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Chapter 6: The Stench of Death
Carina decided that the best way to avoid being noticed while entering the slums was to take a page from Eleanora’s book. It took a few last-minute adjustments to make the smallest knight uniform fit comfortably, but it was passable enough with the added jacket, cloak, and hood to mask the tapered and rolled ends.
“By the time we reach the slums, it will be too dark for anyone to notice,” Carina muttered as she adjusted the belt one more time, then twisted from side to side to check her flexibility. “I’ll need to have a uniform tailor-made in the future.”
A knock at the door preceded Hana’s entrance. The Viscountess tilted her head and quickly hid a smile as she moved over to study the Duchess’s garments. “Is this necessary, Kirsi?”
“I just want to get in and out without arousing suspicion,” Carina explained with a shrug of her shoulder. “People will start asking questions if the Duchess of Bastiallano were to visit a slum hospital so late in the day.”
“You want to avoid creating a public panic?”
“Yes. Lafeara has a history of treating its plague victims like witches.” The Duchess shook her head as she moved over to a chest beside the closet and pulled out the twin silver daggers that she had purchased from Iker, the Master Blacksmith.
“And what if it is the Plague?”
“Then we set up quarantine as planned,” Carina replied as she secured one dagger to the belt at her waist, then tied the other to her leg before tucking it under the cotton trousers. “It will be easier to manage with Bastiallano’s manpower.”
“If only you would use that manpower to ensure that you are properly protected,” Hana retorted as she folded her arms.
“Don’t worry,” Carina replied with a quick smile as she dropped her boot off the chest and turned to face the waiting, fretting Viscountess. “I won’t be gone long, and Lumi will be with me.” She tapped Viktor’s bracelet pointedly.
Hana shook her head and stepped forward to embrace the Duchess in a tight hug. “Just come back safely.”
‘There it is again. The tremble in her voice as if she’s afraid I’ll disappear.’ Carina returned the hug awkwardly but straightened when a knock came on the other side of her bedroom door.
“Your Grace?”
“That’s Colonel Isaac,” Carina murmured as she stepped back and touched Hana’s cheek lightly. “Look after Ivy for me?”
“Of course, I already said that I would.”
The Duchess nodded as she stared into the Viscountess's turquoise-blue eyes, mesmerized by the tiny flecks of gold now visible against their blue sheen. “I should get going.”
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Colonel Isaac looked the Duchess’s outfit up and down briefly before passing a small sword to her. “Take this, Your Grace.”
“A sword?” Carina arched a brow and swept back her cloak to reveal the dagger at her waist. “I already have a weapon.”
“It never hurts to have two, and this one will keep the enemy further away,” the Colonel retorted as he thrust the sheathed blade closer.
“I thought that’s what you and the knights were for?”
Isaac offered her a tight smile. “If drunken riffraff is all we have to worry about, then you won’t have to use either the sword or your dagger. But I prefer to be prepared for the sort of trouble one doesn’t expect.”
Carina sighed as she accepted the offered weapon and studied it critically. “It looks small—for a sword.”
“That’s because it was crafted for a child.”
The Duchess’s expression soured as she raised her gaze to the Colonel. “I see.”
“It’s a good training sword until you get comfortable enough to try something bigger,” Isaac replied with a deflective shrug. “Shall I show you how to wear it, your Grace?”
“No,” Carina all but growled. ‘Sometimes, I can’t tell if he’s mocking me or truly worried for my safety.’
The Duchess tossed her cloak back with an irritated sigh and quickly pulled a leather slip and its iron hook towards the front of her waist. After clipping the sword’s sheath into place, Carina glanced back up at the Colonel, who nodded his approval.
“If you’re ready then, your Grace. The men are waiting outside.”
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Including Colonel Isaac, a total of six knights escorted Carina into the slums district. Although the men and horses were all garbed in dark leather that was neither eye-catching nor reflective, their number and the knights' rather frigid behavior still managed to grab attention.
