After sending Gliya to inform the other half of the party that Southern Slate needs to be healed, the present party went to an inn to rest.

  Shell set up down in the dining room and was playing the song of healing on repeat for anyone with minor injuries or minor symptoms to get healed. Anything more serious and they would need to go to Claya or wait for Vorin.

  Zuls was waiting for a reply but knew it wouldn’t be until night fell since it was already fairly late in the day. She decided that it’d be best to have a discussion with everyone on how the day went and then get some food.

  “Shell is downstairs, but we can still do this with just us. What do you think of the situation?”

  “To me it seems like a regular plague gone rampant. I’m sure it started small and grew thanks to an apathetic town leader and an overworked healer. Between the two of them, I’m sure a lot fell through the cracks.” Prith gave his analysis first while cleaning his blade.

  “I’m not sure I have an opinion. Situations like this I feel completely useless. Give me something to fight and I’m there. I can’t do anything for the sick except keep them safe until someone can heal them. I do agree with Prith about the town dropping the ball though.”

  “I know how you feel Kumo. Honestly, I think we all do except for Shell. However, we can help organize and keep the peace until things are resolved. We can also provide some positivity and hope.” She looked at both of them. They seemed bored. “I do agree with how the mayor felt disconnected from his town and its citizens. Claya is trying her best but wow she was exhausted.”

  “Do you think this is how healers feel when a monster horde is racing towards the town?”

  “Probably, Prith. They can still heal injuries though. It’s not like you can cut diseases or something. Although, I wouldn’t put that past you.”

  They all laughed at Kumo’s comment before heading towards the dining room.

  Hot food consisting of some stew with mystery meat was served as the healing melodies of Shell moved like waves over the half-dead crowd. Some were starting to look better.

  “You know, we probably should be taking some precautions not to get infected by whatever is going around. That never even occurred to me since Vorin normally just heals us right up.”

  “Eh, if we get infected, we can just run over there. It seems like a slow plague.”

  “Yeah, Prith’s right. I wouldn’t worry about it, Zuls.”

  “True. Besides, knowing Vorin, he’s probably already healed everyone over there and will be making his way here in the morning.”

  “Right? And Synexus has probably already grown a forest of plants that can be eaten to heal infections or prevent disease.”

  Prith chuckled. “Yu probably wants to burn out the sickness with some crazy fire magic.”

  “Gene is giving them a lecture on ancient plagues as we speak.” Zuls said with laughter in her voice.

  Dinner ended, night fell, and Shell ended her set. Zuls, Prith, and Kumo waited for her before walking back over to their rooms to see how she was doing.

  Surprisingly none of them were feeling sick yet. Kumo had the lowest vitality and still was feeling healthy as a horse. Shell still played a minor song of healing for them in the hallway their rooms were in.

  Zuls said goodnight to all of them and reached for her doorknob right as the first tremor hit. A second one hit seconds later.

  Without conversing they all ran outside to see what was going on.

  More tremors came. Each one growing in power and duration. Buildings started to crack, and some older ones even fell apart. People started to scream and ran towards the far end of the town.

  “What did they do?! Zuls yelled.

  As if her voice had caused it, the ground right inside the gate broke open and a toxic green cloud shot out completely covering the front of the town.

  Anyone caught in the green mist instantly screamed in pain. Boils grew all over their skin. A cacophony of coughs and dry heaving filled the silence of night.

  Kumo jumped into action and summoned a powerful gale to blow the toxic mist away. Some of the people were blown back in response. She had to constantly keep it going as the source didn’t stop shooting it out.

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  With the mist dispersed, the party got a clear view of the mob of people attempting to stand in the gale. Each of them covered in blood, puss, and vomit. Zuls was about to yell out and tell the party not to touch them when another tremor shook the town.

  Following the tremor, slimy tentacles shot out and connected with the mob. Seconds later they all turned to dust. A dust that blew away in Kumo’s gale.

  The tentacles retracted before a bigger eruption came scattering leech-like creatures into the air. All of them were the same sickly color as the tentacles.

  As soon as they landed, they darted towards the nearest person and latched themselves onto their skin. It took twenty seconds of them feeding for the person to be sucked dry and become dust like the others.

  Zuls stared in horror. Her emotions were a storm inside her mind. Too many things were happening at once and she wasn’t processing it fast enough.

  Prith shook her shoulders.

  “We need to fight, Zuls. These people need us remember?”

  “Right! Take out the leeches. Do not let them touch you!”

  Kumo summoned a storm cloud. Her armor would protect her from the leech-like creatures, so her focus was to cut down any that went for the citizens.

