In the early morning, as light rain fell, Charles donned a wide-brimmed leather hat and oiled leather cloak before heading toward the village temple. Though the weather wasn't as severe as during yesterday's downpour, the saturated ground still made travel difficult.
When he reached the temple entrance, a guard blocked his way. Charles had to show his identification papers from the guild before being allowed to pass. After the verification process, he entered the temple and courteously greeted Priest Gerard, the caretaker of this place.
"Good morning," Charles said in greeting, slightly tipping his hat in respect.
"Good morning, you're..." Father Gerard returned the greeting, remembering only that he was the young man who had attended yesterday's funeral.
"I'm Charles Ravencroft, detective from the guild," Charles continued. "Has the forensic examiner arrived yet?"
"Good morning, Detective Ravencroft. I'm Gerard, the village priest. As for the examiner you asked about, they haven't arrived yet," the priest shook his head. "If they don't come soon, it'll probably be this afternoon."
"In that case, may I wait in the temple?"
"Of course, the Great Scribe welcomes everyone," the priest said, bringing his hands together in the symbol of prayer to the great wheel.
"Would you like to join us in prayer while you wait?"
"I'll have to decline."
"I understand. Please, make yourself comfortable inside," Father Gerard nodded understandingly, thinking that Charles might follow a different faith and thus couldn't join in their prayers to their deity, lest it be seen as disrespectful to his own gods.
Charles removed his cloak and hung it by the door before entering with reverent steps, careful not to show any disrespect in this sacred place. He sat listening to the prayers for quite some time, his gaze fixed on the religious symbols adorning the temple's central wall - an intricately carved wheel depicting beautiful stories, representing the endless cycle of existence.
Suddenly, the wooden door at the back creaked open. Charles turned to see a tall, thin middle-aged man in black clothing enter. His hair was black streaked with gray, and he wore a mustache. His face and eyes carried a cold, distant expression.
Father Gerard fell silent and rose to greet the newcomer with a welcoming expression. "Welcome, you are...?"
"My name is Elias Harper, a doctor from the capital. I've come as requested."
"I am Gerard, the priest of this temple," he introduced himself. "The bodies you need to examine are in the inner room. Please, this way."
As the two began walking toward the morgue, Charles rose from his seat and followed. Elias noticed the young man and turned to look at him, studying him carefully.
"Excuse me, but who are you? You don't look like a soldier or local."
"Pardon my lack of introduction. I'm Charles Ravencroft, a detective from the guild."
Elias raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Ah, so you're the famous detective."
"Oh, you know of me? I'm honored."
"No, I should be the one honored to meet someone of your reputation," Elias offered a slight smile.
Charles observed the doctor's demeanor with satisfaction. Though outwardly cold and distant, his manner and speech were surprisingly polite and friendly.
Father Gerard, who had been listening quietly, asked, "Do you two know each other?"
"No, we've just met for the first time now, but Detective Ravencroft's reputation is quite well-known in the capital. Over the past year, many cases have been solved by him."
After hearing this explanation, the priest nodded in acknowledgment and continued leading them both to the morgue.
Along the way, Elias opened a conversation with Charles. "What brings a detective to this village?"
"Initially, I was hired to find a missing necklace for my client in this village. However, the strange deaths here caught my interest, so I decided to stay and investigate further. You must have heard about the unnatural deaths in the village - people are saying it might be the work of witches or evil spirits." Charles introduced the topic using the rumors as a starting point.
"Oh, I don't put much stock in stories of witches. There must be a more logical and reasonable explanation."
"Let's hope you're right. With any luck, we'll figure out what's happening and find a way to prevent more deaths," Charles said firmly.
The three stopped before a large wooden door with a sign reading "Morgue." The priest pushed open the door, letting lamplight spill out from within.
The room was spacious and rectangular, with polished dark wooden floorboards and clean white-painted brick walls. A large marble table stood in the center, surrounded by orderly shelves of medical instruments. It was evident that everything had been well-prepared for the forensic examination.
Upon entering, Elias placed his personal medical bag down and opened it carefully. Inside were various instruments such as surgical knives, scissors, forceps, suture needles, and magnifying glasses, all neatly arranged. He then walked to the metal washbasin to thoroughly clean his hands and arms before meticulously donning thin leather gloves.
There were two bodies in the room. The first was Thomas Wright, the man who died in the forest near the village, son of Edmund's former fellow soldier. The other was the body that had fallen from the coffin during yesterday's burial ceremony. Due to the fear that incident had caused among the funeral attendees, Father Gerard had been forced to halt the burial and wait for expert examination.
Two bodies lay on the marble table. Elias began examining the first - Thomas, the young man found in the forest. He started by noting the external condition of the corpse in a small notebook, documenting everything from skin color to muscle rigidity to external wounds. He then turned the body to examine the sides and back, using his magnifying glass to inspect small areas like under the fingernails and toenails, joint folds, and even inside the mouth and nose.
After completing the external examination, he picked up his surgical knife and scissors, preparing to open the body to examine the internal organs. Elias's face was intense and focused, knowing that every detail he discovered could be crucial evidence leading to the truth.
After thoroughly examining both bodies, Elias let out a heavy sigh. His expression showed a mixture of surprise and puzzlement.
"On Thomas Wright's body, I found bruising from severe beating before death. From my examination, it appears both victims ingested lethal amounts of ergot fungus poison," he concluded.
The mention of poison and fungus left the priest confused, while Charles wondered about this unfamiliar fungus name.
