The old fisherman, whose name was Reggie, agreed to take Reina to Lake Hosal. They left first thing the next morning on horse and arrived just before noon.

Reina couldn't believe her eyes.

"We're at the Lake Hosal, right?" she asked.

Reggie nodded with a scowl and wrinkled his nose. "Know it like the back of my hand. This toilet bowl you're seeing with those pretty eyes is Hosal."

The once pristine lake, so clear that the forest canopy was painted on its surface on calm days, was murky all the way through. It looked like someone had poured tons' worth of ink in and failed to properly mix it to a uniform state. The water was clear up to an inch or two, but any deeper than that was a cloudy black.

Hosal was a moderately sizable lake in the shape of a bean. From one end, land on the other side was paper thin. Trees by the edge were significantly taller than those adjacent. Vines as thick as a centaur's cock hanging from branches dipped into the water's surface, rhythmically sending ripples outward from them. Gargantuan ferns swayed to the ebb and flow of the lake.

Wildlife around a lake was normally brimming with the sound of nature. Hosal was far too quiet. All that could be heard was the small waves crashing gently against the edge. Not even birds populated the trees, likely having left in search of a cleaner water source and fish to catch from.

The docks were justifiably empty, with several shanty row boats moored along it. A rank smell was coming from rotting fish which floated listlessly on their sides. The only living things thriving here were maggots and flies.

"Wouldn't something like this have reached the High Priestesses' notice?"

"I imagine they already know. Probably ain't got a damn clue why it's like this like the rest of us," he said.

Reina was almost insulted that they hadn't informed her of this and had to learn it from the populace instead. Though it reasoned that Lake Hosal's pollution might have reached their ears only recently, too.

She walked to the edge of the lake to collect several samples in glass vials. When it was shaken, the substance mixed for a few seconds before the muddiness separated like water and oil.

The soil and sediments around the lake appeared unaffected. Flora and vegetation grew normally in spite of the seemingly filthy water. Nevertheless, she collected samples of the soil just in case.

Something didn't quite add up.

Reina uncorked one of the vials and tipped the contents of it into her mouth.

"Lass, I wouldn't if I were you!" Reggie warned.

She put a finger in the air to assure him that she would be fine. After all, there were several antidotes and restoration potions in her satchel for such an occasion.

However, Reina had no intention of swallowing the water. She swished it around in her mouth instead. It had an earthy taste. Her body would have reflexively gagged if something were amiss with the water. In fact, she was hoping to get sick or nauseous.

After spitting it out, the fisherman stared at her in disbelief.

"If anything, the decaying fish are polluting the waters more than whatever the inky stuff is," she explained, wiping her lips.

"Eugh. I hope you don't kiss your mother with that mouth," he remarked with disgust.

"I need one more favor. Could you take me out to the waters on your boat?" Reina asked.

Reggie was skeptical she would learn anymore than what she already had on land. Since he had more to gain by helping her, he agreed to row out to the lake.

"Is there any way to keep this boat steady?" she asked, clutching the sides of the boat.

"This little lady served me faithfully for 30 years. She ain't going down in my watch," he said.

Reina was doubtful.

Get a new boat already, was what she wanted to say. Three whole decades fishing in this thing that was rotting just as much as the fish around them.

The craft was unstable at best. It creaked as he paddled and would lean if either of them were off-centered. Too much weight on one side would send them both falling into the murky depths of Hosal. Even the fish corpses that bumped into the boat threatened to knock them over.

"How much farther do we need to go?" Reggie asked.

"This is far enough. I just need to collect a sample from here—"

Their shift in weight caused the boat to capsize, and both of them plunged into the water.

Reina swam to the surface and emerged first, but couldn't find where the old timer was with how dark the water was. A few bubbles popped to the surface several feet away from the boat. She swam over and kicked something hard that grabbed her leg.

"Calm down and let me pull you up!" she shouted, struggling to keep from sinking due to the fisherman's panicking.

At this rate, he was going to drown. She managed to pull him by the shoulders, but he began to thrash even harder and made it hard for her to swim them back to land.

"No! No! Don't let me drown!" he cried hysterically.

"Some fisherman you are! Stop struggling or we'll both—"

She couldn't keep a hold on Reggie. As he sunk under, he pulled her down with him.

Just as Reina thought she was a goner, a strange force lifted her out of the water along with Reggie who had fallen unconscious. A bed of water detached from the lake somehow kept them suspended in the air.

"Get out of my lake," a voice forcefully demanded, then propelled them back onto shore.

Reina quickly performed chest compressions on the old man until he coughed blackish water out of his lungs, then fed him a restoration potion. She ran to the edge of the water to investigate who or what had saved them. There was no sign of anything. The boat had sunk, and the lake returned to an eerie calm.

"Who's out there?" she shouted.

No response.

Whoever it was had used magic to save them and disappeared just as mysteriously. The voice was feminine, so perhaps a witch? Unlikely. In that case, a creature of magic?

For now, it might be best to return at another time. They didn't sound very welcoming, and Reina dared not test the patience of an unknown entity.

Reggie was despondent all the way back from having lost his beloved boat.

Good riddance, to be honest. At least he could put the money she had given him to good use.

Reina returned to the atelier to run tests on the samples she had collected from the lake. At the corner of the room, Perrwyn awakened to the sound of commotion and emerged from her bulb to watch the experiments. She walked over, teasing Reina with her viney tendrils.

"With the harpy gone, how about you and I have a little fun of our own?" she asked.

"Sorry, Perrwyn. I'm busy right now," Reina replied absentmindedly, then inspiration struck like a hammer to the head upon seeing the alraune's roots. "Maybe you can help me in exchange? Can you absorb this water and tell me what composition it's made of?"

Perrwyn cocked her head sideways. She extended a thin vine from her hair and dipped it into the glass vial containing water from Lake Hosal.

"Mmm. Is this a treat for me? It has a pleasant taste, better than the lake I rooted at previously," she said.

"Pleasant taste, how? Magic?"

She nodded.

Magic. In the lake? As in all of it was magic?

Reina was about to continue running tests on the water and soil samples when a breach in her loins caused her to jump. Living roots slowly coiled up her thighs. They began to rub her clit and invade her upper body.

"I helped you. Now it's time to meet your end of the exchange." Perrwyn said, her hot breath tickling the back of Reina's neck and sending shivers up her spine.