Catching up with Sam and Ping as they planned to camp for the night, Mara pointed to a clearing several yards off the trail and pushed through the surrounding brush to get a better look. It was a somewhat circular patch of green and lavender grass, a natural gap in the tightly woven trees and brush they had encountered so far in the swamp. However, as Diana stepped into the area, Mara pointed to a black spot on the ground several yards away.
“Someone has camped here before,” she said. She walked over to the pile of ash and toed it with her hiking boot. “Looks like another campfire was on the opposite side of the clearing over there.” She nodded across the way to another smudge on the ground.
“If the acolytes know about this area, we’ll be sitting ducks,” Sam said.
“Since it’s likely the
