Once the town silhouette became somewhat visible from a distance, Kael slowed down to let Feye catch her breath.
However, when they reached the stone bridge leading to the town's gate, their eyes widened as their faces were filled with terror.
The bridge was now a storage for broken carts and abandoned belongings. The ground was filled with the wood of shattered barrels and clothes sporadically thrown around, making it hard to navigate, so Kael decided to hop off Feye and guide her through the mess.
The large wooden gate was now splintered. One of the doors collapsed to the ground, while the other barely held onto the hinges of the snapped frame.
Once Kael stepped past the stone wall that circled the town, which was now barely holding its shape together, the town became visible to their eyes, which immediately opened wide in shock.
The houses had collapsed inward, with some roofs caved inside and some others now part of the wreckage that they were reduced to. Red, weathering vines that looked like a parasitic creature grew alongside the walls of the still-intact houses.
The streets were littered with bodies, each covered in blood and dirt, and showing withered limbs as they lay motionless.
"This is worse than I thought," Kael mumbled as he guided them to the town square.
In there, a large tent was set up. Its walls and roof were covered with blood and mud that they gathered while they were thrown on the ground before it was built up, and some of its pegs looked as if they were about to shoot out of their place.
Kael wanted to see what was inside, so he turned to Aksa and said, "Stay here, I'll go look inside for a moment."
Aksa quickly nodded before he hopped off Feye, watching Kael enter carefully as he stood next to her.
Inside, the stench of blood filled the air as the tent was filled with those struggling to stay alive, moaning in pain and discomfort.
Some with burn marks, Others with grave wounds from the collapsing of the houses, and others from the rot that had spread through their bodies.
Although the last group was mostly a lost cause, they still held to life, even with their bodies withering and rotting slowly.
Healers rushed around them, wearing masks that resembled those that doctors wore in the plague, just with a more sturdy and hard frame, and designed and modified specifically to block the rot from reaching their bodies.
Suddenly, one of the medics appeared before Kael, reaching for his face and inspecting it before she suddenly spoke, "Are you ok, sir? Do you need help with anything?"
Although he couldn't see her face, Kael could hear the worry in her voice easily. He quickly shook his head before calmly answering, "No, but... How did it become this bad?"
"I-uh... I don't know. When we reached this town, it was already in shambles," The medic answered as she let out a heavy sigh.
"Hey, can I ask for a favor. There is a small white flower that grows in the swamps to the right of this town. We need it to at least slow the spread of the rot in the body, but the water there is infested with aquatic abnormalities, and the guards are busy right now." She said.
"You look like a hunter, so I thought you could help us get some. It should be easy to spot since it's the only one with that color there," she added.
"I don't mind that at all, but can you help us with something?" Kael immediately replied.
"Ask what you want, and I'll try my best to help you," She said as she reached for his hand, he voice desperate.
"Just a place for two to sleep tonight," Kael replied, "We were heading to the capital, but I need to rest tonight since I didn't sleep last night."
"I can definitely help with that," she quickly answered, "It would be ready by the time you come back."
Kael nodded slightly before he turned around and stepped outside the tent.
Outside, Aksa stood still as he watched the guards who were covered in thick armor shouting loudly, guiding everyone who could still walk towards the gate on the side of the town, since it was opened to the road leading directly to the capital.
Since the town was built on three different hills separated by a split in the land, it was connected through stone bridges.
People were struggling to pass through, pushing each other as everyone wanted to pass through, since they all wanted to stay alive, so the guards had to keep an eye on them, making sure they remained regulated, as some had already fallen from the bridge to their deaths.
Once Aksa turned his head away from the guards, he saw Kael heading towards them. When he got close, he jolted his head slightly to the side, signaling for him to get on the horse.
"Are we moving with them?" Aksa asked as he pointed at the people.
"No, we are gonna do that tomorrow. It's time for you to learn how to use that bow," Kael answered as he hopped on Feye. "We're going to head into the swamps we saw earlier."
"Huh? Why?" Aksa asked in puzzlement.
"The medic wanted me to bring her something from there in exchange for finding us somewhere to sleep tonight," Kael answered calmly as he turned Feye around.
"But, you only gave me the bow. What about the arrows?" Aksa added.
"Don't worry, I made some," Kael laughed slightly as he answered, "I'm not an idiot to make a bow without arrows. They are in the bags next to you. I just put them there since I made them first."
"Oh, I see," Said Aksa as he let out a chuckle, shaking his head slightly, "I'm just dumb."
***
As they slowly entered the swamp, Aksa noticed was the air was unusually thick. Then, his nose wrinkled as he suddenly caught the smell of stagnant water and spoiled meat.
His arm instinctively moved, covering his nose as he started coughing slightly.
"Never been to a swamp before?" Kael asked as he guided Feye through the twisted trees and thick water that covered the ground.
"Uh, n-no," Aksa answered as he shook his head in disgust. "Do they usually smell this bad?"
"More or less, yes," Kael replied, "Dead bodies are disposed of here, that's why it smells so rotten."
Suddenly, Feye stopped, and Kael's head jolted slightly up before becoming completely silent. Aksa tried asking what was wrong, but Kael quickly raised his hand to stop him before putting his finger to his mouth, telling him to shush.
Aksa nodded, then leaned slightly to the side before looking where Kael started pointing with his other hand.
Far from them, he saw something moving in the water. It wasn't fully clear, but it looked like a mixture of a snake and a fish.
A small grin appeared on Kael's face before he carefully got off Feye. He then slightly nudged Aksa, who was still squinting his eyes to see the creature, before whispering, "Come on. It's our chance."
Kael pulled the arrows he had made out of the bag and handed them to Aksa after he slowly got off the horse.
They were simple wood arrows with a grooved base to help with alignment with the bow string, however, the tips looked slightly discolored than the rest of the body.
"Why does the tip look weird?" Aksa asked as he showed one of the arrows to Kael.
"You will know soon," Kael replied before telling him to follow behind.
They moved closer to where the creature was swimming and used a large boulder stuck in the ground to hide behind it. Kael then showed Aksa how to hold the bow in his hand and helped him position the arrow on the string.
"Now then," Kael put his hand on Aksa's while he stood behind him. "Hold the base tightly and don't let go until I tell you to."
Aksa quickly nodded.
"Now start pulling the string back," Kael said before he started moving his hand with the motion of Aksa's hand, simply guiding it to stay aligned. "Bend your elbow as you pull and keep your breath steady."
Once the arrow reached near the boy's chest, Kael whispered, "Now hold, and don't let go until I tell you to."
Kael kept watching how the creature moved as he held his arm up, his palm open.
"Hold..."
"Hold..."
Aksa's hand started shaking, but he tried to keep the arrow as steady as he could. A few moments passed, and Aksa's arm started getting tired, and his hand started shaking more.
"Kael, I-" He tried to tell Kael, but he quickly interrupted him.
"Hold..." Kael kept his eyes focused on the creature. He was trying to understand the movement pattern that the creature was following, squinting his eyes to ensure he saw every movement.
Aksa gritted his teeth, his hand on the verge of letting go at any moment. However, before Aksa was about to give up, Kael screamed.
"Now!"