"What exactly is ergot?" Charles asked.
Elias began explaining, "Ergot is a fungus that grows on rye grain, especially in warm and humid conditions. It forms purple-black kernels in place of normal grain. These kernels contain several dangerous toxins collectively called ergot alkaloids."
Elias took out a paper and drew an illustration to clarify his explanation, showing a rye head with abnormal black kernels protruding from it.
"When harvesting grain containing this fungus and grinding it into flour for bread, anyone who eats it will ingest these toxins, which have quite severe effects. This causes a disease called ergotism, or as the brilliant Howard Martinsen, who discovered this disease, liked to call it, 'St. Anthony's Holy Fire.'"
"What are the symptoms of this disease?" Charles asked with interest.
"The symptoms fall into two main categories. The first group affects the nervous system, causing numbness, burning pain in the limbs, seizures, delirium, hallucinations, and in some cases, death from respiratory failure due to muscle paralysis."
Elias drew twisted, pain-wracked limbs on his illustration.
"The other group develops gangrene, where the body's peripheral tissues gradually die and decay due to insufficient blood flow. The skin turns blackish, and it may progress until amputation becomes necessary."
"That's more horrific than I imagined. Is there any way to treat or prevent it?" Charles asked with a concerned expression.
"The best method is prevention from the start, by separating infected seeds before grinding them into flour. But if someone has already ingested it, they need to be given activated charcoal quickly to absorb the toxins in the stomach, along with cold compresses on affected areas and anti-seizure medication. If conditions don't improve, affected limbs may need to be amputated to prevent spread."
Elias paused briefly before adding, "And interestingly, the toxins from this fungus can cause muscle spasms even after death."
Charles raised an eyebrow with interest. "You mean the incident with the corpse twitching during yesterday's funeral?"
"Yes," Elias nodded. "The corpse's movement, while alarming, has an explanation. Several factors can cause this phenomenon."
He began explaining in detail, "First, there's a condition called cadaveric spasm, which typically occurs when the deceased used their muscles intensely before death. Additionally, the ergot toxins we found in the victim's body affect the nervous system and muscles, which can cause muscle contractions even after death."
Elias walked around the table, examining the bodies carefully. "There are other factors too, such as post-mortem chemical changes, or even environmental changes like temperature and humidity that can cause muscle contractions."
"While frightening, these events aren't abnormal in forensic medicine. However, in this case, the movements may have been more violent than usual due to the high concentration of ergot toxins in the deceased's body," Elias concluded.
Charles nodded in understanding. "Thank you for the explanation, Doctor. Knowing the true cause helps dispel beliefs about curses or supernatural phenomena."
Father Gerard, who had been listening quietly, asked, "Earlier, you mentioned some kind of charcoal?" the priest repeated confusedly.
Elias took out a small bag containing black powder from his case.
"This is activated charcoal. It's charcoal processed to have a large surface area, making it excellent at absorbing various substances, including certain poisons."
He then placed the bag on the table and poured a small amount of powder onto paper to demonstrate.
"Activated charcoal helps absorb toxins in the stomach, reducing their absorption into the body," Elias explained.
"Ah... Dr. Harper, could we have explanations that villagers can understand? Some technical terms might be unfamiliar and could cause more confusion," Charles raised his hand before speaking, turning toward Father Gerard.
Father Gerard nodded in agreement with Charles's words.
"Ahem... my apologies, I got carried away," Dr. Elias looked slightly embarrassed. "To put it simply, activated charcoal helps prevent poison from being absorbed by the body, and if given early enough, it can help relieve symptoms from poisoning."
Elias concluded, while putting the charcoal bag away.
"However, this charcoal isn't a miracle cure. After using it, one should still seek expert medical attention for complete detoxification."
"Where can we get more activated charcoal?" Father Gerard asked.
"You might find some at apothecaries, or perhaps herbalists might have it," Elias answered.
"So ordinary people can access it?"
"Yes, and if you can't find any, finely ground ash from regular charcoal can be used as a substitute."
"I see. So this village is experiencing an outbreak of grain fungus?" Charles summarized what he'd heard from Elias.
"Correct. We need to collect samples from the villagers' granaries and fields for testing to assess the severity. We must also stress to everyone the importance of being careful with their food. Anyone who might have ingested it should come see me - we'll help treat them in time."
"I'll go inform the village head right away," Father Gerard volunteered.
"Then I must thank you, Doctor, for solving this important mystery. Hopefully, no more villagers will die from these symptoms this year."
Before the priest could leave, Charles called out to stop him.
"Wait a moment! You just said 'this year' - does that mean this happened last year too?"
"Yes, the previous village head had similar symptoms to what the doctor described. We thought he died from a strange illness and old age. Who knew there was such a deadly poison involved?" The priest sighed heavily before leaving the room.
"Dr. Harper, do you have time for a consultation after this?" Charles asked.
"Of course, I'm free until more bodies arrive or someone brings grain samples for me to examine."
"Then let's talk somewhere else. The atmosphere in the morgue isn't very pleasant," Charles glanced uneasily at the lifeless bodies on the marble table.
"Agreed. Bear with me a moment while I pack up, then I'll join you."
Charles nodded and walked out, leaving Elias to return his remaining instruments to his bag. He then left the room with a thoughtful expression, leaving only the dim lamplight casting shadows across the pale faces of the dead.
Outside, the rain continued to fall lightly, and the dark sky near dusk cast a dim light, shrouding everything in a gloomy atmosphere.