Though it’s late-morning, the sun is covered by thick, dark clouds and the sunlight is weak. Diego is prepared to unleash the weather once they cross the river and locate Élivágar. He insists on roping everyone together as they cross, in case Élivágar senses them coming and unfreezes the ice prior to the group arriving at the far bank. However, the group arrives on the other side without incident, meeting the Jo-gä-oh awaiting them. Everyone knows their part and begins their appointed tasks.
Maddie accompanies several Gan-da-yah to place the temporary protection she devised around trees, shrubs, and any remaining grass in the area. Luckily with it being in the middle of a freezing winter, the plants are in a dormant or preserved state using minimal water and nutrients, just enough to stay alive until Spring.
Through her investigations yesterday, Maddie determined that Élivágar couldn’t directly escape through the ground and suggested it used the stem and root system of plants to go from the surface to the under dwelling cave system that is riddled below the forest. She believes that the limestone in the soil made it difficult for Élivágar to penetrate the ground directly, perhaps due to limestone’s ability to resist water and Élivágar being a water-based entity. That was Maddie’s best guess, there was no terra PsySapient to gainsay her, and it sounded reasonable to the group so that’s what they’re basing some of their defense on.
With the limestone supposition, the Oh-do-was are asked to bring up any limestone rocks while the Ga-hon-ga gather limestone from the rocky outcroppings beside the river. Their affinity for rocks allows the Ga-hon-ga a formidable defense and some choose to stand near Diego beside the frozen river. The remaining Ga-hon-ga join Tewow as their task is to locate Élivágar using birds. They will harry it towards the clearing when signaled to and Tewow will keep other animals away from the clearing and Élivágar’s path in the meantime.
Libby passes out the last of the face masks they purchased at a local pharmacy in the area. If Élivágar aerosolized its natural venom, they need to prevent inhaling it as much as possible. To that effect, Dr. Rademacher also supplied them with several tanks of oxygen to help displace poisonous air that may reach their lungs. However, Libby is hoping that her party will not be as susceptible to Élivágar as the deceased were.
Dr. Rademacher and Libby discovered that the deceased individuals shared a common trait, as least of the bodies they recovered from the frozen stream last night. All the bodies had pale blond hair and light eyes. Dr. Rademacher performed a simple genetic marker test on several of the bodies and determined they were of Finnish descent. As many Finnish people came to America in the early to mid-17th century as part of the New Swedish colony, it was not unusual to find descendants in Pennsylvania, though they were usually found more to the east. With the Finnish link, they believe that all may have rare genetic diseases that are commonly found amongst those with Finnish disease heritage including various blood diseases. This may have made them more susceptible to being enthralled by Élivágar or allowed the poison to be faster acting in their lungs.
The bodies were not recognized by local police nor park rangers. Therefore, they must be from out of the area like the body identified yesterday. Either they all just happened to hunt or visit the forest in the past couple of years and were mysteriously affected by the vaporous venom, or somehow Élivágar was luring people that would be particularly susceptible to its venom. Libby conjectured it was the latter and developed a blood concoction she believed would attract Élivágar to their clearing. Hopefully, the combination of the blood lure and the bird harassment will draw Élivágar to the area quickly.
Libby stands beside Tiko after dispersing the masks. Tiko guards Vito who is searching for traces of the souls of the dead people that Élivágar killed. Wendy believes that Élivágar is feeding off the energy of the dead and wants to release the spirits as well as deprive Élivágar of sustenance. Once Vito locates the spirits, he will attempt to explain the situation and get their permission to be laid to rest. However, even without location and approval, Tiko can forcibly drive the dead to rest though he won’t unless under the direst of consequences. He has his bone hand-axe, bone mallet, and bone stakes at the ready in either case.
Within several minutes of Libby’s arrival, Vito nods his head. “Tiko, those that remain would like to get away from Élivágar. They saw what happened to other spirits and don’t wish the same fate. You will have no resistance from them.”
Tiko looks across the clearing to see how Diego and Wendy fare. Diego’s task is to clear the clouds and increase the sunshine. He and the Ga-hon-ga will also perform a rapid melt of the frozen river, or at least the part beside the bank they are standing on. Tiko knows Diego is working hard as the clouds have been gone for almost an hour. It has also warmed enough that the ground snow shrank to almost nothing with bare patches of dead grass seen throughout the clearing.
Wendy finishes lining up her arsenal of cursebags and now lays various herbs, ointments, and curios within easy reach to the side. She turns
