The Doctors of the Plague

[High_On_Math 449]

[!] You spot a missive pinned to a bulletin board in Providence.  The wind blows a bit, and it begins to quiver, though fortunately it is not ripped off.

 

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On the Doctors of the Plague

 

Roughly 15-20 saint’s weeks ago, I met a plague doctor in Providence.  I was with an orc friend.  He told the orc that his facial anatomy was similar to that of a pig’s, and began to justify this insult with pseudo-scientific ramblings.  He carried an air of self-importance and pride, as though he were smarter than everyone else.

 

The Doctor told me that I was insane, and would likely end up killing someone if I did not get treatment.  He told me this after I had spoken but a few sentences to him. Throughout my encounters with the Doctor, he continually told me I was insane, and even that I “was a wench”. When I confronted him about using such rude language, he said, “It is merely deduced through observation.” He approached another woman and attempted to convince her that she had a medical condition.  I would characterize his actions towards me and this woman as attempted gaslighting in order to get us to subject ourselves to his medical “treatments”. For me, he noted that I would possibly need brain surgery via drilling a hole through my eye socket into my brain.  When I was dealing with the after effects of excessive alcohol consumption, he told me that drinking mercury would ease my symptoms.  When I protested, he and his master Laurent (who I shall describe later), both told me I was a fool, for I had not had any medical training but the doctor had.  These consistent attacks on individual’s self-esteem and pressuring to take dangerous medical “treatments” struck me as very suspicious.

 

On one occasion, the Doctor attempted to kill a musin.  His reasoning was that it was a rat, and that rats carry diseases.  He often spoke of how dirty and overpopulated Providence was, and how he had to wear a mask to keep out the disease.  His attempt on the musin’s life was just one in a series of comments or actions indicating that he believed Providence to be filthy and that that filth needed to be purged.

 

A crowd formed around the Doctor, attempting to prevent him from killing the musin. Upon successful prevention of the murder, a high elf man named Laurent approached the crowd, asking for a chance to speak to the Doctor in private.  Laurent regularly hung out in Providence, standing at the edges of the square, watching but not engaging with people.  Laurent claimed that the Doctor was his friend.  The crowd agreed, and Laurent and the Doctor left to speak privately in the tavern.  The Doctor referred to Laurent as “Master Laurent”.  Laurent seemed to be of the opinion that the Doctor should not ruin his reputation by killing the musin, but Laurent did seem to agree that the presence of musin was filthy.

 

Later, the Doctor attempted to strike a deal with a musin, telling the musin that if it came with him and was willing to be a test subject in scientific experiments, he would not kill it.

 

My late friend, Iolas, who in his life discovered a daemonic cult and lived to protect descendent kind, attempted to apprehend the Doctor and save the musin.  He had come to Providence with his comrades in order to investigate the Doctor.  They had been given information that he was connected to kidnapping and enslavement.

 

This is a sketch of the Doctor.

 

• Self-important and rude

• Attempted gaslighting individuals into dangerous medical treatments

• Belief that Providence is filthy to the point of having an environment that dangerously promotes illness

• Wore garb designed to protect him from the perceived illness in Providence’s air.

• Plague doctor bird-beak mask

• Connection to Master Laurent

• Attempted abduction of a musin for the purpose of scientifically experimenting on it

• Possible involvement in large-scale kidnapping

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Around 7 saint’s weeks ago, long after the original Doctor and Laurent had long since vanished, I met another plague doctor, this one distinctly different.

 

He began the conversation by making a rude remark to me, but I did not respond negatively to it.  Instead, I offered him a copy of my book and tried to be kind to him, hoping to gain information.  His demeanor changed to a friendly one.

 

He attempted to read the book, but held it upside down, indicating that he could not distinguish letters from being right side up or upside down.  As I asked him further questions, I discovered that he did not remember his original name, that he did not remember where he was born, that he did not remember anything - except that he had alchemy lessons he needed to go to.

