Supernatural: Chronicles of the Order 11

Chapter 11: I Stink Up the House!

(DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own Supernatural because it belongs to Eric Kripke and Warner Bros. So, enjoy the show! Rated M for graphic violence, adult content, and adult language.)

It was a calm evening in the Barathite region of Constros as everyone in the village of River Bottom was getting ready for bed. Little did everyone know was that Marnathi and her unit were on patrol of a criminal who ran an illegal egg racket as she was searching far and wide to apprehend him and his accomplices. Even though she was on the trail of arresting the criminals, she never saw it coming when she spotted them fleeing from a clearing the moment they were scared out of their minds. It was an easy job for her once she and her unit handcuffed the criminals, but something was a little off the moment she smelled a pungent stench coming from one of them.

"You look as if you rolled into a pile of shit," she said.

"You don't wanna go back there to the clearing near the river," said the leader.

"What are you talking about?"

"There's a monster covered in sludge in which it's been at Dresden's old place when those people in gold armor trashed it during the war."

"What kind of monster?"

"It's big, long, and it stinks like shit!"

"If it's another one of your wiles to get yourselves out of the egg racket you've been running, you're about to—"

Without warning, a loud roar filled the air as Marnathi saw it to be from the location that the criminals ran out of earlier. When she got there, she went towards an old house that was forgotten as it turned out to be her childhood home before she was sold off to be married to her late ex-husband, but it was ravaged by war during the Second Galvanic Uprising. She was looking into further territory as she later noticed the source of the stench slithering around in the house the moment it looked like a giant pile of sludge. The stench of sewage caused her to nearly losing her lunch as she fished out a gas mask and put it on the moment she got a closer look, for it was was something different indeed.

"Marnathi," said one of the members of her unit. "You doing okay?"

"That's no ordinary monster, but it doesn't seem to be ready to attack anyone," she said.

"Man, that's rank," the unit rookie put on a gas mask as he saw the stinky monster hiding behind the old house. "It stinks like a cross between a wet fart and a carton of rotten eggs!"

"We'll hold off for now… At least it flushed out our wanted men for price gouging eggs, which is far worse than doing it to toilet paper and hand sanitizer."

Both Marnathi and the unit rookie left the clearing as they were reporting in for the night. Little did they know was that the monster that slithered in the distance was being watched as Nibori was hiding in the distance in which she spotted it near the derelict house. Still, she had to report in without any problem as she was also aware of the monster that owned the clearing with its odor, for she would soon cross paths with me if I got the chance to visit…


I was up and alert as I was busy getting ready for the day. The room I checked into was from a bed and breakfast that was in the Etrogarde slums as it was homely, but comfortable with a garden that was set for the upcoming winter. By the time I showered, brushed my teeth, and got dressed, I picked up my mess as I left the bathroom and was ready to go downstairs until I started to feel a splitting headache. At first, I thought I was experiencing a vision as I heard the roar of a dragon in my mind, but from where? By the time I left my room, I went downstairs towards the cafeteria as the continental breakfast was put on display in the form of the usual Italian and Depression-Era cooking that filled the room. The smell of freshly baked cornetti took my mind off of the dragon's roar as I saw Reiko eating breakfast the moment I grabbed a plate and joined her by filling it with a sweet cornetto and a sfogliatella filled with fruit and cream along with a glass of orange juice. It was a calming moment as we enjoyed our breakfast in which we were also grateful that it was soothing for us during our stay on Baratheon, for it was also a joy to savor before returning to Valinor.

"These pastries are good and palatable, but they're not like your typical donuts," said Reiko as she took a bite of her sfogliatella. "The food here is made with the same love and care that the Castellano Family instilled on its citizens."

"The sfogliatella and cornetto are the Italian equivalent of a donut, but better," I said.

