I walked through the village, hands in my pockets, taking in the repair work still ongoing around .
People were working hard.
I was still watching a group of n try to maneuver a massive beam into position when I walked directly into soone’s back.
"What the—"
I backstepped, catching my balance.
Rowan stood in front of , turning around.
"Apologies, Young Master." His tone was polite. "Didn’t realize you were right behind ."
Asshole. You’ve been guiding here for the last five minutes. Who does you think I’ve been following?
Though I kept the thought firmly internal and glanced past him at the house we’d stopped in front of.
It was modest but well-maintained, slightly larger than the ones imdiately around it. A small garden along the front wall, mostly herbs. Clean shutters. Soone had recently swept the path leading to the door.
"Is this it?" I asked.
Rowan gave a stiff nod.
Then he turned back toward the way we’d co, deliberately walking close enough that his shoulder caught mine as he passed.
Not an accident.
I watched him go, jaw tight.
What is his problem?
Then I turned back to the house and pushed the door open without knocking.
The interior was warm, lit by afternoon light filtering through half-open shutters. Simple furniture, a worn but clean couch, a low table, shelves lined with dried herbs.
I stepped inside, looking around.
"Young Master?"
Agnes appeared from a side doorway, wiping her hands on a cloth, her eyes wide with surprise.
I raised one hand in a casual wave.
"Yo."
Her cheeks flushed imdiately, a reaction I was apparently getting used to seeing.
"What is Young Master doing here?" Her voice carried that familiar mix of concern and exasperation.
"You should be resting. The healer said another week at minimum before—"
"I’m fine." I rolled my shoulders experintally, ignoring the pull of my bandaged ribs. "See?"
Agnes looked entirely unconvinced by this demonstration.
She pressed her lips together, studying for a mont, then simply shook her head.
"Please sit down at least." She gestured to the couch. "I’ll bring sothing to eat—"
"Not hungry."
"Young Master—"
"Where’s your mother?"
Agnes paused, her expression softening.
"She’s inside. With the others." She glanced toward the sa side doorway she’d co from.
"The infected ones have been staying together here since the beast wave. It’s easier to manage their care with everyone in one place."
She moved toward what was clearly the kitchen area, pulling an apron from a hook and tying it around her waist with practiced efficiency.
"It’ll just take a few minutes. I was going to prepare their lunch anyway." She glanced back at .
"Please just sit on the couch. You walked here, that’s more than enough exertion for soone who was unconscious three days ago."
I exhaled through my nose and sat down.
The couch was old but comfortable, the cushions worn into softness by years of use.
I leaned back, watching Agnes work.
She moved through the kitchen, chopping vegetables without looking at the knife, adjusting the heat on the small iron stove by touch, tasting the broth and adding seasoning without asuring. Her hands never stopped moving.
Completely in her elent.
I found myself watching longer than I intended, then deliberately looked away at the room.
The shelves of herbs. The small personal touches, a painted tile on the windowsill, a braided rug worn thin in the center.
The sll of food gradually filled the room, warm and genuinely appetizing despite my earlier claim of not being hungry.
After maybe fifteen minutes, Agnes wiped her hands on her apron and called toward the side doorway.
"Mother? Lunch is ready. Can you bring everyone through?"
Then, sounds of movent ca from the other room.
Sira ca first, moving carefully, one hand trailing along the wall for support. Behind her ca three others.
All four bore the sa signs, the slight trembling in their hands, the exhaustion that went deeper than just physical tiredness.
They settled at the table without much conversation, and Agnes served them, making sure each person’s preferences were accommodated, refilling cups before they had to ask.
Then she brought a plate to the couch and sat down beside with her own food.
"You should have said you were hungry earlier," she said mildly.
"I said I wasn’t."
"And now?"
The food slled incredible. Simple vegetable soup with bread, but made properly.
"Now I’m being polite," I said, and picked up the spoon.
She made a small sound that might have been a suppressed laugh and started on her own plate.
We ate in comfortable quiet.
When my plate was empty, I set it on the low table and looked across the room at Sira.
She was eating slowly, her movents deliberate, aware of her own limitations.
I pulled up my debug vision quietly, the overlay materializing across my sight.
I focused on Sira, pushing the analysis deeper than I’d managed before.
The interface built itself in layers, processing.
[ENTITY_SCAN: ACTIVE]
entity_id: "sira_thorne"
entity_type: "human"
rank: "unranked"
[PATHOGEN_DETECTED]
pathogen_id: "unknown_0x7F"
pathogen_type: "corrupted_miasma"
classification: UNKNOWN
origin: UNKNOWN
infection_stage: 2/5
infection_rate: 0.3/day
affected_systems: {
mana_channels: "corrupted" (severity: 0.61)
circulatory: "compromised" (severity: 0.44)
nervous_system: "minor_interference" (severity: 0.28)
vitality_core: "weakening" (severity: 0.52)
}
[PATHOGEN_PROPERTIES]
structure: "parasitic_mana_lattice"
behavior: "replicating"
host_interaction: "mana_channel_corruption"
removal_thod: UNKNOWN
cure_data: NULL
resistance: {
physical: IMMUNE
conventional_magic: HIGH
purification_magic: MODERATE
debug_manipulation: UNVERIFIED
}
[MODIFICATION_ATTEMPT]
status: ACCESS_DENIED
reason: "pathogen_complexity_exceeds_current_clearance"
required_rank: UNKNOWN
current_rank: C
My eyes widened.
I pushed the scan further, trying to pull more information about the pathogen itself. Its origin. Its structure. How it was spreading.
The system processed for longer than usual, the interface flickering slightly with the effort.
[EXTENDED_PATHOGEN_ANALYSIS]
spread_vector: "environntal_exposure"
exposure_source: {
primary: "atmospheric_contamination" (localized)
secondary: "water_source_contamination" (localized)
tertiary: NULL
}
contamination_radius: ~2.3km
contamination_origin: TRIANGULATING...
contamination_origin: UNRESOLVED
pathogen_age: UNKNOWN
natural_occurrence: false
I stared at that last line.
Natural occurrence: false.
Which ant this wasn’t just so naturally occurring forest sickness. Sothing had created this. Or sothing had caused it to appear.
How does a simple village woman get infected with sothing like this?
My inner thoughts churned.
A corrupted miasma with no known cure, unnatural in origin. Affecting people who’d done nothing.
My frown deepened.
And the beast wave.
The villagers had said the beasts started acting strange roughly four to five weeks ago. Becoming aggressive. Coming closer to the village than they ever had before.
The timing wasn’t a coincidence.
Is there sothing wrong inside the forest?
Sothing deep enough that it was pushing the beasts outward, contaminating the air and water supply of nearby settlents? Sothing that had appeared suddenly enough to flip this entire region from peaceful border territory to a disaster zone in under two months?
I tried to push the scan further, searching for more information on the contamination origin.
[ORIGIN_TRIANGULATION: ACTIVE]
data_points_available: INSUFFICIENT
triangulation_status: FAILED
recomndation: "direct_proximity_scan_required"
minimum_distance_required:
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