M4 WG: The Tree
With that, Lum nods and barks out orders. Within moments, the Aki-Varshi are ready to go. They head down the mountain into the marsh. They loosely surround you, much further out than when they were treating you as prisoners. Now it feels more like an honour-guard. A few are out on the periphery, keeping an eye out for dangers in all directions.
Lum stays close to you. He leads you by a path of thick-grown vegetation that serves as a sort of path through the marsh. This prevents you from having to get too wet above your feet.
You near the mouth of the marsh, an area of fens fed by a river. At this point it is impossible to continue on foot. The Aki-Varshi have foreseen this. Some of them, who must have run ahead earlier without your notice, have cut loose hummocks of vegetation that float on the water. They serve as rafts for you and your escorts.
Hours of poling and paddling lead you across the river at its slowest, widest point. You are once again in the foothills of the mountain. The Aki-Varshi lead you on a fairly flat, winding route. It is dark by now, and the less nocturnal of you have a hard time avoiding stumbling on rocks. You try to avoid complaining, which gets easier when you hear the artillery.
Off to the south-west, you hear powerful laser fire and explosions. Distantly, you can see a fire gradually growing. It would seem that the Imperials pursuing you have not given up. They have picked another forest to destroy in an effort to pick up your trail or kill you.
Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, you cross a short distance over a plain and end up in a forest. It is a forest of high, tall trees and little ground vegetation. Lum declares that this is your resting spot for the night. You gratefully lie down on a bed of fallen leaves and needles, soft and aromatic. The Aki-Varshi form a circle around you to take their own repose.
You are drifting off to sleep as you see Lum taking one final look around with his life-form-detecting lens.