"It's strange that everyone is enjoying the comfort that returned in the past two years…"

"Before the wrath of Father Warren, Baratheon was the crown jewel of Italian and Depression-Era cooking in which everyone offworld loved to see what was made. Sadly, after the Castellano Family was ousted from power, Father Warren and his flock issued a tactic on Baratheon's chieftains and citizens alike in which he forced them to give up part of their income to fund his religious lifestyle and the debauchery of the nobility. Now that he's no longer alive, there isn't a tithing that scared everyone in which some of the people here call it 'the bleeding of the beast.'"

"You've been reading a lot on Baratheon…"

"Our short stay the last time had me looking into further knowledge in which this planet was known far and wide as the Bread Basket of the Ashizoka System. Its Mediterranean climate made it a fervent hotspot for growing produce and caring for their livestock in which they have an abundance for the first time since the Castellano Family returned to power."

It wasn't long until Nymeriel burst into the cafeteria as he had a newspaper in his hand. When he showed it to me, I spotted it to be a schlocky one that catered to tabloid fodder and bizarre sightings that were often debunked as it was a cause of concern. The front page of the monster near River Bottom graced the newspaper as I saw the words, "Stinky garbage spirit on the loose!," printed in bold black letters. Even Reiko was concerned as she spotted an image of Nibori in the left corner, for she had a gut feeling that backup had to be called immediately.

"This was taken last night by one of the villagers in which the stink spirit was mainly wallowing around the old Trelundar river house," said Nymeriel. "What really burns my ass is that a certain shlub decided to put in on his tabloid mag to show off and we all know that our immortal hustler still hasn't known boundaries or restraint."

"Whoever put that picture is making a mistake," said Reiko. "All spirits near rivers must be respected and our journalist just added more fuel to the fire."

"The man who published that pic goes by the name of Ed Zedmore. He was part of a failed ghost hunting group known as the Ghostfacers in which his last hunt led to the breakup of his friendship with Harry Spangler. Afterwards, the gods decided to play a trick on him by making him immortal in which he is a prisoner of his own folly."

"Looks like I'll look into the case," I said.

"The Barathite region of Constros is further south, but it's chieftain still has a hate boner for Father Warren's flock in which he ended up siccing a few gators on them for their continued harassment of his people. The village of River Bottom is near the Rossini River and Lake Vivaldi, but there's been an increase of crimes stemming from an egg racket that started during the reign of Father Warren and still going. Luckily, Marnathi's unit's been cleaning up the place and still looks for criminals who continue to conduct certain household rackets like laundry detergent, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, soda, and other things just to make a quick tevnar while surviving the fallout of Father Warren's demise."

"Then I'll watch my back if anything else happens… As soon as we board a ship to River Bottom, we'll find out more about this stink spirit that's been haunting the village."

I was optimistic to leave Etrogarde behind as I had a case in which I also had to find out more about the stink spirit that was haunting River Bottom. Still, I had to do light duty in the field work as it was also a way and mean to know a little more about Baratheon and all its designated flora and fauna that withstood the test of time. By the time Reiko and I finished up our meal, we were ready to check out of the bed and breakfast as we had our suitcases packed for our trip the moment we stepped outside of it and into the slums where everyone was going about their day serving everyone. When we went towards a harbor near the capital, we saw a ship parked as we later got into it the moment it was bound for Constros. By the time it took off, we were leaving Baratheon's capital as we were on our way to where we needed to get to, for dealing with a stink spirit was something that we never saw coming until now…


Later on in the afternoon, we landed in Constros as the ship parked in a clearing near the Rossini River. By the time we got out, we were in River Bottom as we saw everyone being cautious after some of the villagers were putting up wanted signs with the stink spirit's picture plastered on them. We were also looking for a place to stay as we later spotted Nibori standing there in which she was glad that we were here, for she had a gut feeling that something wasn't right about our stinky target.

"It took you long enough to get here," she said.

"It's better late than never," I said.

"You should've seen the publicity after that guy aired an episode of his reality show before skipping town. It's insane, but Marnathi and her unit doesn't want anyone to get to the crime scene."