‘They look like knights even without a uniform.’ Carina sighed as she focused on Isaac, who rode just ahead of her, leading the way to Bridgewater Lane, where the hospital erected under Frost’s name was located. ‘I haven’t seen it in person yet. Hopefully, my first visit won’t—’
A flutter of wings snapped the Duchess’s gaze towards the rooftops above her. A large bird, bigger than a crow but just as dark and menacing, cawed loudly as it circled above them before flying away.
“A raven,” muttered the knight beside her as he slowly lowered his crossbow. “Probably scavenging for food.”
“The sound of wings flapping is beginning to irk me,” Carina muttered as her gaze returned to the street ahead.
“Well, if you don’t like crows or ravens, your Grace should make use of the Duchy’s falcons,” Isaac called back calmly. “They’ve been highly trained to keep away—pests.”
“Really?” Carina arched a brow. ‘Is that because the previous Duchess was aware that witches used crows to spy and carry messages?’ It did make sense, given the previous Duchess had been Octavia.
The sound of feet scuffling away into a dark alley beside them turned the Duchess’s attention once more.
“The Foxes have noticed our arrival,” the knight who rode beside Carina muttered darkly.
“Then let us hope they remain at a distance,” Isaac replied as he gestured towards a battered street sign. “The hospital should be just ahead, your Grace.”
Carina nodded, and they continued forward. Her eyes lingered on the sign, which was newly installed and yet heavily damaged. What had once read, ‘Bridgewater Lane Hospital Ahead,’ was now barely legible.
‘But why would they be opposed to a hospital here? Especially given the treatment is all but free for locals.’
The hospital was easy enough to spot, not just because of the glowing lanterns that adorned the wide porch front. Compared to the size of much smaller, rundown neighboring buildings around it, it could have been an inn or small Manor. Carina studied the nearby houses that all lacked a proper door and unbroken windows.
‘If they’re abandoned, I should see about purchasing more space around the hospital. We still need to build a wall for a perimeter, and the extra space can be used to set up tents if needed.’
The knights dismounted around her, and Carina followed suit. She groaned as her feet touched the ground; the stiffness of her lower body after three days in bed did not bode well. ‘I need to get in more practice before the Royal Hunt begins.’
The sound of a bolt sliding free pulled the Duchess's attention back to the hospital, where a nurse with a lantern appeared, wearing a white handkerchief over her face.
“Good evening, gentlemen,” the woman said hesitantly as she eyed the knights’ rather inconspicuous apparel. “I’m afraid this hospital is only open to emergencies at the moment. Perhaps you might be more comfortable seeking treatment at—”
“We’re not here for treatment,” Carina interjected as she moved quickly to the front to stand beside Isaac. “I’m here to speak with Physician Devin and Physician Tobias if he is still here.”
The nurse narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she backed towards the door. “If you don’t need treatment, then all the more reason you should leave.”
“Wait!” Carina quickly pulled out a letter she had prepared and held it up to show Frost’s symbol. “Can you deliver this to Lord Devin and inform him that Lady Aconitum is here as requested for an inspection?”
“Lady Aconitum?” The woman visibly wavered and then held out her hand. “Alright, I’ll deliver the letter. But you’ll have to wait outside until I get Lord Devin’s permission.”
‘Lord Devin? Good grief.’ Carina masked her impatience as she slowly approached the nurse at the top of the porch steps and held out the sealed envelope.
The woman snatched the letter, spun quickly towards the hospital door, then slammed it shut behind her.
“What in the world?” Carina gawked at the bottom of the porch steps as she listened to the sound of a bolt sliding into place before the nurse ran further inside the hospital.
“Should we kick the door in, your Grace?”
The Duchess turned sharply towards the group of knights who waited behind her. “I would prefer it if we did not damage my hospital. They have every right to be cautious.”
