ImperialSun
The whole corridor is empty except for occasional skeletons I passed by but I had an uneasy feeling this could be a trap. I heard footsteps coming from my left direction in the branching hallway until I see a figure carrying a spear walking towards me. I unsheathed my sword to get ready to fight as the figure finally stepped into the light, it was a dark folk soldier wearing simple stone armor but the soldier has a large crystal lodged into where his heart is and half of his face is glowing purple with branches growing out of the left side of his head.

As soon as he saw me, he let out a war cry while charging at me but I dodged his attack. I swung my sword at the exposed arm area of his armor causing him to yell in agony, he thrust his spear at my stomach but I barely dodge his attack as his spear pierced at my side and missed my kidney.

"Aaah!" I yelled so I grab onto the crystal which was lodged into his heart and pulled on it despite the soldier punching my face until I finally pulled the crystal out of him. I watched his eyes widened as he fell on his knees "thank you.... traveler.... for freeing me of my torment" said the soldier but I was puzzled for a bit after what he said. "I am..... Ignatius, one of the soldiers serving the king..... during the time where the seed of evil attack the city, I was fleeing with my fellow soldiers until they abandoned me and left me for dead.... I eventually lose my bouts of sanity and began killing members of my kind.... thank you for freeing me..." said the soldier but he went limp after he spoke his piece. I regretted about ending his life but I had no choice but to scavenge his body for anything useful, turns out there's a key in his pocket so I took it and put it in my pocket.

After that, I found some tarp on the floor away from where I'm standing and I covered the soldiers body with the tarp as a makeshift grave. I continue on exploring the scholar district and passing by old rooms where I think the mages learn their magic and other rooms had scale models of numerous inventions of mining and warfare made by inventors but I'm afraid they cannot build their inventions like they dreamed of, especially when they're dead. I came across a large waterfall with a shrine up ahead, the shrine itself is decorated with statues of the dark folk and the dragon itself and there was a stair case that reached from the shrine to where I was.

I began climbing the stairs but when I'm halfway up the waterfall from from the shrine located, fish demons jumped out of the waterfall and hissed at me. "Give us the idol of sorrow and we'll let you through!" Said one fish demon and my pouch began to glow, I reached into my pouch and pull out the idol and to my surprise, the idol itself is emanating a purple glow and seems to be sapping my strength gradually. "No! I refuse to give up, I've come too far and already brought back the dark folk!" I yelled and the fish demons giggled "humans are so funny when it comes to disobedience" one said as the group readied their spears and I readied my sword to attack.

One fish demon charged at me and I impaled it in its brain with my sword and it fell off the stair case, the second fish demon thrust it's spear at me from that point I parried the spear and thrust my sword into the fish demons heart and it too fell off the stair case. The last two hissed at me "You haven't seen the last of us! We'll be back to finish the job!" One fish demon yelled but I smirked "is it your poor training that resulted in this?" I said except the fish demons leapt back into the waterfall and swim downwards.

I pressed onwards to the shrine up ahead and when I got there I already smell the stench of rotting flesh coming from the inside so I head inside the shrine but to my horror, I could see fresh bodies with slits on their abdomen and they are bound to stone beds with their hands and feet tied to each ends with ropes. I walked and each sight of the corpses is rather ghastly with mouths opened as if they are screaming but I heard someone said "help me" in a weak voice so I looked around until I see one head up. I walked towards one stone table but I had to avert my eyes as I saw one dark folk member who is still alive but his abdomen has been slit open and I could probably see his organs exposed, I look at his face as he stared at me helplessly and I can see ram like horns on both sides of his head and he wore only a cloth that wraps around his waist.

"Please.... help me..." he said weakly and I knew he's emaciated "what happened here?" I asked but he didn't reply so I took out my sword and cut each rope thus freeing his hands and feet, he moved his arms around except he stayed on the stone bed "thank you for freeing me.... but can you please stitch the slit?" He said.

I look around to see if there's any needle and thread but luckily I found some next to the bed so I picked up the spool and needle and prepared to stitch the slit closed so I didn't have to see his organs. The member of the dark started to grunt in pain as he gritted his teeth while I stitched the slit shut and when that's done he sat up and put his feet down on the stone floor "who are you?" I asked as he stood up, "I am one of the engineers that worked in the water works until I was kidnapped by the fish demons for the one called the dark master to perform experiments..... I watched helplessly as victims died shortly from his experimental toxins.... only I survived but starving myself and  I forgot my name" he explained as he shuffled to the crates so I walked over and helped him open the crates.

In the crates are full of preserved fishes so I watched the engineer gobble up the fishes until he stopped. " You can go down and step into the magic circle and meet up with the others" I said but he shook his head "No, I want to stay here because it's safe" he replied. I walked up to the altar and found some notes but it's in some ancient language that I couldn't figure out what it means except at the bottom of the page it displays a small map of the scholar district with arrows showing the way. I walked down to the entrance and waved goodbye at the engineer and trekked down the stair case, so far and so close to lifting the curse.