Pile of corpses

Kaden frowned. A cold draft wafted from the right tunnel, carrying a mineral tang that hinted at a deeper cavern or underground flow of water. That was promising. 

The left route, however, smelled of something nasty, a mix of blood, rotting bodies and shit? He did not want to analyze it.

He weighed his options. If he were tracking kobolds, he'd head where the stench was stronger—odd reptilian bunkers typically reeked. But his real aim was a potential water source, so the right path—cool and mineral-laden—seemed the better bet.

"Right it is," he murmured, pivoting on his heel. Without further hesitation, he moved on.

With one last glance at the dingy left passage, Kaden turned away, steering himself down the cooler, mineral-scented route. 

The air shifted almost immediately—less of that swampy stench, more of an earthy chill that made the hair on his arms prickle. Water dripped steadily somewhere ahead. Had he hit the motherload?

Crouching low, he navigated the tight corridor, letting the soft glow of bioluminescent fungi guide his steps. The stone underfoot was slick, forcing him to move carefully, but he welcomed the smoother air. 

Every so often, he paused to listen, heart hammering, but he heard only the slow drip of water echoing through the tunnel. It was almost… peaceful. 

After a few bends, the passage opened into a small chamber—damp, hollow, and faintly lit by clusters of pale-green mushroom caps. Their glow reflected on the walls, tracing patterns like veins through dark rock. 

At the chamber's far end, a thin trickle of water poured from above, flowing into a shallow pool before draining through crevices in the floor. Kaden exhaled. It wasn't much—just another meager underground spring.

He knelt to run a hand along the pool's surface: cold, clear, tinged with the mineral tang he'd smelled earlier. He filled his canteen as he mulled his next move. 

This might not be the jackpot pond I'm after, he thought. He swished the water in his mouth, relishing its clarity, before swallowing. This could only mean one thing. The pond was in the survivor camp.

With a sigh he started heading out of the cave, when he arrived at the fork again. He glanced at the other path and was about to continue upwards but he shook his head and paused again. It was best to be thorough.

Kaden pinched the bridge of his nose, cursing under his breath. If it's this rank, there's got to be something down there—I just hope it's not more trouble than it's worth. With that resigned thought, he turned from the fork he'd first chosen and ventured into the foul-smelling tunnel.

Immediately, the air changed for the worse—thick and muggy, with a grotesque undercurrent of decay. Each step felt like trudging deeper into an infected wound. 

The walls here were rougher, partly crumbling, and clumps of a different sort of fungus clung to the stone. Instead of a soft glow, these looked diseased, oozing dark slimes under faint flickers of greenish light.

Kaden forced himself to breathe through his mouth. Focus, he told himself, steeling his mind. There has to be a reason for this stench. 

Whether it was a kobold nest, a corpse pile, or something nastier—he needed to find out if there was anything worth scavenging or any new leads. Otherwise, he could close this dead end in his mental map and finally move on.

He pressed on, careful not to slip on the slick floor. Every so often, his boot nudged something squishy, and he grimaced, not daring to look too closely at whatever lump of rotting biomass he was stepping on. 

The further he went, the stronger the reek grew. Definitely a nest, he speculated. Kobolds, or some other subterranean pests, had to be storing carcasses, maybe using them for feeding or, worse, sacrificing.

A shape loomed to his right—a large, ragged hole in the wall. Spatters of dried blood crusted the edges. He ducked to peer inside when he froze in shock and horror.

In front of him were corpses. Piles and piles of human corpses.

Kaden couldn't help but tremble. He staggered back, bile burning in his throat as he fought to steady himself against the cave wall. It wasn't just one or two bodies—it was a macabre mound of lifeless human forms, stacked haphazardly in gruesome layers. 

Even in the dim flicker of the rotten fungus-light, he could pick out limbs twisted at impossible angles, mouths locked in silent, final screams. The stench rolled over him like a physical force, threatening to buckle his knees.

His grip on the stone tightened until his knuckles went white. What happened here? He forced a slow, shallow breath, trying to keep the nausea at bay. Was this all of the other human beings spawned along with him in this starting area? 

Were they all dead? How did the kobolds get everyone so soon? What the fuck happened? This was the first day of the apocalypse damn it!

Kaden's mind instantly wandered to the three people who he had run into. Something was wrong. He needed to get to the bottom of this. 

Just as he was about to turn around and head upwards, another drip sounded and he looked in the back, past the death and the pile of corpses. Something yellow and round glistened. It was a sack hanging from the roof of the cave.