"Redmere isn't this way," Demiurge's voice echoed in woods. They were back on their path. Zodiac leading the way with Demiurge while others followed.
It was early morning. Sun was already up and the sweet chirping of birds was everywhere. The party was moving through woods this time instead of the trail to Redmere.
"You saw the corpses yesterday, right," Zodiac spoke, his eyes fixed on path ahead. Demiurge glanced at him and hummed in response. "There was an infant… three-four days old, probably." Zodiac continued.
"Hmm," Demiurge's brows twitched as he nodded. Kael and Terren looked at each other, confused. Kael finally asked Nollan as he just couldn't stop himself, but Nollan gave no answer. He just told them to be ready, there was going to be a fight.
"How much further, sage?" Zodiac asked. They were already deep in the jungle and still the destination was far from seen anywhere.
"Just about there," Nollan replied, looking up at the sky. They kept moving forward and just moments after, "Gods. What is this stench?" Kael muttered, covering his nose with his hand. Zodiac and Demiurge pulled their cloaks over their nose. They both nodded and changed their path, both moving to opposite sides, in curve.
"Pull your blades. You might not have to fight but be on your guard." Nollan looked back at Kael and Terren. "Don't die." They nodded in response, pulling their blades. At this point, Kael was prepared. He had seen enough, and now he would not falter. He clenched onto his blade.
They finally saw where the stench was coming from. "It's the nest." Terren murmured just enough for Kael to catch. Nollan stepped out of the bush, standing in the open ground in front of the cave. It was the goblin nest.
"Be ready." He whispered. Kael and Terren walked the both sides in front of him, taking a defensive stance. Kael's eye widened as he felt something moving under his feet. His eyes got wet, but he wiped them. He was ready for the fight, but every hair behind his neck stood up when he heard a devastating, cursed scream coming from the cave.
Kael was shocked as what happened, but soon put his guard on. Something was headed their way, no, maybe somethings. Just then something came flying towards Kael. He swung his blade reflexively, cutting it in two. But his eyes closed as it happened too fast.
"Great slash," Zodiac's voice echoed inside the cave. He was laughing, stepping out. Kael opened his eyes, realizing it was Zodiac who threw that towards him.
Kael looked down at that thing. His eyes widened as he realized what it was. His pant and chest plate were dripping in blood, and by his feet rested a goblin head in two pieces, larger than any he had seen.
"A warhob," Zodiac said, kicking the head. "Could you have imagined? It grew that big this close to a village." He continued, his voice low and serious.
"Now, kids," Zodiac said, drawing a deep breath before letting it all out, his eyes on the cave. "Check if you find something inside."
"What?" Kael reacted, startled. "Isn't the nest king the last being of a nest?"
"Yes, it is. But there might be survivors. Go and find them." Zodiac's voice carried no hesitation. Kael was still confused, but he followed as Terren stepped into the dark.
"What did he mean by survivors?" Kael whispered once they were inside. Even hushed voice of his bounced against the stone, echoing. Terren kept walking, leading the path. "Goblins don't make more of themselves alone. Someone pays that price." He didn't say more, but Kael caught enough to feel his stomach turn.
They went deeper. The cave pressed narrow around them, scraped raw and jagged. Every inch reeked of waste and rot. Goblins had used it as a pit, and the stench clawed its way into Kael's throat. "Gods, it's unbearable," he muttered, covering his nose. "Don't you—"
"Focus, Kael," Terren cut him off before he could finish.
Kael fell silent, listening to his own breath rebound off the walls. Every step landed like a drumbeat. Then they heard something. A faint scratch, like claws on stone. Then a moan, weak like on the verge of dying. Kael's hand went to his claymore, but the blade scraped against the wall; the tunnel was too tight. So, he pulled his dagger instead.
The air was thick and suffocating, harder to breathe the further they went. The scratching grew louder and the moaning too.
Finally, the tunnel widened. Enough space for them to stand side by side, though the dark still pressed heavy. Terren tapped Kael's arm, signaling him something. Kael pulled a torch out of his bag. Wood and cloth, touched by oil flared under sparks as he scratched his blade against the wall. The light pushed back the darkness just enough for them to see their feet.
But just then, something slammed into Kael's leg. He lowered the torch, reflexively. A crude stick jabbed through his trousers, stuck on his thigh, and a goblin child clung to it. Its twisted face half-formed made Kael's eyes go wide, but before he could act Terren's sword came down, splitting the thing in two.
"You alright?" Terren asked, blade raised, scanning the dark space. Kael only hummed, yanking the stick from his thigh. Blood spread fast down his leg. He crouched to bind it, but then came another moan; faint, ragged and barely clinging to life.
Terren shoved Kael behind him, picking the torch, lowering it. The ground ahead stirred. Mud sloshed, filth shifting as if something crawled beneath. They moved closer and the moan dragged itself into their ears. Terren knelt and plunged his hand into the muck. When he pulled back, he wasn't holding stone or rot, but a hand; thin but human.
