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A Plague Doctor’s Account of the “Searing Plague”.

A Plague Doctor’s Account of the “Searing Plague”.

By Lesudo Alimar, Dras Plague Doctor.

Circa 229, 4th Age.

WARNING: May contain graphic content regarding Plague Symptoms. Reader discretion is advised!

Entry One,

I was sitting in that drab room with the poor Neran. He was burning alive, yet there were no flames. I had been caring for him for a few hours. He had advanced symptoms of the Searing Plague, as we had begun calling it. When I first arrived, he was sweating profusely, and he was so hot it was uncomfortable to even shake his hand. He was shaking, weak. He could barely speak through his parched throat and cracked, dry lips. I was very concerned with his state, and I immediately began treating him with an herbal tonic and cooling salves. They seemed to work at first, but a few hours into the treatment, he took a turn for the worse. I covered him in cool wet cloths, and applied more cooling balms. Nothing reduced his temperature. His skin was turning red, and before long, he was in his death throes. There was nothing I could do but wait with him, and see him to the Queen’s Embrace. I offered him solace, sang songs to him, and spoke rhymes of gentle console to him. I tried everything to alleviate his pain. Numbing tonics and ointments along with the tried and true cooling salves. Nothing worked. His skin burst open, and oozed pus and small streams of blood. He screamed, coughed, and sputtered. His eyes bulged out of his head, and then… He died. I sighed as I rose, covering his corpse with a blanket.

I walked out of his house, and flagged down the nearest Corpse Taker. His cart was overflowing with the dead. I was appalled. This Searing Plague was devastating the town I had come to save. It was my hope that I might soon gain some insight in how to combat this deadly outbreak. The Neran was the fourth patient I had tended to since arriving two days past. All of them died in the same manner. The symptoms progressed slightly different with each. Some burned up faster. Some slower. Some seemed to show no symptoms until everything happened at once, in an explosive outburst of burnt skin and bursting eyes. It was brutal. It was violent. It was death. One side of the Coin. It was overtaking the natural balance set forth by the Queen. We Dras, despite having had an entire village murdered by the Janoa at Quone, needed to mobilize and help where we could. My village sent out our best Sages, Herbalists, and Doctors. I was sent to this town, on the fringes of the swamps, alone. When I first arrived, I had hope. People had died, but not in the droves that had perished over the last night. I had tonics, salves, balms, ointments, creams, teas, and a myriad of herbs and spices we Dras use in the swamps to cure visitors. Nothing seemed to work. All my years of treating the sick, and nothing compared to the devastating effects of this Plague.

As I walked back to my temporary quarters, I thought about the reports I had heard. Something about how the first death recorded was in the Menas foothills. A wedding. People had taken to calling it the “Blood Mark Wedding”. What could have been at that wedding, that unleashed such a blight onto the lands? I couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head. It was truly a mystery. One that needed to be solved if anyone were to be saved from this illness.

Signed

Lesudo Alimar


8/13/2018 11:56:33 PM #1

Great read! Can't wait to see more entries :)

8/14/2018 1:49:22 PM #2

Entry Two,

Dawn broke. Fifteen more people had died over night. The Cemetery of this settlement is overflowing with corpses. It’s a breeding ground for the Plague. The undertakers are now showing symptoms. Soon there will be no one left to ferry the bodies out of the settlement. It will lead to the disease spreading faster, as bodies pile up in the streets and homes. I am determined to find a way to combat the plague. This town is depending on me, as I am the only Doctor, and Dras, here. I am the only one immune to the effects of the disease. I have a small team of Nurses, Herbalists, and Sages to help me, but they can not get close to the patients. Only I can care for them in any meaningful capacity. I instructed my team to mix together various concoctions to test the mixed effects of the herbs and spices. I had them combine these mixtures into the cooling salves, and tonics I had brought. The most promising was a tonic brewed with lavender, yarrow, and elderberry. I then proceeded to the next patient. A Hrothi merchant who had advanced symptoms and was dying. I knew I might not save him, but I had to test my theories and mixtures.

When I arrived at his house, his family was gathered around him. His wife, and three sons. They were young. It brought a tear to my eye for a moment, but I had to remain confident and strong in front of the youngsters. I instructed the family to leave the room, and wait outside in the backyard, where they might not hear the Hrothi mann’s screams. The family was white with terror, and begged me frantically to save their father. I assured them I would do my best, but gave them no promises. My fellow healers remained with the family, checking them over for signs of the Plague, while I took to the patient, mixtures in hand.