"And the stench is not for the faint of heart, either," said Reiko as she covered her nose and mouth after smelling what was near the village. "It's a stink spirit, but it shouldn't be having the air smelling like rotten eggs."

I smelled the stench from the clearing as it was the worst smell that I ever witnessed. The stench in the combination of raw sewage and rotten eggs was enough for me to fish out a gas mask and put it on. Even Reiko put on her own gas mask as she couldn't bear the stench of what was next door to River Bottom in which we had to do something about the vile smell. Even Nibori saw us in discomfort as she didn't blame us when it came to dealing with the stench that permeated into the village, for she was also keeping tabs on the monster that lurked all over it.

"Oh, the stink!" she yelled as she felt the imprint of raw power glowing on her back. "You weren't lying when it smelled bad!" An aura envelops her as it generates into a shield mask. "That's better than smelling the stench of ass everywhere."

"There's a trail to the clearing and back," said Reiko as she sensed an aura trail leading away from the village. "The monster's location is near the river."

"We can follow the stench, but we're gonna have to get past Marnathi's unit in order to track down the monster."

"There's a back way," I said as I sensed the aura of the stench. "It also leads toward the river, but it's at the end where the Rossini River meets Lake Vivaldi."

"And we better be prepared, but first, we check in at the Golden Falcon, which is a place where hunters frequent."

And so, we followed Nibori to where we needed to be as we walked towards the Golden Falcon where we all checked in for the evening. What we didn't know was that Marnathi was there as she was ready to call it a night before morning. Even though we checked into our rooms, we weren't off the hook yet as we had to deal with the unit from the Intergalactic Space Police patrolling the village, for they were mainly there to track down criminals while dealing with the stink spirit on the sly.

"That douchebag!" she yelled. "He knew that we didn't want anyone to take a picture for that cheesy tabloid!"

"You're not too happy, are you?" said Reiko

"That neckbeard shlub thinks he can be above the law, but he's wrong!"

"Looks like you have a beef with a certain Ghostfacer, don't you?" I said as I took the gas mask off of my face. "We all know that he's immortal, but he's no stranger into getting his fix on finding monsters and spirits that often fall under the radar. This isn't the first time or the last he could do this, but his picture speaks volumes."

"When I see that neckbeard moron, I'm gonna do more than just read him his rights! I'm gonna strangle him so hard that his eyes will pop out of his sockets!"

"I hate to burst your bubble, but Baratheon has strict journalist and news protections and its government does have freedom of the press," said Nibori. "As for our next move, we might as well prepare before we go knee-deep in River Bottom's wetlands."

Reiko grabbed her suitcase as she went into our room and went behind a changing screen. Taking off her dress, she opened up her suitcase as she put on the jeans, black v-neck t-shirt, and flannel shirt while putting on her boots and putting her hair in the black ball cap that she wore when she overthrew the reign of Father Warren two years ago. She was ready to go as she left our room and joined us before leaving the inn and straight towards the clearing. We followed the trail of the stench as we went towards a dirt road near the river. It was mainly used for travel to and from the village as we continued to follow the stench in which we finally found where it reached Lake Vivaldi. We later noticed in indentation in the dirt road as it led towards the clearing in which we saw it to be near the house where Marnathi grew up in. The place itself had its fair share of war as we saw the wreckage of the once prosperous house in which we later saw a pair of obsidian grave markers near a tree. I saw them to be of Dresden and Marnathos Trelundar as they had passed away years ago, for this place was both their home and their grave all at once.

"This place has memories from a bygone time," said Marnathi.

"It was your home, wasn't it?" I said.

"It was when it was just me, my dads, and my siblings in which we prospered for a long time until my other dad's sister decided to sell me to Emiliano just to settle her debts. I never wanted to be married to that man in the first place, but I tried to avoid it for nearly four months until I was forced to give up and be obedient to my husband."

"You may have never agreed to be wed to such an asshole like Emiliano, but you begot Guido, who is mainly a quadruple threat," said Nibori. "He's like you in which he's also quick to anger if any of his friends or loved ones get hurt."

