Beetz enters the shuttered square still holding Elias Vane aloft. Mara Vane follows with the bell-water jar pressed to her chest, while rain beads on its separated green and clear layers.
The plague doctor and the child emerge from behind a nailed stall. Sick villagers watch through sealed doorways, faces pale behind curtains and cracked shutters.
The Plague Doctor
Stop there. I recognize the clear layer. It is the cure, if Elias has not contaminated it with another bargain.
Elias Vane
I told you, one dose per patient. Divide it carefully, and the fever will release them.
The plague doctor steps into the rain, black waxed coat shining, beaked mask fixed on the jar. Their gloved hand points toward the child.
The Plague Doctor
One dose must be tested immediately. On the child. Only then will I divide the jar among the village.
Mara Vane
If it fails, the child pays for Elias’s lies. But if we wait, the others may not last until morning.
✓ Quest Accepted
Save the plague-stricken villagers
“"If the child dies, I will be crushing this bastards skull. Do you hear me, Elias? You better start praying for that childs health."”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +1)
Beetz
If that child dies, I will crush your skull, Elias. Do you hear me? Start praying for the child's health.
Beetz keeps Elias suspended above the rain-dark stones, their armored grip firm around his head. Every shutter in the square goes still, listening.
Elias Vane
I hear you. I hear you perfectly. Please, doctor, use the clear layer now. I swear it is clean.
The Plague Doctor
Threats will not alter the mixture. Hold him steady, Mara. I will test the smallest possible dose.
Mara sets the jar on the stall and steadies it beneath the doctor's gloved hands. The clear layer separates cleanly as a measured portion fills a small glass vial.
The Plague Doctor
Child, swallow this. Do not fight the taste. The fever may loosen its hold before the next bell.
The child drinks. For several breaths, only rain answers. Then the green translucence recedes from the child's hands, and a stronger breath rises beneath the gray blanket.
“*I wait before the doctor is absolutely sure the child is safe*”
Beetz waits beneath the rain, keeping Elias suspended while the plague doctor watches the child’s breathing. The square remains silent around them.
The child’s color continues returning beneath the gray blanket. Their hands lose the last green translucence, and their breaths settle into a steady rhythm.
The Plague Doctor
The fever has released them. The cure is clean, and the dose is holding.
The plague doctor checks the child’s eyes, pulse, and breathing twice before lifting the empty vial. No green threads return beneath the skin.
The Plague Doctor
The child is safe. I will divide the remaining clear layer now, one measured dose for each patient.
Elias Vane
You see? I told you it would work. I can still help them.
Mara Vane
He can help because you forced the truth out of him. Do not let him turn that into forgiveness.
✓ Quest Accepted
Deliver the cure to the sick villagers
“"I will not let this vile man out of my grasp. Now lets cure the rest of this village and let them decide what happens to this fiend."”
SUCCESS (Great Strength, rolled -2)
Beetz
I will not let this vile man out of my grasp. Cure the rest of the village, then let them decide what happens to him.
Beetz tightens their armored grip around Elias’s head and keeps him suspended while the plague doctor measures the clear layer. The strain locks their elbow joint, but Elias cannot escape.
The Plague Doctor
You heard them. Stand still, Elias. I will make every dose count, and the village will witness each one.
The plague doctor works through the rain, carrying measured vials from door to door. Green pallor fades from the villagers behind opened shutters, and fevered breathing steadies.
Mara Vane
They are choosing survival first. Do not mistake their silence for mercy, Elias. They remember what you brought here.
By dawn, the last patient drinks. The villagers gather in the square around Elias, stronger now, their faces sharpened by exhaustion and anger as the empty jar rests at the plague doctor’s feet.
The Villagers
He brought the sickness, lied about the cure, and abandoned us. Let him live, but bind him to the chapel road until the drowned bell judges what remains.
Quest Complete
Save the plague-stricken villagers
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Superb→Legendary
Quest Complete
Deliver the cure to the sick villagers