Cerilis follows instruction on how to proceed being very careful not to touch anything without an object between him and it.
"As Harry and Maja have suggested. This may be too much for us to take care of properly. We shall need to warn the neighbors and somehow get a message back to Burle, whether we take it ourselves or not. But first, let's see what we need to warn and message about."
Thanim carries on towards the barn. Once there, he takes a quick peek in.
He continues carefully to the house, sure to keep a respectable distance between himself and the carcasses. He draws his mace and runs off any animal that is close enough that he can see its eyes by aggressively swinging his mace at it.
He tries to watch the live animals, particularly the dogs, to make sure they are not grouping together for an attack.
[dice=Perception]1d20+5
The dogs have scattered and are now in the meadow feeding on the sheep or goat carcasses away from the barn and house.
The barn is still...there is a loft which has a floor that has half the floor of the lower barn area. The floor of the barn is dirt and straw. There is four holding pen all of which are empty and an indoor chicken coop. There is a large pile of hay in the far corner of the barn under the loft. There are also stacks of leftover winter hay in the loft above... A few farming tools like sickle, pitchfork and a shovel but not much else. There are two oil lanterns on by the pile of hay and the other by a makeshift table on the eastern wall. The barn itself is a 60/40 mix of hardwood and stone with a thatch roof.
"Well, the barn should have no trouble catching fire..." Seeing nothing untoward in the barn, Thanim carries on towards the house. A sense of dread weighs upon him, making his steps seem slow and heavy. Once at the house, he peeks in.
Perri pulls out a scarf, and wraps it around his lower head several times, covering his ears, nose and mouth, but keeping his vision clear. Then he dons his gloves. "We may want to burn the clothes we're wearing, too." he thinks to himself as he follows Thanim's lead through the yard.
As they approach the house, Perri's thoughts turn darker. "Please tell me we don't need to burn the house down. Let them not be dead in there."
Sylas stands back at the edge of the property knowing his health has never been the strongest and not wanting to get diseased.
He keeps watch on the farm and the road saying
I will keep watch and let you know if any trouble comes along putting on some gloves and a scarf and tying the scarf over his mouth and chin in general.
The House
Thanim walks up to the porch and up the three stairs. The smell of death is pervasive. As peeks inside he sees a kitchen with pots and dishes on the table against the wall. On the main table are plates and cups..they look as if they have been used and never cleaned up.
There are flies and gnats covering the inside of the house. There is a door going into a room on the opposite end of the house nearly across from the entry door that Thanim is standing at. There is also a door on the left hand side and it looks to go into a smaller room...the window at the end of the house on the left side would look inside that room. No one is in the living area or the kitchen...as Thanim turns to Perri that is when both of you hear the faint sound of muffled weak Uuuugh...uuuu...COUGH...COUGH...uughhh The sound of a man coughing and in pain coming from the house...probably that small room to the left.
Sylas, Maja, and the rest of the party sees no movement in the surrounding area, the road to the gate, or the meadow save the animals roaming around. The dogs, four of them, are feeding on the carcuses of the dead animal in the meadow.
Thanim gags a little as he opens the door. The stench buckles his knees, and he immediately takes a step backward and faces away from the door as he draws his breath. He holds his breath and peeks in, seeing the untidy conditions. He pulls back and says, "Everyone, stay out here. No need for us all to enter and risk exposure. It needs to be cleaned, but it doesn't look ransacked." He starts to step in, but when he hears the cough, "Uuuugh...uuuu...", he turns back. "Someone is alive in there! Let me take a look and see what can be done. I'll be right back." He adjusts the scarf, pats his satchel, takes a deep breath, and steps across the threshold.
He quickly surveys the room then turns left, heading in the direction of the coughing. "We see you are in trouble. We have come to help," he calls out as he approaches the door, knocking lightly while simultaneously opening it.
"It might be a blessing to burn the house with them in it." Perri ponders the morality of trying to save this life (these lives?) right now so that the disease can take even longer to kill them.
But he does so from outside. Waiting to hear something from Thanim indicting how he intends to proceed, or about what he finds.
Harry also takes the precautions of pulling the hood of his cloak around to protect his mouth as best he can, staying well away from the corpses. On hearing there may be someone alive he shudders in horror at the thought.
I know we need answers, yet will they be th' right ones?
