Chapter 28 – New Hires

Tonight was unusually windy. From the north, gusts howled over The Spines and across Greensward. Much of the forest had the protection of canopy and thick brush. Kairon’s domain, however, had corrupted all of that. It left open, gently rolling terrain vulnerable to the elements.

All the imps were tucked away, taking shelter in the camp. Sythara had claimed a corner of the tower, snoring softly. Demons, it turned out, loved storms. So much so that she’d even had a soft smile on her shadowed lips as she dozed off.

Although, her blanket of ethereal night may have a way of muting sound.

I’m not certain she’s getting the proper experience like the rest of us. This racket is impossible to sleep through.

On the opposite side of the tower, Kairon leaned back, a chunk of roasted meat grasped between two claws. While chewing, he watched the dark sigil in his mind. He still hadn’t touched it. But he’d watched. And waited.

Just what am I going to do with you?

His plans required every coin to work. Kairon just couldn’t afford wasting any gold on experimentation until new workers were spawning and food production was more sustainable. In particular, the 250 gold price of the ashroot plots was already a concern.

Soon though. I’ll figure you out.

While he hadn’t touched the sigil, he had studied it. The demon had gone so far as to cross reference nearly all the demonic scripture on every building, from the feeding pit to the spawning grounds and camp.

And not one shape matched a single part of the sequence he’d found. His sigil was more… fluid and cosmic. In contrast, the scripture on the settlement’s buildings stemmed from violent and harsh shaping.

For now, he tucked the thought away.

Kairon turned his eyes towards his companion. “How are you feeling?” he asked quietly, careful not to disturb the slumbering demoness.

Veron shrugged, repositioning his bundled cloak between him and the wall. “Worse.”

The glow of the chamber’s orange gemstone gave the demon a clear enough view. Black veins ran down the hunter’s arms, a faint purple pulsing within. Yesterday, they spread to his upper arms. Today, his shoulders. Tomorrow…

“I discussed your condition with Sythara. She believes our domain shouldn’t be capable of corruption in this manner. It attacks the mind and your body’s strength, but not the blood.”

“So then what is this?” he asked, lifting up his shirt and showing the cobweb of dark lines that had begun reaching towards his chest.

The city lord winced. Taking a moment, he finished chewing and swallowed. “Well, I have a few theories.”

“Yeah. Like that giant stone maw that regurgitates the meat I’ve been eating?”

“Maybe… But from what I’ve seen, that thing eats corruption. It doesn’t make it.” Staring into the flames, Kairon gathered his thoughts.

“The water you drink. Where does it come from?”

“Well. I’ve been using the hellish puddles. I fill my skin with water from them, or what’s left of the stream if I take a hike north. Then, I filter it through cloth and boil it.”

Another problem. Water. The more his domain expanded, the less of it that remained.

“And you’re sure each time you-”

“Kairon, I’ve been in the woodlands for years. I’m sure I did it right.”

He held his claws up. “Okay, okay.”

Mulling it over in his mind, Kairon spoke up again. “If that’s the case, I think I might just have an idea of what’s going on.”

Veron looked up expectantly.

“Well, the walls we made consume fire. The hellscape we live on is unnaturally warm. And neither imps nor I seem to fear flame. So it goes to reason that heat does not harm our kind, or at least that we have a sort of resistance to it. Which means…”

“That the corruption you’ve been talking about might still be left. You’re thinking the boiling didn’t kill whatever is in the water, and that’s what’s tainting me?”

Kairon nodded.

“But where am I to get anything more clean to drink? It’s more than half a day’s travel to the true forest. How can I survive like this?”

The question left unsaid was whether he should leave. Permanently. And, more importantly, if the demon would let him.

Veron is a valuable ally. I don’t fully trust him, but I do need his partnership for diplomatic concerns. At least for now.

“I make no promises. But tomorrow, we will test a hunch.”

***

“This seems rather foolish.”

“Oh come now! What’s the worst that could happen?” asked Kairon.

With a resigned expression, Veron took the skin of corrupted water and uncorked it. Leaning forward he let a stream of it go into the feeding pit’s maw.

The demon behind him watched expectantly.

“Now do take care to step back.”

The hunter hastily retreated, the massive jaws slamming shut behind him. There was a soft thrumming, a gurgle, and a faint purple glow.

A sound like sloshing water and gurgling emanated from just under the ground.

Then, around ten seconds later, the maw opened.

“Hmm. That was a waste. Now I need to get more water and -”

A spout of liquid shot out, making a lazy arc into the air and splattering on the black stone of the citadel.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Both of them just stared at it for a moment. Kairon was the first to break from the trance. “Well don’t just look at it! Use the skin to catch it!”

Some trial and error later, Veron held a full sack of sloshing water. He sniffed it.

“Huh.”

Grunting, he poured some into his palm and gave it a taste.

“Seems clean enough.”

“That isn’t a good test, my friend. Here, let me see.” Humming, Kairon took the skin and peered inside. He angled the opening so the sun sparkled against the clear water within.

The demon sensed no corruption, no trace particles, no taint. It was just water.

Still. This is odd. Why is it when I feed wood and corpses into the feeding pit, it not only eats the corruption but the entire material and returns gold. Something isn’t adding up.

And then another thought hit him.

Was it rejected, or actually being processed? If it was rejected like normal stone or wood, nothing should have been done.

“Veron. Pour some more dirty water in. I’d like to test something.”

The moment fresh liquid was guzzled down the rock throat, Kairon pressed his claw to the structure.

“So it is actually being processed. It just does so far quicker than anything else…” Kairon mused.

Leaning over carefully, he held out one hand.

Veron, sensing his intention, handed the skin over.

Kairon took a pull from it. To him, the water tasted bland. Gone was the sandy, coppery taste that the puddles and the dwindling stream nearby always had. But to Veron…

“I would drink with this method from now on. Just talk to Shiny. You’ll need to work around the pit’s schedule and store enough in advance for your needs. But the processing time is near instant, so you can fit it in between batches,” he advised.

“Do you think… this will heal me?”

“I think the pit ate the corruption and taint present in the water. What’s left should be more pure than anything you’ve boiled.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Kairon clicked his tongue. “Honestly? I don’t know. I do think it will stop further infection from getting into your blood. But as far as what’s already there…” He shrugged. “Maybe Sythara will know more. I’ll ask her when she wakes. Beyond that, all we can do is wait and see.”