"It's sad that your fathers never lived to see you filled with courage once more," said Reiko.

"It's no use crying over some pies being knocked over, but shit happens more than just once," said Marnathi. "As for our stinky friend hiding here, it's mainly playing—"

Without warning, a sound of a car engine was heard in the distance as we went towards the dirt road near the river and lake. Reiko and Nibori saw a pair of headlights approaching as they had a gut feeling that something wasn't right. Still, we had to be careful around the surroundings of River Bottom as this wasn't a place to be driving, for it was uncommon for a car to be making its way here of all places.

"You gotta be kidding me," said Nibori as she fished out her witching talisman.

"It's the Impala," said Reiko as she recognized the headlights that came from it. "But who is driving it besides Brother?"

"It's stopping once," said Marnathi as she got out her binoculars while seeing people crossing the dirt road. "And there it goes again…" She sees the car approaching closer as it stops in front of the clearing. "Well, at least it stopped for pedestrians…"

I ran towards the Impala as I spotted two familiar Draaza children in the driver's side and passenger's side of the car. It was Revata and Rohidra as they were also underage while taking the Impala on a joyride without Dean's permission. When I looked into the interior of the car, I saw a booster seat on the driver's side and a pair of wooden platform sandals meant for courtesans on the pedals with some wooden blocks on the floorboard. I also noticed a driver's manual in the seat as one of the boys must've had a knack for driving in which he was learning with a lot of smarts, but he had a long way to go before he completely learned how to drive a car. Still, I couldn't let both Revata and Rohidra be off the hook as I also had to return them to Alecrast once their joyride was done, for they also had to know the consequences of their actions firsthand.

"I see that you know how to drive," I said.

"We're sorry," said Revata. "All we're doing is trying to be like Dean and learn how to be hunters just to find scary monsters."

"I take it that one of you knows how to drive, but you can't be doing that until you reach sixteen."

"At least I know how to be careful," said Rohidra. "Besides, I read that driving manual on how to stop for pedestrians and watch out for potholes and such."

"The two of you are way too young for driving at your age," said Marnathi as she rushed towards the boys. "You don't even have a proper d.l. to drive with in which you have a long way to go before you reach your sweet sixteen!"

"They already know," I said. "I bet that your blended family must be worried about you…"

"Dean's too busy kicking butt and taking names while helping everyone while our mom is busy with our baby sister," said Rohidra. "Besides, we have to do our part in what our blended family does best and that is by saving people, hunting things, and upholding the family business. It's what we do, right?"

It wasn't long until I got a sight of the stink spirit as it was slithering on the ground. The stench of it was something that nearly made me gag as I followed its trail while putting on my gas mask. The track of the stink spirit led me further into the clearing as I noticed a waterfall and a hot pond near it. What I didn't expect was that there was a barrier all over it as it was a shield to keep everything and everyone out of it the moment I saw the stink spirit turning around to face me in which I wasn't afraid of its presence, for I also saw it to be a gentle soul that wasn't in fine fettle so far.

"You're wanting in that hot pond, aren't you?" I said as the stink spirit roared woefully. "It looks like whoever created that barrier didn't want you to replenish yourself to begin with." The stink spirit continued to roar as it lamented not going into the hot pond. "It appears that a magic barrier was put here years ago…" I later walked to the shore of the hot pond as I threw a pebble at the shield over the water the moment it disintegrated into dust. "And there you have it… It looks like that there were witching tools used years ago due to the fact that they were stolen and used to put up the barrier to keep everyone out of it."

I saw the barrier over the hot pond glowing as I noticed a sphere blasting at something the moment I saw the charred remains of a white crow landing onto the ground. It was a spell like no other as I had to use my raw power to stop it in which I also had to help the stink spirit get into the hot pond. Still, I had to keep my distance as I later noticed Nibori sprinting to where I was while having a barrier all over to protect her from the stench of the stink spirit. She saw the sphere that blasted things in a short radius as she recognized it carefully, for it was a magical security system that was once meant to keep everyone away from the Vesper Guild's witching tools and trinkets at the time.

