It reacted poorly to our presence, so we moved on. I'm sorry to disappoint you.

[ Yeah, moved on. That's certainly a phrase Nel can use to mean a quick but painful death. Nothing about her mild tone suggests a lie, though a carefully omitted truth leaves her explanation sparse. ]

An inquisitive mind should still reap the rewards of investigation. I can tell you that where the forest's sickness was worst, all of the organic matter bled together into gray mud. It was like... melting snow. Everywhere.