Camp

I'm writing this in the field on my new laptop. I hope the message manages to arrive back at the facility and appear on the blog. I drove for about three hours before finding the camp. There are ten field agents in three Jeeps. Each Jeep tows a trailer full of supplies and esoteric gear, and there are mules following along. It's quicker travelling by Jeep, but more reliable to take the animals, for obvious reasons.

The first thing I saw when I arrived was the device in the middle of the camp. The device looks sort of like a church organ, but with a spinning disk on the top that moves with the wind, and a number of metal cylinders rotating in place where the pipes should be. I asked the first researcher I came to, a woman called Louise, what the device did. She told me it recorded fluctuations in the mal, and could be used to detect local areas of high activity. I opened my mouth to ask how it worked, but then shut it without saying anything. I need to get my head in a text book before I speak to these guys about technical matters. I'm pretty far behind them, and it's courteous to learn the basics before you ask. We're staying here to monitor the mal until tomorrow morning, then I'm leading the team to where Victoria might be. At the very least, I'll be able to show them the cavern. Whether Victoria is there, or even exists, is another matter.