"Looks like whoever put up the barrier wasn't messing around," she said to me.

"And it won't let our stinky friend go no further," I said.

"The sphere magic was crafted by a certain meddling witch at the time in which she was also using it to keep her stuff from further being stolen by the Masbaths."

"Rowena must've made it back then…"

"Actually, the magic sphere came from my maternal grandmother, Odette Clarke, who crafted it to keep everyone away from the magic that most of the witches from the Vesper Guild have kept away from prying eyes. Whoever used her magic here must've cast the sphere and barrier from the grimoire that was stolen by Cesare just to be another part of his collection in the Sprawl on Lannister."

"And the feeling is mutual…" The stink spirit continues to roar out of desperation as I sensed its pain. "We're working on it, okay? It also seems that you were stuck in the form you were in, but whoever sealed up the hot pond wasn't giving a damn about the health and welfare of what really comes and goes on a daily basis, including spirits." I hear the stink spirit crying in desperation as it was shedding mud-filled tears on the ground. "Don't worry, we're not abandoning you yet in which we'll destroy that barrier just so you can replenish yourself with."

"I learned a counterspell to dispel the sphere in which it'll weaken the barrier. It'll also be a way and mean for you to shatter it so that our stinky little friend will finally take a bath."

And so, I used the raw power that I had as Nibori enacted the counterspell to dispel the barrier and sphere. With our combined efforts, the barrier and sphere were destroyed as the stink spirit finally made it to the hot pond where it began to lay in the water that was replenishing it from the inside. The relief from it was intense until I spotted something sticking out of its back. When I rushed towards the stink spirit, I spotted it as if it were some sort of thorn, but was made of metal instead of sagebrush or other forms of flora on Baratheon's soil. When Reiko drove the Impala with Marnathi and the children in it, they rushed out after they parked to see what was going on as they saw the truth in the hot pond. To make a long story short, they never expected the stink spirit to be in pain before as this was a dire emergency in a nutshell, for we had to make a team effort to remove what was put into it.

"We have to make a team effort," I said.

"What's wrong with it?" asked Revata.

"It has a thorn on its flank, but we're gonna have to use a rope to pull it out with."

"Do we even have a rope?" asked Marnathi.

"We got it covered," said Nibori as she was ready to cast an incantation. "Extra diu fortis funem!"

A strong long rope was formed as Reiko grabbed it and tied it to the back fender of the Impala. That was when she cleared out the makeshift booster seat and pedals while putting them in the backseat as she began to slowly drive while the rest of us gently pulled the rope that was later attached tightly to the thorn on the stink spirit. The group effort was intense as we kept pulling at the thorn until we noticed it shift further into a pile of junk that resembled it. What we saw was the remains of a bicycle that was pulled out of it along with a few other things from ages past. The junkpile that came out of the stink spirit was stagnant, but filled with the odds and ends that piled up over the years of wandering without cleaning itself from time to time. When I used my raw power to move the junkpile to the center of the clearing, I noticed a few more odds and ends sticking out of it as they were none other than bits and pieces of leftover gold and gemstones from a bygone era, for it was something that was accumulated over the years. When I returned to the hot pond, I saw the stink spirit being restored to its original form as I saw it to be a water elemental that looked more like an large eel, for it was glad that it was cured from what ailed it.

"Il peggio e passato per ora," I said in Italian as the water spirit stood firm in front of me. "Non c'e niente da temere."

"Grazie, mio signore," it replied in Italian as it began to fly away. "Fino a quando non ci incontreremo di nuovo!"

I was glad that the spirit was now cured from what ailed it as we all saw it flying further away the moment we went towards the junkpile that was uncovered in which we spotted Marnathi's unit surveying the damage of it. Even though the worst was over, night was already upon us as we had no other choice but to stay put near the Impala till morning, for it was a better option while enjoying the outdoors.

"It's been a while since we camped outside," said Revata as he looked up at the stars in the sky.

