The Fetid Source （Part 2）
"What is this place?" Gareth whispered.
Rowena became suddenly, painfully aware of the knee-deep, red-tinged water enveloping her legs. She clasped one hand over her mouth and clutched her stomach with the other, fighting desperately not to retch. Every ripple in the water made her flinch.
"This has to be the source of the disease," Zephyrah murmured. Her voice trembled despite her effort to maintain her composure. "I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't... this."
She paused, scanning the fortress ahead of them. "We need to investigate further. Scavenging on bodies alone cannot cause the strange symptoms the animals are showing. And it is not what's killing the plant life. There is more to this. We have to see what is happening inside."
The Dissolver shrank back, his eyes wide with fear. "Go inside?"
"What about the crocodile?" Rowena managed, swallowing down an urge to gag.
"We will wait for it to leave," Zephyrah said. "Based on its aggression, it has likely killed the other predators in the area. Once it is gone, we should be able to scout the fortress. Find an entrance."
"We should wait until nightfall," Gareth interjected, glancing nervously at the fortress ramparts. "It will be easier to slip past unseen."
Zephyrah nodded, then turned and crept away, searching for a place to wait out the evening. Rowena and the Dissolver followed close behind, desperate to escape the gruesome scene.
Gareth turned to follow, then hesitated, unable to take his eyes off the eerie banner that hung from the spire.
It looked oddly familiar.
Where had he seen it before?
"Gareth?"
Rowena's voice, thin and wavering, jolted him from his trance. He spun to see her nervously watching him.
"Are you alright?" she asked, searching his face.
"Yes," he answered quickly.
But his voice was unsteady. He tore his gaze from the fortress and hurried after the others.
A chill ran down his spine.
He couldn't shake the unsettling feeling from his mind.
The feeling that something inside those walls was waiting for them.
Like it already knew they were there.
They hardly rested as they waited in the shadows for nightfall.
They were haunted by the horrors of the fortress and the Elk's vision.
Although they didn't speak of it, each one of them felt an overwhelming sense of dread.
Whatever lay beyond the walls of the fortress held secrets they were not altogether sure they wanted to uncover.
When the sun had almost fully set, they trekked anxiously back to the fortress. They were relieved to find their plan had paid off. The crocodile was nowhere in sight.
As they circled the fortress's perimeter, they realized they faced another obstacle.
The only entrance was a single drawbridge, which was hoisted high and locked tight.
The walls around them were tall and crowned with ramparts.
There were no guards on patrol, but the emptiness was unsettling.
They waited in the shadows, overwhelmed by the enormity of the task at hand.
Gareth cast a hopeless look at Zephyrah. "There is no way in except through the front gate. We couldn't possibly try to break in as we are now. Maybe we should consider turning back-"
"No, wait!" Zephyrah exclaimed, "I saw a balcony near the back of the fortress. It isn't too high, and we have rope."
Gareth grimaced, "Zephyrah, it is dark. How are we supposed to see where to throw the rope-or even climb it? And you could not possibly climb a rope."
Zephyrah's eyes were pleading, desperate. "I know it is a lot to ask. But this is the only way I can save my people. Please, we have to at least try to see what's inside."
Gareth let out a heavy sigh and glanced at Rowena. She met his gaze, then gave a reluctant nod.
They crept silently around the backside of the fortress. Above them, they could see a faint orange glow from an upper window, just enough to illuminate the balcony.
Gareth tied a slipknot in the rope and then tossed it repeatedly to the balcony, trying to catch anything he could. Again and again, the rope slipped free. Just as he was about to give up, the loop snagged the outstretched wing of a stone chimera perched on the balcony's edge.
He gave the rope a few tentative tugs.
"The rope will hold." He said, "Though I don't know how well it is attached."
Rowena squinted up at the balcony. "Who is going to climb up there?"
Gareth cleared his throat. "Well... it should probably be the smallest of us," He mumbled uneasily, "In case it is a fragile hold..."
"Oh. Alright." Rowena nodded, looking at each member of the group.
Her eyes grew wide as realization hit her.
"Wait. You mean me." She gulped, her heart beginning to pound in her chest, "No-No, I can't!"
"Yes, you can." Garet replied, trying to offer her a reassuring smile, but it was lost in the darkness.
"But-what if I fall?" She whispered, panicked and beginning to tremble.
"I will catch you." Gareth promised.
"In the dark?"
"......yes......"
She shot him a look. "Gareth."
He gently set his hands on her shoulders. "Rowena, you can do this. Just go slow and be careful. All you need to do is look inside-just a quick look, then come back down."
Rowena groaned and tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but her mouth was suddenly dry. She stepped up to the rope and hesitated, worry creasing her brow.
Fear, again.
Always afraid.
She took a deep breath, then gritted her teeth, clenching the rope tightly in her fingers.
Not this time.
She wouldn't let fear keep her from finding her father.
She forced all doubts aside and began to climb. Every muscle strained as she struggled to pull herself up. When she reached the stone chimera, she grabbed hold of it and hoisted herself up.
