Downstream

Aster directed the swarm downstream, following the sounds of feminine voices, and the pond soon came into sight. Daisy gasped next to Aster, a dozen other fairies emulating her as they became aware of what was happening below them. The pond water was completely opaque, murky and brown, its surface occasionally roiling from the movements of unseen things beneath it. A half-submerged metal pipe apparatus sat at one end of the pond, emitting a low gurgling. A muddy embankment had been built around it, forming a smaller pool of greyish water whose muddy wall rose up from the pond.

The entire scene reeked of the miasma they had smelled further upstream, its overpowering stench making Aster's eyes water. "How could the sprites have allowed this?!" upon closer look, Aster could make out the forms of water fey surrounding the grey pool. They seemed to be pushing mud up to form the retaining wall that held the grey water.

Blue swept past, peering down through narrowed eyes, "It looks like they did it themselves... maybe to contain whatever that contraption is?" She pointed to the metal machine. Aster could make out metal pipes feeding back into the forest behind the machine and felt slightly better: at least the sprites hadn't completely lost their minds. If they were trying to quarentine whatever this... poison was, then maybe the fairies could garner some good will by helping.

She was about to call out to the others when Daisy caught her arm, eyes wide and fearful, "Wait. I don't like this Aster, something feels wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"I think... I don't know but I feel like there's more going on here than we know, y'know? Everything's gone so oddly since we woke up yesterday, maybe it's not limited to us? Maybe this is all connected somehow?" She glanced around to make sure they were out of earshot from the others and leaned in close, "What do you feel when you smell that scent?" She pointed down at the water.

"I don't know, disgusted? Why?"

"Are you sure? Because I felt like dive bombing you and dragging you into the nearest safe flower so we could-" She took a shaky breath, cheeks red, "I felt hot inside. What if there's some kind of corruption in the-"

"Aster! What are we doing?" Blue called up from the middle of the circling swarm, the other fey looking up to her for direction.

"Why am I the leader?" She muttered under her breath and Daisy quirked her mouth amusedly.

Aster glanced down below at the far off sprites. There seemed to be a few that had noticed the gathered fairy swarm but not nearly as many as she would have expected. They seemed distracted, which she couldn't blame them for, but there were a few that didn't seem to be doing anything atop the mud wall. Aster squinted. They seemed a little... bigger than the others.