Until now, Hostra Tours had been willing to accept a standard travelogue documentary of any place Dorrick went on Kassidor, but now the stargate has been open two years and the public is getting jaded. To keep them interested he is assigned to get more human interest in his reports.
TongSu was still happy with her giant from the stars, but as they reached the great swamp city of Trenst, she felt it was time for some casual Variety. As luck would have it, she meets a fellow floater enthusiast who's partner knows someone who would make a great human interest story, a hunter of one of the swamp's deadliest predators. TongSu had no idea just how much danger Dorrick would face while recording him, not just from the deadly beasts of the swamp, but from the child-like party girl who was paired with the guy she dallied with.
The guide books say entering the wildhull swamp is almost certain death but Dorrick has never been influenced by fear, and pressed on into the deep swamp even though his guide was addled by a strong hallucinogen. By the time he understood what drew people to face the horrors of this swamp, it was already too late for him, and he was trapped in something even more fearsome than a dactyl's jaws. This is primarily an adventure story of man against nature, and man against the terrors in his own mind. A similar terror is faced by many forgotten people on the grimy streets of cities everywhere. This story tries, allegorically, to convey the power of the demons they must face.