I entered his room, and he was already writhing in pain. His skin was red and splotchy, and near to splitting open. This was a sure sign he was Plagued. I had to work fast. I applied the new salves all over his body, and then gave him the tonic mixture. He immediately spit the tonic out, and heaved and coughed. He couldn’t have kept it down if he wanted to. I looked on in observance, as I comforted him in his dying minutes. The salves seemed to have had some sort of effect! He relaxed slightly. His skin was still hot, but it appeared as if he had no longer the feeling of it! Perhaps mixing the numbing salve and the cooling salve with the other herbs was the trick to at least ease their pain. Half an hour later, he was dead. His skin still cracked open, but it is my belief that he was dead before the final stage of the sickness took him. Perhaps, I had found a way to ease the suffering of the dying. I would need to apply my new mixture a few more times before I would know for sure.

I covered the Hrothi in the blanket, and sullenly walked outside to deliver the bad news. I reassured the family, that despite the pain of the other victims, their father had not suffered in the same way. I couldn’t bear to look at them, as they broke down into fits of hysteria. My team of healers said they were not displaying signs of Plague, so we left. Once more, I signaled the nearest Corpse Taker. I had lost another victim, but perhaps gained some insight into how best to ease the Plagued’s pain.


8/15/2018 3:22:01 PM #3

Entry Three,

The town was dwindling. Over the course of four days, they lost twenty-nine people to the Searing Plague. I had lost two of my team. An Herbalist and a Nurse. I suspect they had contracted the Plague from their contact with the Hrothi family, who had also all died. My work is never ending by this point. The town is desolate now. No one dares venture outside other than the Corpse Takers, who collect the dead in their wheelbarrows. The silence of the town square speaks volumes of the town’s despair. The market is empty. The streets are barren. The Searing Plague is destroying this place. The Virtori here have taken up the practice of Flagellantism. They march down the main road at midday and whip themselves for penance of their sins against the Virtues. They chant prayers and dress in rags to display their devoutness. Their parades are a macab display of an appeal to their religion for rescue.

I’m constantly pulled in many directions at once. Everyone is appealing to me for help. All I can do is help in order of severity. The town has few doctors, as most had died of the Plague already. Regardless, I carry on. I have been trying to heal the sick all through the night. I’m only now, able to sit down and add to my account. Twenty-nine people in four days. This disease is fast acting, ruthless, and terrible. So far, it seems to run the same course. First, the victim is tired, with dry eyes and an extreme thirst. They then develop a fever, weakness, dry, sore throats, and red patches on their skin. As this stage advances, their fever spikes to unusually high levels. Their skin gets so hot that its hard to touch. Finally, in the last stages of the disease their skin blisters, and cracks open as if burnt, and they writhe in pain until death. There is something else too. Some of the Afflicted seem to go crazy. In their delirious states, people would leap up and dance or sing despite the pain of their searing flesh. They might act feral and attack those around them. The effects of the disease are truly bizarre. I suspect the advanced fevers are searing their brains and scorching their senses. It will take many more patients before I can determine the causes of these oddities among the rest of the symptoms for certain. In the end, the Searing Plague is a terrible way to die. My soul aches for the infected and their families. Suffering of this scale is truly difficult to endure.

Today, I plan to try and create more mixtures. I have a tincture in mind that might slow the progression, but I don’t know. I will brew white willow, peppermint, and black elder flowers into a tea, and let it cool in the night. I hope this will stem the fevers and cool the patients off. I will continue to use the salve that was made from charcoal, ginger, and aloe. I think that, if I can cool them off inside and outside, we stand a better chance of reducing these intense fevers. All of this, I do while tending to those I’m able to. Much of my work is simply monitoring them. Bloodletting and leeches seem to have little effect on the progression of the disease. I still apply a leech or two, as I believe the pressure build up inside of the victim is causing the skin to crack open. I also quarantine all patients and disallow anyone to contact them. Anyone who must come into contact always has to wear a heavy apron, oilskin gloves, and a mask containing a bundle of sweet smelling herbs to prevent contracting the disease.

I am going to the Mayor’s Manor tomorrow. His wife has started complaining about a dry throat. She isn’t showing any other symptoms yet. The Mayor has personally requested me to check on her. Let us hope the Queen has graced her with life over death.


8/15/2018 3:38:58 PM #4

Enjoyable read :)


8/15/2018 4:04:29 PM #5

Glad you guys are enjoying it! More to come!


8/15/2018 4:46:00 PM #6

Nice touch.


8/16/2018 4:59:39 PM #7

Entry 4,

I arrived at the Mayor’s manor this morning, only to find that one of his servants had been killed overnight. Apparently, one of the Mayor’s sons thought the maid had symptoms of the Searing Plague, and ordered the guards to kill her so she might not spread the disease to the family. I examined the body, and sure enough, she did show some signs, but I couldn’t determine conclusively. Poor thing. She wasn’t even given a chance. Perhaps she was perfectly healthy. We’ll never know. The threat of death by painful diseases does things to the minds of Menn. Surrounded by death and decay, they cower in fear at the slightest signs of danger. Some Menn react with violence, as is the case with the Mayor’s son. Others turn and flee. Some freeze up, unable to act upon the situation. I don’t pretend to know what the Queen is doing, but I do my best to keep the balance. I suppose in another part of the world somewhere, there are people living in a boon time. I can envision the lavish parties and abundance of food they must be enjoying. The good health of their kin. The lives they are creating and furthering. All the sunshine and good fortune anyone could want. I can only hope that the balance swings in our favor again one day soon, even if it is to the detriment of those poor far off peoples enjoying the good times now. That’s a bit selfish, I know. I suppose I should get back to the account.

