Frog Dress

Slime Lenses

Worse still, the flashing lights in the swamp may be confused for the lights from the ice fire that does not alarm anyone.

— Verdigris delighting new recruits on tales of the True Trials

1. Weave the flexbark into a dome-shaped structure, sized to fit over the wearer’s head.
   • Use overlapping strips to create a shell-like contour resembling a frog’s skull.
2. Bind intersections with sinew, lashing the inner and outer layers for sturdiness.
3. Prepare marsh fungus pulp by soaking and mashing into a clay-like consistency.
4. Apply and sculpt the pulp around the frame to form exaggerated frog features: wide jaw, false eye bulges and a gular pouch (throat sac).
5. Let it air-cure for 6 hours.
6. Mix bog clay with crushed shell or grit for insulation and spread over the exterior in a thin layer using a reed spatula. Allow to set.
7. Once dry, brush with heated swamp resin, sealing the surface to make it waterproof and rigid while retaining slight flexibility.
8. Tuck a partially inflated bladderwort sac into the dome’s interior top, securing it with sinew netting.
   • This gas bladder allows the headpiece to float in water and balance weight on the head.
9. Sew lichen-stained ghillie moss in irregular clumps around the headpiece using a bone needle and sinew thread.
10. Weave in swamp anemone tendrils along seams and curves. These tendrils swell or retract with humidity, giving the piece dynamic camouflage.
11. Insert filtered breathing vents in the nostril region if prolonged wear is expected.
12. Ensure the headpiece sits comfortably, distributing weight evenly.