We explained to Agaroth what Svampe was doing. He actually seemed pretty impressed. Kept popping over to look at the bodies decaying.

  Agaroth: “Aye, right enough, that shit’s rottin’ faster than a ripe shite in the sun.”

  Phoenix: “Such a colourful turn of phrase, as always.”

  Agaroth turned to see the others returning from their patrol. Damecus was carrying a dead dire wolf… other than that, they looked exactly as they had when they left.

  Phoenix: “Oh, for the love of the gods…”

  Agaroth: “Fuckin’ what now?”

  Phoenix: “You have soup in your pubic hair… you oaf.”

  Agaroth: “Well, you fuckers a the ones that stripped me.”

  Phoenix: “Because you fell in a toxic river.”

  Agaroth: “Well, maybe if you’d used your fancy flyin’ spell on me as well, then we would nae be in this situation…”

  Phoenix: “You know that I can only cast that on one person at a time… and even with my good arm I don’t have the strength to haul your arse and maintain concentration on a spell at the same time. Be glad we bothered coming to find you.”

  Agaroth: “Missed you too, Red.”

  He laughed and smiled at her as though he was genuinely pleased to see her.

  Phoenix: “Urgh… just cover yourself up until your clothes are dry… else I might vomit.”

  Agaroth: “Ah, come on, it’s just a penis. You’ve been around all these fuckers wi’ no clothes on before. Hell, the jolly green giant over there’s got two a the fuckin’ things.”

  Phoenix: “They are not you… you are physically repellent.”

  Agaroth: “I shall have you know that I am a highly sort after gentleman these days.”

  Phoenix: “Oh dear, I fear the toxin may have effected your brain. You have become delusional.”

  She walked away to her bedroll which was set near the fire.

  Phoenix: “I am going to get some rest. For some reason I have no desire to keep my eyes open.”

  Agaroth: “Aye, right. You go rub one out to these sexy memories.”

  Phoenix: “Words cannot express how much you disgust me.”

  Phoenix closed her eyes and attempted to go to sleep.

  Damecus: “I would advise that as many of us as possible get some rest. Agaroth is awake now. And I have a wolf to skin. We shall keep watch.”

  Agaroth: “Aye, right, sure enough.”

  Kiyui cuddled up to me in my bedroll and we went to sleep. What awaited me upon waking surprised me beyond belief. I’m not sure how long I was asleep for, but when I woke up, the entire area around Svampe, right up to the water, was covered in sprouting plants. Flowers, moss, grass and even a small tree. Some were entangled in the bones of the corpses… which created a rather haunting look. The walls were completely covered in vines. But the fact that he created all of this out of a few corpses is absolutely amazing.

  Apparently, Damecus had a stash of seeds and things on him for grinding into medicinal concoctions. Svampe used these to grow all of the plant life. I was initially bewildered as to how these plants had managed to grow in the absence of sunlight… or that weird glowing stuff that Flora’s spiders spread through the caverns underneath her forest. But then I realised that Kiyui’s illumination spell had ended and the light that was now in the cavern was entirely natural.

  I looked up to discover that the ceiling of the cavern had gone. I was looking up at the open sky. I asked how on earth this had happened and apparently it was the vines that Svampe had created. They had crept up the walls, burrowed through the ceiling to reach sunlight and proceeded to separate the ground above the cavern, creating this vast opening. It worries me that I was able to sleep through that. I mean, that fight did rather take it out of me… but come on… those vines must have done it incredibly quietly… but how?

  I suppose… nature does weird shit all the time and isn’t noisy about it… if all he did was accelerate nature, then maybe that is why it was so silent… but surely the only reason that it is so silent normally is because it happens so slowly… urgh… I’m going round in circles with this…

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Anyway… fortunately, when I awoke, Agaroth’s clothes were dry, so his hairy arse wasn’t visible anymore. Since the toxicity of the area had degraded to the point of no longer being harmful, Agaroth stood by the river’s edge and cast his purifying spell. Meaning that the village should now be safe, the water should be safe to drink, and the crops that have come into contact with the water should be able to recover… with a bit of Svampe’s help. All in all, I think this mission has been quite successful.