The Farmhouse
4th Day of Readying (Early Spring) of 570cy(Day 2) Early Evening
Thanim enters the house with caution he moves towards the door he heard the weak coughing from. As he does he stops...he sees something in the back bedroom that catches his eye. Moves across the kitchen as he does a host of flies scatter off the table and into the air around Thanim...he waves them off as best he can until he comes to the threshold of the bedroom. It was the parent's bedroom Thanim realizes and both now lye in the bed...dead for days from the plague. Their bodies swollen, infected with black knots on their head, neck, near their arm pits...the skin now grey and rotting. They lie together, still, unmoving, never to wake again. Thanim closes the door...saying a blessing to Pelor as he does.
He crosses the living area slowly waving the gnats and flies away as he does. The smell is overwhelming at times but he manages to control his desire to vomit. Even the air in this house is foul, filled with sickness and death, a no longer a place for the living.
He reaches the west bedroom and knocks softly, he hears wheezing and slow breathing. He enters the room and lying on the bed is an old man covered in blankets. His face and neck are covered in the black buboes. One on the side of his neck has busted open and a sickly yellow, pale puss with blood flows out of it. He hears your movement and jerks a little but is to weak to actually move....Ah..jaaa...no...let meeee...beeee... He can barely see anything as his eyes are covered in the black swelling. du...da...dey are allll ggggone now. His back arches a little and he tries to raise his arm but his strength fades. Thanim moves to his side and realizes there is nothing he can do for this poor soul. He is long past any aide that would help him if not for his size. Thanim could see that even now this man was in his sixties for a human he was probably as fit as a man in his forties...but this disease has ravaged him. He is simply a shell of a fading soul that is ready to pass but unable to because of the strength of his will.
Thanim's heart aches seeing the man in this condition. "The plague is a curse that must be broken. Good folk suffer through no fault of their own..."
In a low voice, he addresses the dying man, "Through the blessings of Pelor, I can do a little to relieve your condition for a few minutes. In that time, we can talk to relieve your soul and take down any last instructions you may have. Are you willing?"
Thanim prays to Pelor, "Pelor, God of Healing, bless this man. I am merciful. Grant us thy knowledge while showing thy mercy." Thanim opens his satchel, removing alchemical cleansers and some wipes. He cleans an area, then prays again, "Shed thy light and grant thy strength that this man may face his battle with thy goodness."
He waits a moment, then continues, "By Pelor's grace, you will start to feel better, but it will not last long, only a few minutes. Anything you wish to say before it ends?"
"What can you tell us about how this came to be. I seek to stop the spread of this evil. Any information you can give will be useful and most welcome."
Hearing the conversation, and then chanting, and then more conversation, even if mostly one-sided, Perri's shoulders slump. "Not good." escapes his lips.
Turning back to the others. "Yeah, let's see if we can't find a working cart and start hauling the carcasses into the barn. Some pitchforks and rope to help reduce the contact would probably be a good idea, too. Any other ideas on how to move them while making as little contact as possible?"
"If'n ye kin find some rope 'ere I kin use me magicks ta use it ta move th' corpses without contacting their bodies." Harry responds in a shaky voice.
He then proceeds to see if there is any rope laying around.
The Farmhouse
4th Day of Readying (Early Spring) of 570cy(Day 2) Early Evening
Thanim finishes providing his blessing upon the man and almost immediately the man seems to regain some vitality.
The old man smiles as best as his deformed face will allow him...My son and his wife...they took in a traveler from the north...he was not feeling well and was complaining of the cold nights. He was a kind man but took to being ill the next morning. He never recovered and passed a few days later...but my son found this. He points to his face and arms.It was all over his body but his face was not covered yet... A few days later my youngest granddaughter and grandson fell ill...coughing and complaining of soreness in their arms... He begins to cry softly remembering the suffering of his family. They passed two days later the sickness ravaged their poor bodies. He coughs loudly and it appears to bring him a good deal of pain but he manages to hold on. That night...horrible things came to our sleep...nightmares...that followed us in our waking hours. Something or someone talking to us....shadows...the next day my oldest grandson fell ill as did some of the farm animals. He wandered off into the woods one night and the next day we found him dead...lying in his own filth. My last grandchild and my son and his wife fell ill in the next few days. The nightmares continued...my son started to talking in tongues I never heard before...laughing on others pain. I fell to the sickness not long after that.... He tries to move himself a little in the bed and then starts coughing...and a yellow spittle filled with blood covers his hand. All my grandchildren died...we buried them by the barn along with that poor soul. My son and his wife died a few days later...now I am no more...my family is gone... He looks at his hands and arms...and begins to cry, weeping about his family and the suffering they endured. Please....let me be with my family...
