Chương 90: Bonus 4 — Silent Fever

Timeline Occurs after Chapter 82 (Farm Troubles) Elira and her group were standing in line, waiting for their instance to be available. She is a level 9 herbalist with four friends. Corin, a level 8 Survival Cook; Brenna, a level 8 Gatherer; Oren, a level 8 Hauler; and Kellan, a level 8 Scout. The instance cooldown was finally over, and the guard at the cave portal waved them forward to take their turn. They arrived in the middle of a small and quiet village.

If she had to guess, it was based around farming, judging by the items she could see by people's doors and a wagon partially filled with vegetables. The first sign of other people was a cough heard from one of the nearby houses. Sounds like a small child. The group looks around, trying to decide what to do when they receive a system message.

[Instance Accepted] Profession Instance: Silent Fever Recommended Roles: • Herbalism • Gathering • Food Preparation • Labor Support • Exploration Participant Count: 5 / 5 Primary Objective: Restore the health and stability of the village before the final evaluation.

Failure Conditions: • Community Collapse • Widespread Illness • Resource Exhaustion • Breakdown of Patient Care Estimated Duration: 3–5 Days Now that they knew a little of what they needed to do, they decided to divide and survey and meet up in an hour to talk. Elira goes to check on the sick child she heard and gently knocks on a door and is asked to come in. She found a father, mother, and child were all sick in bed. The first thing she noticed was how dirty and disgusting the place was.

Waste was in a bucket in the corner. There was a dirty pail of water on the table; she smelled it and at once knew something was wrong with it. None of them were dead, but they were close. She spent the next hour cleaning up the house, taking the waste to be disposed of where the family indicated, and washing and cleaning the three people. This would not fix their sickness. but she had to start somewhere. She also dumped out the water and told the family she would be back with more later.

When her time was up, she returned to where they arrived, and they had to wait a couple minutes until the last person arrived. The group observation was mostly in the village; they had fevers, constant coughing, dehydration, and low supplies and remedies. The few caregivers that were working were tired and had gone without rest. Both those that were sick and those that were not were sleeping in the same locations. Dirty bedding was being reused.

Was water being dumped near homes and buckets of waste sitting uncovered and not removed and cleaned? Elira recognized some of the symptoms; she believed there were some herbs that could help, but something felt wrong and they could not put their finger on it. The decision was made that they would again separate and work on different items. Kellan, their scout, was sent out to search the full village and figure out its layout. Where latrines were, where water was, and routes people took.

Maybe it was where in the village most of the sick were. Were there patterns? He took off, and they agreed to meet back at dark at an empty cabin one of them had found, where they planned to stay the night. Next Oren, their Hauler was given the task to dispose of the waste and haul fresh water to all of the homes. When that was completed, he helped with addressing cleanliness with as many of the villagers as he could.

Corin, their Survival Cook was sent to go look over the food and sanitation around kitchens and eating areas. See if there was trouble there; clean up and/or fix any food-related issues she found. Brenna the Gatherer was sent out to look for any herbs that could be found in the surrounding area. Also to gather wood for firewood and any food or other useful items. And if she had excess free time, help care for and clean up the villagers.

Last, Elira was going to check out their current herbs and medicines available, see if they had stock, and then try and find a treatment of any kind. Shy of that, she would help clean up more residents. Elira went and found a hut reserved for medicines and healing. She found herbs and medicine. There was not a lot but enough to treat problems. She helped give out medicine to families. Along the way she kept noticing people asking for water and still being dehydrated.

Some were not willing to eat, thinking the food was bad and only drinking water. She made a few new medicines she knew from the herbs available and then started cleaning houses and people for the rest of the day. When they met that night, they had a list of things to share. Kellan shared that the main well that was being used was downhill from the latrines and bathing area.

He had found recent storms had raised the water level and that they had washed waste into the area that was seeping into the well area, contaminating that water source. Oren agreed that something was up with the water and also that it did not smell or taste right. Kellan also said there was another water source near a stream upriver farther from the village but nothing contaminating it. Brenna had been gathering herbs and other foodstuffs. The food was fine. Some were spoiled, and she disposed of them.

