Day Nine - The Dampness
Night fell at the end of Day Eight and still, no laughers. All of the arrivals are wet, cold, pruney and otherwise pretty miserable but the quiet of the forest after the storm allows everyone to drop off asleep without any troubles. Midway through the night though, it starts with a chuckle and builds to a crowd of uproarous response as the entire population of the laughers species returns home.
Dawn breaks with some peace and queit. The fog has returned but it's not pea soup thick as it has been known to be. Now it's low lying, swirling around the roots. The air is notably cooler, much more comfortable as they travel on through the afternoon.
In the early morning several groups go their own way. Everyone has particular projects they are anxious to get started on and so the climber tree clears out. Three women in particular - Lauren, Nancy and Annie - gather their leaf bowls and pouches and announce they are going to forage to the south. Annie left behind her orange sweatshirt and her black striped long sleeve shirt. By nightfall, the three women do not return.
Back at camp it is a struggle to dry everything out. The mud is thick and everywhere. The water in the stream is too muddy to drink without boiling first, so climber leaves in the tree that caught water during the night is at a premium. The bedding is pulled down, and spread from branches. Wood is regathered and the firepit becomes an all day project. The remainders of the laugher meat and the fish from yesterday have spoiled and must be buried. Fortunately there are still some blue fish struggling to survive in shrinking pools here and there. By noon, there is a new problem. The beat of tiny wings reveal a plague of flying leeches, brought on by the surge of the storm. The little creatures were carried east from the swamplands on the water and have discovered a taste for humanity.
Hummabees need to be discovered by those traveling east. As well as the field of New Rhododendron. It's a two day walk to the huge river but only a one day walk to the grasslands lake with the safety island in the middle - where the population of the western grasslands sleep the night, safe from the laughers. There is plenty of opportunity to observe or capture new grasslands species, feel free to do write ups to your hearts desire. There will be no sightings of the Mountain Rocs just yet. Everything else is up for grabs. That's all! Have fun!