Black Quiver Disease

The Black Quiver disease is a highly infectious and often lethal disease known to devastate isolated communities. In Bormar such outbreaks are most common in its Outposts.

History

The nation of Bormar has known of the Black Quiver Disease for some time. How the disease is actually caught is still a matter of debate amongst scholars, apothecaries and the medically included, but all tend to agree that the swamphopper frog is the origin of the horrific malady.

Symptoms And Effects

First, the skin becomes pale and drawn, with baggy eyes showing as the sufferers fail to sleep. Sweating dreams and thrashing nightmares take their hold on the poor Dwarves but, unfortunately, this is just the start.

After this, red vomit becomes a main issue, with the sufferer unable to hold down any realm amount of food or liquid. The tremors, from which the disease gets it name, follow shortly afterward. Unable to grip fine instruments or tools, many a craftsman has been reduced to a wreck of their former selves even before the worst of the symptoms appear.

Slowly, general apathy and lack of energy overtake the Dwarf. Sluggishness, weakness and muscle atrophy as the sufferer cannot retain food, nor work for long periods. Headaches and feelings of nausea arrive a day or so after this. Many Dwarves end up bedridden during this period, unable to help themselves, and must rely on the care of others.

On the fourth or fifth day of the disease, hunger cramps and stomach pains wrack the Dwarf, causing excruciating pain. Screaming, moaning and yells of anger and pain can often be heard from the windows of the houses of the afflicted.

Shortly after this, an intense period of vomiting occurs, draining the Dwarf of all vital energies. Only those will the closest friends with apothecarial skill, or the extremely wealthy, usually survive this stage. After this, possibly the worst symptom; complete and utter recovery. The Dwarf feels the picture of health for a single day, but after this period ends, sudden death will strike the Dwarf.

Cures And Treatments

The danger of the disease lies in the spreading of it and, indeed, the lack of treatment. The disease is contagious, often passing through crowds or groups of Dwarves with a fair swiftness. Thankfully a cure is known to Bormar, but it is usually during the cure's delivery to the afflicted places wherein the deaths occur. As a result, cures are often sought to be developed locally, such the efforts of the Outpost of Zietal Mar.