Bubonic Plague
Type disease, injury or contact; Save Fortitude DC 17 (initial contact DC22) (DC12 (inhale)coming within 10 feet of an infected creature or area)
Onset 1 day; Frequency 1/day
Effect 1d4 Con damage and 1 Cha damage (see Ravaging template notes) and target is fatigued; Cure 3 consecutive saves
Infected vermin and parasites spread this disease, also known as Daemon’s Touch or the Black Death, through their bites. Once contracted, the disease spreads quickly, polluting the victim’s body with toxins. As the disease reaches the lymph nodes, the victim suffers extreme inflammation of glands, and his skin might take on a black pallor. Symptoms include fever, headaches, nausea, fatigue, and swelling of the lymph nodes (called buboes) on the neck, underarms, and inner thigh areas, and eventually bleeding beneath the skin. A victim who takes any Constitution damage from the disease must immediately make a successful Fortitude save or become fatigued until all his Constitution damage is healed. Each time a victim takes 2 points of Constitution damage from Black Death, he also takes 1 point of Charisma damage.
w/Plague Template/Ravaging Templete (changes made above)
Plague (modified - see below)
A plague is a disease that spreads very effectively, and can easily pass through an entire community in a short period of time. If left unchecked, plagues can ravage entire cities or regions, and in the case of particularly deadly or virulent plagues, can potentially even bring an end to mighty civilizations. The plague template can be added to any disease. The disease retains its base statistics except as noted below.
Type If the disease’s type is ingested, it instead changes to inhaled. If its type is injury, it instead changes to contact. If its type is contact or inhaled, it remains the same.
Save The initial saving throw DC to resist the disease increases by 5. The saving throw remains the same for all subsequent saving throws to resist the disease’s effects.
Special Simple contact with or, in the case of inhaled diseases, spending time near a creature infected with a plague can expose others to the disease. If the plague is an inhaled disease, then a creature afflicted with the disease creates an aura of disease around it. Any coughing, sneezing, and in some cases, even breathing releases clouds of disease-causing organisms into the air. Any creature that comes within 30 feet of the 147 diseased creature is exposed to the plague, and must succeed at a Fortitude save or begin suffering its effects. A potential victim must attempt a new save each time it moves within 10 feet of a diseased creature, to a maximum of one saving throw every 10 minutes. Any creatures that remains within 30 feet of the diseased creature must attempt a new saving throw every 10 minutes. If the plague is a contact disease, each time a creature touches the diseased creature, or touches an object that was touched by the diseased creature in the last 24 hours, the potential victim is exposed to the plague and must succeed at a Fortitude save or begin suffering its effects.
10 foot area effect saving throw DC to resist the disease decrease by 5.
Ravaging
A ravaging disease is one whose effects are particularly difficult to heal, and that can permanently scar creatures affected by it.
The ravaging template can be added to any disease. The disease retains its base statistics except as noted below.
Effect
If the disease deals ability damage, each time the affected creature fails a saving throw to resist the disease’s effects by 5 or more, 1 point of that ability score damage becomes permanent ability score drain instead. If the affected creature rolls a natural 1 on a saving throw to resist the disease’s effects, all of the ability score damage becomes permanent ability score drain.
Cure The number of consecutive successful saves required to be cured of the disease increases by 1.
Special Ability scores damage and drains dealt by the disease cannot be healed as long as the affected creature is still infected by the disease. This applies both to natural healing and magical healing (such as lesser restoration).
The Farmhouse
4th Day of Readying (Early Spring) of 570cy(Day 2) Early Evening
Perri looks around and as he does the diseased chicken goes right by him...peaking on the ground. He nudges the hen away with his foot and it jumps and flaps its wings as it runs off. Leaving soft feathers floating in the air. Perri thinks nothing of it as he waits for Thanim to finish.
Harry, Maja, Bynoth, Cerilis, and Sylas having roamed around the meadow, the yard, and the barn not realizing that the animals roaming the yard are just as dangerous as the many bugbears and other foul creatures they have faced while in the Dreadwood.
Sylas nods to Maja and says I wanted to burn it all from out here with arrows.
"If'n ye kin find some rope 'ere I kin use me magicks ta use it ta move th' corpses without contacting their bodies." Harry responds in a shaky voice.
He then proceeds to see if there is any rope laying around.
[dice=Perception]1d20+7
Harry finds two lengths of hemp rope...30ft and 25ft in the barn hanging by the door.
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Thanim nods his head at the man's request, "Give me your name that I may properly pass on your story. If you are willing, I can end your suffering through the light of Pelor and... and... help you to meet your family." His face is twisted, unsure of what he is contemplating, but knowing he cannot stay and let the man suffer. If the man is willing, Thanim will do what he believes must be done.
