Chapter 49 - The Pool of Changes

General Summary

The next day, the Yokels continue to follow Vasilisa eastward. The storozh leads them around low-lying bogs, and the group makes good time despite having Biggy's enormous horse pulling his enormous wagon through the forest. At night, Sasha summons her magical yurt, while Biggy sleeps in his wagon. Chonkorchuk warns his companions that the next great danger before them is a perfectly oval pool, but they pass nothing even remotely matching that description that day.
Late in the night, the travelers are awakened by the sound of voices demanding that the volot exit his wagon and give an accounting of himself. The sleepers in the yurt wake first, and Vasilisa realizes that the voices are familiar - they are her late husband's companions from the storozh lodge (this probably explains why they didn't trip her intricate alarm). While Biggy grumpily scolds his horse for failing to wake him, Vasilisa asks Lavr, Kirill and Miloslava where they are headed, and why they are traveling at night. The three reveal that they are headed to Krinets to inform Boris Bobchinsky - elder cousin of Vasilisa's lord Gennadii - about the recent goings on at the estate and the lodge. Chud', and now volots, have been appearing with some frequency. What's worse, a giant cat has made its home near the lodge, and is preventing Noriki from going north and east, which puts a damper on the fur trade with the Kuz'. Their early start today is caused by the time lost to yesterday's encounter with some peasants who seem to have been transformed into animals or people with animal body parts. This, they feel, is part of the recent changes in the area. Another small piece of information the rangers convey in response to Yokel queries is that Sergei Reznikov had ridden through and stayed at their lodge on his way north about a month ago.
After relating their own misadventures in Yarozersk and bidding the rangers to convey their story to Bobchinsky, the Yokels bid the rangers a safe trip, and complete their night's rest. The next day, Vasilisa's leadership of the party continues to be effective, but by evening, they come upon an apparently artificial pool with sculpted sides that seems to match Chonkorchuk's vision. Sasha suggests setting up her yurt, and investigating further, but Chonkorchuk fears the place, and skirts around it in an effort to get away from it. Biggy's horse also suddenly bolts away from the pond in the opposite direction, while its master, as well as the ranging Chonkorchuk are suddenly drawn toward it. Vasilisa does her best to restrain the hermit from getting at it. The volot poses a more difficult proposition, and while Sasha attempts to ensorcel him, Plamen freezes him in place, and then recites defensive enchantments to remove the effect from his giant companion. Chonkorchuk is rescued later. He relates that the pool does indeed possess the power to transform, and is very dangerous. As the Yokels move to circumvent it, Vasilisa picks up the trail of a person leading away from the pond. The culprit is soon discovered - a man dressed as a peasant, but with donkey ears and tail, and unable to speak. He does manage to tell Plamen that he was out in the woods with some friends, and they came upon this pond, which they have never seen before, despite being local. The friends were turned into a variety of animals - one into a cow, one into a bear. The Yokels promise to relieve the poor villager of his plight and to return him to his village on the morrow.
The following morning, Plamen dispels the transformation from the villager, who now reveals his name to be Vova. He leads them to his home village of Tsaplia in order to thank them, and introduces them to his family. Unsurprisingly, he seems quite taken with Sasha (despite her own recent lack of confidence about her looks), gets his mother to cook for them, and gifts her a Jew's harp. He then starts making plans to have her move into the shed with him. This seems like a sign that it's time to leave, and the rest of Sasha's companions feel like they've already lost enough time to spend any more searching for Vova's afflicted friends.
The following four days pass relatively uneventfully as Vasilisa leads the Yokels back to the beaten path, helps them deal with some heavy winds and to circumvent some quicksand. Chonkorchuk brings down a couple of rabbits. Finally, on the eighth day after having left the Subterranean Book, the Yokels reach the outskirts of Bobchinskoye - the ancestral Bobchinsky estate, and Vasilisa's old stomping ground.

Missions/Quests Completed

• Arrival in Bobchinskoye

Character(s) interacted with

• Lavr, Kirill and Miloslava - Strelok Lodge rangers
• Vova, and his family

Report Date

06 Feb 2021

Secondary Location

Tsaplia