Unaware of the contents of the wagon, Sarrissa continued moving towards the copse of tress. "Hello?" she called out. "We saw your camp fire. Would you mind some company? Hello?"
Seeing Fenlin reach into the wagon, Raivin hustles over. Seeing that it's a child, he retreats backward slightly so he can't be seen through the wagon.
Something's clearly wrong here.
Sarrissa - Nothing but natural sounds greet you from the trees. You hear some birdsong and the rustling of small game within the copse.
Fenlin - As you enter the wagon you can get a closer look at the girl. She is small, and waif thin. The ravages of whatever is ailing her has made her seem smaller than her frame suggests. You would venture to guess that she is in her early teens.
As you place your hand against girl's forehead you find that it is scaldingly hot! It is no wonder that she did not recognize that you were not her papa. She must be delirious with fever. You do not see any sign of injury that would be the source of an infection, so you would guess some kind of ailment. But having no training in medicine you really cannot surmise more than that.
You do know from common wisdom that no one can survive with a fever this high for long. You would guess that she will not last through the day unless something can be done.
Sarrissa continues to approach the camp site.
As you walk towards the trees you cast about for any sign of other travelers. The grass does not yield any secrets, its springy nature seems to have occluded any trace from someone heading from the wagon to the camp site.
You reach the edge of the trees and begin to catch your first whiffs of smoke. You would guess that you have another 50' to travel before you reach the fire. From this vantage you can't see anything through the trees, the copse is more dense than it first appeared from a distance.
Going any further would put you pretty far from the rest of the group should you or they need help. Do you want to continue?
Fenlin pulls his scarf up over his mouth and nose and pulls on his gloves to reduce the chance of spreading potential sickness. Fen grabs a piece of discarded clothing from inside the wagon and douses it with water. He holds it to the young girl's forehead in an effort to provide some relief.
He whispers over his shoulder to Raivin, "We have to get her out of these clothes and cool her down. The longer she sits in her own offal, the greater the chance of her condition worsening. Good thing Sarrissa is with us, she may be able to find some herbs to help. Hopefully Aran was taught some healing in addition to martial skills at that monastery of his."
With that he tries to get the young girl to drink some water.
It's okay, my name is Fenlin. I'm here to help you. What's your name little one?"
The girl coos with pleasure as the rag presses against her forehead. It brings you a small degree of satisfaction to know that you are helping, at least until a bout of coughs rack her body, physically knocking her back down into a laying position.
She does not respond to your question.
Sarrissa continues making her way towards the trees and the hidden camp site. She glances back towards the wagon to make sure she can still see Aran before pressing on.
Something is wrong. This looks like a good choice to make camp, but why leave the wagon and it's contents and what happened to the horse? The smoke is most likely a sign of disturbance, but then why hide? They don't know me and I'm brandishing a weapon, hiding would be cautious. It could be an ambush. Try to draw people away from the road...or someone could be hurt. Sarrissa's mind continued to run through scenarios as she encroached on the copse, but she would not stop now, now until she knew her help was not needed.
Raivin has no experience with either children or medicine.
Sarissa! Get over here!
Fen winces at the loud intrusion into the silence. Well, I guess I asked for that.
Sarrissa froze in place as her name was shouted across the field. She turned in place and quickly retreated back to the road to see what was going on. Once through the hedge, she rushed over to Raivin and the wagon to lend her aid.
Between Aran and Sarrissa you are able to determine that the girl does not have any external source of infection, such as open wounds or scrapes. She is suffering from a traditional illness, the coughing seems to indicate that it is similar to filth fever or just a common cold, but the symptoms are more severe than that. Her body has been sapped of much of it's vitality.
The fever is definitely the most immediate concern. With your expertise you know that if it does not break in the next 30 minutes or so she could begin to seize or go into arrest. If that were to happen you probably would not be able to bring her back with the supplies that you have readily available. With the amount of sweating she is doing, dehydration is will be a secondary concern, if you can get her through the next hour.
