Chapter One Fifty-Five Of Letters and Babies

Tetra made her way down the overgrown hall. The cold had already caused the Syresh to begin to wither, even down here, but that same cold made things a race against time. They had to get all the babies out and somewhere warm. Not only that, but many of them were going to require treatment. Others were retrieving the children but they were victims all the same. Tetra already knew the kids would need more attention than the babies. Being older they’d bear not just the physical marks but the mental ones left behind by an Abyssal’s touch. Having been through it before, she knew full well how the parents would be affected. It wouldn’t be easy to put the families back together, and sadly plenty of them were straight up orphans. There was a question of what they would do with all these babies. Finding them homes was going to be a quest in and of itself.

Pushing past the dying tendrils blocking a door she stepped into one of the many chambers which formed the Silaurean nursery. Like everywhere else the room was overgrown with Syresh, alive but dying. Row after row of cribs filled the room, each one had a female baby within. This room was specifically for young girls, boys would have been kept elsewhere. Standing by the door, she held the tendrils aside to allow the celestial soldiers behind her to fill in. Several gasped, and one looked rather pale. Tetra didn’t blame her, it wasn’t a pretty sight.

The poor little girls were covered with little bruises and raised welts from where they’d been stung. Many of them were poisoned by the very ‘thing’ taking ‘care’ of them. “Don’t just stand there, get in here. I want each and every baby checked. Grab the most serious cases first, and get them to the healers.”

“Who could do something like this!?”

Tetra sighed, she could understand the sentiment but now wasn’t the time. She whacked the person on the head, “Get to work!”

Following her own words, she moved towards a crib and looked within. The baby appeared to be about six months, her weight seemed healthy but that was about where the good news ended. She’d been stung multiple times by Syresh stingers, the toxins had left an angry web of nasty welts and rashes running up her legs and belly while the skin under the reddened rashes had turned green. Her breathing was shallow and her face pale. Tetra blanched a little, even though she’d expected and known some of the babies in this room were in bad shape. This room was for young girls the damn Abyssal didn’t consider particularly valuable. Gently she picked the child up, it was just one of many, but she would have to start somewhere.

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Days later, Tetra found herself at the guild of a nearby town. Mind mages were hard at work undoing the brainwashing, smoothing scars and helping families reunite. Several men and girls ranging from quite young to almost elderly could be seen in the attached tavern with tear stricken faces, and large mugs of drink. Tetra didn’t blame them, not everyone was welcomed to good news regarding their sons and daughters. Many, male and female both, had perished or been left scarred by the touch of an Abyssal. This one had gone unnoticed far too long, some towns here had been in her domain for years, long enough that some faces had grown up never knowing the town before the Abyssal came. Those young ladies were especially scarred by their experiences. Tetra’s eye noted the lack of young men an obvious loss, but not unexpected. For a Silaurean a man only had value while he still had his manhood, once she harvested that? Well lets just say the body was surplus at that point.

A hand covered her belly, she knew not what her latest child would face but these were horrors she’d wish on no child. To face them so soon after birth was... there were no words. A sigh left her, few of these people would be able to provide homes for the infants. Hell even the toddlers faced problems there. The celestials had orphanages, but not enough beds to take them all, she was going to have to find homes. Reaching the counter, she spoke to the young girl there, a child really. “Excuse me, I’d like to send a letter to the guild in Bordertown.”

The child nodded, “Sure thing, miss. Registration?”

Tetra blinked, there was such professionalism in her tone. “Have you been doing this long?” She inquired while producing her adventurer’s card.

The girl’s face darkened, “Yeah I, um, took over for big sis on my... Well she was, um.”

Tetra reached over it, “It’s okay you don’t have to tell me.”

The girl leaned into her touch and after a moment calmed, she took a breath, “It’s okay, I do want to tell the story. The mind mage said it would help if I talk about it.”

Tetra shifted, “I see, I’m listening.”

The girl nodded and promptly started telling the story. She ended up becoming a guild receptionist to fill in for her sister at the tender age of six, her older sister being breeding age had to leave town, all breeding age girls did. The poor kid didn’t know what had happened to her sister after that and the older girl hadn’t returned yet. Tetra didn’t really know what to say, but she had an idea of what happened to the missing sister. While this Abyssal preferred for most of the breeding to happen on distant ‘farms’ she’d seen the breeding pits at the castletown. It was where most of the breeding age girls were kept and it wasn’t pretty. As for this town, she had one question, “Was the mistress relocating or otherwise removing adults from the town?”

The girl nodded as she produced something. “She was, and um miss? You have a letter.”

Tetra took it, “Thanks.”

