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‘Of all the places that were hit hardest by the Sickness,’ Garovel continued, ‘this old imperial capital here had it the worst. And not just because of the illness itself, either. The reputational damage that this place suffered was really what doomed it, I think.’

Voreese jumped in. ‘I’d have to agree. It’s particularly tragic when I recall how beloved this underground city was. In a world full of constant war and death, where superhuman knights could--quite literally--fall out of the sky and obliterate your entire town, this place made people feel safe. It endured countless sieges from hostile armies, and it always had a huge occupying force of powerful warriors to protect it. But when the plague hit, that sentiment vanished utterly. Suddenly, people didn’t see this as the unassailable heart of a growing empire. They just saw a tomb.’

‘That’s exactly right,’ said Garovel. ‘And it only got worse, over time. The rich people, who were funding everything, fled. And the poor, of course, couldn’t afford to leave. Attempts were made to send aid, but... there was no cure. Hell, even if there had been, with the state of medical knowledge at the time, there would’ve been almost no way to mass-produce it. To have any hope of that, it would’ve also needed to be easily synthesizable from common ingredients.’

‘A tale as old as time,’ said Voreese. ‘Well-meaning people jumping into help, only to get fucked big time, just like everyone else.’

Hector frowned as he listened.

‘Indeed,’ said Garovel. ‘And so, after all that, this place couldn’t even survive as a slum for very long, because the poor who remained here were also sick and dying. When the last of them were gone, its reputation devolved again into that of a haunted ruin that would claim the lives of anyone who tried to take up residence here.’

‘Which wasn’t exactly inaccurate,’ added Voreese. ‘People kept coming down here and disappearing for decades after the rest of the world had moved past the Sickness. And it wasn’t always clear what the cause was, either. Was it just some lingering pocket of the disease that got them? Or was it a malevolent force hiding in the darkness? Perhaps a wicked creature born of the untold suffering that took place down here? Superstition aboveground only added fuel to that fire.’

At this point, Hector had to wonder if such fears could even be considered superstitious.

Selena had the same thought, apparently. “U-um, are you sure that was just superstition?”