Even though indoors, Thanim looks skyward, as if looking at the sun, and calls out to Pelor, "Pelor give thy purifying light and grant mercy to this humble man." Light seems to swirl and gathers in the palms of his hands. With a sudden burst, it is released and strikes the shell of the man who though weakened in body has shown such strength of spirit. The light washes over and consumes him, leaving a disease ridden corpse where a strong man once was.
Thanim bows his head for a moment, the weight of what he has done pressing heavily upon him. He looks up, making one last review of the man, the room, the house, then turns and walks out.
Back on the porch, Thanim tries to hide the profound emotions churning within. "We must leave at once and report this place. The plague is here."
"Burn the house, burn the barn, burn it all..."
Thanim, seeking a moment alone, walks towards the road.
As he starts to walk away, he cautions, "Under no circumstances, should you contact or even approach any of the animals, alive or dead. Kill the ones you can from a distance. They are all a danger."
Once he finds himself alone on the road, Thanim cries out, "That was the end of a family. So much suffering... And to what purpose? It is so senseless." He looks skyward and starts to pray, but only gets the first few words out, "I am good. The sun shines its rays upon me and lights my path. Pelor..."
He sits upon the ground, hugging his lower legs and pressing his forehead to his knees. "Why has this been asked of me? What is the point of having to make such a decision? I am good. I shall be good and fight the evil within this world." He wipes away a tear that had begun to trickle down the side of his face but then stands resolutely, "Those who are evil, those who have brought this plague upon us will pay. Pelor, shine thy light that we may see and find those deserving of retribution. Light my way and I shall be thine instrument!"
He returns to his friends and checks them over for any signs of infection.
Cerilis turns to Maja, his face a mask of neutrality. His voice bears no judgement but his words are meant to inform her of his views and not hold her actions wrong.
The plague is evil and unfair but turning your back on those in need is cowardly. If I am to die...so be it. If it comes at the hands of a beast, man or plague...I will be able to look my maker in the eyes knowing that I did what I could to bring a little goodness to this harsh world. If the plague is too much for you...now is the time to speak up.
"Okay, so, my plan is to move the cart to a carcass, use the pitchforks - Hey, shovels would be better! - to lift the carcass so we can run the ropes under it, and then use the ropes to pull the carcass up onto the cart. Then we drop it in the barn and go get the next. I suppose an archer should start taking out the dogs, too."
"I say ye use the poles 'ere. I'll use me magicks ta pull th' ropes around th' carcasses," Harry nods in approval, "Good plan thar Perri!"
Thanim walks out of the house after some time. Once Thanim's spells ended the man faded and passed. His final moments were peaceful and Thanim prayed with him as he passed away.
As Perri moves off to assist with the rounding up of the dead animals Thanim comes out on to porch and into the yard. He is clearly shaken by the events in the house. He turns to the five graves...four marked with the children's names and the one grave...the first one unmarked. He shakes his head...his words hit home for the entire party as they look out at the farm. Their minds drifting to the happy family they supped with just a night ago.
Cerilis ignores the defensive outburst. He looks down at Maja as she speaks more words. He shows no emotions when he speaks.
If you say so...
He turns to Perri..
Where do you need me to be and what may I do to help?
:
The priest of war gestures towards one of the vials at his belt;
"Remember we have antiplague... It would be wise for those of a weaker constitution that the chosen of Hextor to imbibe..."
Bynoth ignores the interplay between doughty hobniz and haughty olv, suggesting an alternative to moving the carcasses;
"I can use my divine magics to scour an area 15ft by 15ft perhaps twice. If we do not wish to touch the fallen beasts then this would dispose of some of their plagued remains... though it might be better used to burn the buildings..."
"We're going to have to gather the bodies regardless. The magics could reduce how far we need to move them, though. That'll be a big help. As far as where we need people? Every part of this job is going to suck and be hard work. Want the shovel or a pitchfork, or do you want to try to get the ropes placed under them? I don't think it matters which task you get." He stops and takes another look at Bynoth. "We might want to take the anti-plague. Or we might want to wait till we see worse. It is a guess."
it doesn't need to even be close. I can ignite it all with some oil first and a fireball from well over one hundred feet away with clear line of sight Sylas says quietly.
Then we take care of it with a limited exposure to us.
Cerilis goes about helping where he can and take as much precaution as he can.
Harry will take the same precautions here as he uses his Animate Rope spell here.
The Farmhouse
4th Day of Readying (Early Spring) of 570cy(Day 2) Early Evening
As the Thanim spends time alone collecting his thoughts after the interaction with the older man the party considers their options on how to handle the farm.
