No Pressure

Carving the same rune into the tree, where the original one was, simply led to much less sap bleeding from the cuts. It was not what he was hoping would happen. Then again, Gonyaul wasn't really sure what he was expecting to happen. As he took a few steps backwards from the tree he grinned in amusement. He figured his imagination wanted something bizarre to manifest.

With his experiments with the carving knife concluded, Gonyaul decided to take one last glance around the area. He was looking for signs left behind by the culprit; however, even with his experience with tracking he couldn't find anything. As he began to leave he could hear the critical voice of one of his childhood friends, who was significantly more adept at tracking, playfully taunting him.

He arrived back on the farm with a little time to spare before he needed to be present for his shift. Gonyaul used that time to set up some of his "sap experiments". Opening the pouch he used a small stick to gather portions to be divided among the following tasks:

1. He coated some of the sap onto a single plant in his garden.
2. He laid some of the sap out in an open spot where he thought insects might come across it.
3. He mixed some water with the sap in a small cup and left it to sit.
4. He buried some sap a few inches under the ground like a seed.

He made sure not to use all the sap, in case he had other ideas later. What remained in the pouch he safely stored away inside his abode.

When he arrived for his shift, the senior farmhand scoffed at his presence and remarked, "You are in the tunnels again today. Oh, and you better figure out how to fix the southside failures or you can start trying to find employment elsewhere." Gonyaul nodded and did as instructed, his mind spinning on what he was going to do about the southern-most facing rows.