Chapter 602 Smallpox
The old dwarf grinned: "I was also entrusted by a friend about this matter. Let me first talk about the cause and effect. If you feel able to help, you can help. If you feel powerless, just say so. Let's get down to business."
"That's fine, please tell me."
Mr. Schmidt said it easily, but since he had already asked for it, Joan was ashamed to refuse if he could help.
"The thing is like this. I have a cousin who has been operating iron mines since his grandfather's generation. To my cousin's generation, due to the large family population, there are only two mines left in his hands. Seats, the output is also very average, there are only ten hired workers in total, barely making ends meet.”
Mr. Schmidt sighed, and continued: "My cousin's luck is not very good. Two years ago, a water seepage accident occurred in a mine under his name, and two miners were drowned. The aftermath has not been dealt with properly. Smallpox broke out in the village."
"In just two months, no less than a hundred local villagers died of smallpox, and the miners working nearby were also infected. In order to prevent the spread of the epidemic, the lord ordered the village where the infectious disease broke out to be abandoned, and my cousin's mine was also ordered to be closed. Get up, no business can be opened until the epidemic is over, people who are afraid of the epidemic even gave the abandoned mine a new name 'Zoqi Pit', little mage, do you know what this means?"
Joan nodded. The word "Zoki" means "death" in the dwarven language. "Zoqikeng" translated into lingua franca means "mass burial pit", which is of course not a good name.
"My cousin can barely make ends meet by relying on the remaining mines. He managed to survive until this spring, and the smallpox epidemic has subsided. He applied to the lord to lift the ban, and intends to reopen the Zoqi Mine."
"According to the usual practice, before resuming work, go to the mine to check whether there is still smallpox virus alive. However, on the day they returned to the mine after two years, they accidentally discovered that there was an unknown figure near the mine."
"There was a courageous miner, relying on the fact that he had already suffered from pox and was not afraid of smallpox infection, he quietly followed the mysterious man into the depths of the mine, but he escaped not long after, and was so frightened that he almost went crazy!"
"What did he see?" Joan couldn't help asking.
The smallpox virus was invisible and intangible, and it must have been some more specific horror that frightened the miners.
"It's the undead!" Mr. Schmidt's face was serious, and his tone was a little dark. "This person claimed that there were undead creatures in the depths of the mine. Later, other people who entered the mine to explore confirmed this, but different Eyewitnesses have different accounts of the cause of the haunting."
"Some people think that these undead creatures are zombies transformed from miners who died of smallpox. Some people think that the mine is connected to an ancient tomb underground. The undead in the tomb come out through the mine and wander in the tunnel. A reclusive necromancer—such as my cousin, insists on the last point of view.”
Joan frowned slightly, expecting Schmidt to continue.
"My cousin is a steady and down-to-earth man. Without sufficient evidence, he will not easily make an assertion. Since he insisted that the Zoqi Mine was occupied by an evil spellcaster of unknown origin and begged on me, my eldest brother , you have to help him solve his troubles both emotionally and rationally, right?"
Mr. Schmidt shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands, and said with some difficulty: "I don't like dealing with spellcasters, especially those perverts who manipulate corpses!"
"Brother Logan praised you a lot in the letter, little mage, frankly speaking, I don't believe that you are really as smart and capable as Brother Logan said, I hate spellcasters, but I have to admit that only spellcasters can fight against spellcasters .
"Since the guy who pretends to be a ghost in the mine is probably an evil necromancer or a priest who believes in the god of death... Cough cough, if you are willing to take this errand and help me investigate the truth about the haunted mine, I can send it to you for free. You have 300 rounds of pistol bullets, and you will give an extra half pound of magic crystals as a reward, little mage, what do you think of this deal?"
300 rounds of pistol bullets, plus half a pound of magic crystals, the reward was really generous, and Qiao An couldn't help but be tempted. However, he must fully consider the risks behind this commission. No matter how generous the reward is, it is not worth sacrificing his life for it.
After thinking for a long time, Joan finally spoke.
"Mr. Schmidt, I'm not sure if I have the ability to accept your commission. Can you give me some time to go to the Zoqi Mine to learn about the local situation, and I will give you an answer later."
"Young man, I like your steady personality, so it's settled!" Mr. Schmidt smiled and stretched out his right hand to Joan.
Joan shook the old dwarf's broad hand, and then got up to say goodbye.
Leaving Mr. Schmidt's office, Joan walked on the road, lost in thought.
Before going to the Zochi Mine to investigate the haunting, the first thing he had to guard against was the smallpox virus that afflicted the local villagers.
In this era, "smallpox" is almost synonymous with "death" in the minds of people in the New World.
Smallpox is a severe infectious disease that is older than the "Black Death". If the epidemic does not break out, it will be ferocious once it breaks out. The fatality rate of infected people is as high as 30% within 15 to 20 days!
Most of the patients who survived smallpox had acne scars on their bodies, as if they were branded by the god of death. The only thing to be thankful for is that after escaping this catastrophe, they will not be infected with smallpox virus again for the rest of their lives.
When Joan was in Delin Town, he had followed Mr. Galandil to learn medical skills, and his understanding of smallpox, an infectious disease, was far deeper than ordinary people.
Research in the medical field over the years has shown that the smallpox virus mainly invades the human body through the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, and is transmitted through droplet inhalation or direct contact. The main clinical manifestations are chills, high fever, fatigue, headache and other toxic and blood symptoms, and herpes and scabs appear in batches on the skin, leaving acne scars.
So far, the medical community has not identified an effective conventional treatment for smallpox.
The "divine spell" that removes the disease can cure smallpox. However, compared to the number of people infected and the speed at which the disease is deteriorating, it is difficult for most epidemic areas to gather enough priests or druids to cast spells to quell the epidemic in a short period of time. Many patients can only be isolated and resigned to their fate. If they are lucky, they can survive, but those who cannot bear it can only wait to die.
In addition to being highly contagious and highly fatal, smallpox virus has a great ability to survive. It can resist dryness and low temperature, and can survive for several months to a year and a half on scabs, dust and clothing! In order to prevent the spread of the virus, the personal clothing and utensils left behind by smallpox patients must also be burned.