In The Phlegmatic Wail, Investigator Vale is thrust into the heart of Seeras, a metropolis teetering on the brink of an epidemic. The city’s underbelly, the labyrinthine sewers, harbors the malevolent presence of Bloubus the Unformed, a dark oozemancer with a twisted vision of enforcing Nature’s will.

Bloubus, seeking to cull the city of its perceived weaknesses, unleashes a legion of festering boilborn upon the poorest district. These vile creatures, akin to mobile wounds bristling with infectious hairs, scuttle through the streets, spreading diseases and sowing chaos. Investigator Vale must navigate the murky depths of the sewers and the plague-ridden streets above, piecing together the dark wizard’s malevolent plot.

As the boilborn infestation intensifies, Investigator Vale races against time to uncover the source of this unnatural scourge. Bloubus, hidden in the shadows, manipulates the very fabric of disease and decay. The investigator’s journey becomes a harrowing descent into the abyss of contagion, where every ally may carry a hidden infection, and every step forward risks plunging deeper into the clutches of the boilborn horde.

In a city gripped by panic and disease, Investigator Vale must not only unravel the oozemancer’s sinister plans but also confront the ethical dilemma of whether the ends, Nature’s culling, justify the gruesome means. “The Phlegmatic Wail” explores the boundaries of morality, the resilience of a city in the face of a deadly contagion, and Investigator Vale’s relentless pursuit of justice amid the festering shadows of Seeras.

Excerpt - Infernal Boilborn

In the labyrinthine depths of Seeras’ forsaken sewers, Investigator Vale navigated a twisted network of tunnels, his lantern casting flickering shadows on the slick walls. The air was thick with the stench of decay and the acrid tang of brimstone, an ominous harbinger of the malevolent force lurking within. The investigator’s every step reverberated in the desolate passages, creating an eerie symphony that seemed to echo the city’s impending doom.

Suddenly, the silence shattered as a grotesque form emerged from the darkness—an infernal boilborn, like a pulsating pustule propelled by a bristle of slick hairs. Its blackened skin seemed to writhe with malevolence, and the air around it quivered with an unnatural chill. Investigator Vale instinctively drew his weapon, a gleaming blade of justice in the suffocating gloom.

The infernal boilborn, sensing the threat, scuttled forward with unsettling speed. As it slammed into the investigator, a sickening splatter echoed through the tunnels. Vale braced himself, aware that the creature carried a malevolent disease known as devil chills, a silent menace with an incubation period of up to four days. The investigator pressed forward, undeterred by the demonic horrors that sought to envelop Seeras in their plague.

With a deft maneuver, Vale swung his weapon, the blade cutting through the slick hairs and into the heart of the infernal boilborn. The creature convulsed, releasing a guttural death throes that reverberated through the sewer’s dank corridors. Dark ichor spewed forth, staining the investigator’s surroundings with the malevolence of the demonic foe. Unfazed, Vale pressed forward, his determination undiminished, knowing that the true battle against the encroaching darkness lay in the days that followed.