The Book of Malady ~ Chapter the Fifth
Being various accounts of encounters with the minions and magicks of Maladius
Excerpt from a Report of the Heartland Games 1099AF By High Mage Terwin of The Fellowship of the Full Moon
Plague Demons
More demons and cultists hampered the weekend having been sent by Maladius to cause problems. Luckily the flute which was discovered at the Convocation of Guilds had the power to remove them.
Excerpt from The Tasks of Odin summary (Late April 1102AF) Additional report information from Anders
Treeman
There were indeed a number of visits from a Treeman who dwelled in the forest. He came to us to ask for help to destroy an item that had been created by Maladius and had been placed in the forest which was creating a mini-’blight’, similar to the one at Damsey only smaller.
Myself and Tarl lead a party to the site of this ‘blight’ where there were a number of unliving, some of which had the ability to make your limbs start to decay by touching them. After a brief ‘conversation’ the unliving were slain and I retrieved the item off the body of a mummy which had been at the site. Once retreating to a safe distance Tarl used the hammer of Thor to destroy the item.
The Treeman seemed very thankful for our help and during the following conversation he informed me he had a son called Draego, a number of people seemed to recognise the name, but I did not.
Excerpt from a ‘Report on the Convocation of Guilds on Ustica 1103 AF’ By Mab Carter, Tutonian Minister of Arcane Affairs
Diseases
Shortly after I got back things are a little hazy but I do remember waking up lying on the ground with a grinning Esmund and a worried Zhe'dan standing over me. It appears that somehow I had been infected with some strange disease that made me really relaxed... Not sure why Zhe'dan felt the need to bash me over the head, although being calm was a most unusual feeling. I think perhaps that these diseases (other people were affected in different ways) were something to do with the Vines that kept trying to attack us. When we went to the Healers Guild event earlier in the winter, someone had planted corrupted seedlings everywhere. For some reason people (especially the Wolves) blamed the butler instead of the Gardener and the Gardener escaped singing his praises to the Plague demon Maladius. The Gardener escaped from the Healers on Ustica again but we chopped his plants to pieces…
…. On Sunday we attacked the Plague Vine Garden but saw no sign of the Gardener. The Emperors envoy watched us all battle a large force of Unliving led by some guy called Lo Pan. Ys was also in attendance, somehow he got decayed but when Sol Tempest (Healer's Guild Grandmaster) tried to cure it he couldn't and collapsed. I believe that Ys went back with the Emperor for some kind of Healing Potion (?). Another fight that we won although I missed a fair bit of it..
A Personal Account by Memphis Al Fayed of Ustica; March 1104 AF
The Tongue of the Demon
I recently had a meeting with ***********, a Dark Incantor of the Tarantulas. He showed me various items that he might be willing to part with as well as offering his assistance with several matters. Amongst the Items he offered was a large tongue that appeared to be rotting somewhat. It is known as ‘The Tongue of the Plague Demon’ and it enables the bearer to resist all forms of Disease, including Decay. He said that it was the tongue of the Demon Lord Maladius. I perceived, after Diagnosis, the Item to be of a permanently magical nature. Apparently you do not have to be a Channeller to use the item. This increases it’s value greatly, as to resist Disease it is almost always dependant upon some sort of Channelling ability (or else an Alien Life Pattern). He claimed that he wears the item as a codpiece! He did not reveal where he came across the item – but I shall endeavor to find out, I am guessing that it is Norscan in origin.
Excerpt of a Report on the Convocation of Guilds, Ustica, April 1104 by Memphis Al Fayed
Gardener of Maladius
A man arrived on the Saturday evening, he was accompanied by two creatures that seemed to be Unliving of some sort. He was dressed in white/cream coloured robes and carried a staff.
He asked to speak with the Healers Guild and loitered outside the bar awaiting their response. Somebody seems to have recognised him as ‘the gardener of Maladius’ and a confrontation would have taken place had not the man and his servants ‘shifted’ into the trunk of a nearby tree.
He then appeared from another tree some way off and mocked those who were hounding him.
He and his fellows flitted from tree to tree for a time and attempted to lure some of the main party away from the rest of us. No one took the bait.
I am unsure of his intentions or motives – all I can say with certainty is that he claimed to be a representative (or follower in fact) of Maladius and that he sought to speak with the Healers Guild but was not given a chance to do so.
For the brief time that his creatures did fight they inflicted disease upon their assailants and seemed to be harmed by the flame sword that my bodyguard was carrying.
The next day I was taken to a strange garden that was said to be this mans creation. It was a little way off into the woods nearby. The Healers said that it was ‘corrupted’ but I saw no evidence of this. After some time spent watching Healers and Incantors making fools of themselves trying to cast magics upon the blooms I wandered off.
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