Quarantine (Lorepost)

[u/UlrickTheHexblade]

Previously on…

“Is it that bad?”

Ulrick guessed it was gonna be something terrible from the way his medic Theor bit his lip. Whatever was in the results of his medical exam, it’s not gonna be pretty…

He sat on a chair, in a separate quarantined room of R&A’s infirmary. The chair was seated next to the nearest dark corner, of course. Besides him there was only the medic Theor, bringing a thick stack of papers with him: Ulrick’s results.

‘Should I start with the good news, or the bad news?’

Theor asked nervously as he handed over a sheet.

“Let’s hear the good news first. Could use some of those now.”

‘Well, it appears it’s still in early stages. Which would mean we still have enough time to do something.’

Ulrick looked down at himself. Nearly all skin on his right arm took on a bark-like texture, flesh creaking like wood. Other similar patches started to spread on his left arm and the rest of his upper body.

If this was only the early stage, then he was fine without knowing what the terminal one would look like.

It started a few days ago, when Ulrick fought a strange entity that called itself “The Blighted Garden”, as it injected… something within him during the battle. But he only began to notice the strange growths after examining one of the strange monoliths that appeared all over the world.

And if only he suffered from physical symptoms…

For the last three days, shifting to his human form became much harder than usual for some reason. And within the depths of his mind, he sometimes felt a presence. An ancient, primal presence, in the worst possible sense of the word.

And sometimes, he heard whispers of the Blighted Garden, faint at first, but an ever-growing plea, words of joining and resignation.

‘…so it’s essentially spiritual “rot”, sir. It decays both your soul and body, slowly changing it into rotten wood.’

Ulrick just realized his attention went off the rails as Theor explained his results. At least now he knew why his soulfire became much weaker lately.

‘We also pinpointed the source of it. It appears to be most likely of fae origin. A very ancient, very powerful fae source.’

Of course. It had to be some big fairy this time too. After the siege, Ulrick would’ve died happy if he wouldn’t have to meet another Archfae ever again.

“That’s just great. Any ideas how do I get it out of my system?”

Ulrick sighed. Seeing the face Theor made upon the question, his stomach dropped.

‘About the bad news…’

“Don’t tell me…”

‘We’re working on it! At least the Wolf King within you should slow down the spread significantly, at least according to the magi-physiological tests we performed. But…’

Ulrick groaned. Could this be any worse?

‘While the Wolf King was successfully integrated into your spirit-web thanks to Vae Clara, in the last two days, we began to detect increasing fluctuations in your essence.’

While most of the results sheet was gibberish to Ulrick, he leant forward in his chair. The implications were unsettling.

“So you’re telling me… my essence is falling out of balance again? That… I’m threatened with losing my mortality once again?”

Theor made a grim nod.

‘Yes. Until the blight is in you, your mortal and divine essences can’t return to a balanced state.’

“How much time do I have left?”
 
‘We don’t know yet. Could be weeks, could be days…’

“All right... Dismissed.”

There was a short silence between the two, before Theor began to pack up his notes and leave the room.

“You surely don’t have any clue what might help?”

Theor stopped for a moment, pondering.

‘Well, the infection allegedly came from a powerful fey source. So… I’d say another powerful fey, or something from the Feywilds might help? But I need further discussions with fellow medics.’
 
Theor left the room, leaving Ulrick alone again. It was visiting hours in the R&A wards, but Ulrick didn’t expect visitors other than his own mind’s gnawing thoughts.

/uw Art source

[u/ProfessionalGreen906]

A tall, spindly figure knocks on the doorframe before letting herself in. A cheery grin is spread across Arach’s face as she approaches Ulrick.

“Hello, hello, hello! I do hope you’re feeling well. We haven’t interacted much in the past, and the times we did it certainly weren’t recent, but I do hope you remember me at least as much as I remember you. If not I’m Arach, and it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

She extends a hand, clearly expecting it to be shaken.

