Building a Harem in a Noble House

Chapter 112: Wendigo Birthing Chamber

"It’s fine. I’ve survived worse." I glanced around. "More importantly, though: those eye brands. What do you make of them?"

She shrugged, kicking a body over to confirm. "Perhaps a tribal marking? I hardly think that’s the most pressing issue at the moment." She looked around, expression darkening. "I believe we should prioritize finding our bearings."

I straightened up, sheathing my own blade. "That’s the easy part, Meredith. It’s hard to get lost once you understand how dungeons work."

"And how do dungeons work...?"

"They work like living ecosystems. Ecologies. All you need to do is follow signs of life. Look at it like this: Goblins are here. They’re clearly the dominant creature here. So... what did they eat? We haven’t found any encampments, so we can’t answer that just yet. What did they drink? No water source just yet, so we’ll have to look for one and trace their steps from there. Where did they go to the bathroom? Another pathway to follow, leading us to their food encampment. If these things don’t exist in the dungeon, then they’ll have to leave the dungeon to get these things."

She raised an eyebrow, wiping her blade on a goblin rag. "Bathroom trails? Surely you jest."

"I’m being serious. Remember the whole thing about being a detective? Well, this is part of that. It’s practical. Take bulettes, for example. They’re common in deep dungeons because they’re basically the world’s garbage disposal unit–big burrowing beasts that eat anything they can fit into their mouths. No large tracks indicating they’re here, though. No massive holes either. And, thankfully, there aren’t any huge spider webs hanging around, so we don’t have to worry about things like driders or ettercaps lurking nearby. Goblins leave scraps, shit piles, and nests. We follow any one of those, we find their hideout."

Meredith nodded slowly, scanning the floor. "Sound logic, Lloyd May. Such knowledge was not impressed upon us at the Order. Perhaps by training alongside you, I’ll learn far more than I would have through self study?"

"I know you will," I smiled, nodding once. "Now, let’s get to searching."

"Right. I shall keep my sense engaged at all times."

We moved cautiously, torches flickering. It wasn’t long before we found those food scraps down an unassuming tunnel. They were quite fresh, too–half-eaten roots vegetables, those fungi from the Raider’s room, even a few chewed up eat corpses. The goblins weren’t exactly tidy eaters.

Meredith led now, her boots crunching over debris. The tunnel widened into a small alcove, and there it was: a makeshift outhouse. Just a pit dug into the corner, surrounded by crude wooden stakes, stinking to high heaven. Flies buzzed, even down here.

"By your logic, it seems we’re... ahem... close to their encampment."

I winced. "Sure are. Let’s be quick here, please."

"Did you have to make it this immersive, Isobel...?"

Meredith peered in closer. "It seems there’s a doorway just past the refuse." She turned back, hints of a smile on her face. "Shall we?"

I reluctantly followed. Sure enough, prying at the locked door with her sword, she popped it open easily. It didn’t lead to anything name other than what appeared to be a surprisingly modern looking sewer system.

The sewer was tight, walls slimy with moss and... worse. We waded single file, Meredith in front, her light spell–some glowing orb she muttered into existence–illuminating the way better than the torches on the wall. The channel twisted, but we followed it, stepping over occasional the goblin trash, broken pots, more bones, and shit piles.

After what felt like hours wading through this disgusting tunnel, the sewer opened up. We climbed a short ladder of uneven stones into a larger chamber.

It wasn’t a cave anymore. Stone bricks albeit cracked and overgrown with fungi, formed walls and a vaulted ceiling. Tables lined the room, scattered with papers, vials, and rusted tools. It looked almost like a research room, abandoned mid-experiment. Dusty shelves held jars of preserved... something, murky liquids swirling inside.

"What the hell is this?" I whispered, drawing my claymore again. The air was colder here, with a metallic tang.

Meredith moved to a table, picking up a stack of yellowed papers. "Notes. Something about experiments." She flipped through, her brow furrowing.

I checked the corners. There were dozens of goblin corpses–fresh ones–slumped against walls or on the floor. They weren’t battle wounds. No they were too perfect for that. Too clean. Each had its throat slit neat, chests carved open, that eye symbol on their stomachs now smeared with drying blood. They were arranged in circles, like offerings. My stomach turned.

"Meredith, look at this. These goblins... I think they might’ve been killed in some sort of ritual."

She nodded grimly, still reading. "This place... it’s not a lab. It’s a... ’Wendigo Birthing Chamber’, whatever that may mean." Her voice dropped. "The letters claim here that the wendigos are born from felled goblins. Ritual murders feed the transformation, channeling some primal hunger spirit. I believe this may be the ’Mother’ they were–"

She didn’t get to finish.

A low growl rumbled through the room, vibrating the stones. The goblin corpses twitched. Then convulsed. Skin rippled, bones cracked audibly as limbs elongated, fur sprouting in patches. Eyes–those branded eyes, I realized–glowed with a sickly yellow light as the air filled with the stench of decay and hunger.

"Oh shit," I breathed, raising my claymore.

These were Wendigos. Real ones, birthing right in front of us. They rose, taller now, emaciated frames twisting into horrors. Antlers budding from skulls, claws scraping stone. Meredith dropped the papers, her hand glowing with divine energy, ready to smite.

I braced, heart pounding. "Focus on the head! Their bodies–"

But before I could swing, something massive slammed into me from the shadows, a blur of fur and fangs, bigger than the others, terrifying in its bulk. Claws like scythes wrapped around my torso, lifting me off the ground. I thrashed, sword useless as it pinned my arms. Meredith’s shout echoed, but the thing dragged me back into the dark, its roar drowning everything.