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Chapter 25 - Chapter Twenty-Five

 It was pitch dark when we arrived on the shores of Earlydale and the city guard walked us to Gunther and Gertrude's house. We knocked on the door, and they let us in without hesitation, he thanked the guard and we spent the whole night telling them what we had found. 

 It was nearly daylight when we all settled into our beds, but then we had to awake. It was decided that barrels and barrels of fresh water be hauled from Earlydale to Calideen, and there would be huge iron grinding stones set atop all of the wells to ensure no one drank the water. 

 Every single citizen by the mayor of Earlydale was required to pick as much willow bark as they could muster and leave with Gunther. Canteens upon canteens were loaded onto several carts. I was going to leave Sven with Gertrude but had made other plans. As I was holding onto the side of the cart sitting on top of barrels, he pounced on my lap. "You smell like fish." I said stroking his fur. He simply looked at me as he licked his claws. 

 The journey to Calideen was slow. The mules could not go fast due to the grinding stones and the massive barrels of water. We could not stop properly for food so Comforter and I were reduced to bread, Sven was the only that got fresh fish. I was glad he had the courtesy to eat it on the ground and then would sprint to catch up with the wagon. How he managed to crunch down on the bones was a little gruesome but I suppose that is why his teeth were so white. 

 I could then smell something that made Sven's fish guts smell like roses, the smell of burning flesh ripped through the landscape. I vomited profusely over the side of the cart. Comforter asked the whole convoy to stop. 

 He gave me a canteen and I took small sips, and then he gave me a rag that was soaked in rose oil to cover my mouth and nose. I could breathe and it completely masked the smell of the dead. 

 Massive amounts of mortals were being carried in stretches and dumped into fired pits and everything was burned with them. After going through the pastures we ended up in the city, the wailing of women and children was haunting. I tried not to look at anyone directly wondering if I would have to carry them to the pits. 

 We made it the citadel and told the mayor that it was the water that caused the plague. He rushed over to the part of the citadel where the city had maps of all the cisterns and wells. Comforter insisted he would help with this leaving me with Gunther. 

 "I will show you how to make willow bark tea." Gunther said, pulling me to a potions table he had set up in just moments. I watched with close observation and he gave me something to focus on without all of the dead bodies and the wailing screaming of those in the process of heading to their coffins. 

"There was a plague that broke out during the Great War, my great grandfather wrote down a remedy for it, I have the ingredients to make it just not sure if this was a theory or an actual remedy." Gunther said, looking at me with a look of complete defeat. 

 "Boil your hands after every single person you touch and make sure no one shares the canteen." Gunther said sternly I nodded and then started passing out the canteens as people touched me I wondered if I would die slowly. 

 I wondered if Sven had gone, my little fur buddy had gone missing and at twilight he was watching the dock . I sat down with him and simply prayed as I tried not to hear the screams of those around me. 

 Comforter found me in the inn sulking into mulled wine. "Do you think Gunther has found a cure for this, or do you think more will die?" I asked, looking directly at him and he remained quiet. 

 "More will die, but I think his remedy might be able to heal more in time. However, the bigger question is what is causing the water in this location to be poisoned." Comforter said, looking at me with deep seriousness. 

 It was strange seeing the pub, completely empty, there was no music, no joy, and hearing the kids scream into the dark was gut chilling. We went to sleep and in the middle of night I noticed Sven was not in the room. 

 Fear gripped me, I was afraid of him falling into one of the pits full of bodies. I had no choice I took a lantern and headed out to look for my little friend in the dead of night. 

 I tried to ignore the sights and smells of the pasture that made me gag and I wanted to scream but there was no use. The people carrying the dead looked at me as if I was lost or insane just wandering in the dark around the bodies. 

 Through the smoke and fires I found my little friend Sven looking at the water. "What are you doing out here in this place of doom?" I asked picking him up and hold him close. I was watching him and trying to figure out what he was fixating on the water. 

 "What do you see, there?" I asked and was following his eyes, there was something in the water, but what. I studied the water and then decided to tell Comforter that something odd was in the river. 

 I ran back to the inn holding Sven and decided to wake up Comforter. He was fully awake. "You know." I asked, looking at him. 

 "I had a suspicion but was not sure. Yes, it seems that we have a Katala in the bay." Comforter said, looking at me. 

 "I thought they only lived deep in the sea?" I asked with a worried expression mingled with disbelief. 

 "Usually, but not always, and it seems this one is vengeful." He said, looking at me with concern. We headed down the stairs and talked to Gunther. 

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