I know that we’re always dealing with ten-zillion problems at once. I get that everyone has precisely twenty-zillion things that they want to do between seasons. However, I think we can all agree woman-sized bloodworms digging holes into our homes, destabilizing the port, and infecting townsfolk is Not Good, especially when they breed faster than rabbits in the summer sun and have ten times the bloodlust.
I’m going to keep this short, because, honestly, I have explained this too many times and I’m still surprised I am a vague figure of authority here.
What We Need From You:
Are you good at navigating tunnels and/or map work? We ideally would like a team of people mapping out all the holes these vile cretins have left around port. We are very much hoping that this could give us insight on where they’re coming from and going to, and get some insight on where we might stage large scale removal forces.
Do you like arson? I want every trace of these forsaken, wriggling creatures obliterated from the island. If you have the capacity to build a device that can do that, or can stock-pile goods to this effort, that’d be swell.
Why You Should Care:
The last village that had similar parasite burrows was completely de-populated within a week or so. And when I say de-populated, I mean everyone there became worm food. So that’s what happens if we don’t take care of this problem quickly. And might I remind you, dear townsfolk, you live here. All your stuff is here. So it would be very bad if the parasite problem of person-sized parasites who multiply exponentially in mere days become an even bigger issue than it already is.
But I get it. Ten-zillion problems and twenty-zillion interests. So I personally will be paying anyone who helps in these efforts a minimum of five ducats. I am willing to throw in additional favors upon request or negotiate payment. You will have also endeared yourself to a very capable surgeon who is very tired of seeing these wrecked worms on an island that is known to contain several hundred thousand dangerous things that want you dead, so there’s that.
To summarize once more:
We need:
people willing to map the holes of these wretched worms. Hopefully find if they have a central tunnel area where they sleep or store food or something.
people who could make bombs or bomb-like devices to decimate these suckers (I can forward you any information on the worms we have that could be helpful, if needed)
You’ll get:
a minimum of 5 ducats for your trouble
a favor from an experienced surgeon and hobbyist gardener
your home not invaded by giant worms that can kill you in your sleep and then use your corpse to make more giant worms
literally if this is not enticing just name your price, I want to go back to studying bones and organs again
Please respond to this notice if you can lend a hand.
Try not to die,
Sláine Flann Quigley
Surgeon Guild Leader
I know I already offered my assistance in this as well, but I will offer it again. Luckily we know these worms are affected by Venom, and I am always down to stab some of them.
Folks if we could get a good sized group working on this problem we might be able to quickly deal with the threat. I know it’s been a while, but these things will implant you with eggs if they are able to get a bite in you. Clearing them out now would be best for the town.
I’m always willing to help a good friend. Years in the mines have helped me with mapping and understanding 3 dimensional interior locations. I can help with mapping out the tunnels.
Folks, please listen to him. Investing energy on this front now prevents us from becoming worm food later. You don’t need to be particularly skilled in either of the above fields (though that would certainly help) – at a certain point, sheer woman power is just Good To Have, and we certainly are at that point.
Hello, I see you’re looking for an explosives expert. I’m the one who took care of the scarecrow problem in the sewers, I’m glad to assist with this as well. Im also not terribly fond of these parasites and would also like to see them eradicated. Getting a device is a bit difficult, since we dont currently have an artificer’s lab, but I have some ideas if you would like to discuss
-Petra
The worms are THE WORST. I will never be clean again after being inside one. What components do we need for bombs? If any can be gardened, I’m on it.
-Ursula
There has been, as far as I am aware, little experimentation on building explosives. I have an idea of how to make a venom grenade but I need an engineer to finish it and Ive had other priorities.
What concerns me is that these tunnels likely go all over the island and particularly under the town proper. An explosion could cause unintentional damage from a greater collapse of the tunnels if we aren’t careful. I could work on trying to make some kind of directed charge specifically to collapse tunnels.
Even without directional charges (which I will be happy to help you place for maximum effect for collapsing specific tunnels), we can still weaken and close some of the tunnels…although, these critters seem able to make their own tunnels, so I would feel more comfortable killing them then backfilling. Maybe an incendiary rather than an explosive? Same heat, but less concussion, to kill rather than crumble.
If you think you’re going to be setting off explosives in tunnels that might collapse, do please try to bring an engineer with some advanced knowledge of engineering with you. I don’t expect I’ll have time to assist personally before the Festival, but even if you don’t find someone to help in advance, bringing someone with you when you actually go into the tunnels who can notice if they’re fragile seems wise. I expect I can be free for that, depending on the timing of the attempt.
Do we think we will be going into the tunnels during the spring festival? If that is the case then I can do my best to procure an explosive device, but I wouldnt have time to find an engineer to work on the venom grenades or attempt to make any devices myself (something i doubt i could even do without the artificer lab). The cost will be higher on such short notice as well, not even mentioning the possibility of tiyagan interference.
It may be better, given the circumstances, to see what the scouts find and determine a plan of action for the summer festival.
It is my understanding the the longer these worms are left on their own the more of a problem they will become. Seeing as our occupiers likely also don’t want this problem to expand, I am not sure how much opposition we will find in removing the bloodworms. Parasites like these only get worse over time.
But we are very limited in how much we can do, as we are relying on anything we can find. Hopefully when that information is put together when we gather again, we can form a good plan to do what we can with what we have. If that’s the chance to do serious harm to these parasites or clear out a majority of them I would say we should take that risk.
Forgive my late reply – it is indeed as Kovatch says. Right now, my personal priority is finding where these parasites are exactly so that we may exterminate them. I am hopeful we can, if we get a few more hands on this operation, map out their tunnels/movement without anyone in our search party falling ill.
The call for arson and other violent, thorough means of bloodworm disposal is admittedly a later step in this plan. However, every moment we spend not getting rid of these vile creatures gives them time to grow and reproduce, and I want to make sure townsfolk are prepared for the situation to be worse than we saw in Fall last year. While we might not have the ability to make something ready for this Spring, I don’t want townsfolk coming in unprepared, essentially. Whether we find these parasites’ main dwelling tunnel or no, I fully expect for several people-sized worms to be a problem come Dawning. I’m not advocating for setting the town on fire to avoid it becoming wormfood – I’d very much like the town to stay perfectly intact. I merely want to get across how important it is that these invasive? re-emergent? parasitic species be completely obliterated, lest our town become a ghosttown.
tldr: timetable is “get as much area mapped out as possible between gathers and be ready to act on whatever information we find come Spring festivities”. I don’t know if that means we’ll be able to take the fight to them during the festival, or if we’ll need to put our heads together between gathers again. Time is really of the essence here.
I feel confident I can find a large enough entrance - assuming one exists - by Dawning. As such, I would plan for a Dawning assault on the worms. Worst case scenario, it gets delayed a festival; best case scenario, folks are ready.
I appreciate everyone’s willingness to help and Slaíne’s leadership with this infestation. The guild has had several nasty encounters with these things, some even occurring during the parasites’ surgical removal.
I’m willing to use my focus to coordinate efforts and n behalf of the guild. It’s a little unclear to me who is doing what. Can everyone just reply with a something succinct, such as what they are doing and how they are doing it so that I can journal it appropriately . If you don’t want to state something publicly feel free to message me here or on Slack.
In addition to all of the aid already discussed we are definitely interested in acquiring several venom vials. These seem to be effective against the worms as we will happily pay for available vials or accept any citizens are willing to donate for the extermination efforts.
