Time passed as they continued to search, after exploring some holes they realized that if they wanted to investigate all the places they would take time, the dead end forks were extensive and others seemed to have no end, until they came out of another hole and then Arthur spoke.
"There's no way, we're going to have to go in search of that stench to at least find some clue..."
"We still have some time... we must have, I don't know how much time has passed..."
"That's not it, earlier that woman complained again because of the smell, even if the villagers aren't there, she should take us somewhere at least… maybe those strangers went to the source of that stench."
Chris stared with some doubt and looked at some more of the holes in the wall, along with others at the end seeming to evaluate them and think of a solution.
He closed his eyes without having much of a choice and mumbled.
"Yeah, that's got to be it."
The two looked at the regions while trying to concentrate on feeling the source of the horrible smell, feeling all that stench in the place bothered both of them, but focusing on that smell was worse, it was like mixing a little garbage and rotten things and then putting them inside the nose of both, it was difficult to even breathe.
Even if the smell was disturbing, after a few moments the two noticed the smell coming from a slightly deeper part of the cave, Arthur commented.
"Could be coming from there, at least for me... the smell also seems to be increasing as we get closer to the end of here, so we have to go deeper..."
"Yeah… it makes sense, besides their footsteps were kind of far away when we entered the hole, we have to check…"
Both stared at the bottom of the cave, seeming afraid to approach, but the time they had was short and soon the two continued to continue paying more attention to their sense of smell.
As they approached the smell intensified and they realized that they seemed to be arriving, along with the stronger smell they began to hear the sound of something flowing in a slightly lower amount.
Arthur heard that sound and put his ear against the wall, trying to hear more accurately and Chris was silent, realizing the intention next.
With a certain ease, they managed to get closer being guided by smell and hearing, getting closer and closer to the sound of fluids, but before they got anywhere, they heard the sound of water and looking down, Arthur realized that he was stepping on a strange liquid.
The liquid had a brownish color and was flowing for very little, being just a few trickles of water that were gradually going towards the exit of the cave by height, Arthur moved away a little and noticed his wet footprint by the water, making him frown. forehead.
Chris stared at the liquid and followed the path with his eyes, noticing that it came from a large hole in the wall that emanated from some other small paths of water, being the same brownish color similar to dirty water that gave off the bad smell.
Arthur moved away from the wall and stood beside Christopher with a suspicious look, watching the source of the liquid, the swordsman said.
"We think, at least the source of the smell must mean something..."
The blonde listened and nodded and the two approached the hole in the wall, while his boots were soiled by the liquid and made the sound of the footprints seem as if they were a stronger drip in the middle of it.
Facing the hole, they realized that its interior was completely dark and by the shadow that the torch made, they realized that the liquid in the place seemed somehow more concentrated and dark, in addition to seeming to be a little deeper reaching up to above the foot.
Due to the lack of light, they could not see much ahead, but they knew that something was pushing the water towards the exit of the cave and again the two faced each other, confirming with their heads as they decided to continue entering the hole.
The two proceeded to the place where the smell of garbage was, it was as if they were approaching a cemetery opened by the sun.
As they passed through the hole in the cave, their vision was dazzled for a moment, but after a few seconds they saw the place.
The whole place seemed to be a large flat circle, where they could walk quietly despite the water rising to their feet, the torch lit the corners of the walls where they were, but did not reach the other side, indicating that it seemed to be a bigger hole than the previous ones, in addition to there being no forks and seeming no way out.
The sounds of the footsteps together with the dripping seemed even louder, the place seemed to have some form of sound isolation, it was as if only that room existed there, with difficulties to hear even the surroundings.
The whole place reeked to a different extent, Arthur and Christopher felt uncomfortable even while breathing, demonstrating how fetid that place could be.
"What a rotten place… why does it stink so much?"
Even with the torch nearby, the environment was much more extensive to the point that the lantern seemed just a mere bright spot in the middle of all that water.
Arthur's vision was still trying to adjust to that darkness, as he tried to approach the source of the water being guided only by his hearing.
