Lore24 Mar 23: The Plague of Vermin

The plague of vermin is a supernatural plague, that spreads by physical contact with infected people and animals. While it’s rarely fatal for people, and is asymptomatic in animals, it can nevertheless destroy entire communities.

The early symptoms are headache and nausea. After about a week the infected begins to vomit up small creatures, usually rats or locusts. The amount slowly gets larger and larger each day, until hundreds of animals are vomited out each day. These animals are non-magical, but they all carry the plague. Unless great care is taken, the animals will scatter and eventually make their way into the local foodstores, infecting the whole community and eating and/or spoiling stored food. The type of animal vomited up depends on infected, so sooner or later rats, termites, or other destructive pests will turn up. If an infected person is killed, their body will slowly swell, and after half a day or so it will burst open with vermin. The most severe outbreaks happen during the harvest season, then entire communities can be wiped out in the subsequent famine.

The plague is curable, but it takes weeks, and special care needs to be taken to prevent the animals from leaving the room of the patient. The cure also requires very specific plants, which don’t grow in more arid climates, nor very close to the sea, meaning that for a lot of communities trading for them is the only option. Of course with the trade networks collapsing, it is getting harder and harder to be able to afford a cure.

There is much speculation about who or what is responsible for this plague. Many suspect Cur-Atesh, but demons and evil sorcerers are also popular theories.

 

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