  We made our way out of the cave network, thanks to Damecus’ map, and made our way back to the village. I have to say… Svampe looks so much better than he did before. He has a look of accomplishment to him. It makes me so happy to see him like this. I think this is exactly what he needed… a purpose… a way to help people. Even though what happened previously was not in any way his fault, he clearly has this need for atonement… and I think this is giving him that. And if it helps him to move forward and maybe even find some happiness and normality in his life then I am beyond pleased for him.

  Once we got back to the village, Agaroth cast Restoration on as many of the villagers as he could before he ran out of mana. Which was when we were reminded of why we came to this village in the first place. All this stuff with the water was a recent development… the reason we came here was to try to help the village elder.

  We were shown to his house and taken to his room to examine him. He was an older man… not ancient by any means… but you know… old enough that all of his hair had turned white. He was lying in a bed, being tended to by his daughter. He didn’t move, his breath was faint and he showed no signs of, well, anything. There were no cuts… no sign of poison… no signs that he had been harmed by anything external at all.

  Agaroth: “Well, that’s me out. I’m no’ findin’ anythin’ ‘ere. Over tae you, boyo.”

  Svampe moved forwards and sat by the old man… he closed his eyes and placed his hand on the man’s chest.

  Agaroth: “Anythin’?”

  Phoenix: “Shut up and let the boy concentrate.”

  Svampe eye twitched and he moved his hand to the old man’s head.

  Svampe: “There’s something here… something that shouldn’t be.”

  Agaroth: “Like a parasite?”

  Svampe: “No… it’s… a growth of some kind.”

  Damecus: “I know of what he speaks. I have found these odd growths in corpses before. They seem to grow pretty much anywhere and kill indiscriminately.”

  The man’s daughter started to cry.

  Daughter: “Is there nothing that can be done then?”

  Damecus: “Conventional magic will not be of use here. And I have yet to find a medicinal solution to this. Normally I am unaware that somebody has this condition until the dissection.”

  The girl’s crying got significantly worse… she was balling her eyes out. Kiyui attempted to comfort her, but it did little.

  Damecus: “Svampe, your magic is far from conventional. May you be able to assist in any form?”

  Svampe: “I can try.”

  Agaroth: “Damn right ya can, laddie. That’s why we brought ya here after all.”

  Svampe looked uneasy… he is clearly feeling the pressure as he knows that if he can’t help, then this man is dead. I can see the sweat starting to drip from his eyebrows.

  Svampe held his hand on the man’s head and a large flower started to encapsulate it. The man’s daughter looked confused, scared and hopeful, all at the same time… which I understand… Svampe’s magic is bewildering to witness for the first time.

  When Svampe had finished, it basically just looked like the body of an old man, lying in a bed, with his head slowly being eaten by some kind of man-eating plant. No wonder the girl looks scared…even though she knows that this will apparently help… it doesn’t exactly look great.

  Svampe removed his hand from the old man.

  Svampe: “Don’t remove the flower. This process is slow… we won’t know if it’s had any effect for a few hours.”

  Daughter: “Thank you for trying.”

  The girl was clearly hoping for a more instant result, like when Agaroth was casting restoration on people earlier. I think she has now resigned herself to the fact that it won’t work. I hope for everybody’s sake that it does. I can tell that Svampe will be incredibly disheartened if it doesn’t.

  Agaroth: “Right, lassie. We need tae stay in the village for now. Movin’ too far away from the lad will slow the healin.’ Mind if we hit the inn ‘til we know what the craic is?”

  Daughter: “By all means. I shall contact you if there are any changes.”

  Agaroth: “Reet, who fancies gettin’ pissed?”