The Grassy Gnoll
Explorer
Somewhere in the city, a scurrying Archibald pulls up short with a gasp.
[sblock=Mousese] "Silly bugger's got himself hurt again"[/sblock]
[sblock=Mousese] "Silly bugger's got himself hurt again"[/sblock]
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Is'Merith - Campaign Thread
- Thread starter Sezarious
- Start date
With that, the Matron sighs and walks back to her desk as if nothing ever happened. Shuffling a series of papers at her desk, she cries out 'Next Please'. With that, a jittery looking eleven woman holding a baby stands up and nervously steps forward as the party leaves.
Within about 2 hours, the party has gotten back to the guild, carrying back it's companions and having to explain the situation to a couple of guards on the way as to what they were doing with the bodies. Mina uses the alcohol story she used before and upon the parties arrival back at the guild, Daedarai wakes Al with a wet cloth to his face and forehead. Al regains consciousness with a groan as a panicked Archibald scurries onto his lap. [sblock=Mousese]"Oh golly! What happened to you? Where's the cheese, oh and I have news on Nora! You're not going to like it though! Her scent has changed according to some of the moles that knew of her! She's different! And she was last smelt going deeper into the city! It's not just her either. Other people have been doing the same"[/sblock]
With that, Tro'Leera regained consciousness. "Errrr oh gods, where am... Oh good, still the ship!" Kay- Don' go taking me to the hospital, they execute lycans, now let me explain a few things before you guys just jump right in there..." He sits up. "Now, first and foremost, if any of you have been bitten, you need a cure disease potion or spell". He looks around at the barely conscious Alejandro. " Oh gods Mr Rai-Jan! What have I done? Please, here take this healing potion to ease the pain!" He pulls out a potion of healing and places it in front of the gnome. "Listen, everybody, I don't think you quite understand, you see, I'm a doctor, not just a poison-maker. I am seeking to cure the red death, but it is a rather... Troublesome disease. Will you all hear me out?"
Within about 2 hours, the party has gotten back to the guild, carrying back it's companions and having to explain the situation to a couple of guards on the way as to what they were doing with the bodies. Mina uses the alcohol story she used before and upon the parties arrival back at the guild, Daedarai wakes Al with a wet cloth to his face and forehead. Al regains consciousness with a groan as a panicked Archibald scurries onto his lap. [sblock=Mousese]"Oh golly! What happened to you? Where's the cheese, oh and I have news on Nora! You're not going to like it though! Her scent has changed according to some of the moles that knew of her! She's different! And she was last smelt going deeper into the city! It's not just her either. Other people have been doing the same"[/sblock]
With that, Tro'Leera regained consciousness. "Errrr oh gods, where am... Oh good, still the ship!" Kay- Don' go taking me to the hospital, they execute lycans, now let me explain a few things before you guys just jump right in there..." He sits up. "Now, first and foremost, if any of you have been bitten, you need a cure disease potion or spell". He looks around at the barely conscious Alejandro. " Oh gods Mr Rai-Jan! What have I done? Please, here take this healing potion to ease the pain!" He pulls out a potion of healing and places it in front of the gnome. "Listen, everybody, I don't think you quite understand, you see, I'm a doctor, not just a poison-maker. I am seeking to cure the red death, but it is a rather... Troublesome disease. Will you all hear me out?"
Last edited:
Trogdor1992
First Post
"If by complicated you mean that you randomly change into a monster then I suppose that it is indeed complicated, do warn a fellow next time you plan to go all beast man on us."
Daedarai picks up the potion and administers it Alejandro. He stays at his side while turning towards Tro'leera. “My friend if we weren't willing to hear you out, you wouldn't still be alive. You are one of us and that means a great deal to me, but my halfling associate makes a good point. I recognize that our attempt to subdue you caused your transformation and I apologize for that, but are there other triggers? Moreover, we need answers. Is this the Red Death? We've heard of infections spreading throughout Peer'At. Are there people transforming like you down there? Some of us,” he glances at the gnome waking up beside him, “have people we care about down there. Start at the beginning and tell us what we're dealing with here.”
The Grassy Gnoll
Explorer
Alejandro gratefully (and somewhat sheepishly) drinks the potion, digesting the news from Archibald.
