*HOSPITAL* The facility is an impressively tall three story brick building with multiple separate wings and sub-buildings. You see several doctors and nurses walking in and out at random intervals, with a parking lot full of civilian vehicles on one side and oddly designed ambulances on the other. But one of the ambulances is currently on its side. Inside is even more impressive than outside. The building is immaculate, the lines are short, the floors are all marble squares, and the smell of cafeteria food fills the air. This floor of the facility is mostly comprised of a line of check-in windows, a large seating area with about two dozen chairs, and a series of glass doorways leading to catwalks to other nearby buildings. ----- *IF ANYONE IS INJURED* A pair of male nurses walking by in purple scrubs stop in front of your group with concern. An Alpaca with poofy brown hair & a gold nametag reading MICAH, and a black (Vietnam forest) scorpion man with a pale blonde buzzcut & a gold nametag stating KITIA, see your injured teammate(s) and guide them to sit down, asking what happened. While you talk, the two give a quick inspection to their wounds, scribble down notes on their general appearance, and check their heart rate. Once that is evaluated, the nurses give you two options. - Immediate relief using a high dosage of healing magic at a high price (3z per HP) - Basic medical care & medicines that take a bit longer to work but are cheaper (1z per HP) NOTE: If they take Basic care, they either cannot participate in the next fight, or all rolls will be at a -1 during it, unless they sleep first *EITHER WAY* ----- (NOTICE Roll) You hear a siren from outside, and it is approaching rapidly. Moments later, a team is wheeling a gurney with into the main lobby, carrying a parakeet man holding his side tightly. "What's the emergency here?" "38 year old male with a laceration across his ribs and side, likely a sword." "Okay, get him some healing magic and-- "Healing magic doesn't work on this." "WHAT?" "Every healing spell we cast just... doesn't work on it. And there's something else, we spotted gold in the wound." "Oh God, another one? Okay, get him to a bed, we'll do what we can." You watch the squad wheel the gurney away, the frustrated doctor writing something down on a clipboard. *IF THEY ASK* The doctor turns to you, a dolphin man with glasses and ear length brown hair, wearing a white labcoat with a stethoscope around his neck, his gold nametag reading DR TOHRU LEUMADAIR. "Hm? Did you need something?" *IF THEY ASK* He puts the clipboard back under his arm. "I'm surprised you don't know yet. People are coming in with injuries that can't be healed by magical means. Mostly cuts or gunshot wounds, all of which medicine and surgery can still treat, but their blood has traces of gold... something we can't identify around the injury." "Whatever this is isn't fatal in and of itself for the moment, and we've succeeded in removing it to prevent embolysms without issue, but healing magic is our fast acting option for critical care. If someone were to lose something valuable to this, it could be permanent. We've had one fatality from this so far, and we want to keep it that way." ----- *SEE THE PATIENT* "Medical code dictates noone can see any patient or any part of them therein, except Healthcare professionals, and even then only with consent." *ANYONE WITH MEDICAL EXPERTISE* *OR IF THEY HAVE SEEN IT BEFORE* He seems very hesitant. "Given circumstances, there ARE protocols to allow you to see this, especially if it can further our understanding of what is happening." He leans in very closely. "But you need to be very careful and follow my every word. You may have knowledge that can help, but this is still a hospital, and every person & procedure MUST be treated with dignity and respect. Understood?" *IF YES* He takes you to the nearby clerk window and requests (current party number) guest passes from the clerk, which she hands over no questions asked. "YWear these at all times, stay close to me, and keep your hands to yourself." He guides you into the patient area with several sick and injured people occupying the beds, toward a specific wing earmarked G.D.I. (Gold Dust Injury / God Damn It) You see various people with semi-deep cuts and gunshot wounds, nothing too catastrophic, but they are definitely in some amount of agony. He moves past them to a private office area full of file cabinets, pulls out a folder marked Tarbh, W., and pulls out an image of a fairly large cut on someone's chest. The wound has been cleaned fairly well, but you do see traces of gold dust against the opening, as well as a small sample dish with blood & the gold dust in it. "This is the image of a wound that caused our first and only fatality. We attempted to clean and close the wound, but we couldn't get to it quick enough. Add to it the age of the patient complicated it further... but, do you know anything about what caused this?" *MENTION GOLD WEAPONS OR SHIELD* He writes down the information as you say it. "So these gold weapons are to blame then... in the hands of the Marauders no less, can't say I'm surprised. And they devour mana to create this dust... I wouldn't believe it if the evidence didn't back you up." He seems relieved to have this confirmation. "I'll be honest, just getting confirmation on what we half suspected makes a huge difference. We will add a prioritized protocol to clean the wound even more closely before anything else." He quickly walks over to a nearby nurse and hands her his clipboard. "Get this to the other doctors, get an addendum added to our protocols made as quick as you can. This 'epidemic' might be over." She wastes no time at all getting the information down the hall, and he turns back to your group. "Your timing was impeccable on this one. And thanks to you, Warton Tarbh might be the only fatality. May he rest in peace." (CONTACTS Roll) Warton was the name of the bookstore owner. *RECOGNIZE WARTON* "Did... you know him? My condolences. I assume you know his funeral service is later today, yes? I'd attend myself, but I wasn't invited, and I didn't know him well enough." *FUNERAL SITE* "If you have a map..." He points out a GRAY spot on the westernmost side of the rock wall around Diadem (Go to GRAY DEMENSE)