The Devastation of the Breathless Plague

Plague / Epidemic

With no one noticing the initial infection moving beyond the borders of the Commune, the infected Restless Dead were left to spread the Breathless Plague unhindered for weeks until it was finally noticed for what it was. By this time, the number of infected had grown exponentially and the damage had been done.

It is believed that the initial group of infected moved south, picking up more and more victims and additions to the forming herd as it moved, wayward travelers and a few smaller settlements and encampments being swallowed up along the way. None of these smaller groups of people had any known survivors of the encounter, and no communications were able to get out alerting anyone to the danger. It was not until the herd, (fairly large by this time), reached Gillelle that it met with any significant resistance. The dwarves stationed there, well equipped to defend, along with the stationed Bechtlarite troops, managed to usher the civilian population into the The Culvarkt Geodesic Laboratory nad fend off the attack. While they did suffer many losses, most were due to the nature of the infection carried by their assailants, and not knowing what they were dealing with until it was too late. During the struggle, the herd was split in two, half of it moving northward along the river, and the remaining Restless Dead moving eastward towards Hearde . The defenders of Gillelle gave chase for a short distance, picking off stragglers but turned back quickly so as not to risk leaving the town undefended. A rider was dispatched to Armuun with the news and a request for reinforcements, and another to Hearde with a warning.   While Gillelle repaired and recovered, tending to their wounded only to discover most of them carried an unknown pathogen that resulted in not only their death, but their subsequent reanimation, the eastbound herd moved in on the small village of Hearde . Thanks to the rider from Gillelle's warning, the residents here were able to prepare, and managed to mount a defensive effort that was ultimately costly, but effective. They held out for three days before reinforcements from Armuun finally arrived.   The remaining herd moved along the river and crossed over at the bridge south of Carrig's Cross , narrowly avoiding stumbling across the village itself as it slowly turned east, as if being drawn by some unseen force until it vanished into the swirling black of the Blight.   The main herd has grown exponentially since then, as it wanders within the Void, exiting from time to time in various places, claiming victims and causing outbreaks of the pathogen every time it does. Reports of sightings range across the entire fringe, suggesting that it has either split into multiple herds of wanders extensively. The The Benevolent Order has worked tirelessly to contain and defend against it, but the looming threat remains.