Chapter 250: The Rot Beneath
Morning broke over Bastion Six, but the light brought no relief.
The anomaly outside the southern wall had not moved from the jaws of Gunther's stone trap. It had simply stopped screaming and started growing.
Overnight, the frozen mud had turned a sickly, pulsing ash-white. The corruption did not batter against the high stone barricades. It sank beneath them.
The rot advanced into the outer district.
A tired Vanguard quartermaster lowered a wooden bucket into a deep courtyard well. He hauled the heavy rope up hand over hand.
SPLASH.
The water in the bucket was not clear. It was thick, pale, and viscous. It smelled like decaying leaves and wet ash.
Near the barracks, a heavy cobblestone violently shifted.
CRACK.