He strokes the mouse, who happily rolls on to his back and accepts a tummy rub as the party listens to Tro'leera and talk to him.
It doesn't seem like the right time to inform them of the mouse's news from the moles. Changed...changed how? And others? Some sort of...nest?
He shudders.
"Thank you for the potion, doctor. Tell us about the Red Death. Everything there is to know."
He strokes the mouse, who happily rolls on to his back and accepts a tummy rub as the party listens to Tro'leera and talk to him.
It doesn't seem like the right time to inform them of the mouse's news from the moles. Changed...changed how? And others? Some sort of...nest?
He shudders.
"Thank you for the potion, doctor. Tell us about the Red Death. Everything there is to know."
Tro'Leera takes a deep breath, shifting to a more comfortable position he addresses everyone with equal gaze, using his hands to assist him in his explanation at key intervals. "As you should be aware now, I am not just a poisoner, but a Doctor. My field of expertise focuses on the study of substances, chemicals and the such and their interaction with humanoid bodies, whether the effects are beneficial or detrimental". Poisons are normally more complex, the deadlier they are, but at the same time there are some very potent substances one can extract from these poisons in their pure form. This is where people have made their assumption about me. I have been able to use substances derived from poisons to cure diseases that ordinary herbalists would give up on.
That is the first thing you must understand, secondly, you should know that for several years I have turned my attention to a particular disease." He pauses and nods at Daedarai. "Which you can all guess is the red death. I was requested by one of the noble households, Silverfrost to come up with a means of neutralising the negative effects of the disease as well as seperately come up with a cure. At this stage, no-one knew about the red death, for you see it was contained very conveniently in the Silverfrost vaults. What the red death is, is a failed attempt to modify the Wererat strain of the Lycanthropy disease. More contagious and characterised seperately by the red rash you are all aware of.
Before I had been aware that this disease in fact belonged to the Silverfrosts, they had told me that this sample was something they had stolen from another group of nobles, the Bloodrows. This seemed to fit, what with the Bloodrow reputation and all, Necromancy running in their family you see." He shrugs momentarily as he says this.
"The Silverfrosts informed me that the Bloodrows intended to plan a takeover of the city using this virus and so it would be very noble if I could help stop its spread. I needed more information, which I requested from them, the original data for the modifications, but they informed me that this would take time, stating that instead they would allow me to first tinker with curing the original strain, providing volunteers who hoped to assist in a cure, then I could 'Bridge the gap between strains with my natural talents for concocting cures'. Well, I took that that ego boost and bought their bluff foolishly and made significant progress with Lycanthropy in general. I found that both silver and wolfsbane seem to have properties that cause the cells changed by the virus to become inert, then they sort of get chewed up by the bodies immune system. Based on that, all i had to do was go a step further with curing the disease after the dreaded 3 day incubation period, using this principle"
He paused again, pointing at the images he was conjuring in his mind he smiled slightly, "I originally was infecting clean blood in vials and observing the changes that cures had, but eventually moved onto volunteers, then finally, I had developed something I could use that appeared to bypass the permanent effects of Lycanthropy, believing I had cured my subjects". His smile faded. "It worked... For them, they had no other... Mitigating factors. At this point, I even tested it on myself with total success! It worked and I was also living proof and would carry the antibodies and such, the cure itself in my own blood! I went to the Silverfrosts and insisted it was time to gain the original data on the Red Death modifications. Surprisingly, they complied immediately, providing me with... copies of the original data sheets. I didn't think about it at the time, assuming they just stole copies to prevent the Bloodrows from realising something was up." His movements were somewhat awkward at this point, his body language riddled with embarrassment at his being duped. After a moment, Tro'Leera shook himself to and continued.
