The Village

* The investigators are on their way to the South Villages in the carriage.
* We talk about Vaesen who have connections to children and dreams
	+ A myling is a murdered baby who haunts its grave
* It’s pointed out that the Libro is a list of encountered vaesen. It’s possible we are seeing something new?
* Alec thinks about Egregor:
	+ An occult concept representing a non-physical entity that arises from the collective thoughts of a distinct group of people.
		- Count Jan Potocki, the Polish author who wrote about it.
		- This type of entity would not have been seriously discussed in academic circles
* We finally arrive at the “Village”, it’s a very loose term.
* We pass through hills and dales of farmland, the Village center is like a commune, a place for sharing resources, a collection point. It has stalls, a carved out dirt area where the surrounding farms trade with each other. There’s also a small mail post.
* Martha goes over to a woman selling berries with Signe and Wila and they chat up this local.
	+ We chat her up about the Refugium men, telling her about how Burroughs is missing, and we talk about his dalliance with the milkmaid.
	+ She calls Gerrard  Sorin a “right bastard!” He tried to get with every woman on the island. \*gasp!\*
	+ Martha subtly spills the tea about a possible pregnancy + child.
	+ The woman doesn’t want to gossip, of course, but points us towards the Penderson family farm, for no reason whatsoever.
	+ Martha overpays for some berries, she’s dubious about the antioxidants in the blueberries.
* Cyrus and William let the woman do “their thing”.
* Alec patrols the perimeter of the village center
	+ They find some Lambs Quarters, used in cooking as a leafy green. It looks like the piece of green found in the underwater cave.
		- It has a high amount of oxalic acid, large quantities can be a stomach irritant and blocks the absorption of calcium. SUS.
* Alec muses about the Island, and if it has some sort of contaminant that only affects new people. . .
	+ Why didn’t it affect Sommerland? Burroughs, Cyrus, August, and Sorin have all been touched by love
		- Romantics
		- Sommerland and Willam are not romantics. (Oh snap)
		- “We know nothing about Sommerland and love” lmao burn
	+ Cyrus tells us it doesn’t feel like a mermaid. He’ll elaborate on that after.
* We approach the Penderson house
	+ Martha notices something is off. . .
	+ Eddie lands on her shoulder and hides
	+ Dread, unwellness, shame, sadness is around this place.
	+ Cyrus is frightened.
* It is a house on top of a hill, shades are drawn and curtains are closed. There is a lone field worker at the back of the house. There is a family graveyard.
	+ We approach the house and no one greets us.
* Signe and Martha go up to the door and knock. A man named Thomas Penderson answers. He’s the man of the house.
	+ We tell him there is a class action lawsuit against the conman Gerrard Sorin that might entitle them to financial compensation from the Sorin family via the Refugium.
	+ As Mr. Penderson steps outside and Signe hears the cry of a child as the door closes.
	+ Martha informs him it would be compensation for something he’s caring for that he wouldn’t normally be caring for (if he can prove damages).
	+ Cyrus is acting as our chaperone, and Thomas invites him and Wila in; such things are better discussed inside.
* Meanwhile, in the family graveyard. . . Alec and William are totally snooping!
	+ They find a bunch of unattended & neglected flowers. No new graves, nothing child-like.
* Alec hears the sound of a crying child. . .