Chapter 108: The Other Side
Kael remained beside the river.
The dead fish hung from his fingers for another moment before he lowered it back into the water.
The current carried it away.
Nobody spoke.
Torren stared at the river.
"If the dam is keeping something out..."
Kael looked toward him.
"Then we need to know what."
Seren glanced toward the forest.
"And we need to know what’s already inside."
Kael nodded.
"Exactly."
He turned toward the camp.
"Pack only what we need."
Lyra frowned.
"Where are we going?"
Kael pointed upstream.
"Past the dam."
Torren looked at the massive wooden structure.
"That means crossing it."
"No."
Kael looked toward the river.
"We’re going around."
They followed the bank for nearly an hour.
The river gradually narrowed as it climbed toward the mountains.
Trees became thicker.
The road disappeared completely.
Kael walked his horse rather than riding.
The terrain had become too uneven.
Seren moved ahead, searching for tracks.
Lyra remained beside Kael.
Torren followed behind them, carrying his tools.
Nobody spoke much.
Then Seren stopped.
Kael raised his hand.
The group froze.
Seren crouched beside the ground.
He brushed away a layer of leaves.
Footprints.
Human.
Several.
Kael crouched beside him.
"When?"
Seren touched the edge of one.
"Recently."
"How many?"
"Six or seven."
Kael studied the direction.
"They’re heading toward the river."
Seren nodded.
Kael stood.
"Follow them."
They moved carefully.
The tracks led through the trees.
Then Kael saw something between the branches.
A small wooden structure.
It had been built against the side of the hill.
No road led to it.
No Imperial banner marked it.
Kael signaled for everyone to remain quiet.
They approached.
The door was open.
Inside was a table.
A chair.
Several empty crates.
And a collection of tools.
Torren stepped inside.
"Someone’s been using this recently."
Kael noticed a stack of papers on the table.
He picked them up.
Most were lists.
Dates.
Measurements.
Water levels.
Kael read the numbers.
His expression changed.
"These aren’t farming records."
Torren came closer.
"What are they?"
Kael handed him one.
"Water pressure."
Torren read it.
His eyes widened.
"Someone has been measuring the river."
Kael looked around the room.
There were dozens of pages.
Some went back months.
Others were more recent.
One page had a drawing of the dam.
Another showed the river beneath it.
Kael picked up the drawing.
Someone had marked a section beneath the dam.
A large circle surrounded it.
Underneath was a single word.
SEAL.
Kael stared at it.
Lyra looked over his shoulder.
"What does that mean?"
"I don’t know."
Seren stood near the doorway.
"Prince."
Kael looked up.
Seren pointed toward the forest.
"Someone is coming."
Kael immediately folded the papers.
"How many?"
"Three."
"Soldiers?"
"No."
Kael looked toward the door.
"Then we wait."
The footsteps grew louder.
Three figures appeared between the trees.
They wore dark clothing.
The first carried a long spear.
The second had a curved blade.
The third carried a wooden case.
They stopped when they saw Kael.
Nobody moved.
Then the man with the spear spoke.
"You’re not supposed to be here."
Kael stepped outside.
"Neither are you."
The man’s eyes moved toward Kael’s Imperial insignia.
"You’re Imperial."
"Yes."
The man glanced at the others.
"Then leave."
Kael almost laughed.
"You’ve got a strange way of speaking to an Imperial prince."
The man’s expression changed.
"Prince?"
Kael watched him carefully.
The man looked genuinely surprised.
That was interesting.
"You didn’t know who I was."
The man tightened his grip on the spear.
"No."
"Then who did you think would find this place?"
Silence.
Kael stepped closer.
"What are you protecting?"
The man didn’t answer.
Kael looked toward the wooden case.
"What’s inside?"
The third man immediately stepped back.
Kael noticed.
So did Seren.
The archer quietly reached for his bow.
The stranger raised his spear.
"Don’t."
Kael stopped.
Nobody attacked.
The forest seemed to hold its breath.
Then the man with the spear lowered his weapon slightly.
"We don’t want to fight you."
"Then don’t."
"We need the river."
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
The man looked toward the mountains.
"Because something has been waking up."
Kael remained silent.
The man continued.
"We’ve been trying to keep it asleep."
Torren looked toward the river.
"The dam."
The man nodded.
"Yes."
Kael thought about the villages.
"People are starving because of this."
The man lowered his head.
"We know."
"Then why didn’t you tell anyone?"
"Who would believe us?"
Kael looked at the three men.
"Try me."
The man hesitated.
Then he looked at the wooden case.
"We found something beneath the river."
"What?"
"We don’t know."
Kael’s expression hardened.
"How long?"
"Almost a year."
The same timeline.
Kael stepped closer.
"What happened?"
The man swallowed.
"The river began changing."
"The fish died."
"Animals stopped drinking from it."
"Then people began disappearing."
Kael looked toward the water.
"And the dam?"
"We built it to slow the current."
"To keep whatever is beneath the river from reaching the villages."
Kael stared at him.
"How do you know there’s something beneath it?"
The man looked directly at him.
"Because we saw it."
A cold silence settled over the group.
Kael’s hand moved toward the mysterious fragment in his coat.
He could feel it.
That strange sensation again.
His blood power stirred faintly.
The system appeared.
[Unknown Energy Detected.]
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
The message disappeared.
Then another appeared.
[Warning.]
Kael’s breathing slowed.
He didn’t tell the others.
The man looked at him.
"You felt it too, didn’t you?"
Kael froze.
The man’s eyes widened.
"You did."
Kael slowly removed his hand from his coat.
"What exactly did you see beneath the river?"
The man looked toward the mountains.
His voice became quieter.
"We saw something that wasn’t supposed to still be alive."
Kael waited.
The man swallowed.
"And last night..."
He looked toward the water.
"...it moved."