Chapter 2 Scene 8

Point of view of Bukela:
Bukela, with the bow and quiver given to her by Keruka, heads north along the swamp path and stops about 200 meters behind Otanve. She is on the lookout for idols and rarities, but also wants to prove herself as a hunter.

Bukela looks around, and after a minute spots a snake and kills it with two arrows. A minute later she sees a butterfly.

You found a Red Amberro!

She puts the butterfly in her bag and resumes searching. After another she sees and dispatches another snake with two arrows.. A few minutes later she comes across a patch of quicksand ten meters in diameter and hears a boar grunting. She positions herself on the opposite side of the quicksand, drops the bag with the rare butterfly in it, and calls out. The boar moves toward her and steps into the quicksand. It squeals as it tries to pull its leg out, but has become an easy target. Bukela shoots three arrows into it and kills it. However, one second after her third shot, a second boar rams her from behind and knocks her into the middle of the quicksand.

Bukela immediately plunges in past her knees, but is able to turn around and get in an upright position to face her attacker. She is sinking at the rate of one centimeter per second, but doesn't want to miss the chance to kill the second boar. The boar is confused at the sight of the sinking girl, and doesn't run away. Bukela has sunk to the middle of her thighs when she fires the first arrow into the boar. It tries to run away but it is too late. Bukela shoots two more arrows into the boar at five-second intervals and slings the bow back over her shoulder in triumph.

You have acquired the use of the Bow!

Bukela is very proud of herself, even if she might be stuck in the quicksand. She remembers Kekura's words to hold still and she won't sink past the bottom of her loincloth. However, when her loincloth reaches the surface she continues to sink at the same rate.

"Did Kekura say the bottom or the top of my loincloth?" Bukela asks herself. She continues to hold still, but fifteen seconds later her blue loincloth completely disappears into the quicksand.

"This isn't right!" she thinks. "I must stop sinking any second now." But ten seconds later she watches with trepidation as her navel goes under the surface. The quicksand consumers her stomach with no sign of slowing down.

"This isn't possible! Can Keruka be wrong? She said I would stop sinking if I held still ... and wasn't carrying anything! My bow and quiver!"

Bukela suddenly realizes it is the weight of her bow and quiver with ten arrows still in it that are slung over her shoulder that has been making her continue to sink. She hurriedly throws them aside, and immediately stops sinking. Unfortunately she has sunk to within a couple centimeters of her chest, far too deep to get out by herself.

"Can anybody hear me?"

Of course not.

Quest 42: Get Bukela out of the quicksand.

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