Though exhausted, they have all managed to awake. Despite the efforts of other things at play, they all made it through the night, mostly intact.

Hubert shows up to the cabin as the sun slinks over the fresh waters nearby. He hopes that Clara managed to get back to sleep after their starlit walk. The boy walks in without knocking, gently closing the door behind him.

"Good," Hubert begins. He waits for them to acknowledge his presence. For the most part, they are too tired and frustrated to acknowledge him. "I need some volunteers to come with me."

"What for?" Maverick begins, leaning forward so his elbows rest on his knees. He furrows his brow.

"Oh, I will!" Beverly exclaims as she stands. She pulls on her shoes, practically hopping to the door as she does. "I am in charge of the committee on exploring, after all."

Mickey stands as well. "Are we going into the woods?"

"For a short whole," Hubert begins. "I should warn you that the woods are rather dangerous. The town as well. It is best to explore the beach."

With that, Mickey decides that he is going. He joins Beverly at the door, who beams up beside him. Mickey decides, looking at Beverly's face, that at least he has allies.

"Well, if we are basing this off committees, I ought to go as well," Adwin says. When he steps forward, he puts a finger up to his lips. "Although, what exactly is it that we are seeking?"

"I'm going to explain to you exactly why you need to stay and help Alaque," Hubert counters. He squares his shoulders.

Maverick finally stands up. He realizes that perhaps he hasn't given Hubert the fair chance that he deserved. So, he crosses the room.

"I'll come," Clara stands up as well.

Hubert shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but I can only keep an eye on so many people in the forest. They'll be able to tell you later."

Though Hubert would have no way of knowing, Clara likes to think that she can handle herself perfectly well. She bites her lip to keep in the angered response that she wants to give. It's been too long that she has been delegated to being stuck in this cabin.

"Fine, Mr. Tremblay," she decides, sitting back now. She keeps herself from crossing her arms over her chest in a huff.

Hubert smiles at her and bites his lip. With a simple shrug, he holds the door open, the others file out.

Across the room, Flo can feel Clara's anger. She saunters over, winking at Tim as she does. When she reaches Clara, she sits down beside her. "Now, darling, we can still have our own adventure. I've been meaning to go into town to pay a debt to that poor family I scared. Would you like to come?"

Hubert said not to go into town. "Yes."

From his spot inspecting his nails, Alvaro straightens his back. "I hope I'm invited."

Flo sizes up Alvaro. Her eyes fall to the flop of curly hair on his head to his sharp jawline. "I think that would be fine."

"Well, I'm not going," Tim insists. "Hubert said it was a bad idea. Besides, the woman called us the devil."

As Alvaro moves over to the door, he squawks like a chicken. Behind him, Flo giggles. Clara tries her best to hide her smile since it brings her a sense of dread. With that, the three of them head outside the tiny house.

The only one left besides Ivy, who lies peacefully sleeping, Tim decides that he is most certainly not a chicken. In fact, he will prove it to them no matter the cost. He pulls his shoes on, ignoring the soft words slipping out of Ivy's lips. If he had paid any attention, he would have noticed that she was speaking in perfect French.

From there, Tim sneaks out the front door. He watches as the others head off into the town, laughing at some joke Alvaro has made. With no eyes on him (or so he thinks), he heads into the woods.

It is damp and dark. Tim was never one to understand why people take strolls in nature, especially with a canopy of leaves above him. The only thing good about the outside is the sun. Not for tanning, God forbid his pristine skin become any darker, but for the warm feeling that it brings to his chest.

Still, Tim needs to bring back something to prove his spoils. He just isn't sure what.

As he strolls, he hears a footstep break a twig behind him. He spins around, slipping and falling on to the ground. His back breaks through a rotting log. Tim rolls onto his side, feeling the sticky cool rot on the side of his face. He stands up and tries to wipe it off with one hand, but it only manages to stay longer.

"Shit," Tim swallows.

~~~

"Where exactly are we going?" Clara asks.

"Well," Flo plants her hands firmly on her hips. "I was hoping we could beg some baker to give us a pie to give to that woman I scared."

"Will they have a bakery?" Clara asks, since she isn't exactly familiar with history. She remembers Adwin mentioning that he was a history buff. She wishes he was here.

"You can always come with me instead," Alvaro winks.

Clara rolls her eyes.

At this, Alvaro purses his lips. "Well, I hope you ladies enjoy yourselves."

With that, he stalks off. Since they are already deep into the heart of town, he knows exactly where he is going. He walks up to the church, opening the doors and hoping that they aren't locked.

Inside, there is a man in black robes at the front of the room. From across the room, Alvaro doesn't notice the man's knuckles turn white as he grips the podium tighter. Rather than look around, Alvaro finds a spot in the back and kneels down in front of the bench.

He isn't sure what he prays for, but he prays, nonetheless. At first, he prays for the health of his parents and friends back home. Then, he asks why he is here, and if it is true that he ought to stay. Finally, he repents for the moments which brought him here. Alvaro wonders if they are all sinners, brought here by God to learn a lesson.

Alvaro looks up at the sound of footsteps. He sees the priest, standing before him, holding forward a copy of the Bible. Alvaro reaches his hand forward, gently putting his hand against it. For a second, he expects to burn.

Nothing happens. The priest takes back the Bible and walks away.