‘Although this behavior is a bit more than I expected. Just how serious of an illness are we dealing with?’
“It looks like they have good reason to be on guard,” Isaac muttered as he moved up the porch steps and motioned toward several black stains on the floorboards. “Someone tried starting a fire here.”
Carina’s eyes narrowed quickly. ‘This sort of behavior had been rather common while the hospital was being built, but it stopped after Physician Devin began offering treatment.’
“Have the men search the exterior for any more signs of vandalism,” the Duchess ordered sternly.
Two pairs of knights broke away to circle the hospital leaving Isaac and the knight with a crossbow beside her.
“Sun's gone down,” Isaac observed with annoyance as he leaned against the porch post to wait. “It's getting darker by the minute.”
“Those Foxes aren’t going to like us being here after curfew,” growled the knight beside him.
‘The Foxes,’ Carina eyed the rooftops around them warily. ‘I heard they lost their Fox Master. I wonder who’s leading them now?’
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The snap of a bolt turned the Duchess back to the hospital door. This time a man appeared, dressed in a simple gray shirt and trousers with a long, brown smock around his waist and a white handkerchief tied over his mouth and nose. “Lady Aconitum?”
“In the flesh,” Carina confirmed as she took a step towards him. The physician hastily moved back a step but left the door open. “And who do I have the pleasure of greeting?”
“Ah! My apologies. I am Mr. Eckard. Physician Devin’s assistant.”
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Eckard,” Carina replied as she pulled out her own prepared handkerchief and tied it across her face.
Eckard watched as the knights behind the Duchess mimicked her actions. “Forgive me, my Lady. But now is not a good time to visit the hospital.”
“I am aware.” Carina stepped towards the door and placed a hand against it firmly. “Lord Tobias sent me a report on the current situation. Is he still here?”
“He—is, my Lady,” Eckard confirmed as his gaze moved from Carina’s hand on the door to the knights behind her. “If you must enter, please only bring one of your men with you.”
“Very well.” The Duchess glanced back at Isaac, who nodded and signaled to the knight beside him. “Then take us to Lord Tobias first.”
“Of course.” Eckard retreated further inside, then waited for Carina and Isaac to enter before he closed the door and proceeded through the entryway into the left hallway. “Lord Tobias insisted on waiting for you to confirm the illness before leaving. He is with Physician Devin in the west wing.”
“I take it the hospital is closed to everyone who doesn’t show symptoms of this new illness?”
“Yes. And we’ve separated the patients that we’ve already taken in accordingly. The east wing contains patients with normal injuries and maladies. Most of them will be discharged in the next few days. Physician Devin has left them in my care while he manages the west wing.”
“This hospital is supposed to have two physicians, four orderlies, and ten nurses,” Carina murmured worriedly.
Eckard nodded. “That would be correct, my Lady. However, only two orderlies and four nurses cover the night shift.” He paused as they reached a closed door at the end of the hall. “Unfortunately, half of our nurses handed in their notice today, so we are a bit short-staffed at the moment.”
“What?” Carina gritted her teeth. ‘So much for containing whatever this is. I’ll have to track them down to be sure they don’t spread unnecessary gossip.’
“That many?” Isaac muttered with noted concern. “Then, is it..?”
“I’m afraid that I have little information to offer you,” Eckard replied bluntly. “But I believe that is why Lord Tobias sent for you, my Lady. I can only say that the disease appears to be lethal. The patients only started pouring in yesterday, and we lost one of them early this morning.”
‘That quickly.’ Carina felt a chill run through her. ‘They don’t have antibiotics in this world, just herbs, magic, and superstitious beliefs. Fortunately, some of the local herbs in Lafeara can be used to mitigate minor to moderate infections and fevers. But only rare herbs grown on Strugna’s northern shores are capable of combatting the severe symptoms of the plague.’
Try as Carina might to recreate what little she remembered of the process involved with developing antibiotics from homegrown mold; there was a lot more to it than waiting for the mold to turn the right “blue-green” color and scrap it off a piece of fruit.