"Don't let the fire fall, that rotten water might manage to put it out."
It was still too dark for the swordsman to see, but soon he seemed to be able to see something in the middle of the darkness, it looked gigantic and it was strange, in addition to the strong smell seeming to focus on her, noticing that the shadow was moving.
While trying to face the surroundings, Chris moved his torch while trying to see the continuity of the wall with the light, but after a few meters it disappeared due to the size of the place.
The blonde sighed and then turned to Arthur who was still looking at nothing.
"Hey Art. I think we can go a little further, I don't see anything..."
Even if he spoke, the swordsman remained silent, staring at what he seemed to see in the midst of all that darkness, even if they couldn't see anything, it was still possible to see at a glance that something was there.
Chris looked suspiciously and pointed at the torch, in front of him it was lit and he noticed something in front of him.
He saw a gigantic form similar to a black tree, its branches were long and crooked, but what was surprising was that some carried several bodies of people still alive, with a branch entering their faces as if making a black mask while other branches intertwined. their bodies and bound them, leaving them in a prone position as if they were sleeping.
The two stared in amazement as they saw the tree that looked ordinary, but had a small hole near the center where it was possible to see the brownish liquid emanating from there, the tree itself being responsible for the liquid.
"What the fuck?"
Arthur questioned as he squinted and Chris stared at him still fearfully.
"Is that what kept the villagers trapped? How could a tree do that?"
"It doesn't look like what was in the notes... they spoke of a living being, but that's just a tree... what were all those drawings for?"
They remained facing the tree, but Arthur soon tightened his bandaged hand and approached the hilt of his sword, holding tightly as he slowly removed it from its sheath, making a sharp metallic sound echo through the place.
"We have to be quick... we're not going to get that answer by looking."
The swordsman gripped the hilt of his sword and felt his burn still sting, but soon he clenched his teeth as he entered a combat stance.
Chris looked at the swordsman positioning himself and before he could say anything, he soon saw the sword rise violently towards one of the lower branches of the tree, cutting it instantly and without resistance.
By violence, the piece was thrown backwards and fell into the water, lifting a little by the fall while making a dripping noise, but soon the water calmed down and the sound disappeared amid all the echo.
The blonde stared doubtfully and turned his eyes to Arthur who was facing the tree staring at his sword, his hand still burning and making him frown, but then he looked back at the black tree and spoke.
"I need you to get them, Chris. I will free them by cutting the branches, we have to try..."
"Hey, can we really do this? If it reacts or the branches attack you, what are we going to do?"
"When that happens, we'll decide, Chris. We need to save these people soon, we don't have much time."
Arthur, in a quick movement, stabs the blade at a low point in the tree, turning the blade and opening a slightly larger and deeper hole, having enough space for something, the swordsman pointed and spoke.
"Let's rescue them, I have the iron sword and you have this sword in flames, we need to act, put it there and make sure you get them."
Soon after, the esopadachim removed the sword and stuck it again in the tree, but now at a higher point and after that he would lean on to start climbing.
The moment he put his foot on the tree leaning on his own arm, soon he felt the burns on his hands hurt again, making him widen his eyes and slip his foot, hitting his face on the tree, realizing that also the bark it was smooth, appearing to be wet and covered with slime.
The impact made the swordsman take his hand to his face, feeling the pain as he grunted, Chris from afar spoke.
"Arth-"
But before he approached, Arthur gathered strength and leaned on the sword, even feeling the pain and discomfort, he soon began to climb, using the support sword to climb difficult areas while approaching the highest branches that held people .
"Do it, Chris. We do not have time!"
Arthur yelled at the blonde even grunting a little from the effort and pain he felt as he gradually climbed, feeling the pain in his palms as he climbed, but without looking back just insisting on climbing.
Chris could only watch while biting his lips, but soon he put the hilt of the sword inside the hole so that the blade's fire would stay in a place without risk of falling and soon the blonde ran to the other side, going both to rescue the bodies.