The sunsets in Balga were a remarkable sight, especially in the warmer months. At this time of the year, the prevailing winds were strong, expelling the eternal fog that dominated the region's landscape. The sun setting over the blue waters of the Vistula Lagoon created an almost magical atmosphere that was contagious to most of its inhabitants. Normally shy and reserved, they surrendered to the lust of the heat, becoming almost permanently friendly and receptive. A period and a state of mind that were being left behind with the approaching winter. Nurse Marielle Bazysnki looked out the window planning to walk with her fiancé along the edge of the lagoon and enjoy the last lights of the departing summer. She was hovering in these thoughts when Agne, the second nurse, interrupted her.
- Marielle, your grace is being urgently called to Dr. Gheller's office!
The tone was urgent and choked; she then made her way to the master doctor's office.
Marielle Bazynski was born and raised in Balga. Descended from the Flemish people who colonized the region from the 11th century on, the family was part of the old Prussian nobility. This nobility was shattered by the invasion of the Teutonic Knights. Her father, a skillful and diplomatic man, had become a valiant vassal of the Empire. More to keep the family in relative comfort and safety, rather than out of desire. But it was all short-lived; he was stripped of all possessions from his vassalage a few years after the Teutonic defeat and the ratification of the peace treaty in Thorn. Both father and mother never fully recovered from the family's decline. Marielle felt the stress of her parents' marriage very strongly. Jan the father, had become distant and spent most of his time hunting in the forests of Elk and Alle. Avha the mother, resigned, looked after the small house near the Vistula beaches.
The young woman knew every street in the Citadel, and most of the residents and their children. Despite her young age, she had already delivered most of the voivodeship's babies. She had become head nurse because she was an excellent assistant for amputations, sutures and childbirth. She was also an expert on the local plants, advising Dr. Gheller himself on the treatments to which they could be applied. She did this without worrying about becoming a witch. The pre-invasion Prussians believed in nature and its powers of healing and regeneration. Even the church had not been able to suppress this habit, so it ignored these practices. She lived in the northern part of the citadel, in the coastal region. Her pleasure and moments of reflection and peace were spent walking along the shores of the Vistula Gulf. She loved the region but regretted not having more warm months to enjoy it in all its exuberance. Small in build but strong in personality, she possessed classic Prussian beauty. Her long black hair and deep blue almond eyes provoked languid looks and desiring sighs from the boys in town. Although committed, she treated everyone with an infectious friendliness, which was sometimes interpreted as flirting by the more eager. All this further contributed to a long list of suitors forming in spite of her wishes. She had been engaged a few weeks ago, and was going through life between her work, preparations for the wedding, and caring for her father and mother.
Walking hurriedly, she already imagined what would have happened. More corpses should have been found and she would assist in the examination and reconstitution of the bodies. At least that was the routine at the hospital since the murders began a few weeks ago. Horrific crimes, terribly mutilated bodies, with a cruelty never seen before. Panic had set in since the first body was found. The inhabitants were attributing the deaths to the various regional urban legends. For Marielle this was all just collective hysteria. She didn't believe in the supernatural. Everything had or should have a satisfactory explanation. What displeased her was the disregard for the citizens of Balga. The security authorities, represented by Sheriff Andruliz, passed as little information as possible to the population. Even the hospital staff was left aside.
Arriving at the office, she was greeted at the door by Gheller.
- Good morning, Marielle, as there are no ways to say this, I will be direct then. I need your help with two more corpses that arrived in the early hours of yesterday morning!
- I expected that, Master Doctor, I see no reason to delay. Where are the bodies? She declared, keeping the doctor's rhythm, to which she was already used.
Surprised, Gheller continued.
- Perhaps things are not that simple my dear; you literally need to recognize one of the bodies, since the family is not in a position to do so!
- Recognize a body? What do you mean, sorry doctor, I know one of the people who was killed? Asked Marielle, taken by surprise.
They went down the stone staircase leading to the Cold Rooms, as they were known in the city, the chambers located in the basement of the hospital. There all the corpses found in the Balga region were stored. Due to their lower temperature than the rest of the city, they were suitable for preserving bodies. Besides being naturally isolated from the other parts of the hospital. Torches whose glow further highlighted the dampness that came from the walls lighted the staircase and the corridor. The difference in temperature was being felt as they went down. The young woman could feel the shivers on her skin, but she wasn't sure if it was because of the drop in temperature, or the growing fear that invaded her. She could sense that the worst was yet to come, in the chambers below.
The main chamber had ten stone beds, arranged in two rows of five. In the background was the hospital scribe. The man, already known to both of them, was at his desk waiting for them; to draw up all the necessary documents for the funeral. The atmosphere was heavy and gloomy and was made even worse by the two bodies, or what was left of them lying frighteningly misshapen, on the beds nearest the scribe. Covered with sheets cruelly splattered with bloodstains, the corpses lay in unlikely positions. Marielle predicted the horror show that she would be forced to watch. Walking almost hypnotized to the first of the bodies she was stopped by the doctor and directed to the other bed. There was the body she was supposed to recognize. She followed Gheller's gentle hand to the edge of the second bed without protest. The visibly distressed scribe hid his expression under his hood. He grieved for the girl, but without any choice, he unceremoniously lifted the sheet.
The state of the corpse was truly frightening. Almost separated in two parts by a wide cut starting from the genitals and going up to the neck, it displayed a hollow thorax. The heart and lungs, as in the other bodies found, had been ripped out. Only the mutilated remains of the intestines and other organs were present. The head, attached to the rest of the body by the spinal column, was in very bad shape. The position, in which the face was, facing the wall behind the bed, prevented its recognition. Gheller, noticing Marielle's difficulty asked the scribe to turn her around. The moments leading up to the recognition seemed to have passed slowly for the young woman, almost frozen in time. The face, although disfigured, was recognized. Marielle felt her body numb. Her mouth trembled frantically, preventing her from speaking. Despite the freezing room, cold sweat dripped from her forehead. The eyes, clouded by tears, went from the corpse to the doctor and from the doctor to the scrivener and back to the body at a dizzying speed. Feeling the blood drain from her face and her vision suddenly darken, Marielle fell into a swoon that for her was a fall to hell. Gheller supported her and at the same time gave a look and a gesture of confirmation to the scribe, who readily agreed. On the cold stone bed in the main chamber of the Balga hospital lay the corpse of Pietr Haskel, Marielle's fiancé.