Any way to safely break the fever quickly do not immediately come to mind. Medically speaking, it may be too late to save her.
Sarrissa: As you conclude your examination you also make a cursory inspection of the horse and find that whatever is ailing the girl is also what killed him. Most likely he was infected first as otherwise it would be surprising for her to outlast him.
The horse is skinny and wasted in it's chest and head, but bloated in the stomach area from the beginnings of decomposition. You would guess it has been dead at least since last night. Most likely this rest stop location was determined by the fact that the horse could not travel any longer.
"She is obviously sick. Most likely caught from the horse. Cover your nose and mouths with cloth to protect yourselves. The sickness could prove fatal to any of us. We should check that copse of trees for her companions. She didn't travel this far on her own."
Raivin nods and heads into the trees, ax at the ready. He's not gonna be useful as a medic anyhow, and he's not getting anywhere near a sick child. That was suicide back home and old habits die hard.
"Fenlin, go with Raivin and keep an eye on him. We wouldn't want to scare her care takers. I will care for the girl."
Fenlin is only too happy to leave the wagon. He catches up to Raivin and heads toward the smoke, heading to the north side of the copse of trees.
Investigating along the northern side of the copse you make your way along the outside, approaching the fire circuitously. You come to a small game trail through the trees, about 20' down the trail you can see into a clearing about 15' around with a small fire ring in the center, smoke rising from it. You have found the source of the smoke.
In the midmorning light you can make out the lump of a prone individual next to the firepit. You find it odd that Sarrissa and Raivin's shouts did not rouse this person from their slumber.
"I'm afraid that without divine magic, there is very little we can do. Clean water, rest, food to help keep her strength up. We'll have to make a choice. We can try to get her back to town and to the healers at the church. That would be the right thing to do. It will cost us time and delay our mission. If seen in town again so recently, our employer might take offense. I don't think she'll survive a week long journey to the mining village, and there is likely little they can do for her there. And that's all before we find out where her kin is. There may be more sick people...or worse." Sarrissa slowly wipes the sweat from the girl's brow. She rips off one of her shirt sleeves and wets it with her waterskin. She proceeds to keep the girl's temperature down with the damp cloth. "Poor child."
To treat a disease means to tend to a single diseased character. Every time the diseased character makes a saving throw against disease effects, you make a Heal check. If your Heal check exceeds the DC of the disease, the character receives a +4 competence bonus on his saving throw against the disease.
Fen signals Raivin to stop. "This person may have already succumbed to the sickness. You stay here as you have not been exposed yet. I will go."
With that, Fen slides his mask back into place and approaches the unmoving figure.
If this soul has passed on, it may indicate a larger outbreak explain Aran's fleeing friends last night by the river. I hope this does not spread. Wait, if those people were exposed, they could be taking the disease with them!"
With sword out, but down, Fen moves to the other side of the camp. He is careful to keep the fire between himself and the person next to the fire pit.
"Is that your daughter in the wagon? Are you sick as well?"
There is no response from the huddled form. As you approach closer you see it is an adult man huddled under a thin woolen blanket. You nudge him once with your foot with no reaction, and so push harder, rolling him onto his back.
His eyes are open but clouded over; unnaturally staring into the blue sky. The same froth that you saw in the horses mouth is here in his nose and mouth as well. A shabby beard caught most of the froth, drying into a greenish-white mess on the blonde hairs.
You find sitting next to him, near the fire pit, some meager camping supplies. A canteen of water, a fire starter kit, a small hatchet that was not cleaned after its most recent use.
Thinking it through you imagine various scenarios. The one that seems most likely plays through your head:
***
They were travelling south...seeking help? a cure? fleeing something?...towards the city. The horse was sick, but they hoped they could make it. They've been travelling for some time, that is at least a 2 day growth of stubble on his face. He hadn't used a razor in a while, but lack of a more significant beard told of a man that normally shaved daily.
