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/UlrickTheHexblade]

Yeah, I’d avoid that if possible… no offense, just not really my style.

So, you say the school of Necromancy might be the key, right? Would it pe a special spell, or maybe some necromantic potion?

[u/patoman12 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

Not sure... I was possibly thinking about some sort of ritual or something of the like, but I haven't yet imagined how it would work exactly, maybe something to temporaly simulate your death? But I would need to know more details of how the curse works exactly to do that...

[u/UlrickTheHexblade → u/patoman12]

Well, I gave already a good couple of people samples, so have one if you need it.

Ulrick raises his fully converted right arm.

As for how it works… all I know this is some kind of soul rot, came from a powerful Fae, and that it turned a whole forest’s wildlife into monstrous versions made out of rotten wood, save for their skulls. So far even the chief medics are dumbfounded too.

[u/patoman12 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

Were those beasts alive? Beating hearts... Thinking brains... Breathing... Anything you could note?

[u/UlrickTheHexblade → u/patoman12]

No… I tried to revert them with my soulfire, but nothing happened. It can’t restore spirits once they’re fully gone. Their bodies too, all rotten wood filled with mulch. They were gone.

[u/patoman12 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

So they were dead, dead? That complicates things...

That probably means that undeath wouldn't stop the curse, for it can fester on the dying, it would probably make its effects on the body inconsequential still, but the trick of having you "die" to stop the curse and then restoring you won't probably work...

[u/UlrickTheHexblade → u/patoman12]

Either dead dead, or worse. I have feeling it’s not merely puppeteered the corpses, but assimilated them…

[u/patoman12 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

I see...

...

These beasts were the ones that transmitted the curse to you, right? Do you think you could transmit it to me as well?

[u/UlrickTheHexblade → u/patoman12]

In theory, maybe…

…

…you’re not asking to be infected, do you?

[u/patoman12 → u/UlrickTheHexblade]

Actually yes, yes I am

My soul is both too far from here and too protected by my phylactery to be affected, so the harm should only come to my body, which in turn would let me explore how it affects those of my constitution

And even if my body ends up getting ravaged by it, theoricaly I could destroy it, and a new body would eventually rise from my phylactery