Sonder bathed in a shallow pool she found not far from the road.
Even as time dragged on, she still made an effor to keep herself and her clothing clean.
It felt like a trade-off of time she didn't really have.
She barely slept or ate, so bathing here and there when she found the opportunity wasn't such a waste.
And keeping clean was the way she liked it.
She had endured grime and dirt when the situation demanded it.
Ever since Vell had raised her, that was the way she preferred it.
Oftentimes, she feared that her undead nature gave her an unpleasant smell, and she wanted to lessen that fear by at least trying to keep the smell of rot away with clean flesh and fresh scents.
Her recent encounter with the beastfolk and their talk about her smell didn't lessen any of that fear.
This pool offered no scents except for the earthy tone of its water.
Earth and sand were what she had smelled of for a long time now.
Even if the want was unnecessary or even frivolous, she hoped that she could get her hands on some kind of perfume, or an oil or ointment to cover herself with.
She set down her satchel, disrobed, and stripped down. She placed her staff and sword gently onto the ground.
And, gentlest of all, she hid the two shards beneath all of it.
The sun was shining and warmed the pool, though at any temperature it would have been fine for Sonder.
There was a gentle pull of a stream from where the water flowed into the pool and then out of it.
She cleaned herself to the best of her ability without any soap, the sword in her chest included, and then cleaned her dirty clothes and the trinkets she had, like her rings and bracelets.
The Nesh robe especially. It gave off great clouds of brown and other dark colors from all the dirt it had collected.
What a pity, Sonder thought. This robe alone would have been a treasure to anyone else, from farmer to high noble, and she treated it like it was just a common rag.
And she had more than one. What was Thiliel thinking giving Sonder such a reward when all she wanted was just a meeting with Grimalkin?
Maybe for the Nesh, it was just how things were. If you were a member of the house, you had such robes, and that would be the end of it.
Sonder just had a few. Thiliel, her brother, and nephew must have had many.
So did her hair; it had grown long now, almost down to her hips, and all kinds of grime had befallen it.
It all washed away with the current.
She stayed in the water, idly swimming and diving under.
She could hold her breath for a very long time, but even so, she still needed to breathe.
Or her memory of breathing was so strong that even if she could hold it for an unnaturally long amount of time, she still needed to fill her lungs with air once in a while.
This wasn't something Sonder wanted to test.
Out of childish curiosity, she took the light sword out of its sheath, which kept its brightness hidden from the world, and dived down with it.
And even underwater, its glow was bright.
She still didn't understand what it was, or what its purpose had been.
It was still sharp, even after all it had been through, and it seemed easy to channel magic through it.
That must have been partly because of its enchantment.
But why did it exist at all? Was it part of the armory and artifacts of the House of Lustre, or was it a chance find of the creature of shadows that had its burrow close?
It was an oddity that seemingly came from nowhere, but she was thankful for it.