The ground changed about forty yards before the marsh itself. The dirt road gave way gradually, each step sinking a little deeper before finding resistance underneath, then the resistance stopped being reliable. Beorn watched his boot leave shallow impressions when he lifted it again.
A different aroma rose from the soil as well, of cold moisture pushing upward through the surface. It had nothing in common with the dry furnace heat of the Badlands they had crossed to reach this place.
Ahead, the marsh spread in uneven patches of standing water between low grass. The vegetation near the ground had changed color, the grass denser and more yellow than the scrub behind them, rooted in soil that kept water close beneath the surface instead of dry stone and mineral dust.