Turned out they couldn't make it where they were going. When the horse died this man had to find some kind of campsite for him and his daughter, somewhere far enough off the road that any brigands around couldn't find them. When you cannot fight you work that much harder at hiding.
Finding a decent site here in the copse of trees, he set about making a fire. It was hard work for a man that was already sick, but he knew that his daughter needed the warmth in the cold night. He did it for her. After getting the fire started he was tired, no, exhausted, entirely out of breath. He would just sit for a moment. Catch his breath, and then go and carry his daughter in from the wagon.
He sat. He slept. He died.
The girl slept fitfully through the night. Racked by fever. Having no way of knowing that no more than 150' away nature had just turned her into an orphan.
***
It may not have actually happened that way. He may not be her father. Perhaps an older brother, or an uncle, or a complete stranger. Just some good Samaritan trying to take care of a girl in need. But by that series of events or some variation, it is clear that whatever the girl has, it killed this man...and the horse.
******************
Aran, what you know aligns perfectly with what Sarrissa has said. This girl is on death's door. The monks in the monastery could probably save her with the use of magic and weeks of care, but you feel it would be a long stretch to ask her to survive the 2 day journey there. A 3 day journey to the mining town you are heading to is almost certainly out of the realm of possibility, and who knows if they will have someone there that can help.
You've seen situations like this before in the hospital ward at the monestary. Brother Sarendep, the healer and naturalist of the brotherhood, always said it was the hardest kind decision he ever had to make. But sometimes, when given the worst possible set of circumstances, the best thing to do is to ease suffering where you can and let nature take its course. It is painful to think that this might be one of those situations.
With loss and resignation in his eyes, Fen calls back to Raivin, "We are too late for him. Don't come any closer just in case. I will need wood to burn his body. We should destroy the horse as well."
With that, Fen gets to the grim business of building a pyre for this unfortunate stranger.
Raivin sets to lopping off branches with his ax.
Might want to burn those boots too. You have a spare?
...and the gloves...and the mask.
Raivin sets about taking branches off of trees for a larger fire. He makes good progress, but it will probably take him about 30 minutes to gather enough fuel for the size of pyre you are looking for.
As he gathers the wood Fenlin begins making a stack for the blaze. As you do you contemplate how you are going to move the stranger's body and the horse to the blaze without risking any further contamination.
Meanwhile, what is happening up at the wagon?
"It is unlikely she will survive the trip if we continue on. I fear we must turn back. Our employer didn't give us a specific time frame, but I suspect the sooner the better. Perhaps I could take the horse and the girl back and return. It's not the best idea, but it may allow us to save the girl and continue on our way at the same time. It's a shame we only have the one horse."
You have been stopped for about an hour at this point. The girl has fallen back into sleep, and the cold compresses seem to be some comfort, although the cough continues to rack her body, making her rest fitful at best.
Fenlin and Raivin have not yet returned from the campsite. At this point it has been about 30 minutes since they have left, and you are beginning to feel a little worried.
***
Fenlin, Raivin has collected enough wood that you think you could shift the man's body onto it and get a decent pyre going. You are going to need something much larger for the horse though, and you are still wondering about how to get it into this clearing at all.
Can't we just build the pyre around the horse and the man? Why move the bodies in that case?
"You know, I have no idea. It's not like this has ever come up before. Believe it or not, this is a little beyond my experience. Maybe we can tip the wagon over onto the horse and burn it right there on the road. I really hope Gransby's kid was not exposed to this. It would be hard to finish the job. Can you bring some of the extra wood to Sarrissa? She may need to boil water or something. I hope she was able to find herbs or something to help the girl."
"Aran, why don't you go get the others. I'll watch her and keep her cool. We all need to agree on how to proceed, but regardless, we need to get moving soon either way."
Ok, let's put a bunch of branches around the corpses and light them up.
Raivin starts laying branches on and around the corpse in a vaguely-coffin-like shape.