Avoid the villages

As much as trekking through the muck and mire of the swamps would suck, it beat having to deal with the denizens of the villages. The few times Hunters had visited this area, they had found the locals to be hostile, and there had been at least one **** incident, as well. Considering those incidents happened with groups of Hunters, she doubted she'd walk away scot-free going into them alone, especially considering how she was clothed.

She turned, and stepped off the road, intending to bypass the northern side of the nearest village. Her foot made a slight squelching noise as she placed her weight on it, and it sank about a half an inch. Cool water oozed up from the ground, wetting the bottom of her foot. It was a slight shock, but definitely soothing, considering the muggy, oppressive heat she had been walking through the last several days.

The ground being fairly stable, she set off, the mud sucking slightly at her sandals with every step. She continued walking, wary for any threats. The Hunters hadn't had a chance to properly document what lived in these parts, as the locals were too hostile to work with, and there hadn't been any good reason to come out here. There were rumors of relics out in the swamps, but nothing either descriptive enough, or firm enough, for the hunters to go on.

She paused by a twisted tree long enough to grab a decent-sized branch, one which she could use to probe questionable spots of ground before she attempted to walk through them, before continuing deeper into the swamps.

It wasn't too much longer before the terrain began to turn nasty. The mud grew softer, and her feet sank deeper with every step, slowing her progress. Worse, the suction from the mud made it harder to pull her feet free. After nearly loosing a sandal for the third time in less than twenty feet, she stopped and pulled them off, cleaning them as best she could before tossing them into her pack. As much as she didn't relish wandering around barefoot yet again, it wasn't like her feet weren't already caked in mud. Plus, it ensured she'd still have them upon leaving the swamps.

Continuing along, she found it much easier to move. Without the sandals, her feet actually came free of the cloying mud much easier than they had before. Progress was still difficult, though, and the effort, plus the sweltering heat, took their toll on her. Sweat streamed down her face, and every inch of exposed skin glistened with it. Her legs burned with exhaustion.

Pausing by a pool of rancid water, she took one of her waterskins and drank deeply. She then took a cautious look around, and seeing nothing, loosened her robe for a moment, fanning herself with the edges of it. Sighing as the movement of the air around her cooled her slightly, she looked around, seeking a good place to bed down for the night.

Two spots caught her eye: a nearby grove of trees, and what appeared to be a small cave opening, a little farther off. The grove of trees meant the ground there would be fairly solid, and possibly drier than what she had been walking through. The cave, however, would be much cooler.