2003-10-28: Attempting a Cure
Cures that rely on mysticism are curious business. Case in point: The commander of the Royal Britannian Guard was recently poisoned, and the royal mage took it upon himself to develop a cure. The required ingredients, however, were rare to the degree that an expedition was required to retrieve them.
The Commander had been poisoned during a battle against Minax’s evil minions. Clainin, who was also a member of the ruling council of Britannia, quickly began poring over ancient tomes for a curative potion recipe. Although the poison was of a remarkably rare sort, in short order he was able to brew a preliminary alchemical curative. The mixture, however, was merely a material component to the cure—it was incomplete without the infusion of a spiritual element.
Clainin, a detachment of the Royal Guard, and a group of loyal citizens set off with the curative from Castle Britain to visit three Shrines of Virtue. At each shrine, they thrice spoke the respective Virtue’s mantra, imbuing the potion with the essence of each Virtue. Returning to the city of Britain, they met with the Commander and rallied in the Chamber of Virtue to complete the ritual.
The commander drank the empowered potion, but the ritual itself was interrupted by a terrible woman in the crowd. She revealed herself as Neira the Necromancer, Champion of Unholy Terrors, and mounted an attack that lasted until Clainin and the crowd vanquished her. The commander was no longer in critical condition, although he was still ill.
One would have thought all hope was lost. All of the curative reagents were used up in the ritual, and their rarity made getting replacements nearly impossible. However, a mage emerged from the crowd stating that he could help complete the cure—albeit for a favor.
The mage’s solution was not at hand, and so the exhausted commander was led back to Castle Britain to rest. Clainin and the mage made plans to meet again at some later date to discuss their bargain and its price.
Clainin admitted to me that he had concerns regarding this “helpful” mage. He confided that the mage’s appearance was too convenient to be dismissed, but that we must still seek the cure at whatever cost.
