Episode 2 · Mara Vale, Young woman, Fleeing man
Mara Vale pours liquid into stone mugs and makes the young woman drink. Together, they clear debris and pry open floorboards toward the sound of water. In the courtyard, Mara opens an old well, releasing foul air. She hauls up a bucket of murky water. Back inside, they filter the water through cloth and charcoal before boiling it. When the girl returns to the well, she picks a white mushroom.
Mara Vale fills stone mugs from a jug inside the kitchen. She commands the young woman to drink her share. The younger woman hesitates, claiming she lacks thirst, but Mara insists until she finishes the cup.
Mara clears fallen debris off the shelter floor with an iron rod. The young woman drops to her knees and hears water rushing underneath. Working together, both survivors wedge the floorboards open to track the underground sound.
Out in the courtyard, Mara shifts a heavy stone slab off an ancient well opening. A blast of trapped, noxious air shoots straight into their faces. Both women cough from the stench and stumble backward to catch their breath.
Mara drops a wooden bucket down into the dark well shaft. She works the rope and pulls it up to the surface. The bucket arrives filled with thick, stagnant water that looks completely unfit to drink right away.
Inside the shelter kitchen, they pass the muddy liquid through cloth and charcoal filter layers. Mara heats the strained water in a heavy iron pot over the flames, verifies it is pure, and transfers it into a clay jug.
The young woman wanders back outside to inspect the courtyard well. Along the mossy stones, she spots a white mushroom. She plucks the fungus from the stone wall and asks Mara if they can eat it for breakfast.
“Drink.”
“There's water under us.”
“Sounds like a problem in a bucket.”
“Maybe breakfast?”
The young woman stands by the well holding an unknown white mushroom plucked from the damp stones. She asks Mara if it can serve as their morning meal. Will Mara inspect the strange growth before they risk eating it, or will the forage turn out to be dangerous for them both?