The following day, the three young adventurers and their old guide set out from Sandpoint for Brinestump Marsh. The trip passed uneventfully, and soon they arrived at the outskirts of the marsh, which was located at the delta where the Soggy River spread before it ran into the sea. The marsh itself was relatively small and the Lost Coast road lost little time veering around this obstacle and bridging the river further upstream. Coming south from Sandpoint, they left the road at the northernmost point of the wetlands, where The New Fish Trail veered off and began snaking between short stretches of wet bogs immediately. A sign read "Danger" at the intersection for the benefit of strangers and visitors, ignored by the local fishermen whose footsteps were clearly imprinted in the muddy trail, heading both in and out.<br/><br/>Footsteps proved that the New Fish Trail was regularly traveled; their mostly undisturbed nature proved that regular was not to be confused with frequent. The land was always wet and muddy, frequently dipping below the waterline into shallow pools, and overgrown with reeds and other swamp plants that thrived both submerged and in the air. Travel off the trail was extremely difficult as a result, and travel on the trail itself was no cakewalk; the mud sucked on shoes, boots and feet making every step an effort. Insects buzzed about in numbers, some of them harmless, others decidedly biting nuisances. Trees plunged their roots deep into the wet soil and spread their branches wide in the canopy overhead, blocking the view of the sky with a blanket of broad leaves, making even the noontime day a dim and gloomy affair at ground level.<br/><br/>Many shallow creeks split off from the Soggy River and made their windy way into the sea. The New Fish Trail crossed several of these waterways, either with stones thrown down onto the creek bed raising its level until the water was forded by a path only ankle deep, or by crudely constructed bridges overgrown with moss and missing a few planks more often than not. So far the group hadn't met a creature larger than a rat, until they crossed the the second such bridge along the trail. The bridge was a crude undecorated wooden structure that performed its function and little more, arching over one of the many streamlets that divided the land into small islands of wet bog so that travelers could cross and continue along the trail without having to wade through the water. It was only wide enough for people to cross single-file, with a pair of rickety railings on either side that didn't look like they could be relied upon to take much weight.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">Please make the following rolls in advance for this encounter: a perception check, an initiative roll, and a reflex save.<br/>Also decide marching order across the bridge!<br/></div></div>