Aaquidae Vitae

Necrotic magic? In a house of Pelor ! Tell no one. Though, I'm not sure anyone would believe you.

— Nathaniel Bromley, High Cleric to Pelor and advisor to King Scotti

Discovery

Aaquidae Vitae is a healing ritual to treat Foromortem "The Burrowing Death" . It was recently developed by the clerics of the Malarigh Center for Reflection and Refuge, though Claire Aaquid is primarily credited for the official ritual. It was discretely funded by the Keoland Royal Army. Due to use of necrotic magic, the ritual's details are not publicly known, and the Malarigh Clerics work hard to keep it that way.

Procedures

The procedures start with consecutive level-3 castings of False Life prepared, followed by a combination of remove disease and remove poison.

The necromantic facsimile provided by the false life spell tricks the tick into thinking there is no more local healthy tissue. It detaches from the tissue, searching for more. As the tick moves under the host's skin, it leaves a trail of black/brown liquid ooze. This provides smooth transportation and camouflage. For this reason, the locating procedure can last anywhere from 20 minutes to three hours. While necrotic magic is treated with suspicion, due to the necrotic nature of the fluid, contact with the host is strongly discouraged and magical solution strongly recommended.
To cast this spell a small amount of alcohol or distilled spirits blessed by are required to trace the symbol of @peloron the body during casting. Traditionally these sigils are placed on the transient swellings and blister formations commonly found on the inside of elbows, knees, on the soles of feel, and around the genital areas. These sigils cannot be seen once the alcohol or spirits evaporate.

goonalan

Image: The symbol of Pelor.

It's taken us three days to find it, but it looks like Janell has a fighting chance. We tried removing the sludge first, to make the tick easier to find, but the tick quickly made new sludge as it tried to escape. Keeping the sludge gave us predictable patterns to track the parasite down. This discovery should help free up resources to other areas of the center and allow us to get some sleep. Janell has a long recovery ahead but there's hope. Thank Pelor.

— Claire Aaquid, Malarigh Cleric

Locating the necrotic burrowing tick in a host's body is difficult. The tick burrows under the host's skin, secreting a toxic ooze which destroys muscle, skin, and fat tissue, leaving a trail of black/brown liquid waste under the skin. The darkly colored tick uses these trails as pathways to travel around the host's body, providing both easy transportation and camouflage.
Once the tick's location is verified, another cleric casts remove disease at level 3. For this to be effective, the caster's hand must be directly above the tick's location and stay above the tick for a minimum of 20 seconds. It is not uncommon for the tick to squirm and try to move around the body. The longer the tick has been feasting on the host, the more strength it has to resist the magical pull and move elsewhere.
After the tick has been removed, the cleric team takes charcoal chalk, outlines the toxic tracks, and ritualistically casts neutralize poison at level 4. Due to the immense magical drain on casters, sterilized carrion crawler larva are carefully placed on the blister formations.

Treatment Length

Initial treatment involves a ritual team of 2-4 clerics and 2-5 hours, though a day of preparation is usually needed for the clerics to be ready. After the tick is expelled, the sludge continues to slowly damage the tissue until it is drained. The longer the necrotic tick was inside the host, the longer it will take for the toxic sludge to leave the host's body. Because it takes weeks for the lost tissue to regenerating, physical therapy is needed to help the body properly acclimate the new tissue.

Recovery

An individual able to walk into the Malarigh Center has a significantly higher survival rate than an individual that arrives via stretcher or litter.

Recovery depends on the following factors:

• number of ticks in a host
• length of time a tick has been in a host
• amount and area of tissue damaged
• frequency and consistency of follow-up treatment

Type Magic Ritual
Components Needed
Charcoal Chalk
Alcohol or distilled spirits blessed by Pelor
Spells Required
False Life (Level 3) Neutralize Poison Remove Disease
Affected Locations
Hool Marshes
Port Silverdeep
Saltmarsh

Affected Species
Human
Discovery Location
Malarigh Center for Reflection and Refuge

Carrion Crawler Larvae
source: Wikimedia Commons

Disease Images - Graphic

Blisters that appear shortly after a necrotic tick has entered a host

Waste trails made by a necrotic tick after it has started eating a host's tissue

Player Hooks

The Back Market Several members of an army caravan have foromortem and need rapid treatment. The Malarigh Clerics are overwhelmed and ask the party to investigate rumors of a wand of false life in the Port Silverdeep Black Market. The Clerics are going to great lengths to hide their use of necrotic magic and cannot go themselves. Steps include: finding the black market, gaining trust of black market buyers, finding/obtaining the wand, and getting it to the clerics without being identified within 24 hours. This should be a fast-paced, time-sensitive arc.

Crawling in the Deep The Malarigh clerics have run out of carrion crawler larve and recruit the party to grab more from the wild. Adult carrion crawlers are much-feared denizens of the underground world. They live in lairs, venturing out for food every few days. Goblins and trolls will sometimes leave bodies of dead foes out for carrion crawlers to devour. The party is responsible for collecting 5-8 carrion larvae and bringing them back to the centre for use. The adventure should include interactions with other unsavory underground creatures and should be a series of intimidating battles.