‘Which is why Lord Tobias’s method of inoculation is the safest bet. It helped turn the tide of the plague in the previous timeline. If we introduce the procedure early enough this time, more lives might be spared, and the spread better controlled.’
The plan was simple enough. With Lord Tobias on board and already prepared to begin his rather unorthodox treatment at the first sign of the plague, they had only to wait for the illness to emerge. The first origins of the outbreak had begun in the slums, hence the critical importance of having a hospital and physicians here that did not report to the Royal Medical Office. If Cerberus could provide visible proof of the effect of inoculation, it would be easier to persuade the Crown Prince to accept Tobias’s work as a suitable treatment for the general public.
‘In the past, it was only after Nicholas himself became ill that he was desperate enough to allow Tobias to treat him. Once the Crown Prince recovered, the Royal Medical Office had no choice but to accept Tobias’s method and allowed him to teach his treatment to any physician or common doctor willing to learn.’
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The Duchess straightened as Eckard knocked on the door loudly. A short while later, the door opened, and Lord Tobias appeared. The physician narrowed his eyes on Carina and Isaac for a moment before he nodded towards the Duchess with a low chuckle. “A new disguise, your Grace?”
“A traveling precaution,” Carina replied from behind her mask. “I apologize for making you wait. Have you been able to determine what illness we are dealing with?”
Tobias held up a cautioning hand as she stepped closer. “Forgive me, your Grace, but perhaps we should talk out here.”
“I would prefer to see it with my own eyes,” Carina replied firmly.
While Maura had been spared the worst of the plague, the half-blood had witnessed the early symptoms among several of the palace maids, who died shortly thereafter. High fever and a noticeable rash appeared first, followed by festering boils, weakness of breath, and the sudden inability to stay awake.
Once the plague entered the fortress walls, each royal palace was locked down with minimal staffing. Only trusted knights were permitted to enter or leave, and then only when necessary to procure food carts prepared and left at the gate.
Maura had been lucky enough to slip inside Rose Palace before Eleanora barred the doors. She lived off scraps while hiding in the walls, terrified that she would be thrown out to die the moment she was spotted.
It was Hana who found her a few days later. The Queen’s favored lady-in-waiting slid what food and water she could spare behind the secret wall at night to keep Maura alive until the plague finally passed.
“I understand your Grace,” Tobias continued stubbornly. “But the risk of exposure—”
“I have taken every necessary precaution,” Carina replied as she motioned toward her mask. “These are coated with the same herbal protection as your own.”
The Physician sighed and glanced from Carina to Isaac. “It is also a grizzly sight, your Grace.”
Carina dropped her hand with a snort. ‘Is it my new title or my sex that suddenly concerns you?’
“Step aside, Lord Tobias,” she ordered, inflecting all the authority she could muster into her words.
Tobias sucked in a sharp breath, then glanced at Isaac as if seeking help before he exhaled in defeat and stepped back into the room. “Very well, your Grace. This way.”
The smell was the first thing Carina noticed as she crossed the threshold. The powerfully rancid stench made her eyes water and invaded her mouth and nose despite the mask she wore.
A table of prepared herbs waited just beside the door: dried roots thinly sliced laid out on dry paper, orange bulbs in jars of water, and various colored herbal leaves sectioned into a makeshift container of small squares. On the far end of the table sat a box of bandages nearly empty.
Further in, a built-in stove gave off a warm light as a medium black pot let out a trail of steam pulled up through the central vent above. A nurse waited beside the stove, wiping sweat from her neck as she occasionally stirred the pot.
Twenty beds lined both sides of the long room, each separated from the other by layered curtains. The first few beds were empty. Carina quickly focused her attention on the far side of the room, where visible finger and handprints now blemished the once clean gray curtains in blood or some other unrecognizable fluid.
