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On the edge of the swamplands, a man dressed far too richly to be out among the muck covered rocks and mossy trees stood upon a jutting pile of stones. His brown hair and blue eyes were handsome enough, though the eyes seemed almost too smart. He was clearly not from around these parts and, much more clearly, not a normal man. This could be seen not only in his confident stance and carefree attitude, but also in the way that the biting insects avoided him and his clothing remained meticulously clean, despite the mud and quicksand that littered the outer edge of the swamp. Something was strange about him. His clothing was bright, almost painfully so against the dim tangle of branches that were his backdrop. Across his back was a lute, and he held a scroll case and a chain with some dangling bauble on it in his right hand.
The swamp itself smelled of stagnant pools, slow moving streams, and decay. It was, however, very alive. The smell lingered simply because there wasn't enough moving water to carry the dead along. There were, however, a multitude of insects to help dispose of what carcasses the wild beasts didn't eat. Alligators, flying lizards with wingspans the width a man is tall, and slithering water snakes with venom that could drop a man in less than an hour haunted the waters. The "dry" areas, still muddy, were full of pitfalls, quick sand, lumbering bears, and hungry plants with serrated leaves that sliced their prey apart. These were the most well known of the swamp's fatal traps and creatures. Others may very well rest unseen under the waters of the swamp itself, destroying the unwary before they can report their findings. It certainly would explain the lack of returning adventurers.
A rare breeze stirred the air around the swamp's edge, ruffling leaves and yet not touching the well dressed man upon the rocks. There he waited for the five he was to meet with. Indeed, it would be hard to miss the rakish man, so out of place here in the swamp. The adventurers will find their way to the swamp, and to this man, as the sun slowly climbs in the sky...