"At least we helped that stinky monster, but it really had a lot of junk in it," said Rohidra.

"I hope the two of you learn your lesson not to take the Impala," said Reiko as she stood in front of them. "You know that you're too young to drive in which you won't hear the end of what your blended family has to say."

"They know plenty in which they helped us pull all that junk out of that stink spirit," said Nibori as she was optimistic at what was found earlier. "Even though it was cleaned and sterilized, I got a good look at what that thing hid on its person in which I've found a few old lockboxes, more biking parts, and an old big wheel that most kids often peddle on from time to time. I even found an old tricycle that had a larger wheel with two smaller ones in the back. There was also a few old radios and an old boombox in which it's older than all of us combined."

"You really know how to spot junk," said Rohidra.

"Before joining the Order, I used to work at the White Rosalia Salvaging Company in which I often clean up the space debris, but I always had a soft spot for things that have been long forgotten over the centuries."

"It's getting late, but at least we'll have a detour at hand," I said. "Besides, we did help a river spirit get—"

Without warning, I heard the sound of a dragon roaring as I was bogged down by a high-pitched noise in my head. The painful aura from it caused me to have a nosebleed as I heard the roar getting louder in which it was giving me trouble. Reiko noticed me feeling the pinch of what I was going through as trying to maintain my composure while hearing the dragon's roar in my head. It wasn't long until Nibori spotted a crystal dragon flying in the distance as it was roaring loudly, for it had business here for a reason.

"Up there!" she yelled as we all saw the crystal dragon flying in the distance.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me!" cried Marnathi as she was stunned to see it.

"Watch your language," I said cautiously. "There are children present."

I saw the crystal dragon flying towards us as it landed near the lake in which I spotted it carefully. The dragon itself was shimmering in the moonlight with its scales that shined brightly than that of a spinning disco ball as it stared at me while roaring, for it was also staring at the Impala along with its two occupants. It wasn't long until the dragon continued to roar loudly as it filtered my brain while I was struggling to remain calm while having a splitting headache, for it was all too much for me at this moment.

"Alright, I'll tell them to take the car back home to the palace, okay?!" I cried as I stared at the crystal dragon. "Well, you don't need to act like a jerk!"

Both Revata and Rohidra looked at the crystal dragon as they were scared to death while standing in front of the Impala. The sight of the large creature in front of them was more than enough to have them shaking in their clothes as it roared loudly at them in which I had to translate its displeasure, for I also had to mediate at what it had to say first.

"This dragon says that you took off with the Impala in the apodytery with the red rubber ball in it," I said. "It also wants you two to return it back home to Alecrast after you took it on a joyride."

"Please, don't eat us, Mr. Crystal Dragon!" cried Rohidra as he was shedding tears. "Revata and I will bring Dean back his car, okay?!"

"That dragon is not about to eat you, but it wants you to bring back the Impala without further conflict in mind." The crystal dragon roared loudly as it was staring at Rohidra. "It also says that this isn't the first time that you knew how to drive in which you also stop for pedestrians when they cross the street."

"A careful driver always stops in front when people cross the street! That's what I read in the driver's manual!" The crystal dragon roars loudly as it is beckoning Revata and Rohidra to return home with the Impala. "Okay, Mr. Crystal Dragon…, we'll return the car…" The crystal dragon continues to roar as it beckoned the boys to get into the Impala. "I know… Driver picks the tunes while shotgun shuts his cakehole."