Perri, Bynoth, and Harry go over the meadow while Maja, Sylas, and Cerilis go over the barnyard, barn and house. After a few boughts of Cerilis and Maja going after each other things settle down and the two groups come together to discuss their plan. The meadow is about fourteen acres and has a low dry stacked stone wall surrounding it. In the meadow there are eight dead goats and five dead sheep. In the barnyard there is four dead sheep and a dead milking cow and four dead chickens. The remaining livestock number six sheep, nine goats, and five chickens.
Thanim is relieved to find no signs of infection so far. Seeing that his friends are actively considering the burning of the dead animals, he cautions, "Moving the carcasses is problematic. Approaching too closely exposes you once more to the Plague, and touching the animals is even riskier. We can either do this ourselves or notify the authorities and allow them to handle it. After all, we have our own business to be concerned about and there is no one here alive to help. We should only do this ourselves if we can do so without undue risk. If we can do it without contact and without getting close, ok. Otherwise, we should notify and move on."
He pauses for the others to consider before he continues. "I believe we should notify and move on," he says while looking at Maja. "But one possibility is that I have a grappling hook. Does anyone else? If we were to use the ropes Harry found with any grappling hooks or some such, perhaps the bodies could be dragged to the barn. The ropes could be burned in the fire and the hooks could be purified afterward, preferably by fire as well."
"Either way, the authorities and neighbors must be notified. What say ye?"
Sylas nods at the consideration and says Alright lets use the rope and grapples and pull all the animals by hooking from a distance and dragging them into a central pile. We will then have to kill the remaining animals so that they do not escape. Possibly even watch for and kill all the mice if what you say is true.
"Being here, we're at risk already. We can accept that risk, and protect others who might wander in after us, notification or not, or we can walk away and hear later how many others in this area died, when we had a chance to prevent it." He looks Maja straight in the eye. "How many of those children that we spent the night with would you like to have die because you weren't willing to protect them right here, right now?"
Hearing the voices beginning to rise during the course of discussion, Thanim speaks again. "Perri, I appreciate your desire to protect the young and innocent. I do as well, but if we warn the neighbors and authorities, the chance of anyone carelessly wandering in here is very low. We are more likely to become vectors and infect others in our travels than someone is to happen upon this ... tragedy."
"We are not prepared to perform this task. Were it 1 or 2 animals, then perhaps. But it is better to let those who have the proper tools do this. Let us not forget that we have great concerns ourselves that need investigating."
Harry shakes his head with a look of resignation on his face.
This be gettin' ugly...again. Amazin' we 'ave stuck together this long...
"Thanim," Harry speaks up in a placating tone, "Like it or not, we are HERE now, 'n th' longer we spend time waggin' our tongues gives the disease more chance to spread. We need ta take care of this now, then tell th' neighbors about what we did!"
Harry shakes his head with a look of resignation on his face.
This be gettin' ugly...again. Amazin' we 'ave stuck together this long...
"Thanim," Harry speaks up in a placating tone, "Like it or not, we are HERE now, 'n th' longer we spend time waggin' our tongues gives the disease more chance to spread. We need ta take care of this now, then tell th' neighbors about what we did!"
The Farmhouse
Early Evening
4th Day of Readying (Early Spring) of 570cy(Day 2)
The sun is starting to fall and night will be upon your group in a few short hours.
I can summon a group of giant spiders who will do as I command and gather up all the animals in a short time using their strength and webs. The spiders will vanish when done not carrying the disease. If I must do this twice I cannot then cast fireball.
Thanim shakes his head as Harry speaks, convinced that he does not understand the level of effort and risk at hand. "Hauling carcasses across acres without touching them or having the proper tools is too risky and will take more time than we have. Just getting too close is dangerous, let alone actually touching."
Before he can speak, however, Sylas makes the suggestion of using a summoning. Thanim takes a moment to consider Sylas' suggestion. "That may very well work. But would they have enough time to gather all these bodies? If you cast it twice, maybe we can gather the carcasses into 2 groups, the meadow and the barn. The barn will provide fuel for one group, the wagon and hay for the other? Let's try your method now. Then we can see how well it works. If it gets it all done tonight, then great. Maybe we can even finish the task in the morning, if necessary. If it does not seem promising; however, I strongly recommend we warn, notify, and leave."
The Farmhouse
Early Evening
4th Day of Readying (Early Spring) of 570cy(Day 2)
As the party discusses their action the flies and gnats buzz around them, the infected farm animals, and the many dead animals lying about the farm.
To the west and to the south, Maja and Cerilis see smoke plumes as if from chimney or cooking fires. Maja realizes those are probably nearby farmsteads. Both were about one to maybe at most four miles away based on the smoke plumes.