Taking a look at the letter she realized it was not from someone she knew. A signature saying from Qica in clear neat font was the only marker on who it came from. “Where did this one come from?”

The girl checked the records, “Telka, a young girl brought it in, no registration, but she paid in full to have it delivered to you as soon as possible.”

“Somewhere I can read it in private then?”

The girl nodded, and led her into the back. Tetra took in that the girl wasn’t wearing much and she had a number of bruises, “So was one of them giving you attention?”

The girl glanced at her bruises, a dark look on her face, “... um... yes.”

“That bad?”

The girl nodded.

“Well I won’t pry,” she replied while fishing a letter out of her clothes. “I’m going to read, so could you get this one delivered for me?”

She lit up, “Sure thing miss!”

With her running off, to send a letter, Tetra looked at the one she’d received. Opening it up revealed fine flowery text, the first few lines were introductory pleasantries before it reached the meat of the text. 

Pleasantries aside, I assume you might be wondering what someone like myself is doing sending letters to someone like yourself. I must admit you were not first on my list. The great Kael the Hunter would have been first, but sadly, I hear he has passed. I briefly considered his son, but all my information shows that said son didn’t take up the business of hunting Abyssals.

That brought me to you, you were one of his former party members and I presume able to handle the matter I have in mind well enough. If not for certain deals, I may have brought this matter to you sooner, but since I’m leaving my nest behind and returning to the Abyss of my own accord those deals are now null and void. The Theocracy, if they complain, can take it up with the gods for all I care. That’s enough beating around the bush, I suspect. The problem I want you to be aware of is that the Theocracy has been cultivating a certain brain fungus. Nothing Abyssal, mind you, but you mortals might not make much distinction. Colloquially known as the Flesh Puppet Fungus; it infects the brains of most sentients, destroying and consuming the parts that allow for higher thought, leaving only a mindless husk which the fungus controls like a puppet. After the fungus has reached this phase it starts to feed almost entirely on pleasure hormones. As a result, the infected are noted to be rather insatiable when it comes to sex. If not for the Theocracy preemptively sterilizing the females they’ve been infecting, there might have been quite the population boom, but I know a few infected did slip through the cracks. There are nests, even now, run entirely by infected that are breeding more babies than can be cared for.

I don’t know if you are familiar with the fungus, so I’ve included extensive notes on its behavior, life cycle and methods to kill it. I’ve also included my own formula for a brain regeneration serum, it’s very effective in young females and moderately effective in older ones. I wouldn’t recommend using it on a male however, male brains are not the same. They’ll experience side effects, which I’ve detailed in the notes on the formula.

I do have one other matter I must mention. I doubt Aurous is going to stand idly by now that we are going back, but we aren’t foolish enough to risk our hides for a god when the greater ones come calling. A young lordling has summoned her banners, a crusade has begun and I very much plan to not be here when they come for my head. Our deals with Aurous notwithstanding, I suspect he will make his move sooner or later. You should be on guard, I’ve never been able to guess what that wily god will do.

Now for one final matter to mention. I prepared a method for you to contact me if you so need my services. I left one of my younger apprentices behind and taught her how to send letters through the planes. Merely contact her if you have questions, she can answer the basic ones, anything more advanced I will have to answer, so that will take a little longer. 

She glanced at the ceiling, there was more to the letter but she already had more questions than she expected answers were to be found. It seemed even Abyssals were now sending her work directly. What an interesting turn of events, but the letter itself suggested an even larger headache in the works.

The girl poked her head in, “Um, I sent the letter via portal for you and it seems you already have a reply.”

Tetra blinked, That fast? “Let me see.”

She took the letter and noted it was from Emily alright, she opened it up, where Emily started with a few pleasantries before getting right to business. I imagine you were surprised I’d send this so quickly but I happened to be at the guild when your letter came in. Unfortunately I was at the guild with the Dungeon’s avatar, and she happened to be there when I opened the letter. The dungeon is very excited about the babies and quite enthusiastically demanded that I tell you to send them all. I fear she may already be planning out a new expansion to house them... Scratch that she definitely is and I just heard her posting a quest for the adventurers. As for my own house, I’m sorry to say I’m already stretched a little thin.

Emily signed off pretty quickly after that, but it was enough to paint a picture. Tetra could very well picture what was going on over there and had a good idea what the quest would be. The young dungeon was looking for extra funds no doubt. Cash to build her expansion, not that dungeons used money, but the expression held true. Still sending the infants to the dungeon wouldn’t be a bad idea. Dungeons were natural mothers, there was no doubt they’d be well cared for. Tetra stood up, it seemed she had a lot to do and so little time.