"They turned me into a newt!"
"... You're a salamander."
"I got better." -- Gallifreya
[AN: A little tip of the hat-rack to Monty Python?]
The Swamps of Misdirection. The only way to escape them, once inside, was to follow confusing, convoluted, "can't miss it" directions to somewhere else. And worse - most of the animals in it were capable of speech.
"Beware, traveller! Beware! Dangerous sorcerers roam this swamp." The speaker was a small amphibian. Mostly black, but with interestingly bright speckles that declared that it was poisonous.
Kolvoth the Adventurer found a stable spot of land to stop on and said, "How dangerous are they?"
"When they asked me for directions, they used dire magic on me when they came back around. Not my fault they took a wrong turn, but what did they do? They turned me into a newt!"
Kolvoth peered a little closer at the small, lizard-like form. "You're a salamander."
"I got better."
The sorcerers obviously didn't know about this place. "Well. I'd do well to avoid them, little friend. Is there a path that leads away from the direction they seek?" And, because it never hurt to be kind to talking Animals, offered the little creature a crumb of honeycomb from his pack.
"Sure," cooed the salamander, and proceeded to give the kind of confusing, convoluted, "can't miss it" directions that would mean that Kolvoth would likely overtake his quarry. Not only that, but he would also be well-rested and ready for battle.
It helped to listen to the bards in the pubs.
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