"Anyway, within just 4 months I had managed to bridge the gap between the original and the 'Red Death' strains and as such, created the cure for the red death, though test subjects still retained the enhanced speed, perceptiveness, eyesight and sense of smell that comes with being a Wererat! this was even better as I had completed two objectives in one. Further I tested the cure on myself, too cocky to see any issue with doing so. It worked perfectly. Then two months later, I transformed into a werewolf! The orginal strain had returned to a degree, on a moonlit night. The next day I awoke on a rooftop just before dawn had broken. The rooftop of house Silverfrost. I fled back home and took some serum again, finding that what it does for me NOW is merely suppress the lycanthropy and its negative effects. The subjects I had cured of the original strain had not experienced such a transformation, so there had to be another factor. The cure I had developed for the red death I created is also near as I can tell, a cure. I believe however, that it is the combination of strains that had rendered me currently beyond a cure at present. I need to take my serum about every month or so now and can retain my original Demeanor as a result, but being struck or seeing a full moon places me in an animal state. I can regulate those events however with another concoction, that which you administered to me about an hour ago."
Tro'Leera fades off again and looks up at the ceiling. "A day later, I was approached by the Silverfrosts son, who demanded the cure from me as the apperrent epidemic was about to spread. Four days passed and news had spread that the Silverfrost family except for the son had all but been wiped out and that the Bloodrow family had just- Vanished. This didn't make sense. Maybe they were assassinated, or maybe, something darker was afoot. So I went to pay the household a little visit. Asked the guardsman to send word through, just a couple of questions about whether their disappearance was illness related... An illness causing family members to become more reclusive? Scratch the walls maybe? The fact that they ushered me in immediately confirmed my suspicions, I spoke with the only remaining Bloodrow there. Their 15 year old daughter, who was most upset at all that had happened. I left some vials of cure with them in exchange for a favour. I needed more information on this disease. She had NO knowledge of it whatsoever apparrently and there were no records of it in their families archives. HOWEVER, she confirmed this to me when she granted me access to the inner city restricted archives. Digging up the old records, we found information pointing to funding for a research project that was to be spearheaded by a Silverthawne wizard of old. Sure enough, my suspicions were confirmed. It was a disease that THEY had manufactured to try and extract the beneficial aspects of it and I had unwittingly assisted them centuries later in completing it. A cure that strips away the negative effects, leaving all of the good stuff behind." Tro'Leera shook his head in shame.
"Well, this girl, Dalia ran away and disappeared within 24 hours, because authorities bashed down her door the next day and were going to charge her with the murder of her parents.... I knew that this Silverthawne boy must have been involved in that and that logically, I was next as he would find out that I had visited and was probably the reason Dalia fled, so I wrote to the thieves guild for help, explaining the situation. They sent me instructions that i should play the insanity card and admit to a series of crimes, which they needed someone to take the wrap for". I went one better and drank one last potion derived from purple worm venom, burning away all other unnatural substances in my body, then I injected a series of silver ball bearings under different parts of my skin to help prevent transformation. This put me in a state of constant delerium, an insanity i did not have to bluff. I was arrested, charged and sent to the mines, then I pretty much waited for you guys to show up?" He stops at last and looks up with a tired smile.
"Any Questions?"
[sblock=OOC]Sorry I've slowed down a little everyone. I should speed up again after about two weeks.[/sblock]
That is the first thing you must understand, secondly, you should know that for several years I have turned my attention to a particular disease." He pauses and nods at Daedarai. "Which you can all guess is the red death. I was requested by one of the noble households, Silverfrost to come up with a means of neutralising the negative effects of the disease as well as seperately come up with a cure. At this stage, no-one knew about the red death, for you see it was contained very conveniently in the Silverfrost vaults. What the red death is, is a failed attempt to modify the Wererat strain of the Lycanthropy disease. More contagious and characterised seperately by the red rash you are all aware of.
Before I had been aware that this disease in fact belonged to the Silverfrosts, they had told me that this sample was something they had stolen from another group of nobles, the Bloodrows. This seemed to fit, what with the Bloodrow reputation and all, Necromancy running in their family you see." He shrugs momentarily as he says this.
