The Spores of the Treetalon

Once the sun rose again, we packed up all our belongings and continued our journey to Penton. Luckily for us, the town was only about a day’s distance away, so it didn’t take us too long to arrive once we resumed the trip.

What really worried me, however, was Liz’s condition, as she had been unusually quiet throughout the entire journey. Doctor Digory and Kara seemed to want to ask if something had happened, but perhaps realizing it was a matter between us, they chose to refrain.

After several hours of a silent trip, we finally reached the town of Penton. As we drew closer, the decadent state of the place became more and more evident. The streets were practically deserted, with only a handful of people walking, who looked dejected, resembling wandering souls more than living people; the streets were also incredibly neglected and dirty, much like the structures themselves.

Recalling the state of Liz’s village, it’s likely that the neglect and deterioration of the buildings were due to the general condition of this world itself, but the trash and the lack of people on the streets were undoubtedly the result of the epidemic.

“We’re here,” said Doctor Digory. “Take these. Put on these goggles and use the cloth to cover your nose and mouth, just in case.”

The goggles he handed us resembled those once used by pilots in the old wars, and the cloth was a plain white, matching the outfits of the doctor and Kara.

Liz and I followed the doctor’s instructions and stepped down. On the way, I helped unload our belongings from the carriage.

“Doctor!” someone shouted from the distance.

His outfit was very similar to that of Doctor Digory, so I could imagine he was also some sort of physician in this place.

“Sorry for the delay. We were attacked by a group of Nolgoth on the way here, but luckily everything turned out fine,” explained the doctor. “Now take me to the afflicted. The sooner we find out what’s going on, the sooner we’ll know how to deal with it.”

The physician nodded at the doctor’s request, but before leaving, he fixed his gaze on us. Since he wore the same goggles and cloths as we did, it was impossible to see his face, but I was completely sure his expression was one of doubt regarding our presence. The doctor seemed to notice this as well, so he introduced us.

“Don’t worry. These young ones are the ones who saved me from the monsters. Their names are Liz and Naoya, and it will be fine to bring them with us.

Having explained our situation, the other physician nodded and quickly guided us through the town. The ghost town feeling only grew stronger the deeper we went. There was no market, no shops open, nothing to suggest this town was still inhabited by living people.

After a while walking, we finally reached a clinic—or at least that’s what I thought, since the sign indicating it was written in a language I couldn’t understand.

Upon entering, a strong stench of putrefaction assaulted us, even though we were barely at the reception area. It was so strong that the cloths did little to lessen it.

“This way.”

Finally, beyond a curtain, we came upon the victims of the epidemic. It was exactly as the doctor had said; they were asleep, in a coma, and their skin had an unnaturally pale tone with blotches across several parts of their bodies.

Doctor Digory carefully approached one of the patients, leaned toward his face, and opened one of his eyes. It was very bloodshot and showed no activity whatsoever. Then he pressed down on different parts of the body until he reached one of the blotches, which at first glance seemed abnormally soft.

“Which is the patient in the worst condition?” asked Doctor Digory.

The local physician led us to the back of the room. There was a bed hidden behind curtains on all sides. When they were pulled aside, we were horrified. The person lying there was closer to a corpse than a sick man.

His skin already displayed a sickly dark yellow hue, several parts of his body were eaten away, exposing rotting flesh, and his frame was extremely thin.

According to what the doctor had said during the journey… that guy is still alive?

Both Liz and I were revolted, but the doctor regarded the situation with seriousness, and even Kara showed strength in the face of the scene. It was likely they had already seen similar or even worse cases as physicians. Their fortitude was impressive.

Doctor Digory took a stick and inspected the body for a while, paying particular attention to the flesh and open wounds. Eventually he stopped, and we left the place.

“It seems I was right…” announced the doctor. “All of this began because of a monster.”

“A monster, you say?” questioned the local physician.

“Yes. Treetalon… monsters whose bodies are largely plant-like. They’re capable of causing all these symptoms through the spread of their spores,” he explained. It was terrifying that a monster could cause so much harm in such an indirect way.

“Who were the first ones infected?” asked the doctor.

“One of them was the man you saw earlier. He was an adventurer, part of a group that came back saying something about a tree that attacked them.”

“Yes, without a doubt it was a Treetalon… they must have been infected by its spores, and once infected, the carriers produce their own spores at night. You did well to isolate most of the afflicted.”

I see. Unaware of that monster, the adventurers returned without any precautions, and from there, being the first infected, and due to the people’s ignorance, the spores spread even further. What a terrifying situation.

“So then… is it possible to reverse all this?” asked the local physician.

The doctor crossed his arms and closed his eyes to organize his thoughts, and then finally answered.

“Yes, it is possible. However, if we want to prepare a cure for all this, we need to hunt that monster,” he declared. “The Treetalon has a special organ with the ability to undo the spores. We need that organ to solve all this.”

“Hunt the monster?” questioned the physician, worried. “That’s impossible… after the adventurers’ report about the tree that attacked them, they sent another group that never returned, and the rest of the adventurers also ended up afflicted.”

“And what about the knights!?” asked Kara nervously.

“Many of them were also infected, and the few who remain must protect the city from any monsters or bandits that might appear…”

In short, there was no one left in this town who could deal with the monster that had caused all of this. The adventurers had disappeared or were infected, just like the knights, leaving only a few to defend the city.

Looking at the overall situation, there was only one thing we could do…

“I’ll take care of it,” I said firmly.