Nuria had returned from her exploits aboard the flagship of Nereel Pyreen to find the entire landscape of Jemison Post had changed. It was now filled with white fur olgogs, and strange cloned green furs. More than a few looked like Lurtor, but didn’t seem to recognize her even though the real Lurtor and her were friends and allies.
Finally she found the Alphine who informed her she had more pressing matters. It seemed Eli McGraw had found a buyer who wanted copper from her Copper mine. The Banking Guild seemed willing to cover transport cost for a more than reasonable percentage, and Nuria realized she could make some solid bank.
Knowing Nereel Pyreen had some cult off in the mountains on Mt. Sandspire had freaked her out, but this matter of the Copper mine deal seemed more pressing.
Taking a Tracked truck out to the mine with both banking guild reps and Eli, Nuria had a comm crystal to call in Grim and Lurtor if things got concerning. But right now it was a business deal.
Then much to Nuria’s concern, there was a worker who stumbled from the mine screaming. Another was running steps behind the first. Then a third scrambled from the mine entrance.
But this worker did not look like the rest. He had obvious claw and bite marks on his neck and face, and they looked relatively human. The worker was clutching his chest, tearing away his clothes even though he was stumbling through knee deep snow.
There was what looked like an icy insect with a crystalline outer shell which was burrowing into the workers chest cavity. Nuria stepped forward fearlessly and burned the creature with fire. Melting away the crystalline insect, the worker fell to his feet relieved.
Thanking her profously he said, “We were digging a plentiful copper tunnel when we found a new shaft. One we had not dug ourselves. It had High Falos writing on it. Our translator said it was something about Frozen Homeforge territory.
We respected that and turned back to our own tunnels. But a skeletal thing, with a crystal in its chest tried to jump Zachary the Foreman. It got Andrew instead, and while it gnawed on him these insects burrowed into his body. And suddenly Andrew grew one of those crystals in his chest. Andrew turned on me and Zachary called for an evacuation.”
(Ice Heart Worm – Born from the corrupted body of Fredrick IceHeart, the K’iou Aquamancer who sold himself into Warmonger’s service. It will try and implant a crystal heart in the body of a host while it devours the real heart. As long as the crystal heart is active, the character acts as an ice ghoul. Once the crystal heart is shattered (S.A.R. 10), or melted by fire (S.A.R. 5), the host can be revived as normal.”
Ice Heart Ghouls are fast undead under the control of the Ice Heart worm. It just wants to spread itself creating more worms, as a result its minions aren’t too bright or plan too far ahead. Common attacks include rushing in with claws and leaping on the victim. They will sometimes utilize weapons to fight especially resilient foes and heroes. )
(Nuria and friends must figure out how to drive out the IceHeart worms from the mine, without causing final death to the miners.)