Some stored in areas too close to the latrines. Contaminated items she had tossed. The next morning they divided up again. They made a rule: all water would be boiled. All the sick were separated from those that were getting over problems. Another round of medicine would be made and given to treat the discomforts, knowing that the real issue was the water. Everyone now knew what they needed to do; no one had to be assigned. This book is hosted on another platform.

Read the official version and support the author's work. Elira spent the day making treatments and distributing them. She boiled water and made some herbal teas to give to people; it would help with their dehydration, and clean water would help to make them whole again. The day was long and went by like a flash. But when evening came, they could tell that the people in the village had hit a turning point. They all went to sleep knowing that tomorrow would be better than today.

The next day as people started to recover, Elira added them to the workforce of helping others. As a large community and group, they cleaned up all the homes. Washed all the bedding and got rid of all the old water or any items that might contain it, like old medicines or prepared dishes, before boiling started. Elira also met with the village council. With the council Elira helped them come up with a plan. They would move the latrines downhill from the village, away from water and storage locations.

When bad weather hit, they would boil water for a few days after to ensure clean water. They would build a new well in a better location near the village and far from the waste. Cleaning and washing dishes and bodies was done in a location where runoff would not contaminate water sources. Identification for clean vs. dirty water containers. At the end of the third day they met to go over what they had learned and done. Elira shared that she had gained a level in herbalism and a new skill Patient Assessment.

[Skill Increased] Herbalism (Level 5) New Capabilities: • Improve preparation of herbal remedies. • Better preserve medicinal potency during processing. • Increase effectiveness when treating common illnesses. [Skill Acquired] Patient Assessment (Level 1) Better recognize common illness severity. • Identify patients requiring immediate attention. • Improve treatment prioritization during emergencies. Corin increased her Field Cooking a level and gained skill Clean Water Mangement.

[Skill Increased] Field Cooking (Level 4) New Capabilities: • Improve preparation of nourishing meals. • Better maintain food safety during cooking. • Increase meal quality when supporting large groups. [Skill Gained] Clean Water Management (Level 1) Improves identification of unsafe water sources. • Reduces contamination while storing water. • Improves efficiency when preparing safe drinking water. Brenna received a new skill Medicinal Harvesting.

[Skill Acquired] Medicinal Harvesting (Level 1) Improve harvesting methods for medicinal plants. • Reduce damage to delicate herbal ingredients. • Slightly improve herb quality before processing. Oren received the skill of Sanitation. [Skill Gained] Sanitation (Level 1) Improves organization of clean living areas. • Reduces contamination during daily tasks. • Better identifies common sanitation hazards. Just as the sun finally set, they received a new system message.

[Silent Fever Completed] Primary Objective: Restore the health and stability of the village.

Final Evaluation: • Patient Care: Successful • Disease Containment: Excellent • Water Safety: Excellent • Sanitation Improvements: Successful • Community Organization: Exceptional Achievements Recognized: • Source of Illness Successfully Identified • Clean Water Distribution Established • Patient Isolation Procedures Implemented • Emergency Food Preparation Maintained • Long-Term Water Improvements Initiated Rewards Granted: • Moderate Profession Experience Awarded • Minor Herbalism Experience Awarded • Minor Caregiving Experience Awarded • Medical Satchel • Herb Drying Rack Plans • Herbal Seed Bundle Bonus Reward: Water Filtration Plans Item Description: Simple layered filtration using gravel, sand, and charcoal.

Removes many impurities before boiling. Scenario Insight: Disease cannot always be defeated through medicine alone. Clean water, sanitation, nutrition, and organized care prevent more suffering than treatment after illness has spread. Healthy civilizations are built through prevention.

Time Elapsed Inside Instance: 3 Days, 2 Hours External Time Passed: 1 Hour, 14 Minutes As the five of them leave the cave carrying their rewards instead of talking of herbs and curing disease, they realize what they thought this was about in the beginning. They were talking about clean water, sanitation, and proper hygiene. Corin said, "I never thought boiling water could save more lives than cooking dinner."

Elira realized something important: the instance was never trying to teach people how to make medicine but to teach them how to build healthier communities.