Hopley village, Marjoram… a few weeks later…
"This looks like a few months old at least." Briar's voice was muffled by the mask. He had just entered the room where a dried husk of a man was uncovered.
"Believe it or not, My lord, this victim had just passed away only this morning, at around three." The knight, Sir Vearn, who headed the investigation handed the needed tools to the prince.
Briar took a few samples before covering the cadaver while listening to the report.
He still could not believe that this victim was only a few hours old. With this mummified state, it would take a few months to achieve.
"Sir Milza is one of the knights from the order of Crimson Wolf. He was perfectly healthy but just a few days ago he had fallen ill." the knight gave his report.
Sir Vearn added. "His health gradually declined and he died. Something had accelerated the decomposition and had reduced him into this state."
"What was the cause of the illness?" Briar inquired as he made his way out of the secluded room. He and Sir Vearn dropped by the washroom to clean up.
"We could not determine that yet, my Lord. But we are sure that the symptoms matched with the other victims."
"What symptoms?" he asked as he finished cleaning with a towel.
"I believe the doctor could answer that, my Lord." Sir Vearn motioned his hand towards the next room whose door had hung ajar. A man who was in his late fifties sat waiting for them.
As soon as the elder man saw them, he stood and bowed before the prince.
"Good afternoon, your highness." The old man greeted. "I am Dr. Clifford."
"Do you have any information about the symptoms for me?" Briar took his seat and motioned the man to have his seat as well.
"At first it started out like a common cold-coughing, sneezing and fever. Then the next few days the victim suffered a severe case of nosebleed, hallucinations and seizures." He said as he fixed his glasses on his nose.
The doctor continued while producing several papers from his case. "Bleeding from ears and even leakage of blood from the eyes occur before the victim succumbs to death. Then the advanced decomposition and drying up of the body occurs."
"Are there any known cause for this illness?" Briar asked.
"Not yet, my lord." The old doctor replied as he laid down some of the accounts that he had recorded regarding the illness. "Although, I was the one who had come to help Sir Milza, I could not determine its cause."
"How about the cure?" Briar inquired as he studied some of the papers.
"I was able to relieve the pain and bring his fever down. But as he had grown worse, I was not able to help him, save for giving him medication for the pain."
Briar asked a couple of questions. "What happened to this knight's family? What did the people say about this event?"
"His family had been quarantined for safety purposes. On the other hand, his household helpers had fled when he has fallen ill." Sir Vearn supplied before the doctor could answer.
"They fled?"
"The servants believed that it might be a curse of some sort. So when they noticed the same symptoms exhibited by the victim, they left." Dr. Clifford answered. "But they never had to worry. The illness was not contagious. If ever it was, we will need to resort to drastic measures."
Briar had fallen into a deep thought. He had seen a certain pattern somewhere but he could not put a finger to it. If this is a curse, a caster might be behind this and for some reasons; Lily's face flashed his mind.
The prince shook his head. It is impossible. He had not seen the princess since their last encounter in Vervain where they took down an old witch. If Lily had truly become a full-fledged caster, then there is a possibility that she might be behind this.
The old man cleared his throat which gained the attention of the young royal. "Can I suggest something, Your Highness?"
Briar nodded.
"Do you think we could hire a caster to create a barrier or cure for this?" Dr. Clifford inquired softly.
Briar had also considered that thought. But he was quite hesitant. "I know of a caster who could help but knowing the history between casters and Marjoram, it would be wise not to get them involved."
"But the king who issued the banishment and the current king are different. They might come and help." The knight seemed to have supported the doctor's suggestion.
"I highly doubt it." Briar said after a few deliberations. "But I might reconsider your suggestion if things get worse than it is. For now since the illness is not contagious, we will conduct further investigation and work on finding more about the case."
The knight and the doctor concurred.
Briar drew a breath. The cases seemed to be isolated for both Marjoram and Azalea. Since the illness is not full blown and contagious, he decided not to enlist the help of the Enclave.
"So how about the other cases?" the prince asked Sir Vearn after he dismissed the doctor. "Do we have any breakthrough?"
"Regarding that… My Lord, I think it will be better if you will see for yourself the site. It is only a few minutes away from here. Sir Vearn cryptically answered.
Hopley's outskirts, almost an hour later…
Briar covered his nose as it was assaulted by a pungent smell. He observed some of the Marjoram knights from the order of Jade Tiger, who had been securing the area.
"We barely touched the bodies, My lord." Sir Vearn said as he led Briar to an area hidden by tall bushes. "We discovered this new area yesterday and we had started with the investigation."
When they entered, the prince could see a couple of knights cleaning up the place. But the stench and residue of black magic still polluted the air.
Briar stopped short and felt rage boiling as he eyed the bodies of children which were strewn across the ground. Some of the bodies had white cloth covering them. The knights had tried to identify them before cleaning them up and sending them back to their families.
"This is not a work of slave traders." He gritted out as he went over some of the bodies with ripped out organs. He noticed that the bodies had already entered rigor mortis. But they cannot be three days old.
He went around and found an altar with a child whose heart had been gouge out. "This is a work of a Caster…"
"We found out as much, My Lord." Sir Vearn said as he had a knight brought some items left by the culprit.
"We could not determine as of yet who the caster was or how many they are. But we managed to retrieve these." Sir Vearn further reported.
Briar put on his glove and took a curved red blade which he recognized as a sacrificial knife. He also eyed the vials which contained concoctions.
"Do you think the illness is coincidental with the bodies found?" he found himself asking the knight.
He shared his deductions. "The curse must have come from here. The caster involved with these atrocious sacrifices must also be the one behind the mysterious illness."
"It is possible, your Highness." The knight nodded but he added. "However, we could not make that conclusion with the investigation in initial stage."
Briar covered the child's body with cloth before issuing an order to the knight.
"Continue with the investigation. Do not stop until the culprit is found. We need to have this senseless murder stopped at all cost."