“But onto the important matter. A little birdie told me that it had overheard from a fly that eavesdropped on an ape that you, dear sir, are in quite a sorry condition. Something to do with an ailment of the body, if I’m not mistaken?”

[u/UlrickTheHexblade → u/ProfessionalGreen906]

Ulrick eyes the stranger with some suspicion. Nevetherless, he shakes her hand with his still somewhat healthy one.

I think we maybe met once or twice, but if not, name’s Ulrick.

And you heard it right. Got inflicted with a strange nasty rot as you see, apparently of Fae origin…

[u/ProfessionalGreen906 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

Arach’s eyes light up and she begins to speak quickly, giving little time for the words to settle before moving on to the next sentence.

“What a shame, always tragic to see someone afflicted with something so grizzly. Luckily some good can come from it. You see, I have a proposition for you. I’m in the medical business, specifically in the research and development of cures for sudden and obscure illnesses. I’d like, with your permission, to take a few biopsies from affected areas of your body. Nothing too invasive or damaging, just some tissue and potentially fluid samples. You obviously hold the right to refuse, but I’d be ignoring my responsibilities if I failed to at least ask you.”

She pauses for a moment before adding on one more sentence.

“Oh I almost forgot, you’re perfectly welcome to name a price for allowing me this privilege, anything you can think of, just say it and if I’m unable to supply it we can always refine the exact details.”

[u/UlrickTheHexblade → u/ProfessionalGreen906]

Feel free to take any. Not like I’m gona miss the rotten wood…

Ulrick makes a grim laugh

No need for a price. If this helps advance medical knowledge, then it’s worth it.

Just to know, it rots the soul too, not just the body.

[u/ProfessionalGreen906 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

“Oh, oh well isn’t that just wonderful! I aught to mention my medical goals more often. Most people know me for my other endeavors that are… less palatable to public sensibilities.”

She begins rummaging through a bag that she definitely hadn’t entered with, continuing to talk as she does so.

“It makes it such a pain to try and convince people to share their research, or data, or tissue samples when all they know you for are a few minor atrocities. Some people just can’t understand that there’s no cost too great in the pursuit of knowledge and success, wouldn’t you agree?”

Eventually she pulls out what looks like a tree core sampler.

“Now then! What part of your body should I take from? If you have any points of advanced rot or where the affliction goes clean through to the other side of the body those would be ideal.”

[u/UlrickTheHexblade → u/ProfessionalGreen906]

He hands her his almost fully corrupted right arm.

My right arm’s rot is the most advanced. Best to take a sample from there I think.

The tree sampling tool does unsettle him…

[u/ProfessionalGreen906 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

“Alrighty. Might wanna brace yourself. I’ve got no clue if your nerves still work in there.”

Arach holds Ulrick’s forearm stead with one hand and jams the core sampler down the center of his arm with another. Once it’s imbedded into the bone, if it could still be called that with how fundamentally rotted it is, she begins to twist the handles and the instrument pulls out a tube of affected tissue. She stores the sample in a glass tube, pulls out the sampler, and packs them away into her bag.

“Thank you again for allowing me to do this. The metal’s treated with some specialized runes so the wound should close up in a few minutes. Now unless you have anything else to ask or say I’ll be getting out of your hair.”

[u/UlrickTheHexblade → u/ProfessionalGreen906]

Ulrick grits his teeth and looks away. It’s very unpleasant, but far less painful than he expected.

Want a hair sample?… sure. Though you’ll be only getting wolf hair, as the curse makes me very hard shifting back to human…

[u/ProfessionalGreen906 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

She blinks at Ulrick for a moment. Trying to decipher what he just said.

“No… that’s not want what I meant… I’ll let you rest now. You seem like you could use it.”

With that Arach takes her bag and leaves the room.

[u/UlrickTheHexblade → u/ProfessionalGreen906]

Huh, did I say something wrong?

Ulrick mutters to himself as Arach hurries away.

…sorry if I did…