Chapter 20: Plague God (2)
“The plague? Infected with the plague?”
“Yeah, I saw Lord Gebel setting up quarantine lines.”
News of the inquisitor contracting the plague inside the monastery spread quickly. It was pretty obvious given that Gebel was putting up barricades to control movement and Evhar was getting ready to lead a prayer session for the plague.
Treating the plague with a prayer meeting might sound like nonsense to a modern person, but back then, it was the go-to response and seen as the most effective treatment. However, whoever had unleashed the plague had clearly been scheming for a while, casting doubt on the effectiveness of prayers.
Aware of this, Evhar was prepping for some bloodletting treatment. The monks had their own ways of dealing with the plague, even if they were a bit old-school, like rubbing dried herbs on their faces or wearing chicken feet around their necks.
While some of these practices had nothing to do with the Codex of Light, it was obvious that even the most devoted monks weren’t immune to superstition.
But there was one thing Isaac just couldn’t wrap his head around.
“Wait, all the leeches are dead?”
“Yeah.”
Evhar, in the middle of the bloodletting process on Isolde, was clearly thrown off. The plan was to draw blood first and then continue treatment, but now all the leeches were gone, replaced by murky water.
“What in the world happened?”
“I can’t exactly say the tentacles got to ’em.”
Isaac decided to bend the truth a bit.
“After I placed the blood-filled leeches in the tank, they kinda dissolved and vanished overnight. Maybe the plague got to ’em too? I mean, the wolves and bears got infected, so why not the leeches?”
Surprisingly, his excuse seemed to work. In their understanding, leeches were more like a liquid than animals. In reality, the tank held bits of leeches that the tentacles had devoured, absorbing the plague along with them.
[You have devoured the ‘leeches’.]
[Devouring bonus: Boosted bloodsucking efficiency.]
[Minor upgrade in health recovery ability.]
Although the unintended bonus from devouring the leeches was unexpected, the rapid digestion meant it might not be all that helpful.
Evhar was clearly distressed by the news of the missing leeches.
“It’s not easy finding leeches in the dead of winter… should we do the bloodletting ourselves?”
“Oh boy, these folks are serious.”
Before Evhar could jump into any crazy medical plans, Isaac jumped in.
“Hey, Abbot, need a hand?”
Evhar looked at Isaac in surprise.
“You offering your help?”
“Yeah, I’ve read some foreign medical stuff before. Gebel and I can handle the basic nursing and chores so the monks and you, Abbot, can focus on the prayer meeting without stressing about other things.”
It was a simple way to split up the work.
The monks trying to deal with the plague themselves would just slow things down. But since the prayer meeting seemed to be working, they should stick to that.
Isaac planned to handle the quarantine and treatment, the ‘chores’, as he called them.
Evhar looked at Isaac for a moment and then gave a nod.
Back then, people believed that holding a saint’s hand for healing was more effective than going to a doctor. Miracles were a thing, so the belief wasn’t totally off.
The plague was already spreading among the monks. The kids were kept separate to stop the spread, and even Gebel was starting to show symptoms.
But Isaac, who had carried Isolde, didn’t show any signs of the plague or even a cough.
Evhar, not fully trusting Isaac’s knowledge but thinking he might have some divine luck, agreed to his plan.
“Alright then. We’ll focus on the prayers and leave the rest to you.”
***
Isaac got straight to work on the quarantine measures.
First, he isolated Gebel in his own room since he was showing early signs of the plague. Isaac also gathered and burned all of Isolde’s clothes, the main source of the infection.
When the monks were worried about burning the inquisitor’s clothes, Isaac calmly explained, “It’s a way to get rid of the plague with fire.”
The monks bought his explanation and burned other possibly infected items.
Luckily, the monks, despite Isaac being just 16 years old, followed his lead well. His actions made sense and kinda lined up with their traditional beliefs.
“There’s some kind of quarantine idea here.”
Even the act of isolating the infected ones showed they understood to stay away from plague-infected areas.
Isaac also made sure the monks washed their hands before meals and adjusted their robes to cover up to their noses. It wasn’t a mask, but it could stop saliva from flying everywhere.
“A separate spot for the prayer meeting?”
“Yup.”
Isaac even stuck his nose in the prayer meeting plans. He asked for the meeting to be split between those with plague symptoms and those without.
Back then, people would travel around seeking a healing saint statue for the sick and their caretakers. Isaac thought the monks might push back against the idea of separate prayer meetings. He planned to turn the chapel into an isolation area.
“The prayer meeting doesn’t have to be hidden in a corner. Let’s follow the Codex of Light teachings and have the healthy folks voice their prayers loudly under the sunlight.”
The Codex of Light was all about the sun, so why whisper prayers in a cramped space?
