Now that the group was on high alert, they made quick and wary progress in the direction of the campsite. With Judea and Sloane pulling sheep Opal along, both could afford to keep one eye on their woolly teacher and one on their surroundings. The farther from the port Sloane got, the more the evidence mounted: this place was seriously messed up. Nothing overt, but lots of little things. Branches curving into shapes and patterns, terrible overgrowth, strange noises from the underbrush and the houses, an abundance of small animals that seemed to watch the students, and if the quick look Sloane got was right, birds with too many eyes. And more of those people, unaware and soulless as clay dolls. If there was any time for an assault, it was now, while the students were still confused and lost. While she'd never admit to being afraid, Sloane was starting to dread the nighttime already.

Nothing happened. Nothing attacked the students, jumped out, or so much as said 'boo'. Still, Sloane reached the camping park with acute anxiety, having been ready to sprout an axeblade or spearhead the whole time. The sight of the place offered some relief, though. A wide open area with long sightlines and nobody in sight made for a good base of operations, even if a good chunk of it lay underwater. Frogs and mosquitoes she felt pretty confident about being able to deal with. Then again, with that waterfall flowing, the lake might be moving fast enough to prevent a severe mosquito infestation. Judea went over to check it out by herself, leaving Sloane to pat Ms. Opal reassuringly. “We'll be fine,” she murmured, taking off her traveling case to plop on the ground before looking out across the dry part of camp. Some RVs, some decent ground, and what looked like a large wooden platform with a few benches. From her current position Sloane could see some stuff stored beneath it. Hopefully it included some tents, since Sloane neglected to bring one of her own in that case, despite its size. Of course, with her luck there were probably just snakes, spiders, and curses down there, and in those RVs too. Sloane sighed; she couldn't afford to let her guard down for a moment.

Judea seemed to want to stick around, which meant volunteering Sloane for cleanup duty too. Of course, she could technically go off on her own if she wanted, but in a situation like this it seemed pretty obvious that meisters and weapons should stick together, ready for anything. Plus, going out on recon or supply duty was a lot of pressure. Everyone would be counting on whoever went, not just to come back in one piece, but also to not deliver them hexed provisions. [i]That[/i] sounded like the job for some of the group's resident eager go-getters. 

With a little encouragement Sloane got Opal to come with her as she went over to Judea. She watched for a moment, thinking through what she was going to say, then got a couple steps closer and leaned over. “Hey,” she muttered, speaking in a low and confidential voice. “Um...weird goings-on and animal magic, huh. Seems kind of...witchy, doesn't it? I don't suppose you what's going on?”