From the filth he dragged a woman. Her body was gaunt, coated in mud and waste. Every breath rattled like it might be her last. Disgust itself clung to her. Thick and alive like a second skin of rot and stench that seemed to breathe with her. It seemed like she was there for a long time. Rotting with the ground as time passed by.
Terren lifted her, his boots sinking deeper into the slime. "Search the rest," he told Kael. And with the torch trembling in his hand, Kael forced himself to look while Terren started moving to the outside.
Kael's chest tightened the moment he saw her. Shock slammed into him first, then the bile of disgust, and under it all… Rage that clawed to get out. He bit down so hard his jaw ached, knuckles whitening as the torch groaned in his grip. The wood cracked, sparks leaping, but he pressed on, desperate to find another still breathing in this pit of filth.
His eyes caught a glimmer in the muck. He knelt, fingers clawing through slime until he pulled it free. A ring, still on a hand. For a heartbeat his breath caught, hope lighting his face, but then the truth revealed itself.
It wasn't a hand, but an arm. Half-rotten, flesh sloughing in the damp. The stench rushed him and couldn't hold in, retching into the filth. The world swam; his vision blurred. His breath came out in furious snorts, brows twitching as though they could bear his rage. At last he stumbled back, torchlight trembling in his fist, unable to go any deeper now, he returned.
When Kael finally saw the sun again, his eyes closed. It took a while for him to adjust to the light. He dropped to his knees the moment he reached the outside, breathing heavy. He still couldn't flick off the stench he experienced inside.
"This is the reality of this world," he heard a familiar voice. He looked up, Demiurge stood before him. "Only the strong survive here."
Kael coughed, eyes watering. "Where's everyone else?" He asked. They were not around, it was only Demiurge who stayed back.
"Stand up. We leave now." Demiurge commanded, turning to the other side.
Kael stood up, and started following his senior. They soon arrived back to the stream, where they started.
Terren and Nollan stood by that lady, washing her body in the stream. While Zodiac sat lightning the woods. Now that the dirt was washed from her body, she looked very pale. Her body had grown weak. She was barely conscious, even while she was in water. Her rib cage was clearly seen, her stomach had almost touched her back and her eyes had sink down.
Kael looked away, breathing heavy as if his deep thrown guilt climbed up again. He remembered Segeford when he returned to them. The chaos, the irregularity… Kael felt uneasy in his chest. It became even harder for him to breath, his own heartbeat was banging in his ears.
Just then, a hand landed on his shoulder. "Calm down," Demiurge spoke "You are shooting too much heat."
When Kael came back to his senses, he realized that the mud on his arms had solidified as if it was tempered in fire. He glanced back at Demiurge. His eyes unshaken, staring right back at Kael. Kael twitched and headed towards the stream.
Kael dropped his bag and weapons by the bank and jumped into the stream. Demiurge, standing by the stream suddenly got alert. He looked aside without moving his head, just with his eyes. It was Zodiac standing by him.
"So, what is your assessment? Lord retainer?" Zodiac said in a joking tone. Slight smile covered his lips.
"Merely one righteous act does not put you under my grace ," Demiurge intoned, his voice unyielding as ever.
Zodiac stood by Demiurge, both muttering something. Kael looked back but couldn't pick what they were talking about. The water was cold, and soon Kael started freezing. When he came out, the girl was lying down by the fire, wearing Terren's cloak as she had nothing else to wear.
Kael came closer. Terren and Nollan were sitting by the fire. Now, looking closer, the girl looked young; barely in her early thirties. Her whole body was covered in scars and many of her bones looked cracked if not broken.
"Good lord," Kael muttered, fetching a pouch from his bag. The pouch had medicines and lotions in it. Kael opened a small silver bottle, picked some lotion with his finger and started rubbing it on her wounds. Terren stared at Kael, eyes full of admiration.
"Will she even survive?" Kael asked. Nobody answered for an instance, then Nollan's voice broke the silence. "Probably not. It all depends upon her will."
The situation was very tough for her. She moaned every time Kael's hand touched her wound. Just then Kael got devoured by a large shadow. "Stand aside," his voice rang in Kael's ears. It was Demiurge, sitting beside him.
Kael moved aside. Demiurge sat down, his legs crossed. He raised his hands, murmuring something. Nollan patted Kael's back, "Stand aside." he muttered in Kael's ears. Kael stood up, as well as Terren. They both made some distance from Demiurge, standing beside Zodiac.
Demiurge lowered his hands; joined in a peculiar way. His right palm on his left palm. Fingers interconnected.
A sudden burst of gust slapped Kael's cheeks. The pressure Demiurge built was unreal. All of them stood there eyes wide open, when he's voice finally became clear for an instance.
**"Bless thee, Nimisha, thou healer of all."**
Light poured from the girl's fragile body, blinding everyone for a heartbeat. Kael shielded his eyes with his hands, turning aside.
When he looked back, he heard: "Dhanyawad."