The Crusher

Excerpts from "Planes of Disease" by famous Dustmen doctor Hikelliam, who argues that diseases are a right way to offer death, saying that artificial means are not adequate to evolution.

Originally from the Furnaces of Gehenna, this potent fungus is of magical bent. Strangely enough it seems to affect even fiends that are of least or lesser level, although they rarely die from such a malison. Contagion is made through inhalation of the deadly spores that are found in some of the caverns. The symptoms are quite quick to manifest and often kill the victim. Excessive bleeding from wounds is the first symptom, as the body tries to fight off the fungi and can't heal properly in the following two days. Next, comes intense pain in the chest, specifically the lungs, and coughing for more than a week. Note that some of the fungi are expelled in this process, making it highly contagious. Third come profuse swelling in the body, revealing brown fungi in between the tissue, continuing to develop for another week.

Should it not be treated in this point it is irreversible and the victim starts being crushed from inside, with the fungi growing all over the organism, destroying bones, organs and nervous system and death is just a question of hours, longer and more painful to those of higher resistance. Actually, those with regenerating capabilities suffer the effects all the faster at double or triple speed. Fiends do not pass from the third stage and only die if weakened by other means.

In my opinion anyone contaminated should be kept very far from Sigil or we shall have another case of epidemic. The Harmonium is already voting for the creation of a health division capable of enforcing this. Fortunately I have been able to analyze some possibilities of cure. Cure Disease spells prolong suffering for more than two days only and Cure light wounds and similar cause it to hasten by one day and damage the victim. Those that feign death also halt it for the spell's duration. Powerful spells like Wish and Heal destroy it totally, but in the second case the afflicted person still must eliminate the fungi from her body by other means. Fire and heat are useless in treatment and, again, hasten the development of the fungus. However, cold of all sorts stop it altogether and ultimately destroy it in some hours, but for a weakened person to survive the utter cold necessary, magic will be needed.