At the far table near these curtains was a brass bucket filled with used bandages and scraps of clothes. The table itself held a few prepared bandages, some cutting scissors, and several bowls of prepared poultices.
Another nurse stood beside the table, filling six cups on a tray with a thin broth. She glanced up from her work to study them curiously but quickly lowered her gaze as the curtain behind her moved. A physician, wearing the same brown smock as Eckard, appeared with a knife and plate in each of his gloved hands.
Carina’s gaze focused on the plate that Physician Devin carried, which was filled with a dark green pustule residue that made her stomach flip unpleasantly.
“Ahh, Lady Aconitum,” Devin greeted in a tired voice as he set down the objects he carried and hastily pulled a damp cloth over the plate. “I see Lord Tobias was unsuccessful in convincing you to wait in safety.”
“I appreciate your concern, Physician Devin,” Carina replied as she took in the quiet groans and weak sobs around them. “Now, can one of you tell me what we’re dealing with?”
Devin glanced at Tobias and then sighed. “Since you are here, it would be easier to show you.” The physician turned towards a different bed than the one he had left and motioned for Carina to follow. The Duchess hesitated as she watched Tobias pull on a pair of gloves, his gaze focused on the plate that Devin had left on the table.
“It appears to be highly contagious,” Devin explained somberly as he pushed a curtain aside and waved Carina to enter first. “So keep your distance.”
The Duchess entered the narrow space and gazed at the patient lying in bed before her. Given her current condition, the woman's age was difficult to assess, no younger than twenty but certainly no older than thirty. Her pale face was covered in a sheen of sweat. Her mouth hung open, but Carina could barely detect the sound of her breath. The woman's gaudy outfit, a scarlet and black dress with a rather revealing low-cut neckline, only emphasized the bubbled red rash that covered her bosom and neck.
“Her name is Samantha. She’s a local streetwalker,” Devin explained as he moved around the bed. “She came in with one of her younger brothers this afternoon with the rash you see there. A cough, fever, sweat, shortness of breath, inability to keep down anything, including water.”
“All symptoms similar to the plague,” Tobias added as he pushed through the curtain behind them.
“Except for one,” Devin confirmed grimly.
Carina pressed a hand against her stomach as the sickening twist of nausea tightened into a fist of fear. The rancid smell intensified as Devin pulled back the thin blanket over the woman’s stomach. A layer of bandages seeping with green and black fluids lay across her abdomen.
The Duchess's breathing shortened into tight breaths. Beside her, even Isaac inhaled sharply as Devin slowly peeled the bandages aside. The sound of tearing flesh sent a shiver down Carina’s spine as the sudden need to run and find fresh air nearly overwhelmed her. She locked her legs in place and blinked rapidly as she took in the gruesome sight.
It took a while for the Duchess’s brain to process what she was seeing. Rows of white rib bone were visible where the skin appeared to have melted away. A swamp of blackened tissue, oozing pus, and abnormally swollen organs pooled together in a sickening pot of human flesh. And the smell—
A hand touched Carina’s shoulder as Isaac passed her a second handkerchief. The Duchess accepted it gratefully and pressed it against her face as she focused on taking in steady, shallow breaths.
Devin nodded and slowly covered the woman’s stomach once more.“Her flesh and organs are rotting away,” he explained grimly. “The infection then spread to—other parts of her body—"
“Is she still alive?” Isaac asked quietly.
“Barely.” Devin shook his head. “When they’ve gotten this bad—they become comatose. I can only hope—that it lessens the worst of their pain.”
“I studied the plague for years under my mentor. The symptoms generally start with a sore throat, cough, weak stomach, and a mild fever,” Tobias replied quietly. “The afflicted usually pass it off as the harvest fever until they're too weak to walk or get out of bed. That’s when they start to feel a numbness in their fingers and toes, followed by a burning rash and abscess that produces a brown, foul-smelling liquid. But this—” he gestured towards the barely breathing woman, “—it's mostly internal. It began in the gut, not the lungs.”
