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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lars Frehse" data-source="post: 262953" data-attributes="member: 1674">Chapter 8- A Veshian voyage part1Once they were all healed and rested, Torn approached Eochaid, who was just mending his leatherarmor by the lakeside.“You had mentioned that there is mostly marshlands between here and the next town.”.The ranger let his tools sink to his lap and said: “That is correct. The town is about sixty miles from here, and more then three quarters of the way are marshlands.”“Do you think we could build us a raft and use that one to get there? There will be plenty of mosquitos, ticks and bugs already, I could very well do without wading through bogwater full of leeches.”.“Sure, but unless one of you guys knows how to build one, we will need help from some locals.”They went back to the village, and after asking around, they found two young men who were willing to help them. Jan put a few goldpieces into their palms, and they eagerly got to work.After three days, the raft was ready: It was measuring some twenty five by twenty five feet in length, and there was one tent set up in it’s middle. Next to the tent were the mules and the equipment was fastened to the raft in small, rainproof bundles.Niklas and Torn used long stakes to move the raft, and after waving goodbye to the good villagers who had treated them so well, they slowly moved into the marshes.The heat was oppressive. There was hardly any wind at all during that first day, so the air was humid and the water was reeking. By the end of that day, all of the adventurers had been served as feasts for various mosquitos and other bloodsucking vermin and at night, it hardly cooled off, causing uneasy and feverish dreams.On the next day, they avoided an island of bloodstools, fistsized mushrooms that exploded when approached, dousing everything in range in a highly poisonous bloodlike liquid. As they carefully moved their raft around the colony, Ben silently thanked his mentor for the good training he had received.As the adventurers moved the raft through the marshlands, the heat remained, until on the following day, the wind picked up and thunder roared in the distant. At the prospect of rain, the general mood on the small raft generally improved and all were waiting now, anticipating the first drop of cooling rain on their skin.Torn and Niklas kept the raft stable in the strong wind as at last the rain started falling in fat drops. Trepat was hit by a drop on his arm, and as he was about to tilt his head into his neck in order to catch all the drops he can, he saw that the drop of rain on his arm was no ordinary water. Instead, it was a drop of blood.His eyes widened: He had been in Durrover, behind a protective range of mountains for decades, but he had never forgotten the terrible blood monsoon that had destroyed his home almost fourty years ago. Even though this weather right now was nothing compared to the catastrophe back then, he nonetheless realized the danger of even such a small bloodrain.“Don’t drink it!” he shouted, “This rain is tainted by Kadum’s blood!”Seeing that he had the attention of his fellow travellers, he continued:” This rain comes from the blood sea, and we should by all means avoid ingesting it in any form.”Ben answered and had to shout over another thundering of the approaching storm:” We all have tiny wounds from the insects here, we should go into the tent.”.Torn shook his head:” No, you go into the tent, I will stay out here, and make sure we don’t run into floatsam or tilt in the storm.”.Niklas took another stake and got up to help Torn, and as the others went into the tent, the two of them maneuvered the raft. The storm got stronger and there were small waves that washed over the small raft, and for an hour that seemed to last for a day, they were busy keeping the raft in one piece- they had to avoid whole trees that had gotten uprooted and make sure that they stayed within the area that would still be flooded once the rain and the storm had stopped.Eventually, though, the thunderstorm passed by, and after they had cleared the raft and themselves of the blood, they went into an exhausted sleep and Eochaid and Jan took over in moving the raft.On the next morning, Niklas awoke screaming. He had had unsettling dreams of terror and destruction during most of the night, and even now he thought he saw the shape of Kadum the Mountainshaker in a nearby tree. He was shivering and sweating even more profusely than the days before. Even worse, he was not merely sweating- he was sweating blood.Ben examined him, worried about his friends, and after a short while, he swallowed and said: “I am sorry to tell you, but you’ve got a disease called “blood fever”.”.Eochaid, who knew the disease, worriedly bit his lower lip, and Niklas, who was still shaking, asked Ben:” And what does that mean?”.Ben, who was used to accepting diseases as a part of nature, answered:” As you are experiencing now, the disease starts with trembling and sweating blood. Then, after some days, you will become fully evil and corrupted, and after that, you will fall into a homicidal rage, and attack everyone in range.“I am sorry, but I think it would be for the best if we tie you down and fix you to one place for the time being.”.Niklas nodded and laid down on a cot where he was tied down. After having rechecked the ropes and knots for the third time, Ben asked Eochaid: “How long do you think it will take until we reach that town?”.“Five or six days”, the ranger answered.Ben lowered his voice: “Good, I will try to see what I can do. But he needs to get to a temple- mundane means will only get us this far, here... I think it is unlikely that I will be able to cure him here, without the aid of a more experienced druid than myself.  No matter what happens though, as long as the ropes hold, he should have a good chance of survival. If there is one thing I have learned back in Durrover is that his people may lack in charm, but they are a tough people…”Ben returned to the side of his friend and fixed him a cup of tea that would lower the fever a little. After he had given Niklas the tea, he continued treating him as well as he could, using herbs he had found in the mountains and here in the swamps while Jan, the monk’s half brother, made sure that his brother was resting well and he used a small towel to wipe the bloodsweat of his forehead.They both knew that except for that, all they could do for now was wait and hope.</blockquote>

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