XIIIThey had to detour around the trees that had crashed to the ground as they made their way down the valley. On more than one occasion they were forced to manhandle Whelm's cart through the mud. The line-of-sight was dark at each house and hamlet they came to, but they saw few collapsed buildings. Some communities had escaped the quake unscathed, and Diane's spirits rose. She and Finn chatted as they swayed their way southwards, although neither talked about what they would find in her village. Nor about where they would go afterwards.
People regarded Whelm with open hostility when they saw him. Each night when they stopped, Whelm took himself off to sleep in his moving engine, away from everyone else. More than once Finn tried to get him to stay but Whelm only shook his head and disapp