And so, both Revata and Rohidra got into the backseat of the Impala as the crystal dragon grabbed it while flying away. At that moment. I decided to follow them as I changed into the form of a silver dragon as I flew to where an old large cave with a set of doors were at the moment saw them open up. It was an apodytery as I saw the crystal dragon carrying the Impala into it while the doors closed up and glowed the moment it was a large room with a red rubber ball in it. By the time I returned to normal with silver scales shed onto the ground, I felt my knees buckling as I was feeling exhausted from the whole day. It was too much for me, but I soldiered on as I fell to my knees the moment I heard footsteps approaching. Turning around, I saw Reiko and the others coming towards me as I fainted onto the ground, for I was tired from this long day of dealing with a spirit that was once overwhelmed with a stench that was now long gone…


Revata and Rohidra got out of the Impala as they saw the doors to the apodytery opening up in which they were back home in the palace in the Alecrian capital. The crystal dragon who carried off the Impala to the apodytery was gone as the two Draaza boys were searching for it until they saw dozens of crystals littered all over the floor. The presence of diamonds and other gemstones everywhere was something new as both Revata and Rohidra spotted Dean on the ground without any clothes on, for he never knew about what was going on until he stood up to hide behind the Impala.

"Dean, is that you?" asked Revata as he saw him on his feet.

"At least I told Sam about you two joyriding in Baby…," he said as he stood behind the Impala.

"What are you talking about?" asked Rohidra.

"Forget I said anything…"

It wasn't long until the sound of footsteps approaching in which Ravenna burst into the apodytery to see that the Impala was safe, but wasn't too happy with the boys taking it without asking. She later noticed Dean in the nude as he was too embarrassed to emerge forward due to the fact that he didn't have any clothes on. He was blushing as he had to find something to cover up with as he later noticed some aprons in the backseat. Opening up the car door, he got them out as he placed and tied the bigger one while he did the same with the smaller one, for he didn't want to be seen in the nude in front of the children right now.

"What do you two have to explain to yourselves?" asked Ravenna as she wasn't too happy with what the boys have did. "You take off with your stepfather's car while driving into the apodytery with it just to explore Baratheon to hunt down a stink spirit, but you can't be doing that until you reach the average driving age."

"We're sorry, Mom," said Revata. "We just wanted to track down that stink spirit, that's all."

"They're fine, but at least they found some junk in it without having it to be in the trunk," said Dean.

"That thing stank like someone stinking up the potty for too long," said Rohidra. "It was terrible, but at least we helped Sam and the others pull out all that junk that was in it."

"And the feeling is mutual," said Ravenna as she smelled the stench from the boys' clothing. "You really need to go to the bathhouse and get cleaned up. You're lucky that you arrived home, but dealing with a stink spirit isn't easy."

"They know and they got the message," said Dean as he was dressed in the aprons covering him from embarrassment. "At least they helped get all that junk out of what was crawling all over the river and lake."

"Come on, we should all get cleaned up because it's time for our dinner and there isn't much time to waste right now."

And so, Dean and the boys followed Ravenna out of the apodytery as they were making their way towards the bathhouse. After all that has happened, the affair with the stink spirit was in the record books as it would soon be written in memory, for it was something that would soon be talked about for many years to come…


Nibori was sifting into the junkpile as she was marveling at what was pulled out of the river spirit earlier. The sight of old parts were a sight to behold as she later found an old tape recorder in which it was intact the moment she saw it to be a work of art. It was old, but ancient as she looked at the blank tape that was in it the moment it was intact after all those centuries that have kept it in the sludge that caked all over the the river spirit like mud. Even Marnathi noticed it as she took it from Nibori in which she saw it to be an old recording device that was crude, but unscathed by the years of being trapped in stinky sludge in the form of a stink spirit that crawled everywhere. It was old, but filled with all the nostalgia that followed as Marnathi pressed play to see that if it worked, for it was also something that was forgotten after years of neglect.

"Well, baby; I'm just a guy…," said a voice on the recording. "'Cause when you fart…, 'cause when you faaaarrrrt… I STINK UP THE HOUSE!, baby! I didn't know I stink up the house! It's all so smelly and stinky, it made a big ol' fart start!"

Marnathi stopped the recording as she remembered it during childhood. She was reliving that moment during her teenage years as she began to shed tears rolling down her cheeks. Even Nibori noticed her sobbing uncontrollably as she sensed the pain that was there the moment she was once plucked from her home, for it was something that was never resolved over the years.

