Sent to investigate an unnerving silence, two protectors from Aethelgard Stronghold venture into the remote town of Oakhaven, only to find themselves ensnared in an incredible horror short tale. The air is thick with decay, and a monstrous growth chokes the life from stone and wood. This story chronicles their desperate struggle against a parasitic rot that corrupts flesh and whispers into the mind. Brace yourself for a relentless descent into darkness where survival is the only goal.
Chapter 1: The Assignment
Kai stood rigid. His fists clenched. Commander Vorlag’s stare was like granite. Unyielding. Ren stood beside Kai, observant, his hand resting on a pouch of rune stones at his belt.
“A task,” Vorlag stated. His voice echoed slightly in the stone chamber. “Scouting.”
Kai gave a curt nod. Ren remained still, watching the Commander. Scouting tasks were rarely simple.
“Oakhaven,” Vorlag continued, gesturing to a map spread on the heavy table. A small settlement marked near the edge of the Gloomfen Mire. “We’ve lost contact. Three weeks of silence.”
Three weeks. Unnatural. Oakhaven was isolated, but not that cut off. Silence was a bad sign.
“Previous scouts reported nothing unusual from the perimeter, then failed to return.” Vorlag tapped the town marker. “Go into Oakhaven. Assess the situation. Report back. Do not engage overwhelming forces.”
Kai’s hand instinctively tightened. Ready to channel his kinetic force. Ren subtly shifted his weight, feeling the connection to the stone beneath his boots.
“Understood, Commander,” Kai said. Voice steady. Projecting readiness.
Ren nodded, his gaze fixed on the map. The Gloomfen Mire was known for treacherous ground and strange phenomena.
“Local tales speak of the Mire’s influence,” Vorlag added, his tone flat. “Dismiss them. Focus on what you see.”
Kai didn’t like legends. They often hinted at buried truths. Dangerous ones.
“We depart now,” Kai stated.
Vorlag nodded once. “Be vigilant. Rely on your training. And each other.”
They turned, boots clicking on the stone floor, leaving the Commander’s chamber. The corridors of Aethelgard Stronghold felt secure, solid. A stark contrast to the unknown ahead.
“Oakhaven,” Ren murmured as they walked towards the armory. “Bad feeling about this.”
“Just keep your senses sharp,” Kai replied, pushing down his own unease. “We gear up.”
They collected their equipment. Kai checked the grip on his short sword, feeling the familiar thrum of latent energy within him. He strapped reinforced vambraces to his forearms.
Ren selected several polished stones, etched with faint symbols. He tucked them carefully into his belt pouches. His affinity was with earth and stone. Shaping it. Commanding it.
They met at the Stronghold’s massive gate. The sentries saluted. The path led down from the rocky outcrop, towards the lowlands and the encroaching Mire.
The air was clear. The sun bright. A deceptive calm. Kai focused on the mission. Assess. Report.
Vorlag’s words echoed. Rely on your training. Kai’s training screamed caution. Every instinct warned of profound wrongness ahead.
Chapter 2: Mire’s Edge, Town’s Silence
They traveled on foot. The ground grew softer as they neared the Gloomfen Mire. Trees became stunted, draped in moss. Puddles of stagnant water reflected the grey sky.
Hours passed. The air grew heavy. Humid. Smelling of decay and wet earth. The sounds of wildlife faded. Replaced by an oppressive quiet. The Mire lived up to its name.
“Getting close,” Ren said, his voice hushed. He pointed through the gnarled trees.
Oakhaven. Nestled in a low basin. But it wasn’t right.
A thick, fungal growth covered everything. Pale green, almost white in places. It climbed walls, smothered roofs, pulsed with a faint, internal light. Thorny, vine-like tendrils snaked through it. Choking the structures.
The smell intensified. Sickly sweet. Like overripe fruit mixed with damp rot.
Kai found a solid branch overlooking the town’s edge. Crouched low. Ren joined him. They surveyed the scene below.
No movement. No lights. No life. Just the silence and the creeping, luminous rot.
“This isn’t natural,” Ren whispered, touching the slimy moss on their branch.
Kai narrowed his eyes. Focused. He saw houses sagging under the weight of the growth. Doors ripped from hinges. Dark interiors beckoning.
“Where are the townsfolk?” Kai muttered.