"The Silverfrosts informed me that the Bloodrows intended to plan a takeover of the city using this virus and so it would be very noble if I could help stop its spread. I needed more information, which I requested from them, the original data for the modifications, but they informed me that this would take time, stating that instead they would allow me to first tinker with curing the original strain, providing volunteers who hoped to assist in a cure, then I could 'Bridge the gap between strains with my natural talents for concocting cures'. Well, I took that that ego boost and bought their bluff foolishly and made significant progress with Lycanthropy in general. I found that both silver and wolfsbane seem to have properties that cause the cells changed by the virus to become inert, then they sort of get chewed up by the bodies immune system. Based on that, all i had to do was go a step further with curing the disease after the dreaded 3 day incubation period, using this principle"
He paused again, pointing at the images he was conjuring in his mind he smiled slightly, "I originally was infecting clean blood in vials and observing the changes that cures had, but eventually moved onto volunteers, then finally, I had developed something I could use that appeared to bypass the permanent effects of Lycanthropy, believing I had cured my subjects". His smile faded. "It worked... For them, they had no other... Mitigating factors. At this point, I even tested it on myself with total success! It worked and I was also living proof and would carry the antibodies and such, the cure itself in my own blood! I went to the Silverfrosts and insisted it was time to gain the original data on the Red Death modifications. Surprisingly, they complied immediately, providing me with... copies of the original data sheets. I didn't think about it at the time, assuming they just stole copies to prevent the Bloodrows from realising something was up." His movements were somewhat awkward at this point, his body language riddled with embarrassment at his being duped. After a moment, Tro'Leera shook himself to and continued.
"Anyway, within just 4 months I had managed to bridge the gap between the original and the 'Red Death' strains and as such, created the cure for the red death, though test subjects still retained the enhanced speed, perceptiveness, eyesight and sense of smell that comes with being a Wererat! this was even better as I had completed two objectives in one. Further I tested the cure on myself, too cocky to see any issue with doing so. It worked perfectly. Then two months later, I transformed into a werewolf! The orginal strain had returned to a degree, on a moonlit night. The next day I awoke on a rooftop just before dawn had broken. The rooftop of house Silverfrost. I fled back home and took some serum again, finding that what it does for me NOW is merely suppress the lycanthropy and its negative effects. The subjects I had cured of the original strain had not experienced such a transformation, so there had to be another factor. The cure I had developed for the red death I created is also near as I can tell, a cure. I believe however, that it is the combination of strains that had rendered me currently beyond a cure at present. I need to take my serum about every month or so now and can retain my original Demeanor as a result, but being struck or seeing a full moon places me in an animal state. I can regulate those events however with another concoction, that which you administered to me about an hour ago."
Tro'Leera fades off again and looks up at the ceiling. "A day later, I was approached by the Silverfrosts son, who demanded the cure from me as the apperrent epidemic was about to spread. Four days passed and news had spread that the Silverfrost family except for the son had all but been wiped out and that the Bloodrow family had just- Vanished. This didn't make sense. Maybe they were assassinated, or maybe, something darker was afoot. So I went to pay the household a little visit. Asked the guardsman to send word through, just a couple of questions about whether their disappearance was illness related... An illness causing family members to become more reclusive? Scratch the walls maybe? The fact that they ushered me in immediately confirmed my suspicions, I spoke with the only remaining Bloodrow there. Their 15 year old daughter, who was most upset at all that had happened. I left some vials of cure with them in exchange for a favour. I needed more information on this disease. She had NO knowledge of it whatsoever apparrently and there were no records of it in their families archives. HOWEVER, she confirmed this to me when she granted me access to the inner city restricted archives. Digging up the old records, we found information pointing to funding for a research project that was to be spearheaded by a Silverthawne wizard of old. Sure enough, my suspicions were confirmed. It was a disease that THEY had manufactured to try and extract the beneficial aspects of it and I had unwittingly assisted them centuries later in completing it. A cure that strips away the negative effects, leaving all of the good stuff behind." Tro'Leera shook his head in shame.
"Well, this girl, Dalia ran away and disappeared within 24 hours, because authorities bashed down her door the next day and were going to charge her with the murder of her parents.... I knew that this Silverthawne boy must have been involved in that and that logically, I was next as he would find out that I had visited and was probably the reason Dalia fled, so I wrote to the thieves guild for help, explaining the situation. They sent me instructions that i should play the insanity card and admit to a series of crimes, which they needed someone to take the wrap for". I went one better and drank one last potion derived from purple worm venom, burning away all other unnatural substances in my body, then I injected a series of silver ball bearings under different parts of my skin to help prevent transformation. This put me in a state of constant delerium, an insanity i did not have to bluff. I was arrested, charged and sent to the mines, then I pretty much waited for you guys to show up?" He stops at last and looks up with a tired smile.