Isaac said this with a critical edge.
Though it wasn’t the usual view, Evhar saw the sense in his words.
“Alright then. Let’s roll with that.”
Thankfully, Evhar and the other monks were cool with the plan.
It was kind of surprising that Isaac didn’t show any symptoms even though he was in close contact with Isolde, but maybe his mysterious charm had something to do with it.
Since they already trusted Isaac, it wasn’t a big deal for them to go along with his requests.
“I hope this plan actually works,” Isaac thought to himself.
The monastery had pretty much turned into a quarantine zone with the plague spreading around. Trying to burn stuff or isolate patients seemed like a lost cause, but Isaac believed that categorizing patients based on symptoms and focusing on cleanliness could help.
Luckily, Isaac’s efforts were somewhat successful.
Before Isaac stepped in with his quarantine measures, the plague was quickly spreading among the monks.
But once Isaac took action, the number of new infections decreased and the severity of symptoms slowed down.
“It’s just a temporary fix,” Isaac acknowledged.
If Evhar’s prayer meeting could truly work, it might be able to drive away the plague. However, until that happened, there was a risk of people dying or suffering from serious aftereffects.
To truly solve the problem, they needed to get rid of the source.
***
Isolde was still out cold, clearly in pain.
Isaac checked her condition and saw that her wounds were still oozing with blisters and sores. It seemed like amputation might be necessary, but given her weak state, it was a tough call to make.
Her resilience was largely attributed to the healing prayers.
The prayer gathering did help in Isolde’s recovery, but it wasn’t a cure for the plague. All Isaac could do was prevent excessive bleeding; the rest was up to prayers.
“This doesn’t look good,” Isaac worried.
He had heard similar stories about Gebel and the other monks. While the prayer meetings kept Death at bay, they couldn’t fully stop the infection. Isaac knew his quarantine measures were only a temporary solution; if fatigue set in, the plague might start spreading again.
If the number of infected individuals increased, the efficacy of the prayer meetings might diminish.
“I wish the Codex of Light could just miraculously fix everything,” Isaac thought.
In a world of magic and wonders, it didn’t seem too far-fetched. The real question was whether patients like Isolde could hold on until such a miraculous healing.
Isaac couldn’t rely solely on miracles.
Praying wasn’t his main task; he needed to take action.
Making sure he was alone, Isaac summoned his tentacles. They slowly moved over Isolde’s body.
“It feels weird,” Isaac noted.
It felt unsettling, but it was necessary.
The tentacles began to remove the infected parts of Isolde’s wounds. With many teeth, they swiftly cut out the harmful flesh and devoured it, leaving behind only the healthy tissue.
Even though he had vowed not to consume humans, this was a line he had to cross.
“Guess it’s a bit like leech therapy, huh?” Isaac mused.
He shook his head at the irony of performing bloodletting that he once thought was foolish. Isolde winced with each infected part removed.
Soon, fresh blood started flowing from Isolde’s wounds, but the infection was gone. Without proper cleaning supplies, this was the best Isaac could manage.
Isaac then let the leeches use their enhanced abilities to aid in healing.
[Tentacles: Increased efficiency in bloodsucking.]
[Improved health recovery ability.]
His tentacles secreted a healing fluid over Isolde’s wounds, made from her own flesh and blood. Though temporary, this healing liquid helped her wounds start to mend.
“That’s all I can do for now,” Isaac concluded.
Isaac wiped the sweat off his forehead, but he didn’t stop there. This was just the beginning of his defense.
Even though the Codex of Light was about to make a big move, Isaac wasn’t going to sit around and wait for divine retribution.
“There should be some progress soon,” Isaac mumbled, walking over to a corner of the room. There, he found a rat that seemed lifeless.
It was a rat that had been paralyzed by the ‘Parasite from Beyond’. Isaac decided to activate the ‘Offspring of Chaos’ bonus on it.
As he wielded his power, the rat started convulsing violently and eventually burst open like a water balloon. From the gruesome mess, something twisted and turned its way out.
It started taking form, absorbing the rat’s remains to shape itself. Although it initially looked like a rat, upon closer look, the tentacles moving in all directions made it clear that this was an offspring of chaos.
“Master,” came a short and simple message from the chaos offspring. Since it had used a rat as a medium, the chaos offspring could only communicate in brief words.
Isaac shared a piece of Isolde’s flesh with the chaos offspring and instructed it to find the source of the plague in the mountains. They needed to uncover who was behind this deception.
The chaos offspring eagerly consumed the flesh and scurried into a rat hole to carry out Isaac’s command.
Isaac anxiously awaited the outcome of his actions since the plague had emerged.
***
“My Master,” a sudden message jolted Isaac awake that night.
“The plague’s origin has been found.”