I arrived at the Mayor’s Manor and it was in such a state! Fancy furnishings were strewn about, and the entire family was holed up in the main living quarters. Guards were posted at the doors. No one was allowed to enter, save for myself. I entered the room, and sure enough, the Mayor’s wife was laying in a bed with a cloth over her forehead. She looked serene, but that wasn’t going to last. They Mayor was a stern Neran man, with a sharp nose for detail and a shrewd business air about him. I could tell he was a no-nonsense mann. He looked at me with pleading eyes when I first entered. He asked me to “please save my wife.”. It’s hard to console the families of the afflicted, when the mortality rate of this Searing Plague is almost certain death. No matter what you say or do, the family knows deep down that there’s nothing to be done other than to ease the suffering. There were four guards posted around the room, mainly near windows and doors. I suppose to keep the sick from trying to gain audience with the Mayor, and infect him. I set to work. I administered the new tea I had brewed, the tonic, and salve. Then I waited. An hour or so passed, and the Mayor’s wife seemed to remain stable. Her skin was hot and blotchy, and she complained of thirst, but she did not seem to be advancing into the later stages of the Plague. I held my breath. Then it happened. It was mid morning, and she leapt from the bed in such a rage! I fell over and turned around just in time to see her grab the shocked guard’s sword and thrust it deep into his stomach! It was madness! It took two guards to wrestle her back into the bed, but as soon as they did, she started howling like a feral animal! The Mayor was there, watching the insanity alongside his sons. They were horrified! He screamed at me that my medicines were doing this to her. I sighed and got up. Brushed myself off, and calmly walked over to the bed, where the poor girl was thrashing about under the steel grips of the two guards. The last guard was busy dragging his wounded comrade out of the room. I never had a chance to look him over. I took out a vile of Lemon Balm and Lavender oil. These herbs were well known for their calming effects. I rubbed the oil onto her top lip, just under her nose. I then applied more salve to her forehead to try and cool her off. Clearly this outburst was a sign the Plague’s heat was scorching her mind. She would descend into further madness before death, I was sure of it. Regardless, I worked. I gave her more tonic, held her hand, and sung to her in a low, deep tone.

The song was one my mother used to sing to me when I was a child in the village. It was a low mournful song, about the migration of the Dras from the wetlands. How our people had been searching for a place we belonged. I sang it in Lazu. I know she didn’t understand the words, but they still seemed to have an effect on her, and I was pleased to see the calming oils working. I smiled gently at her, and reapplied a new cool wet cloth to her forehead. An hour later, and she was doing much better! I was shocked. This was the first patient to have shown improvement. My methods were having an effect. It was not impossible to save these people. Before noon, her skin had cooled, and the red blotches were gone. She was going to make it! I stood up as the Mayor grabbed me. He hugged me tightly. I could see the blood spots where the guard had been stabbed behind him. No doubt, they would blame the Plague for his death. In a sense, they wouldn’t be wrong. I suppose that wasn’t for me to worry about though. I gave the Mayor some of the tinctures and salves I had used to heal his wife, and instructed them all to remain inside, with sweet herbs in masks on their face to prevent reinfection. I then pleaded with the Mayor to instill a curfew and quarantine law to keep the afflicted away from the healthy, and decrease the chance of spreading the Plague. Afterward, I left the Mayor’s house in search of something to eat. It had been a while since I last had a meal. I felt vindicated though. For all the death around me, I finally managed to save someone. I didn’t just ease her pain, but I saved her life. As I walked down the road the Virtori procession was moving down the main street. They chanted an eerie prayer, and whipped themselves with cat-o-nine tails, and paddled themselves with large flat boards. Their rags were shredded and many were bleeding. They rounded the corner and disappeared from sight.


8/17/2018 8:19:47 PM #8

you have quite the flair for this Seli... keep up the good work.


8/19/2018 12:59:22 PM #9

Entry 5,

Ten more people died over night. Yesterday afternoon was slow going. The death toll seems to be slowing down though. Perhaps the Plague is running out of bodies to infect. When I first got here, the town was madness, but over the course of the last week and a half, I’ve been able to learn so much of this Plague. The Mayor has been wonderful as well. He listened to my request, and imposed a curfew as well as making it mandatory that all citizens showing signs of Plague be quarantined. My hope has been reassured. Late last night, a courier brought me a book as well. It was a book on Treating Disease and Balancing Humors. I knew a little bit about humors, but this book was pretty comprehensive. This would come in very useful.