"This was when I was still in school," she sobbed. "I recorded it when I was feeling a little depressed at the time."

"That old recording was you in it, wasn't it?" said Nibori.

"It was, but I wanted to live the remainder of my teenage years in which I had dreams to uphold, but all of that was taken away by Aunt Marzatra when she sold me to my ex-husband just to pay off her debts. I was young and smart when I graduated high school and was ready to start college, but I was forced to be wed to a man who was old enough to be anyone's father. I endured the marriage when he took me! I bore his children, endured his abuse, and survived until I heard about what happened to Guido when that prick sodomized him as a child. It was the last and final straw after I had enough of his abuse when I divorced him and worked from the bottom where I became what I am today."

"I never knew about it until now… You went through too much in which you had everything taken away from you."

"My future was taken away from me, but the different direction as a cop made me do my part in punishing criminals and seeking justice. Still, I can't change the past, but I can carve out a future for those who broke the cycle that one is put through. It's something that I've always struggled with, but I can't run from it forever."

Marnathi held onto the tape recorder as she was not only mourning her lost future, but gained everything through perseverance and survival. It was something that left her grasp for years as she also never forgot about the turmoil she went through, for it was a way and mean to come to terms with what was there in front. Before she and Nibori left for the inn, they noticed an old hex bag on the ground as it was there for years. Nibori noticed it clearly as she picked up the torn remains of what was found on the ground in which it was placed there years prior, for she had to tell me after I had my bath afterwards...


I woke up in the hot pond as I was cleaned up and naked the moment I saw the water elemental flying in the distance. I was happy to see that the air was cleared as the sign of the stench was long gone the moment I saw Reiko in the water naked and not leaving my side. Still, I had to deal with what happened earlier as I relaxed without further difficulty even after my encounter with the crystal dragon earlier. Sooner or later, I would meet with it again, but not now as I was thankful that it stepped in and whisked away Revata and Rohidra in the Impala before leaving for the apodytery with the red rubber ball. Staring up at the sky, I saw the moon shining from the sky surrounded by stars as it was peaceful without the stench, for the air was cleared for another day without it.

"It's a long night, but at least the stench is gone," I said.

"The river spirit is thankful that it was cleaned up," said Reiko.

"I know… As for the junk that was caked into it, most of it was intact, but it accumulated to the mud and stench that overwhelmed it for a long time."

"We healed the water elemental, Sammy. We saved it from its own fate in which it now thrives happily in the river and lake it came from."

"The junk in it was old, but most of it was intact due to some of it under the leftovers that shielded it from further degradation. It's also been said that one man's trash is another man's treasure in which most of it came from the property that was destroyed during the war, only for us to pull it out of the river spirit that was crying for help."

Reiko and I looked at the starry sky as we continued to see the river spirit flying in the distance over the waters. Even though it was saved from further degradation, we had a reason to prevent its former stench from overwhelming River Bottom and its adjoining waters. Still, it was a long night, but was worth seeing results from what was there. By the time we finished up our soak, we left the hot pond as we noticed some robes near the shore the moment we put them on. What we also noticed was that Marnathi and Nibori ran towards us as they were here to present evidence of what I never saw before until now, for the torn hex bag was a red flag to keep the river spirit from replenishing itself from time to time.

"We got a problem," said Marnathi.

"Is something wrong?" asked Reiko.

"There was a hex bag, but whoever put it there was crafty, but effective," said Nibori.

"It's from the Vesper Guild," I said as I saw the torn hex bag. "From the look of it, it was also stolen just to seal the hot pond entirely."

"And whoever stole it, wasn't a witch, but someone too vain to bail out of her lifestyle before leaving offworld."

"And I know who continues to bask in her glory…," said Marnathi as she clenched her fists.

We all knew that this wasn't over as I had a gut feeling that something was wrong at the seams of uncertainty. As for what was about to happen next, things would get from bad to worse as I also had to make sure that Marnathi wouldn't fly off the handle, for this was something personal that had to be dealt with afterwards…

To be continued...