The departure party gathered at the edge of the swamp, where the dark, murky water lapped against the shore like cold coffee.
Ren stood shivering in the morning mist. She looked... interesting. After the soap fiasco, her eyes were still red and puffy, making her look like she had either spent the night weeping over a tragic romance novel or had developed a serious allergy to mornings.
Her fashion choices weren't helping. Since her puffer coat was still a soggy mess, she had scavenged some scraps of cured animal skin from the palace vault. The result was a patchwork bikini-skirt combo that left very little to the imagination.
'I look like Xena: Warrior Princess if she got dressed in the dark and lost half her wardrobe,' Ren thought, rubbing her bare arms vigorously. 'God, it's cold. Why is the swamp always a refrigerator? The forest better be a sauna.'
