Post by Aridan Istary on May 31, 2011 12:53:00 GMT -5
Aridan was sitting in the Tower library, stroking Alastor absent mindedly while reading a recent acquisition to the library collection, a book on sphinx riddles, when there came a knock on the Tower’s large oak doors. Slightly annoyed that someone had disturbed his solitude, Aridan rose from his seat, letting Alastor jump to the floor and follow him as he walked to answer the door.
Standing on the threshold of the Tower door was a well-dressed house servant, balding slightly and clearly in a great amount distress. The servant spoke in a hurry “I bring a message from my mistress, the wife of the Duke Chesterfield. The Duke has been afflicted with some sort of poison and we cannot find a cure to help him.” “Then go to a healer.” Aridan said, and made to close the door. The man clearly did not understand that mages are not at the beck and call of dukes or duchesses.
“We’ve done that!” cried the servant, holding his arms out to keep the oak door from closing in his face. “The Duke has been seen by every healer in the city and each and every one of them have been unable to do the slightest thing about this affliction.” The servant looked quite mad. “Healer Augusta said that they reason her remedies didn’t work was because there was some kind of dark magic involved in preventing the healing.”
At last he was getting to it, thought Aridan. So this Duke was stricken with some kind of magical poison, and of course they had come to ask the mages for help. After he took a note from the servant describing the Duke's symptoms, Aridan told the servant to wait in the Tower’s atrium while he returned to the library. So, a magical poison, that sounds interesting, said Alastor, his soft voice speaking directly into Aridan’s mind. “Yes, certainly something to do other than sit around all day.” said Aridan out loud.
He walked over to the section of the large library that dealt with botanicals, and began to search for the poison that caused the symptoms the servant had described. Fever was common enough; any poisonous plant could cause fever. Sweating and night terrors were common as well. What was most interesting was the rash that was spreading across the Duke’s skin. Very few plants caused specific rashes to appear, and even fewer with such as precise pattern: many interlocking rings all over the Duke’s skin. That was certainly interesting.
Aridan pulled from the shelves a large book that looked promising.
After a few minutes of searching, he found it. The page in front of him had several hand painted images, among them a man in what appeared to be terrible pain, his body covered with the characteristic rash of interlocking rings. The plant’s name was the Valley Dread Flower, a dangerous poisonous plant that killed quite slowly. It is a magical plant indeed, explaining why the healers were unable to do anything about it. Looking at the bottom of the page, Aridan saw that the only known antidote was a potion made with the nectar of the Night Lily, which only grew deep in the Great Forest, and only bloomed when touched by moonlight. Of course it’s nearly impossible to find, said Alastor, it can’t ever be easy, like picking up some on the market.
Aridan had a problem. While he was capable of brewing the potion, getting to the flower was going to be difficult. He knew that the Forest was filled with bandits and wild beasts, and he had never ventured there alone. He knew he would need help from people capable of fighting, and someone familiar with the forest would also be helpful.
Aridan wrote up a call for help and nailed it to the Tower's front door. He hoped that someone would see the call and be willing to help him in this dangerous journey.
Standing on the threshold of the Tower door was a well-dressed house servant, balding slightly and clearly in a great amount distress. The servant spoke in a hurry “I bring a message from my mistress, the wife of the Duke Chesterfield. The Duke has been afflicted with some sort of poison and we cannot find a cure to help him.” “Then go to a healer.” Aridan said, and made to close the door. The man clearly did not understand that mages are not at the beck and call of dukes or duchesses.
“We’ve done that!” cried the servant, holding his arms out to keep the oak door from closing in his face. “The Duke has been seen by every healer in the city and each and every one of them have been unable to do the slightest thing about this affliction.” The servant looked quite mad. “Healer Augusta said that they reason her remedies didn’t work was because there was some kind of dark magic involved in preventing the healing.”
At last he was getting to it, thought Aridan. So this Duke was stricken with some kind of magical poison, and of course they had come to ask the mages for help. After he took a note from the servant describing the Duke's symptoms, Aridan told the servant to wait in the Tower’s atrium while he returned to the library. So, a magical poison, that sounds interesting, said Alastor, his soft voice speaking directly into Aridan’s mind. “Yes, certainly something to do other than sit around all day.” said Aridan out loud.
He walked over to the section of the large library that dealt with botanicals, and began to search for the poison that caused the symptoms the servant had described. Fever was common enough; any poisonous plant could cause fever. Sweating and night terrors were common as well. What was most interesting was the rash that was spreading across the Duke’s skin. Very few plants caused specific rashes to appear, and even fewer with such as precise pattern: many interlocking rings all over the Duke’s skin. That was certainly interesting.
Aridan pulled from the shelves a large book that looked promising.
After a few minutes of searching, he found it. The page in front of him had several hand painted images, among them a man in what appeared to be terrible pain, his body covered with the characteristic rash of interlocking rings. The plant’s name was the Valley Dread Flower, a dangerous poisonous plant that killed quite slowly. It is a magical plant indeed, explaining why the healers were unable to do anything about it. Looking at the bottom of the page, Aridan saw that the only known antidote was a potion made with the nectar of the Night Lily, which only grew deep in the Great Forest, and only bloomed when touched by moonlight. Of course it’s nearly impossible to find, said Alastor, it can’t ever be easy, like picking up some on the market.
Aridan had a problem. While he was capable of brewing the potion, getting to the flower was going to be difficult. He knew that the Forest was filled with bandits and wild beasts, and he had never ventured there alone. He knew he would need help from people capable of fighting, and someone familiar with the forest would also be helpful.
Aridan wrote up a call for help and nailed it to the Tower's front door. He hoped that someone would see the call and be willing to help him in this dangerous journey.
