he saw the large ruin in the distance he slowed down.
"RRRrrroarrrr!"
He looked at the ground around the ruin and smiled pointing at the numbers of beasts that were sitting and circling the ruin. He turned to Tofana and put his mask on. "It's time for Leaf and Poison to play with them. After we follow the tracks of a warrior."
He saw Tofana putting her mask on with confusion. "Who's the warrior?"
Leaf shrugged. "Not sure yet. They've been fighting these beasts in the swamp, and now they're fighting them in the windy plains."
"RRrroarrrr!"
"An enemy of our enemy is our friend. Let's get rid of these beasts first, and then we'll go and find out."
Leaf drew his dual short swords and bent down on the branch. He jumped off the branch quickly slicing the head off one of the beasts. He turned and killed the next one with a smile on his face.