They descended carefully. Dropped into the shadow of a half-collapsed tavern. The ground felt spongy. Covered in a thin layer of the pale green slime. Their footsteps made wet, sucking sounds.
Kai drew his short sword. Held it ready. The air around his hand seemed to shimmer slightly. Ren kept his hands near his rune stones. Ready to draw on the earth’s power. If any stable earth remained.
They moved cautiously towards the town center. Past silent homes. Each window a dark maw. Kai glanced into one.
Shadows. A broken table. Thick fungal tendrils snaking across the floor. Something skittered away. A flash of pale green.
His pulse quickened. He looked away. Met Ren’s questioning gaze. “Nothing,” Kai said. Too quickly.
They reached the town square. A cracked fountain stood in the center. Completely engulfed by the pulsating fungus. The growth was thickest here. More vibrant. More menacing.
A twitch. Near the fountain. Kai froze. Signaled Ren. They ducked behind an overturned wagon.
Peering around the edge. Kai saw it. A figure. Or what remained of one.
Chapter 3: The Corruption
It stood hunched near the fountain. Wearing tattered clothes. Stiff with slime.
Its movements were jerky. Uncoordinated. Head lolling.
Pale fungal patches erupted from its skin. Thorny vines wrapped around its limbs, burrowing into flesh. Pulsating with the same faint light as the larger growths.
Kai felt sick. This was a violation. A monstrous transformation.
Ren inhaled sharply. Gripped Kai’s shoulder.
The figure slowly turned. Its face was a ruin. Fungus bloomed from empty eye sockets. The jaw hung slack. A soft, clicking, chittering sound issued from its throat.
It hadn’t noticed them. Seemed drawn to the fountain. The epicenter of the rot.
“We need to leave,” Ren breathed. His voice tight with horror. “Report this.”
Kai nodded slowly. Scanning the surrounding buildings. Were there others? Watching from the shadows?
Suddenly, a flapping sound. Above. Not a bird. Something leathery. Misshapen.
It swooped down. A bat? No. Larger. Skin stretched over sharp bones. Covered in the same pale fungal sores. Eyes glowing green.
It attacked the figure by the fountain. Clawing. Biting.
The figure swatted vaguely. No sign of pain. Just mindless reaction.
The bat-thing shrieked. A thin, grating sound. Circled once. Then spotted them. Kai and Ren. Hiding.
It dove. Mouth gaping. Filled with needle-sharp teeth.
“Move!” Kai shouted. Shoved Ren. Rolled away. Came up with his short sword swinging. Kinetic energy flared along the blade.
Crack!
The energized blade connected. The bat-thing exploded in a shower of green spores and ichor. Its shriek cut off abruptly.
The figure by the fountain snapped its head towards the noise. Towards them. The clicking grew louder. It began shuffling forward. Faster. More purpose in its jerky movements.
More shuffling. From doorways. Alleyways. Figures emerging from the gloom. Eyes glowing pale green.
“They see us,” Ren said. His hand closed around a rune stone.
“Stick close,” Kai ordered. Backing away. Towards the edge of the square.
Another figure crawled from beneath a collapsed porch. Limbs twisted unnaturally. Covered in pulsating fungal pustules. It dragged itself forward. Leaving a slimy trail.
The clicking sound multiplied. Echoing off the silent buildings. A chorus of corruption.
They were being surrounded.
Chapter 4: Rot and Ruin
“Ren, barrier!” Kai yelled. He didn’t throw his sword. Instead, he punched the air towards the shuffling figure. A bolt of pure force struck it mid-chest. Thump! It staggered back. Fungus flew off it. But it kept coming.
Ren slapped a rune stone onto the slimy cobblestones. “Terra Firma!”
The ground shuddered. Cracked stone slabs tilted upwards. Mixed with thick, pulsing fungal matter. A crude, unstable wall rose between them and the closest figures.
The shuffler slammed into the barrier. It groaned. Fungal tendrils instantly snaked out from the wall. Wrapping around the figure. Not stopping it. Merging with it. Strengthening it.
“My power,” Ren gasped. “It’s feeding on it!”
The crawling figure hissed. Scrabbling faster. Unhindered by the partial barrier.
From the rooftops. Shapes detached themselves. Dropped silently. Smaller. Faster. Like multi-legged fungal pods. Covered in thorns. They scuttled across the ground. Converging.
