The Salt Mine Disaster

The salt mine’s apparent animal attack becomes the first visible sign of a deliberate and far-reaching disease crisis.

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The Pack Descends

The Attack Below Unnatural violence Black animals invade the underground chambers and bite the chained workers with chilling purpose. Van notices their composure, as if they obey orders rather than act from panic. A hidden danger The attack leaves the mine’s population exposed. The bites seem shallow, but the methodical assault foreshadows a threat more consequential than the immediate wounds.

The Workers Fall

Fever in the Mine Symptoms spread Coughs, fever, rash, and death follow the bites. Van watches fellow captives and enslaved cooks die while he himself grows gravely ill. An unexplained survivor The mine’s isolation and the speed of the deaths leave the event difficult to interpret. Van’s survival becomes a medical mystery, not merely a stroke of luck.

The Investigation Begins

Searching the Dead Hohsalle examines the evidence Hohsalle finds bite marks and rashes among the bodies and suspects Black Wolf Fever, a disease linked to past catastrophe in Otawalle. The missing captive A broken chain reveals that one prisoner escaped. Once the record identifies him as Van, the disaster connects the physician’s investigation to a living survivor who may hold the key to resistance.

Two months into Van’s captivity

The week after the attack

Several days after the disaster