Looking at the placement of the rope up close, she was glad she had been the one to climb up. The statue's wing looked thin and slightly fragile.
It likely wouldn't have held Gareth's weight.
She was surprised it held hers.
She took a moment to steady herself, hiding behind the statue as she surveyed the quiet balcony. An unlit brasier sat at the center, along with a chair and a small table. Against the wall was a door and a single window, which was open just a crack.
Through the window she could see light and furnishings, but no movement, no people.
Good.
She clumsily flopped over the railing, landing on the balcony with a thud. Then quickly recovered and tiptoed to the window to get a better look.
Inside she could see what appeared to be a study. There were bookshelves filled with books and trinkets, tables covered in maps, and a desk with parchment and several open letters. She eyed the maps and letters curiously, wondering what information they might contain.
Did she dare go inside to look?
She didn't want to.
Don't be a coward.
Reluctantly, she drew a deep breath and reached for the door handle.
Just as her fingers graced the cold metal loops, she heard a key turning and the door of the study inside swung open.
Her heart lurched in her chest and she ducked down, pressing her back against the wall below the window.
Heavy footsteps entered the room. She heard the door close. Then voices.
Her heart thrummed as she tried to quiet her ragged breathing.
She wanted to signal to the others, but she would never make it to the edge of the balcony without getting caught.
She was trapped.
At the mercy of whatever monstrous people were inside.
----------
Down below, Gareth paced back and forth.
"She was only supposed to look, then come right back." He muttered, glancing anxiously at the balcony. "What is taking her so long?"
Zephyrah could see the fear in his eyes. She forced a calmness into her voice, "Perhaps she found something of interest. I'm sure she is fine."
"Pssssst!" The Dissolver hissed from the shadows around the corner. "I think I found something!"
Gareth glanced uneasily between the boy and the balcony, not wanting to leave Rowena alone.
Zephyrah noticed his unease immediately and said, "You stay here. I will go see what it is."
Zephyrah found the boy standing in front of a large pipe that protruded from the fortress and hovered over the water. It was tall and wide, more like a passageway than a pipeline. The front of it was covered by an iron grate.
The Dissolver held up his palm, "Be careful." He warned, "There is something under the water here."
Zephyrah raised a brow, but continued on more carefully, almost tripping several times on what felt like sunken, rotting logs. A chill ran up her spine as she tried not to imagine what was beneath the surface of the water.
When she approached the pipeline, she could see, even in the dim light, a dark substance splotched along the interior and pooling in the bottom in several places. She squinted, straining her eyes to see better, but she couldn't quite make out what it was.
"What do you think this is?" The Dissolver asked.
"It looks like a drainpipe of some sort." She answered slowly.
"Isn't it a bit large to be a drain pipe?"
"Well, yes..." she admitted, reaching out and grasping the grating, "I wonder..."
She tugged hard on the grating, and it shifted just slightly.
"I think this opens." She said, "Help me lift it."
The Dissolver helped her yank the grating and the hinges at the top squealed as the grate lifted, revealing a dark passage.
The Dissolver squinted hard, "Can't you make some light?"
Zephyrah shook her head, "I think that would be unwise."
"But there are no windows on this side, or guards. Just a little light would be alright."
She sighed reluctantly, "Fine, but only for a moment."
She reached out her hand toward the vent, and her palm began to glow, just enough for them to see.
Just enough to make them wish they hadn't seen.
The inside of the pipe was smeared in dried copper-colored stains--the unmistakable remnants of blood. And through the blood, tracked many sets of footprints, going back and forth. Below them, under the water, were the remains of those to whom the blood belonged.
They stumbled back, stifling their screams. Zephyrah's light flickered, then died as her terror broke her concentration.
The Dissolver turned on his heels and began to run back to Gareth, hissing over his shoulder to Zephyrah, "Come on, we need to get out!"
But Zephyrah lingered, frozen in place.
Something had caught her eye.
"Wait." She said, holding up a trembling hand.
Light burst from her hand again, and she leaned closer to the water, examining closely, the remains beneath.
Besides the pallor of the victims, something was off. Thin, black, spiderlike veins covered their flesh along with many scars and gruesome injuries. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before.
What struck her the most was not in their appearance, however, but the way she felt when she drew closer to them. Something radiated from the corpses. A power similar to the one flowing inside her, but different, opposite.
Instead of familiar warmth, she felt cold.
In place of life and healing, she felt sickness, death.
Even the light in her palm waned as she held her hand closer.
It was suffocating.
Consuming.
Zephyrah's entire body trembled, terrified of an unfamiliar, nameless fear.
Everything was so much worse than she had thought.
"It isn't a disease..." She murmured, lost in her own thoughts.
"Zephyrah!" The Dissolver called urgently, "Put out your light!"
"It is magic..."
"Zephyrah! Look! Behind you!"
But she didn't have to look.
A guttural, menacing hiss ripped her from her thoughts.
She spun around and found herself staring into the eyes of the monster crocodile.