I took the book and my supplies to the next patient. This was another Neran man. He was one of the Undertakers at the cemetery. His job was very important. The town had since switched from burying the bodies to burning them to help stop the spread of the Searing Plague. The joke was “Let’s Sear the Searing Plague”. Maybe a bit macabre, but these people needed to laugh at something. It was having an effect, but the Undertakers were at most risk. They were the real heroes of this epidemic. Many had died already, but the survivors remained loyal to their duties. The Neran, named Marl Windsheer, was looking bad. He had been brought to the makeshift hospital, which was really just the old tavern, by his nephew. I looked him over, and consulted the book I had. It proposed the idea of balancing the four humors of the body. Now, I knew about the humors of the bodies of Menn, but I didn’t think to try hot cups (Which was a common way to balance humors). It seemed like the wrong approach, to heat someone who was already burning up. I, however, had an idea. Cold cups. I instructed one of my nurses to fetch me anything small, round, and metal. She came back with two tin candlesticks. It was fine, they would work. I put them in water to cool them down. I then applied the usual salves, and administered the tonic. Then, I placed a candlestick on his head, and the other on his bare stomach. I then applied a leech to his right arm. I prepared an emetic of saltwater and mustard while the leech bled his arm. This, to purge the bad humors. After a while I took the candlesticks off of Marl, and gave him the emetic. I then got a bucket ready, to catch the bad humor as he spewed them out.

He wretched and wretched and soon there was a bucket full of yellowish foul smelling bile. This of course was one of the four humors. Tainted by the Plague no doubt. I then set the bucket aside. I would later have an alchemist run some tests on it. By this point, I was getting pretty thirsty. I brushed the thought of catching Plague out of my mind. We Dras do not catch diseases. I removed the leech from Marl’s arm, and squeezed the blood into a glass bottle. Another of the four humors. With these two samples, I might be able to find an alchemist to analyze them and see if there were some sort of properties the Plague had that we could use against it. I still wanted to get the other two humors from him, but he required rest now. I reapplied the ointments and administered more tonic.

Once more, I was surprised that a patient turned back toward life! Marl, who had been in the middle stages of the Plague, was getting better! My tactics were working. I had saved two people now. I was pleased. There was more good news. Several people in the Hospital who were showing early symptoms of the Plague were getting better. Their fevers were reduced, and their red dry eyes were returning to normal.

With a renewed hope, I had decided to step outside for some fresh air. I was feeling a bit warm in the Hospital. So I went out and to my amazement, there was a small caravan stopped on the main road. I walked over to it, and as I approached a Kyqiq in a fancy hat leapt off the back of the large cart and motioned eagerly for me to come over. When I got to him, he started chattering quickly about cure alls and health protection. I didn’t catch a lot of what he said, but he held up a bottle labeled “Crushed Emeralds”, and said that they were a great way to fight the Plague when eaten. I raised a brow at this. Crushed emeralds? That was certainly not something healthy to be ingested! That would be like eating crushed glass, and would certainly cause some internal damage. I opened my mouth to explain this, but before words could leave my lips, he was on to the next cure. I sighed, and turned to go. Even with my back turned, the Kypiq was still jabbering about his fake cures. He was scum in my opinion. Taking advantage of the desperation of the sick...


8/20/2018 6:59:55 PM #10

Entry 6,

I lay in a bed in my own makeshift Hospital. I’m burning alive. Turns out, Dras are not immune to the Plague. I’ve caught it. This is a clue though. We Dras have developed immunity to diseases due to our lifestyle living in the swamps. Disease is common there. This disease though… Its not like the ones found commonly in most of Elyria. This disease must have come from much farther away, at least from the warmer climates. I can’t help but to think of the ice at the wedding where the Plague first broke.

Writing is difficult. My head feels like there is a carpenter hammering away at it. My skin has the red blotched, but I still feel a bit of strength. I’m not weak, and my thirst is not extreme. I can’t tell how far I will advance. I’m treating myself the best I can. I’m using the salves and tonics I’ve used to great effect. I feel the effects of their cooling. If I survive this, I will have a better understanding of the illness. I hope the Queen sees fit to keep me alive so that I may continue to help other afflicted souls…

I cannot write much. I need to rest. If I do not make it to the next day, I wish my family back home a long healthy life, free of this accursed Plague. The Queen wills what is though, and I am resigned to her judgement. Perhaps I was tipping the balance to far in favor of life, and now I must be sacrificed to maintain that same balance…

I’m growing tired though, the strength I began this writing with is fading. We shall see what happens next…

For now, let it be known that Doctor Lesudo Alimar did all he could to help the suffering, ease the pain, and fight the Searing Plague.