The Path of Ruin

Kael was not quite sure what to think as he looked at the scene in front of him. Not only him, but also Pecera, Scher, and Baroch were looking at it with expressions that were difficult to understand.

Matthew was the only one whose expression did not change significantly.

"We keep everyone who becomes insane here."

This was the dungeon. A very large dungeon underneath the mansion.

It was a little... different from the dungeons Kael knew. It was not overly dirty, it had been cleaned and kept more hygienic for the people inside.

But even that seemed a bit insufficient because of what was inside.

"Huhuhu... hahahaha..."

In one corner stood a man with one of the most crooked smiles Kael had ever seen, laughing incessantly in a low voice.

In another cell was another man, completely naked. He must have ripped his clothes off himself because they were still on the floor of his cell. He was giggling all the time.

And a woman in another cell was staring at the ceiling with a blank expression, drooling. Her lips were curled upwards too, but she seemed calmer than the others.

Or was it because she was worse?

"Why... are they here?"

Scher was the one who asked this question. And with his question, Amar, the baron's knight, approached one of the cells without turning his face towards him.

It was the cell of the man who was in his corner, drowning in silent laughter.

But when the door of the cell was thrown wide open, the man's laughter came to an abrupt halt. His eyes, which seemed to be unable to focus properly, suddenly became clear and shifted instantly towards the open door.

He stared at it for a while as if to check if he was seeing things wrong. Amar stepped aside to help him, pointing to the open door.

The man jumped to his feet at that very moment. He headed for the door with a speed that was hard to believe belonged to a human being. But no matter how fast, Kael, being a bearer, could see the curl of the man's lips.

That crooked smile was an indication of what he could do once he was out of his cell.

But before the dream of the owner of this smile could come true, the door to freedom was suddenly blocked by a large shadow.

Amar stepped in front of the man and gently grabbed him by the arms. Then he tripped him with his foot, causing him to fall to the ground. But without letting his body hit the ground, he turned him slightly and gave him a gentle push backwards.

The man suddenly found himself on the floor... in front of the cell wall. But he reacted quickly. He quickly turned back to the door and prepared to run once again. This time, though, there was a certain hostility in his eyes, a certain bloodlust. As soon as he saw Amar, he was going to pounce on him.

But instead, he saw the cell door close again. And the click of the lock echoed in his ears.

The man approached the door with slow steps, trying to push it a few times, but in vain. Then, he started to use force. And it was not a normal force at all... not only the door, but directly his cell itself seemed to tremble slightly.

After a short time, the man gave up. He retreated back into his corner, ignoring all the eyes watching him, and collapsed there. And then... he started laughing quietly again.

Amar looked at Scher out of the corner of his eye.

"That's why they're here."

But Scher didn't focus on him. His eyes moved over the man towards the cell as if he wanted to see him more closely.

"You kept reports, right? Notes for each patient, what happened to them in stages and so on."

Amar nodded his head.

"Yes."

"Good... I want to see them all."

He seemed genuinely intrigued by this.

Well, of course he was...

After all, Scher was a scholar, knowledgeable about many things, but his expertise was more in diseases, poisons, and their cures.

He was not only the brains of the group... he was also the main person who would examine these insane people and try to make a diagnosis.

*******

The first thing the group did was quite simple.

There were now a total of sixty-two people in the town who had become insane. Twenty-one of those had happened in just two weeks, so the problem was getting serious.

As soon as Scher heard this, he took all the reports with him and started reading them one by one.

And he soon realized why the baron was so desperate.

"His wife... She is among those who became insane."

"Oh..."

Pecera couldn't help but be surprised when he heard what Scher said.

"When?"

"Two days before the baron sent the request for help."

In short... the baron only asked for help because his wife had become one of the victims.

"Hmm..."

Pecera was lost in thought for a moment. After a while, it was Baroch who spoke.

"Do they have anything in common? The crazy ones, I mean."

Scher shook his head from side to side.

"I've read almost all of the reports. But I don't see any similarities. In fact... it's as if they went insane especially randomly. But the symptoms are a bit different."

As he said this, he took out his notebook with an ink pen which he had hidden in his clothes until now. Then he started scribbling something on it. After a short while, he read what he had written.

"Laughter is a common symptom when they have nothing to do. As soon as they realize they can break free, they strive for it. And... strangely, they have much more advanced physical abilities than a normal person. It's as if whatever drove them mad also made them stronger."

Kael raised his eyebrows slightly, not moving from where he had been leaning until now.

"There's a lot of greenery here... everywhere, actually. A parasitic plant, perhaps? First, it attached itself to the vegetation of the town and tried to grow. Lately, though, it completed its development and that's why the number of cases has jumped. It's a bit rare... but a schloremeia mutated by overexposure to eon, perhaps?"

Scher paused for a moment.

"Maybe."

Then he scribbled something new in his notebook and glanced briefly in Kael's direction.

"Then... how about a tour of the town? Schloremeia or some other parasitic plant... it doesn't matter. You can look for traces of it. You already know what's what."

Kael nodded softly. This was obviously what he wanted to do... so he wasn't going to object.

Just after them, Pecera entered the conversation.

"Baroch and Matthew, why don't you walk around the town with Kael? Watch the people, and if you see anyone going mad or about to do so, take quick action."

Baroch and Matthew nodded, just like Kael.

And so their plans were set, at least for the first day.

*******

After the talk with the group, Kael was doing what was expected of him as he walked the streets of the town. He was observing all the plants in the town, looking for one that would catch his attention.

And he actually saw a few. There were so many different types of plants in the town that it was hard not to find something that could cause trouble. But... none of them were plants that could be the source of the trouble the town faces. And the townspeople would have been aware of these plants, as these plants were usually few in number, and not many people passed by or dealt with them.

So there was nothing remarkable. Nevertheless, Kael made a mental note of the plants he saw and kept going. Finally, when he came to a certain place... that's when he stopped.

Well, Kael's purpose was not exactly with these plants.

Yes, he was aware of his task, but he was actually wandering the streets of this town for something else.

His eyes slowly drifted towards the walls, towards the vines that wrapped around them.

He looked at them for a while. Then he squinted slightly and focused on one of his senses that normal people don't have.

After a short time... he could feel it again. Just as he had felt it when he first entered the town, it was the same now.

'These vines... why do they have such an intense eon?'