A weak groan slid free from the woman’s mouth. Her open eyes, which had not stirred during the entire process, remained fixed on the ceiling above them.
“Let’s—take this outside,” Devin suggested quietly.
No one voiced an objection.
“The first patient with these symptoms was Samantha’s landlord,” Devin resumed once they were all gathered around the table again. “The second was a leatherworker who lived down the street. He came in with his eldest son, who died early this morning.” The physician turned slowly, gesturing to each curtained bed in turn. “A candlestick maker and his wife. A war widow and her fourteen-year-old son. He’s—not doing well.”
Carina’s gaze held on the curtain he gestured towards as the soft sounds of a woman weeping reached her ears.
“A few other tenants of Samantha’s landlord. Two of them newly arrived from the countryside,” Devin rambled on and then finally dropped his hand. “They’re all neighbors who live at the end of the same street but otherwise have little to do with each other.”
“But they all have the same symptoms, live in close proximity, and fell ill on practically the same day,” Tobias pointed out. “We’ll likely see more patients before dawn.”
“It’s something local then,” Carina whispered tensely. “When did the new tenants move in?”
“About a month back,” Devin replied. “But they came by road, not by ship. And their hometown isn’t that far from the capital.”
“And Frost was expecting a plague brought in by rats,” Tobias confirmed. “This doesn’t look foreign.”
‘Well, clearly I was wrong—if this is the same plague.’ Carina clenched her fists as her gaze swept around the room. ‘But how could it not be the same plague? There was only one plague that gained public notice shortly after the Royal Hunt. And there was no mention of any skin or organ necrosis. All the original symptoms were similar to the bubonic plague—which is why I expected it to sprout among the dockworkers before it was carried into the slums.’
“Can it be treated?” Isaac asked grimly from behind his mask.
“Frost prepared ample supplies of herbs to treat fevers, rash, and inflammation,” Devin replied quietly. “Some of which we’ve been able to put to good use, but the problem is the internal rotting—it spreads too quickly.” He leaned against the table with a heavy sigh, then shook his head. “I can cut away rotting flesh but not rotting organs. We need to find the source of this outbreak and stop it quickly. By the time a new victim is exposed, they’re all but doomed to a gruesome death. All we can do now is lessen their pain and prevent it from spreading.”
Carina folded her arms and closed her eyes before giving a silent nod.
“I would also advise against using inoculation until we know what we’re dealing with,” Tobias added quietly. “This isn’t any plague I’ve witnessed or read about.”
“Agreed,” Devin replied, his gaze still focused on the covered plate before him. “Aside from the obvious symptoms, the fact that it targets the internal organs first—it almost acts like a poison.”
‘Poison?’ Carina’s eyes snapped open, and she looked up quickly. “Perhaps something they ate or—drank! Devin, this neighborhood. Do they, by any chance, share a common drinking water supply?”
“Ah, well—yes,” Devin replied with a deepening frown. “Most of the slums rely on one of three wells, one of which is located in Samantha’s neighborhood—Oh!”
“That sounds like a good place to start,” Tobias muttered as he quickly turned toward Carina. “Your Grace, I don’t think this can wait until morning.”
“I agree,” Carina replied. “Lord Tobias, would you mind coming with me and my knights to investigate?”
“Wait—your Grace?” Devin stumbled out with a confused scowl.
“If you hadn’t suggested it, then I would have insisted,” Tobias replied and then reached behind his back to untie his apron. “I just need a few minutes to wash up and change.”
“Lord Devin.” The nurse who had left to pass around cups of broth returned with most of her tray untouched. “Pardon my Lords. I’m afraid the leatherworker has—passed on, Sir.”
Devin nodded grimly as his gaze flickered between Tobias and Carina. “Let me know what you find. And for mercy’s sake, seal that damn well off if it is the source of this pestilence!”