"Any Questions?"
[sblock=OOC]Sorry I've slowed down a little everyone. I should speed up again after about two weeks.[/sblock]
Daedarai listened intently as the alchemist spun his tale. “Do not be so hard on yourself. From the sound of it, the Silverfrosts have been planning this for quite some time. They surely had the patience to create a web of lies that was tailored especially for you. It’ll take some time to process all of this, but I do have some initial questions. If the Red Death is a modification of the were-rat curse, does that mean that the people left untreated with the Red Death will transform or did the modification strip that away?”
“You also said that your cure allowed the benefits of the curse without the drawbacks. That sounds like the Silverfrosts wanted to enhance their own people. Fighting against even a small force enhanced in such a way would be very difficult. If we have to stand against them, we may need an equal footing. Are you sure your cure strips out all of the negative effects and leaves only the positive? If necessary, is it possible to enhance ourselves using the Red Death and your cure?”
“You also said that your cure allowed the benefits of the curse without the drawbacks. That sounds like the Silverfrosts wanted to enhance their own people. Fighting against even a small force enhanced in such a way would be very difficult. If we have to stand against them, we may need an equal footing. Are you sure your cure strips out all of the negative effects and leaves only the positive? If necessary, is it possible to enhance ourselves using the Red Death and your cure?”
pathfinderq1
First Post
Throughout the alchemist's story, Mina remained quiet and almost emotionless, her face as set as if carved from stone. The only hints that betrayed any emotion were that she grew progressively more pale, and that she kept playing with a tiny trinket in her hands- it seemed to be the signet ring she had briefly brandished at the temple.
Once he was finished, she simply sat for another few moments, and let Daedarai ask his first round of questions. Her eyes were closed, and it seemed as if she was thinking deeply. The tale, certainly, was a tangled one, and there was a lot of information to process. Finally, though, she spoke... Her voice was quiet, level- and icy cold. For the first time since the others had met her, there was no trace of music in her words.
"I had hoped, oh so very much, that this could be done without violence, or with only a bit of it. But I see now that it cannot be ended that way. I had hoped, too, that the House might be allowed to continue, in whatever new city might arise from the changes which are necessary, for the good of all those who call this city home- and now I see that that possibility has been removed. While I am loathe to interrupt the thread of this tale, I must add my own story to it, though I beg a few minutes to let me gather the threads of it. At the most basic level, though, I must admit that there is one hard task ahead- one that is my responsibility alone, but it is one that I do not think that I can accomplish alone. I must ask you, all of you that I have fought beside- and all those that I would wish to stand beside, throughout the trials that lie ahead... Will you help me kill my brother, and at least begin to right the wrongs that he has inflicted?" And with those words she reached forward and laid a signet ring upon the table.
It carried the crest of one of the city's highest noble houses- one that had figured prominently in Tro'Leera's tale. The crest of House Silverfrost...
Once he was finished, she simply sat for another few moments, and let Daedarai ask his first round of questions. Her eyes were closed, and it seemed as if she was thinking deeply. The tale, certainly, was a tangled one, and there was a lot of information to process. Finally, though, she spoke... Her voice was quiet, level- and icy cold. For the first time since the others had met her, there was no trace of music in her words.
"I had hoped, oh so very much, that this could be done without violence, or with only a bit of it. But I see now that it cannot be ended that way. I had hoped, too, that the House might be allowed to continue, in whatever new city might arise from the changes which are necessary, for the good of all those who call this city home- and now I see that that possibility has been removed. While I am loathe to interrupt the thread of this tale, I must add my own story to it, though I beg a few minutes to let me gather the threads of it. At the most basic level, though, I must admit that there is one hard task ahead- one that is my responsibility alone, but it is one that I do not think that I can accomplish alone. I must ask you, all of you that I have fought beside- and all those that I would wish to stand beside, throughout the trials that lie ahead... Will you help me kill my brother, and at least begin to right the wrongs that he has inflicted?" And with those words she reached forward and laid a signet ring upon the table.
It carried the crest of one of the city's highest noble houses- one that had figured prominently in Tro'Leera's tale. The crest of House Silverfrost...