~~~

With a pie in hand, the girls walk back towards the farm. No one answers the door when Flo walks, so she leaves it on the porch. Clara is still surprised that Flo managed to get it for free. However, Flo only had to ask, and the man essentially flung it at her over the counter.

Anything to get the devil girl out of the shop, apparently.

"Do you think that will change their opinion of us?" Clara asks. She takes a step closer to Flo, so that the two are practically arm in arm as they walk. "What exactly is their opinion of us?"

"They are certainly scared," Flo says. "Although, that doesn't bother me all too much. I know that someone with my... my je ne sais quoi would scare others. Still, it is the neighbourly thing to do."

Clara isn't sure.

The two of them enter the cabin. Inside, the words have stopped sneaking out of Ivy's lips, and Tim is still gone.

~~~

"It shouldn't be much longer," Hubert tells them, even though they've only been in the forest for a minute.

"That's a pity," Beverly smiles. She hops over a log and nearly trips and falls.

She bumps into Maverick, who shrugs her off. His eyes linger on her bright eyes for a second, and he furrows his brow. "Where exactly are we going?"

"Let me start at the beginning," Hubert insists. He is silent for a moment. "There are several problems in Alaque. The first of which, and the most persistent, is the rot. In the last year, we've lost a quarter of the forest to it. It blocks our trade with the natives, so we rely on the ships and the English now."

Adwin remembers how important trade with the native peoples was for the earlier settlers. His information is fuzzy since it isn't his preferred area of study, but he knows that fur was one of the larger components. "That's quite unfortunate. Which group are you trading with, if you don't mind me asking?"

Hubert's back stiffens. He stops walking for a second before he trudges along. "The Mi'kmaq."

"You're still surviving though," Mickey points out. He can tell from the muscles across Hubert's back that he is more than well-fed.

"We would be if it weren't for the grip," Hubert continues. "It comes every winter, and each year is worst than the last."

Beverly tries to pay attention, she really does. She can't help but run her hand along the leaves.

"Stop that," Hubert tells her, taking a step closer. "Don't touch anything. The rot will settle into your skin. It'll eat you away until we all decide to put you out of your misery."

With that, Mickey puts himself right beside Beverly, just to keep a close eye on her.

But she's already touched it, and she's fine. So, she pays him no mind. When his back is turned once more, she continues to inspect the bark of the trees.

"How do you expect us to solve any of this?" Maverick asks. "Explain to me why we are here?"

Hubert shrugs. He runs a hand through his thick hair, turning back around to head through the forest. "We have always had a... a story. About you coming. That you would fix it all. The saying goes "wait for the strangers, don't ask them questions, and let them do their tasks"."

Hubert's neck twitches.

There is something he isn't saying. Maverick can feel it, but he doesn't push any farther. After all, he is trying to get his ideas sorted within his own mind. There is a rot that is deadly to the touch. There is a disease killing off people. There was someone with them in the woods the other day.

"Then why does everyone hate us?" Adwin asks. "Flo mentioned that people screamed when they saw her."

"Well, because your English," Hubert tells them.

"This town is quite large for New France. Shouldn't you have an actual port?" Adwin asks.

Finally, Hubert stops. "We're here."

With a few more steps out of the forest, they arrive. It is a graveyard, which is not special. Mickey notes that there are relatively few graves. Only about fifty.

It smells of wet earth and pine. All of the graves are lined up, row after row, almost meticulous. Each of them has a cross made of wood, none are in decay. It is a well-cared-for spot. There are fresh prints in the dirt, from a delicate shoe.

"The gouverneur was going to build us a port," Hubert says, gesturing to the lighthouse in the distance. "But then the rot set in. We have the buildings for a town of a hundred, but there are only fifty of us left. We've filled forty graves in the last year."

Hubert does not mention that the first grave they filled belongs to Élise.

Adwin stands before them. Is this what awaits his family back home? Maybe he cannot help them, at least not immediately, but he might be able to help the people here. He isn't a scientist though. He has no way of studying the rot's properties.

Now, Maverick catches Hubert's eyes lingering. He doesn't dare protrude. He wants Hubert to be able to tell them what he thinks, rather than guessing it out of his head.

"Was it the illness or the rot that got most of them?" Adwin asks.

Finally, Beverly pays attention. "The rot can't be that bad. I got it all over my hand and I am doing fine."

The group's eyes snap across to her. She blinks back at them, cocking her head to the side. Her smile begins to fade away. "What?"

~~~~~

Welp, this can't be good. I'm very excited for this plot to be seen through. After all, I'm only like two chapters (writing not publishing) away from finishing my other major project, Uprise.

I hope you enjoy and I will see you soon.