"Hey, Naya,” asked Alvec. “Am I remembering correctly that the spirits of water are responsible for washing away Kavaas's ilk... if we're corrupted already, do you think drinking the river water would help purify us?"

Naya mulled the question over for a moment. "Since we're in a place of spirit, not flesh, I think it's worth trying out.”

"Alright, wish me luck," Alvec said as he waded waist-deep into the water, cupped his hands, and brought the water of the green sleep to his lips. Only seconds after the cool liquid had slid down his throat, his stomach ached immensely, and he found himself doubled over as he began to lose his lunch into the river. Except it wasn't food or bile that came back up; it was a strange black liquid with a purple sheen. He clenched his fists tightly as he continued to expel whatever this was. After an uncomfortable time bent over hands on his knees, he finally felt as if he'd purged it all. He walked back towards the river shore smiling widely, and no longer could anyone see even a hint of that strange purple light. "So that sucked." He said as he waded back onto the shore.

"That looked right unpleasant. Do we be having to do that?" Illaria asked as she watched the strange oily film roil over the top of the rushing river. It seemed to cling to the spot it had been expelled onto.

"Yes, this is likely what Elder Bristlecone was talking about when he said we were already tainted. If we can wipe it away, we ought to." Naya said.

"Bait no see problem with this, we drink water and den vomit cool black gunk. Vomit good, and black gunk neat!" He said with more enthusiasm than anyone else at the party could muster.

"Of course, the goblin would want to throw up. Me. I'll just try, I don't know. Chewing on a stick or something. Surely, the pine of the Green Sleep will hold just as much of a healing property as the water, if not more." Mavec stated as he walked over to the nearest tree and ripped off the smallest piece he could see before slipping it into his mouth and chewing on the bark. Naya gave him no small amount of side-eye as he chewed on the stick like a beaver.

"That's not going to work, you know that, right?" Naya asked.

"Nonsense, everyone knows you fight spirit infections with pine sticks," Mavec said.

"First off, you don't know the first thing of the spirits, Mr. I drink enough coffee to stop my heart." She looked to the rest of the group for moral support before resuming. "Spirits and what you'd call folk remedies are my specialty. I'm telling you, not once in my life has anyone ever suggested curing a single ailment by chewing on pine sticks. Hell, I don't even think I've heard of a use for pine sap?"

Illaria sighed and grabbed Alvec by the arm, pulling him back into the river with her. "You'll be needing to hold my hair back. I'd have Bait do it, but I think the poor bugger is going to be a little too busy gulping down as much of this magic water as he can." Alvec nodded in agreement and wrapped his hands around her hair. He'd never done this before and felt both nervous and awkward as he did so.

"Is this too tight?" he asked as he gently pulled her flaming red hair together in his hands.

"Not in the slightest." She said before she dipped a flask into the river and then brought it to her lips. It took only a few moments for it to take effect, and she, too, was doubled over releasing this black toxin from her body. Bait stood beside them, intentionally taking a moment to force himself to stop vomiting so that he could drink more water and resume vomiting. Maybe his soul would be cleaner? Who care dough, he have da most fun.

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When the pair were done, Naya and Echo waded into the river to partake in its gifts and, well, perhaps curse. The two of them drank deeply from the river. After an unpleasant few minutes, the pair exited the river and came to stand back on the island. "Alright, Mavec, enough chewing the stick. You need to go drink the water. Your mouth is still glowing bright purple," Naya insisted.

"Not happening, that shit made you all vomit. Vomiting is the body's way of saying I need this toxin OUT of me. So, I'm not too interested in making me drink something that will make me vomit. Also, who is to say that glowing is bad? I mean, the gunk you all vomited up is this oil-slicked black. Who's to say that stuff wasn't in the water?" Mavec asked as he backed away from Naya. She tilted an eyebrow in confusion and glanced at Alvec. His voice rang out in her head.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Do you think Mavec is acting... strange even for Mavec?" Naya asked.

"More than a little," Alvec replied.

"Think he somehow was fully corrupted?" Naya asked.

"I guess it's possible. We don't know how Kavaas infects people. The only common denominator we have is that we were all exposed to sleepwalking, and Sarbie wasn't." Alvec responded.

"Shall I have Echo dunk him in?' Naya asked, trying not to let a grin spread across her face.

"Do it; we can't take any chances," Alvec replied.

"Echo, toss him in," Naya said. The wolf tilted its head to the side with mild confusion as it tilted its ears to the side. Naya nodded confirmation, and Echo lunged at Mavec. He bit down around the young man's neck and snagged his shirt in his massive jaws. He pulled hard, and Mavec found himself dragged across the ground and into the water. Despite his efforts to keep his head above water, he soon found two hands pushing him down in addition to Echo's sturdy paw pressing down on his back. Water flooded into his mouth, and the choice to swallow was reflexive. He half choked on it as it went down, burning his throat and lungs. The pressure holding him down rapidly released him as his back seized. He came up from under the water, releasing the same black liquid.

When he finally coughed up the last bits of water and whatever this gunk coming out of him was, he stumbled to the shoreline. "What the fuck just happened? Where did those giant stuffed animals go?" Mavec asked, looking at his companions.

"We be finished fighting Mavec. You were slinging those lightning bolts of yours and everything; do you not be remembering?" Illaria asked.

"Look, the last thing I remember was one of them taking a swing at me. I think they hit based on the headache." Mavec said as he moved his hand to his head. "That or it was the vomiting. What the fuck was up with that too?" He asked before turning to Sarbie. "Hey, you know any spells to help dim a headache or dull pain?"

Sarbie frowned and shook her head. "Sorry, we mostly focus on healing the flesh and not as much on pain reduction. I know some herbal remedies that I might be able to make for you, but I think we'll need to wait until we wake up for that."

"Ugh, ok, everyone, just keep your voices down, or I think I'll throw up again." He said as he touched his forehead, covering his eyes.

"Do you remember us dragging you into the water?" Naya asked.

"You did what?"

"You were chewing on a pine stick and refused to drink the water to purify you," Naya said.

"Ok, half of that sounds like me, and it wasn't the stick part. God, is that why my mouth tastes like pine, dirt, and vomit? Thanks, I guess?" He said, waving his hands dismissively.

"We should probably get moving. We don't know if any other guardians will be here to give us trouble. I'm sure Naya would like to find her family if possible." Alvec said.