We followed Svampe for a couple of hours as he tried to sense the source of the contaminated water. I feel for him, I really do. This is a lot of pressure on his head. He’s the only one who can sense this stuff. It isn’t something that I can track. We are completely reliant on the fact that he inherited this way of communicating with nature.

  Eventually he came to a stop slightly north of the village in the middle of a field.

  Svampe: “It’s strongest below.”

  Agaroth: “It’s just a fuckin’ field.”

  Damecus: “I would hazard a guess that there is an underground river that passes through this area. That is likely what the well taps into.”

  Dietrich: “Well, how do we get down to it? I didn’t bring a shovel.”

  Damecus: “Digging down to it would work, but that could take an incredibly long time. I would suggest that we look for a cave entrance nearby. If something is contaminating the water to this degree, then chances are that there are caverns down there that we can pass through.”

  Agaroth: “And how d’ya come tae that conclusion?”

  Damecus: “To contaminate the water so heavily, the source of the contamination must be substantial. The size of which would not fit in a small area.”

  I don’t really know much about how water contamination works… but that makes sense to me.

  Agaroth: “What if it’s in the soil and the soil’s contaminatin’ the water?”

  Good question, I hadn’t thought of that.

  Damecus: “I have tested the soil in various areas as we have travelled, and the soil is indeed tainted… however… not as significantly as the water. Which suggests that the water spoiled the soil, not the other way around.”

  Farrow: “So, what do we do?”

  Dwynfel: “We could ask that guy from the village if he knows of any cave networks in the area.”

  Agaroth: “Pfft… that guy knew fuck all. Didnae even know how tae get to the bottom a the well. Asking him would be a complete fuckin’ waste a time.”

  Not exactly phrased in the nicest of ways… but he has a point.

  Damecus: “I would suggest that we fan out and search the immediate area for any caves that we can find. We split up and meet back here in two hours. Nobody goes in a cave on their own. We do not know what is causing this. It may well be an intentional act by people who would not take kindly to us. Find a cave, note its location, then move on. We investigate them together. Understood?”

  Agaroth: “Well, good luck wi’ that. I’m goin’ back to tae village tae get Twinky. If we end up cave divin’ then his light spell will save us carryin’ torches. An’ connected voice couldnae hurt.”

  Damecus: “A wise idea. Return in two hours.”

  Everyone nodded and we all split off to try to find any possible entrance point to this underground river. I elected to go with Svampe in an attempt to gage how he was doing. He still seems uneasy… it must be an odd experience… feeling plant life communicate with you… sensing all this stuff. I wonder if he can turn it off or block it out. If not, then it must be very overwhelming.

  Dwynfel: “Svampe, what does it feel like?”

  Svampe: “Huh?”

  He fixed me with a look of confusion.

  Dwynfel: “Sensing this stuff… the plants, the soil, you know…”

  Svampe: “Oh… umm… it’s hard to explain… and… well… it kind of… changes a lot.”

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  He stopped walking and stood pensively for a moment.

  Svampe: “When we were in the town, I didn’t sense anything until I went to the well. After I held the bucket of water in my hand… a sense of unease came over me. I can’t explain where it came from, but I just knew in that moment that the water wasn’t okay.”

  Dwynfel: “You said it changes… how so?”

  Svampe: “As we got closer to the edge of the village, closer to the fields… the bushes… the trees. It was like I could hear them, but not like I hear you… there was no language… I didn’t hear words… but… I just understood them. They kind of pointed me in the right direction. Pointed me to where the ill feeling was strongest.”

  That sounds… that sounds like a really weird sensation.

  Dwynfel: “Did it not feel… kind of… odd? Suddenly feeling all these organisms guiding you?”

  Svampe: “At first it did, but the stronger the connection got, the more… reassuring it felt. To be connected to all this, like I’m part of nature. It feels… it feels like I’ve filled a hole.”

  Dwynfel: “I’m sorry.”

  Svampe: “What for?”

  Dwynfel: “For the fact that you had this hole to fill to begin with. If we had done more, then maybe…”

  Svampe: “Don’t…”

  Dwynfel: “Huh?”

  Svampe: “Just don’t.”

  He turned to me and smiled at me. A proper smile… it felt weird… smiling is something that has been very foreign to him over the past few years. He has only really smiled when Tadwick has roped him into stupid games. I’m just not used to seeing him do it when it’s just us.

  Svampe: “Don’t make this all somehow your fault. It isn’t, it never was and it never will be. So don’t apologise. This entire situation is fucked up, I’m fucked up. But I’ve found something that makes me feel like maybe, just maybe, something good can come out of this horrific shit show. So please, Dwynfel. Just don’t.”

  Dwynfel: “Sorry… hard habit to break.”

  Svampe: “Kiyui’s always telling you to stop apologising. You should to listen to him.”

  Dwynfel: “I do try… but you know… it’s hard.”

  Svampe: “Well, how about we both try to be a bit more optimistic from now on.”

  Dwynfel: “Okay… deal.”

  This is good. This is very good. He’s feeling optimistic… he’s smiling… he has something to focus on. He is definitely moving in the right direction. I am honestly, so very pleased about this.

  Svampe: “May I ask you something?”

  Dwynfel: “Of course.”

  Svampe: “Umm… well… it’s about… well… umm… girls.”

  Dwynfel: “What?”

  Shit, shit, shit, shit. Please don’t ask me about girls… it isn’t my area… it is so very much not my area. Hell, boys are barely my area. The fact that I am in a relationship is a miracle in itself.

  Svampe: “How… how do you talk to them?”

  Dwynfel: “What do you mean? You’ve talked to girls before? You talk to Phoenix. You talk to Dietrich and Farrow. You talk to my mum.”

  Svampe: “I don’t mean like that. I mean like… you know… girls that… umm…are my age.”

  Dwynfel: “You talk to them much the same as you talk to anybody else. I’m not sure why their age would make you talk to them differently.”

  Svampe: “I mean girls that… that I like.”

  I can’t believe he is trying to have this conversation with me. Has he not been paying attention? I am very much not the person to ask about this stuff. I don’t know how to talk to women in that way! What the fuck do I say here?

  I mean… I’m glad that he likes someone… shows he is coming out of his little world and noticing other people. He is much less focussed on himself and is seeking connection with others… but fuck… what if I give him advice and its wrong? Shit… I need to delay this conversation until Kiyui is present. Oh, thank fuck… there’s a cave over there...

  Dwynfel: “Oh, look! A cave over there! Let’s go check it out!”

  Charlie is obviously the one missing a hand.

  Unfortunately, once again, the AI programme does not understand height. Olmo should be roughly the same height as Charlie. There is only a four month age gap between them.