“Kinetic Pulse!” Kai slammed his fist into the ground. A shockwave radiated outwards. Pure force. It sent the scuttling pods tumbling. Disrupted their advance. But didn’t destroy them. They quickly recovered.
The clicking was a constant drone now. Hypnotic. Maddening.
The main shuffler tore through the failing barrier. Its form seemed swollen. Distorted. Covered in fresh, writhing fungal growth.
“We can’t fight them all!” Ren shouted. Panic rising in his voice. “It absorbs everything!”
“Fall back!” Kai grabbed Ren. Pulled him away. “Find another way out!”
They ran. Boots slipping on the slime. The sickly sweet rot-smell clogged their senses.
A thick tendril lashed out from a wall. Quick as lightning. Wrapped around Kai’s leg. Jerked him off his feet.
Sharp thorns dug deep. Pain flared. He felt a draining sensation. Coldness spreading. His energy being siphoned.
“Kai!” Ren spun back. Hands moving. Reaching for another rune stone. Hesitating. Knowing direct earth power might strengthen the rot.
The swollen shuffler closed in. The crawler right behind. The scuttling pods swarmed from the sides.
Kai gritted his teeth. Twisted. Brought his energized sword down hard. Hacked through the tendril. Pale ichor sprayed. Sizzled on the ground.
He scrambled up. Leg aching. Burning. “Go!”
They sprinted again. Bursting out of the square. Down a narrow side street. Buildings leaned inwards. Fungal growths dripped from the eaves like grotesque icicles.
Something heavy slammed down behind them. Blocking the path. Kai glanced back. The swollen figure had collapsed into a pulsating mound of fungus. Growing rapidly. Sealing the way.
It wasn’t just attacking. It was trapping them. Containing them.
For what?
Chapter 5: Whispers of the Nidus
They ducked into a large, less dilapidated building. Perhaps the town hall. Searching for shelter. An alternative escape.
Inside, darkness reigned. Thick spores drifted in the few beams of light piercing the fungus-choked windows. The air was still. Suffocating.
The clicking faded outside. Replaced by a low, wet susurrus. Whispering. Seeming to emanate from the very walls.
Grow… Join… Become…
Kai pressed his hands to his temples. Ren staggered. Eyes wide.
“Mind tricks?” Ren asked. Voice thin.
“No,” Kai breathed. Feeling the invasive pressure. “It’s… communication. The rot.” It wasn’t just consuming bodies. It was calling to minds.
They moved deeper into the hall. Searching for an exit. Floorboards groaned under the slimy fungal carpet.
The pale green growth was thicker here. Older. Pulsating gently. In the center of the main chamber, several large cocoons hung from the rafters. Wrapped in layers of fungus and thorny vines. Roughly human-sized.
Kai approached one cautiously. Sword held defensively. Ren watched the entrances. The shadows.
The whispers intensified near the cocoons. Warmth… Energy… Give… Share…
Kai used the tip of his sword. Carefully peeled back some outer layers of the nearest cocoon. Revealed what lay beneath.
A face. Skin like pale wax. Mouth open in a silent O. Eyes clouded white. A towns-person. Preserved. Encased. Absorbed.
Kai jerked back. Stumbled into Ren.
“What is it?” Ren demanded.
“Don’t look,” Kai urged. His voice strained.
Too late. Ren saw the face. He choked back vomit. Turned away, shaking.
More cocoons were visible now. Dimly lit by their own faint luminescence. Different sizes. Horrifying implications.
This wasn’t infection. It was harvest.
Peace… No struggle… Unity… The whispers became soothing. Tempting. Offering an end to fear.
Kai shook his head violently. Focused his will. Pushed out with a low hum of kinetic energy. Disrupting the air around him. The whispers wavered. Thinned.
“We need out,” Kai stated. Forcing conviction into his tone. “Window. Back wall.”
They found one. Large. Less obstructed. Covered by thinner tendrils and cloudy fungal film.
“Ready?” Kai glanced at Ren.
Ren nodded. Took a ragged breath. Focused his intent on a sharp piece of rock he palmed.
A noise. From the largest cocoon above them. A wet ripping sound.
The face inside twisted. Eyes snapped open. Glowing with pale green light. The mouth stretched impossibly wide. A gurgling, high-pitched scream echoed in the hall.