 

I asked him who his alchemy teacher was, but he responded that the teacher was rather secretive.  I asked him if I could meet his teacher, but he said that his teacher had almost killed previous visitors.  I asked him if he could remember his alchemy lessons, and he said that he could not.  He only copied recipes down into a book.  Worried for his safety, I attempted to keep him in the square until I could get help.  However, he seemed anxious to leave as to not miss his lesson.  He eventually pushed past me and ran away.  I did not see him again.

 

This is a sketch of the Forgetful Doctor:

• Initially behaved rudely, became more friendly as I persisted in talking to him.

• Wore garb designed to protect him from the perceived illness in Providence’s air.

• Plague doctor bird-beak mask

• Connection to alchemy

• Amnesia

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Last saint’s day (1876), I encountered two individuals, one Human and one Musin, in Providence.  They were wearing odd garb.  The musin and the human’s garb looked the same, but different sizes, suggesting it was a uniform.  They wore goggles, and the human had a bandana over his face, though they did not wear traditional plague-doctor bird masks.

 

Their demeanor was rowdy, erratic, and rude, to the point where I had trouble obtaining information from them.  The people around assumed them to be crazy.  They went out of their way to insult my ability to see, as I have one eye and my body is badly scarred.  

 

They claimed to be doctors, though they seemed to know nothing of medicine.

 

They specifically mentioned the filthy, overpopulated state of Providence.  They also mentioned something called Bloodmaris.  Furthermore, they mentioned “super alchemy”.

 

They claimed to be worried about the continent of Almaris, saying we needed to fight back against those who would hurt us.   They claimed to be visiting the city to warn it of something.  I overheard them mentioning that this dangerous something would happen in 2 saint’s days (next saint’s day if you are receiving this from me).

 

They mentioned that they had spent years in a cave.

 

They seemed to remember where they were born and who their parents were.

 

When asked about Master Laurent, the man replied, “I know him. I killed his wife,” which seemed out of place.  It is likely that he was making that statement up.  He did not give me any details that could have proven he knew Master Laurent

 

Here is a sketch of what they looked like:

• Rude behavior

• Belief that Providence is filthy to the point of having an environment that dangerously promotes illness

• Wore garb designed to protect him from the perceived illness in Providence’s air.

• One was a musin

• Connection to alchemy

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Precisely one century ago, the Inferi invasion of Arcas began.  It began with 5 comets shooting out of the sky, only 2 of which landed in Arcas and were thus dealt with.  Furthermore, the Invasion was preceded by blood rain, which we have recently experienced in Almaris. With the two odd individuals I encountered yesterday mentioning Bloodmaris and the fact that we must fight back against . . . something, I believe that these doctors are somehow connected to the upcoming invasion, possibly an attempt to prevent it. 

 

The Doctors are a longstanding group, and with their recent words making little sense yet also  being reminiscent of the upcoming invasion I have previously predicted, I suggest they be taken semi seriously.  Their presence is a bad omen, not a harmless joke.

 

 I would take precautions, preparing for undead by fortifying the city with aurum, patrolling the city for possible dark magic ritual sites, stocking up on Oracle Wood and products that provide mental clarity, and mostly being aware of any possible threats.  Personally, I would evacuate children and the elderly until the time frame the two individuals set has passed and their predictions have been proven incorrect.

[EdenCringe 181]

A rather funny looking fellow with a plague doctor mask came across the missive with delight!

"Gee! That feller kinda looks familiar.. Wait that there's me! Ah'm famous!"

Once they did a small little fist pump into the air, thinking they were some sort of celebrity now within Providence, they proceeded to hum a little tune whilst waddling away from said missive.

[satin 7600]

Remon reads over the thing, beginning to give a small grin.

Well, at least SOMEONE is paying attention to the signs, though there are a few points of contention I would have with this..

[NLThomas 1225]

9 hours ago, High_On_Math said:

gaslighting

"The **** is gaslighting?" A old man mumbles to none but himself.

[Malta 2811]

From the forested woods around Providence a man in a black and red checkered uniform gazed over the missive with a hearty laugh.

"Fools! They know not of the bloodied rain's persisting effects! GOD's kingdom flayed, laid bare to bleed out over all of Almaris!"