  Prith went into action with his blade in hand. His movements were much too fast for the leeches and as long as he kept moving, he would be able to slice through any of them that got close.

  Zuls only summoned Sovereign, Hyren, Blink, and Snowfall. She knew the others were much too slow to avoid leeches. She also wasn’t sure if Fort’s shields would repel disease. Her two dragon-like companions had amazing resistances and healing capabilities. Blink would be immune due to his blight magic. Snowfall would be much too fast and would help slow down the leeches.

  She activated her buffs and kept her head on a swivel to look for the any potential weak spots in their defense. Fire streamed out of her mouth as she targeted a group of leeches heading for a building off to her left. Lethal snowflakes shredded any that came close.

  More class chosen came pouring from behind them and started to assist in the defense of the town. Claya stumbled forward and blasted a healing aura out. It was clear she wouldn’t be able to hold out in a marathon fight.

  Still, seeing the townspeople come together and try to fight back to keep their home safe was heartwarming. Zuls respected them for stepping up instead of fleeing or accepting that it was over. Most lacked the drive to run towards the danger.

  The feeling was short lived when an even bigger tremor hit, and another eruption shattered the sound of battle. Zuls looked for the breach and found it behind the wave of class chosen fighting off the first.

  More toxic gas and leeches flooded out of the hole in the ground. More people turned to dust.

  Kumo immediately summoned another gale to keep the toxic gas from touching the gathered class chosen. Unfortunately, that meant blowing it towards the other side of the town. Her only hope was that they were inside and had sealed their homes as best as possible.

  Lightning bolts were coming down and striking the leeches by the dozens. Snowflakes were shredding them into tiny pieces that would sink back into the ground. Flames incinerated them. Blades sliced through them like a hot blade through snow. Someone was using shards of glass to impale them. Another was using sound waves to completely disperse them. Class chosen of all levels were there fighting for the town and still people were dying.

  Leeches were feeding and turning them to dust before retreating back underground. All the class chosen could do was keep fighting until the flood stopped.

  Coughing. Boils popping. People vomiting. Screams.

  That was all Shell could hear as she struck as many of the leeches she could with her water. Her ocarina was held to her lips, and she was trying to drown the sound of horror out with her healing melody. She knew it was her job to try and keep them alive, that’s why each scream made her wince. To her it was a battle of notes. Her enemy used the sound of disgust and pain. She used the sound of flowing water and passion. She pushed her breath into the ocarina harder than ever before to overcome the sounds of the nightmare these people would be having for the rest of their lives. It wasn’t enough. Especially when the leeches all spoke.

  “Feed me! Yes! Feed me more!”

  People were shaking. Others fell to their knees like hope had run dry when they heard the horrible voice that almost felt like their brains were being infected with disgust.

  Zuls summoned Element and had him try to close the holes in the ground. He was able to close the first of the two holes fairly quickly only for it to erupt open once more. The tri-headed bear pushed away the leeches with water and summoned his own gusts of wind to keep away from the toxic gas as he ran to the second hole hoping it would stay closed.

  He was almost there when a third hole opened with a tremor. Dozens of leeches flew into the air and several landed on him. Zuls watched in horror and started running to her bonded. She could feel his pain as the leeches latched onto him through his fur and into his skin. She felt the weakness as the disease started to overcome his internal defenses and flood through his blood. Tears ran down her face as she desperately tried to get to him in time. She knew she wouldn’t. Twenty seconds was too short already and he had four on him.

  She was going to recall him but knew the leeches would go too. Her mind flashbacked to when she found him as a cub. The runt of his family. The outcast that was left out in the cold. He wouldn’t stand not having some type of physical contact with her for the first few months of his life. The separation anxiety was too much.

  Seconds ticked by and he started turning grey. She shouted into the deafening sounds of the battle. She wanted to tell him that she loved him one more time and tell him she was sorry. Then Hyren landed on his back.

  With a roar the small Hydragon bit three of the leaches and tore them off at one time. The last one was squashed flat by her tail. Some color returned to Element, but he was still infected by the horrible plague.

  Instead of turning around, he ran towards the hole and moved the earth completely filling it. He stomped on it to harden it and that seemed to cut one of the streams of gas and leeches.

  Zuls instantly recalled him and then summoned him once more right next to her. She wasn’t sure if he would make it. Vorin was the only one that could save him and it was clear that something big was happening in the other town.

  Even with Element’s impending death, she knew she had to focus and help defend the town. She left him near Shell and rejoined the fight with a burning rage filling her heart.