The whispers ceased. Replaced by that single, mind-flaying shriek.
The cocoon tore open. The figure within unfolded. Limbs elongated. Unnatural angles. Covered in slime and new fungal growth. It dropped to the floor. Scrambled towards them. Horrifyingly fast.
Chapter 6: The Nidus Core
“Now!” Kai yelled. Unleashed a focused kinetic blast from his free hand. It struck the emerging horror. Slammed it back against the wall with crushing force.
Ren hurled his charged rock. It hit the window like a cannonball. Shattering glass. Tearing through the fungal film. Creating an opening to the outside.
“Go! Go!” Kai shoved Ren towards the ragged hole.
Ren scrambled through. Cut his arm on a shard of glass. Tumbled onto the damp ground outside.
Kai turned. The creature was pulling itself free from the wall dent. Shrieking. Other cocoons were shuddering. Tearing. More horrors stirring within.
No time. He gathered his energy. One powerful push. “Kinetic Ram!”
A battering ram of invisible force struck the creature again. Pinned it. Crushed it against the wall. Its shrieking stopped abruptly.
Kai didn’t wait to see more. He vaulted through the broken window. Landed beside Ren.
They were in a narrow alley behind the hall. Overgrown. Filled with debris. But clearer than the main routes.
“Which way?” Ren panted. Scanning left and right.
Kai focused. Listened past the ringing in his ears. The shrieking inside had stopped. Replaced by a deep, rhythmic pulsing. Felt more than heard. Coming from deeper within Oakhaven. North.
“Opposite,” Kai decided immediately. “South. Back towards the Mire’s edge.”
They ran. Stumbling through grasping tendrils. Clambering over heaps of rubble. The pulsing faded slightly behind them. The insidious clicking returned ahead. Louder.
They burst from the alley’s end. Not onto the main street. But into a desolate, open space. Once the town commons. Now, utterly transformed.
In the center stood a monstrous fungal structure. Towering. Twisted. Like a spire made of diseased flesh and bark. Pale green, almost white. Pulsating with a stronger internal light. Thorny vines radiated from its base like veins. This was the heart of the rot. The Nidus Core.
The pulsing was intense here. A physical pressure against their chests. Disorienting.
Figures stood motionless around the Core. Dozens. Townsfolk. Animals. All covered in the rot. Facing the central spire. Bathed in its sickly light. Their eyes glowed. Empty. Waiting.
They hadn’t registered Kai and Ren. Their focus was absolute. Fixed on the Nidus Core.
“The source,” Kai whispered. Revulsion and dread coiling in his gut.
“We can’t…” Ren started, shaking his head. “Vorlag said report…”
The ground thrummed. The Nidus Core pulsed brighter. A wave of energy washed outwards. The figures surrounding it stirred. Began to turn. Heads snapping towards the intruders with unnatural speed.
Pale green eyes fixed on them. The clicking intensified. A rising tide of alien hunger.
One figure, formerly a large man, pointed a vine-wrapped finger. Straight at them.
Seen. Trapped. Between the Nidus Core and the town’s corrupted inhabitants.
Chapter 7: Desperate Gambit
No escape route. The path back swarmed with the turning figures. Ahead lay the pulsating heart of the Nidus Rot.
“Kai…” Ren breathed. Taking an instinctive step back.
“No retreat,” Kai grunted. Eyes narrowed. Sword held ready. “Through them.”
It felt like madness. But inaction was death.
The corrupted townsfolk shambled forward. Gaining speed. Arms outstretched. The whispers returned, amplified by the Core’s proximity. Join… Complete… Whole…
“Distract them!” Kai shouted. He channeled energy. Not into a blast. Into himself. Preparing.
Ren slammed a rune stone onto the ground. Focused his will. “Stone Spikes!”
Jagged shards of rock erupted from the slimy earth. Impaling the first wave of shambling figures. They shrieked – a wet, tearing sound. Collapsed into dissolving heaps of fungus and slime.
It bought moments. Precious moments.
Kai surged forward. Not attacking yet. Running straight towards the Nidus Core. Ignoring the figures trying to grab him. Kinetic energy flared around him like an aura, deflecting clumsy grasps.
“Now, Ren! Break their focus!” Kai roared over the pulsing din.
