Mud, Glorious Mud

Feeling strongly that the mud from the bed of the stream had restorative properties, Astra smeared it over as much of her body as she could reach. There was an area of her back that she could not get at, so she lay down in the stream and squirmed in order to cover that area as well as she could. After waiting a short time for the mud to do its stuff, she scraped it off. It came away quite readily. Where she could not reach, she removed the residue by rubbing herself on the grass growing beside the stream.

She wondered whether there was much point in continuing to wear the boots. Her feet were probably as durable as the footwear, and she might have a better grip without them. But she decided to keep them on for now. For one thing it might help to convince people that she was not a troll, as it was well known that trolls were too primitive to wear any clothing or footwear. (Of course, there should not really be any confusion. Astra had never seen a troll, but she understood that they were supposed to be squat and very heavily built. And they were only mobile during the hours of darkness, the complete opposite of herself.)

Then she went on her way. As she went further down the valley, it gradually broadened out. Other small streams joined the main one, which therefore gradually grew in size to become a substantial river. She hoped that when she eventually left the valley and reached the plains - which would probably be some time tomorrow - the river would not cut across the direction in which she wanted to go. One of the few drawbacks of her new form was that she was clearly much too heavy to be able to swim. She could try walking across, but in the centre of the river the water would be well over her head. The water was sufficiently clear that lack of light would not be a problem, but she was unsure whether she still needed air or for how long she could hold her breath. She was not aware of breathing, but that did not mean that she was not doing so.

She had made sure that she was on the left bank of the river before it became too deep. That way she would be on the correct side if it continued in a southerly or westerly direction after leaving the valley. She would only have a problem if it turned onto an easterly course.

1. Eventually the sun sets and she perforce stops for the night.
2. She encounters a goatherd. Apparently at least some of the goats that she has seen are domesticated rather than wild.
3. She decides to conduct an experiment to determine her underwater capabilities.
4. She does not notice at first, as the effect is not that great. But the mud has done rather more than heal and tone her skin. Some has evidently been absorbed into her body, and she is now just slightly more heavily built than before.

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