Golden malaise

by Stephanie Harvey

Considered by some a curse from the gods to punish greed, and by others, a boon to provide much needed precious materials, the truth is that wherever this disease is found, chaos ensues.
Golden fever is caused by the gradual alchemical transmutation of the metals in a person's blood into gold, and eventually, all their tissues.

Transmission & Vectors

Unknown to everyone, this disease is caused by the bite of the golden-horned adder.

Causes

Those that survive the bite and venom of the golden-horned adder tend to assume that all side-effects are gone by the time the first symptoms of golden malaise start to appear. However, they are wrong; the venom has long-lasting effects. The first noticeable symptoms typically appear one to three months after the bite.

Symptoms

At first, the person will start feeling sluggish. This period is followed by a period of euphoria and high energy, which typically lasts a month. Afterwards, the affected person progressively starts losing energy, and their limbs start hardening. Typically, six months after showing the first symptoms, the person is bed-ridden, incapable of moving and having respiratory issues.

Cultural Reception

You know mom has been sick...
Folks say the gods have chosen to send us a gift, through her, but that means she has to leave us. We only have a few more months, so let's make the most of it. But afterwards... afterwards we will never be left needing no more.

— Maxrii

The golden malaise has the capacity of causing chaos wherever it is found. People suspected to have this disease have been kidnapped (often wrongly), worshipped, and killed, amongst others.
All of this because once the person dies, their whole body becomes a solid block of gold within a day.
Depending on the community where the affected lives, people will seek to make their condition public or keep it hidden.

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Extremely Rare

Treatment

There is no known treatment

Geographic Spread

Golden malaise is typically restricted to the continent of Friac'seoue (which is, of course, where the golden-horned adder lives). However, there are records of a few cases outside of Friac'seoue.
These cases are either of people who were bitten in Friac'seoue or from imported snakes kept as exotic pets.

In the continent of Tiel, there is a famous statue of a person that suffered from golden malaise.
Tereli Zandiel was a rather rotund woman, part of a rich family that had no real need for that sort of money.
When she died of golden malaise, the family donated the "statue" to the city, under one condition. As long as the city continues to prosper, the statue will be prominently displayed to symbolise the city's success.
But should the city ever be in dire need, the statue could be used to make coins and ingots for trade.

Plot hooks

Where did the statue go?

During the plague, the Zandiel family could no longer ensure that the city was prosperous. They could not even assure their own wealth!

It soon became apparent that the statue was cursed or had a mind of its own. During the first few years of the plague, when thieves and desperate people would try to cut off a part of the statue, they would die in the oddest circumstances.

Even when the family and the city's trusted folk asked the statue nicely to allow them to make use of her departed body, the curse devastated anyone who touched the statue with the intention of harvesting gold.

The city no longer has plague cases, but everyone has been left pauper. With no money or resources to make a comeback, the city is doomed to languish until it disappears from the map... Unless someone figures out what Tereli Zandiel really needs.

A golden Grippli

In one of the last ships from Friac'seoue to Oceasile, travelled Wallep, a young grippli who arrived in Pertkwugo full of energy and enthusiasm.

But as Wallep travelled to his hometown in the cliffs west of Pertkwugo, every step seemed to weigh him more than the last one. He arrived, feeling exhausted. His clan, thrilled to see him, were sure that he just needed a few days of rest.

However, he never recuperated. Having never heard of golden malaise, the clan was awestruck when the day after their death, Wallep turned into pure gold. There was no other possible explanation: this was a gift from the goddess herself!

Someone has stolen the statue in the middle of the night. The clan suspects a tribe of goblins, and they want their holy statue returned! The truth is not that simple, though.