Daedarai leaned back with a long exhale as he processed the enormity of what Mina had shared. His eyes locked onto the signet ring as he thought through the last two days. Despite himself, he felt a fury grow inside as he thought through his interactions with the mysterious woman. He remembered her judging disdain for violence in the bar while listening to her casually call for assistance with fratricide. He recalled her resistance to being checked for the Red Death in the desert while she apparently knew the truth of the disease. Her silence during breakfast while Alejandro shared his concern that Nora was infected particularly grated in his mind.
“Are you Dalia then? Or is that another sibling that you would have us kill for you?” he spoke through clenched teeth. “How much have you been keeping from us? We all have secrets. That comes with the guild, but you’ve apparently kept secrets that could have cost us our lives. That’s a betrayal anyway that I look at it. Did you know Tro’leera before our rescue? Did you know about his affliction and stay silent? What if he had transformed in the middle of our fighting the sand goblins? Would that have been enough for you to share what you know with the group? What about the Red Death? You kept your secret in the desert as we checked for infections. Perhaps, you are infected and have already tasted this cure of Tro’leera’s? Worse, this morning you heard Alejandro’s fear for Nora. Would you have kept your secrets and let us walk blindly into a nest of were-rats to be slaughtered? After all, it’s only blind luck that Alejandro spotted Tro’leera’s infection and provoked this revelation. You certainly didn’t volunteer any information that could have saved our lives.”
“Are you Dalia then? Or is that another sibling that you would have us kill for you?” he spoke through clenched teeth. “How much have you been keeping from us? We all have secrets. That comes with the guild, but you’ve apparently kept secrets that could have cost us our lives. That’s a betrayal anyway that I look at it. Did you know Tro’leera before our rescue? Did you know about his affliction and stay silent? What if he had transformed in the middle of our fighting the sand goblins? Would that have been enough for you to share what you know with the group? What about the Red Death? You kept your secret in the desert as we checked for infections. Perhaps, you are infected and have already tasted this cure of Tro’leera’s? Worse, this morning you heard Alejandro’s fear for Nora. Would you have kept your secrets and let us walk blindly into a nest of were-rats to be slaughtered? After all, it’s only blind luck that Alejandro spotted Tro’leera’s infection and provoked this revelation. You certainly didn’t volunteer any information that could have saved our lives.”
Macv12
First Post
"Boss," Shen cuts in softy; she's been leaning against a wall making faces, trying to keep up with all the names she's never heard and the small web of rumors and lies and doubling back. "That ain't exactly fair." She scans the room slowly. "I don't remember anyone here bein' too excited to talk about their past. I sure didn't come to tell my life story. Can't be too mad that someone else wanted the same luxury. Least not until we let 'er speak.
"Supposin' she'd told us all this. What woulda changed? Tro said the cure worked normal for her, Han even pegged Tro as a beast man and that didn't change nothin', and we woulda gone for Nora anyways."
Not that it isn't weird for such a huge secret to be lurking in their midst. Shen slides down to sit cross-legged, easier to think. Also, she was getting that shaky, nervous feeling again, of something really wrong pressing in on her, like a tiger's breath before it pounces. So the red death is some kind of super-soldier plague? Of were-rats? It certainly fits the picture of the city she was painted before coming here. And yet it's so...mundane. It's just a disease that leaked. Like the flu. There's a cure and everything. But that doesn't fit what happened before, during her Listening. Goblins and half-were-rats aren't enough to cause...that.
" 'sides, somethin' tells me this is gonna be small fish in a big kettle."
"Supposin' she'd told us all this. What woulda changed? Tro said the cure worked normal for her, Han even pegged Tro as a beast man and that didn't change nothin', and we woulda gone for Nora anyways."
Not that it isn't weird for such a huge secret to be lurking in their midst. Shen slides down to sit cross-legged, easier to think. Also, she was getting that shaky, nervous feeling again, of something really wrong pressing in on her, like a tiger's breath before it pounces. So the red death is some kind of super-soldier plague? Of were-rats? It certainly fits the picture of the city she was painted before coming here. And yet it's so...mundane. It's just a disease that leaked. Like the flu. There's a cure and everything. But that doesn't fit what happened before, during her Listening. Goblins and half-were-rats aren't enough to cause...that.
" 'sides, somethin' tells me this is gonna be small fish in a big kettle."
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