Chapter 6: Down the Drain
Såksël complained about the dried meat stocks running low, which prompted Tosirid to worry about our food supply in general. I proposed that Såksël could hunt if her own harvest is not to her liking. However, the drought is a legitimate concern, as Asmël quickly pointed out.
We eventually decided to attempt irrigation, with Ustir alone having all the agriculture experience among us. It doesn't help that Čogon is bedridden. Perhaps the flowers he had steeped weren't poppy after all.
Clearing some trees and ploughing the ground has freed up water, but it dries up quickly under the sun. Branches and leaves capture and protect the moisture. While this works with some plants, others are oddly unaffected.
Our food shortage has resolved in the worst possible way: Rain has returned to the land, and raises the groundwater level. The shaft leading to the cellar has not been protected with proper pitch, which was fine earlier, but now water trickles through the gaps and cracks in the planks. Ustir does her best to patch them. I cannot shake the feeling we should have seen this coming and prepared sooner.
The cellar is rapidly turning into a cistern. The water is already shank-high. With joined effort, we should still be able to retrieve our goods and some obsidian, even while morale sinks.
Determined to make the best of our situation, Čogon has mounted an axle and hanged a bucket over the stair-well.