Ren scooped up loose stones. Imbued them with raw power. Hurled them not at the Core, but at the surrounding figures. Explosions of rock and force staggered them. Confused them. Drew their attention away from Kai’s desperate charge.
Kai reached the base of the Nidus Core. The pulsing was overpowering. Nauseating. The air thick with spores. Tendrils lashed out from the central mass.
He dodged. Weaved. Felt the whispers trying to tear into his mind. Give… Yield… Become…
He saw it. Deep within the pulsating mass. A brighter, denser node of light. The very center.
He raised his short sword. Poured every ounce of his kinetic energy into the blade. It shone with contained force. Vibrated intensely.
Ren yelled Ren’s name – a warning. A huge tendril slammed down towards Kai.
Kai didn’t dodge. He thrust upwards. Met the tendril with his energized blade. It sliced through. Ichor sprayed.
He lunged. Plunged the vibrating sword deep into the Nidus Core. Aiming for the brightest point.
Silence.
An utter lack of sound. A wave of crushing psychic static erupted from the Core. Kai felt his mind buckle. Vision flashed white. Pain.
The pulsing stopped. The pale light died instantly. The towering structure seemed to… deflate. Sagging. Turning grey.
Across the commons, the corrupted figures froze. Then, rapidly desiccated. Collapsed into fine grey dust and brittle, dead vines. Carried away on the sudden breeze.
Silence returned. Heavy. Lifeless.
Kai collapsed to his knees. Head pounding. Blood trickled from his nose. His sword remained embedded in the now inert, grey mass.
He looked up. Saw Ren staggering towards him through the settling dust. Alive.
“Is it… over?” Ren coughed.
“Yeah,” Kai gasped. “It’s over.”
But the victory tasted like ash. The silence felt heavier than the pulsing. The rot was dead. But Oakhaven was deader.
Chapter 8: Lingering Shadows
Leaving Oakhaven was slow. Agonizing. Kai’s leg throbbed where the tendril had pierced him. Ren moved stiffly, favoring the arm he’d cut. The psychic shockwave had left them both drained and reeling.
The town was a husk. Grey fungal dust coated everything. Buildings stood stark against the sky, draped in dead, brittle vines. No whispers. No clicking. Just the mournful sigh of the wind through skeletal structures.
They didn’t talk much. The shared horror was a silent burden between them.
Reaching the edge of the Gloomfen Mire felt like surfacing from deep, dark water. The normal sounds and colors of the wilderness seemed alien, almost offensive after the dead town.
They rested under a living tree. Catching their breath. Trying to push away the images burned into their minds.
“Commander Vorlag,” Ren said finally. His voice rough. “The report…”
Kai stared back at the grey smudge of Oakhaven in the distance. A blight on the edge of the living world. “The truth,” he said quietly. “Everything.”
The journey back to Aethelgard Stronghold was grueling. Fatigue warred with the need to deliver their warning.
They were met by healers the moment they passed the gates. Taken to the infirmary.
Later, cleaned and bandaged, they lay in adjacent beds. Commander Vorlag stood between them. His expression was grim.
Kai recounted the events. The silence. The fungal rot. The corrupted townsfolk. The whispers. The Nidus Core. The final, desperate act. His voice was monotone. Empty.
Vorlag listened without interruption. His stony face betrayed nothing. When Kai fell silent, the Commander stood quiet for a long moment.
“The Nidus Rot,” Vorlag said finally. His voice low. “An ancient parasite. We thought its last remnants were destroyed generations ago.” He looked from Kai to Ren, his gaze lingering on the exhaustion in their eyes. “You faced a primal horror.”
He drew a breath. “Your mission was scouting. You exceeded it. You eliminated a catastrophic threat.” He paused. “The cost is noted.”
Kai looked at his bandaged hands. He could still feel the cold drain of the tendril. Hear the static scream of the dying Core in his memory.
“Can it return?” Ren asked. The question laced with dread.
“Containment protocols are already in effect. Oakhaven will be purged and sealed,” Vorlag stated. “Based on your testimony.” He looked at them again. “But such encounters leave scars. Not all are visible.”
Kai knew it was true. He closed his eyes, but the image of the pale, pulsing fungus remained. The silence of Oakhaven was broken only by the echo of whispers in the deep recesses of his mind.
The battle was won. The Rot was destroyed. But the shadows of Nidus Rot would linger.
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