Thrumdrum

I'm beginning to think that soup was a mistake.
— patient

Thrumdrum is a rare condition inflicted by the consumption of root vegetables that were exposed to concentrated illusion magic during their growth. It's most noticeable by the sudden rhythms its sufferers gradually fall into, for the majority of their other symptoms are experienced by them alone in the early stages. Thankfully, being afflicted by thrumdrum is never deadly if other people are around to keep an eye out - it's just incredibly annoying.

Poisoned by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

The condition is considered to be a poison and, as such, may be managed like one. If one has the vegetables that spawned the illness to hand, a skilled herbologist, alchemist, witch or druid can whip up an antidote. If not, it's somewhat harder to counter and will generally require a spark of illusion magic in the counter-process, which means someone has to go figure out where the nearest mage is. Or, if you're lucky, a gnome will be around. If relying on strangers, those seeking antidotes are advised to check their intentions first: fey and other deceivers may take advantage of the situation. Those who haven't suffered under the effects of thrumdrum will never quite understand how annoying it can be. The illness begins by creating constant drumming in one's head, not unlike pulsatile tinnitus, and only gets more screwed up from there. The exact specifics depend on a few variables, such as the type of vegetable or the exact sort of lingering illusion magic, but are nonetheless pains to deal with.

In areas particularly prone to cases of thrumdrum (such as towns founded on former battlefields), thrumdrum typically makes its way into the local lexicon as a way to describe something incredibly annoying, e.g. "that child's going to give you thrumdrum if you're not careful!"

Transmission & Vectors

Why is anyone going around casting illusions on fields, anyway?!
— nurse

Soil quality has always been an important aspect of farming, for it strongly influences what may grow in any given garden or field. Well, it turns out that farmers need to worry about more than quality, acidity, and the like - they must also worry about latent magic lingering in the soil, for sometimes that too can affect their crop.

In the case of thrumdrum, illusion magic still hanging around in the soil where root vegetables are planted causes a strange reaction between root and magic. The roots absorb aspects of the illusion, and they are twisted by the unique chemicals inside each vegetable in a chemical process alchemists are still working on understanding today. That reaction both imparts a stronger flavour on the vegetable (likely due to the increased chemical activity) and creates the thrumdrum effect that will soon end up afflicting some poor bastard just trying to satisfy their satiation. Interestingly, illusion magic is not the only magic that may be absorbed in this manner. Root vegetables show reaction to all schools of magic with varying effects, sometimes dependent on the specifics of the spell in question: an evocation spell designed to burn is more likely to set the vegetable alight from the inside compared to one with a chill effect.

Illusory Cast by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Necromancy, when absorbed, seems to invariably make the vegetables inedible except to the undead, who can then consume the now presumably undead food for a memory of the taste they once knew. Fortunately, this method of transmission does mean that thrumdrum cannot be passed on to others outside of food or drink. If a derived poison is made from thrumdrum vegetables, it is utterly harmless unless consumed: it cannot activate from touch alone.

Symptoms

I just want some silence. Is that so much to ask?! How long will this antidote take?!
— sufferer

If the name of the condition and the general distress of its patients hasn't been explanation enough, thrumdrum causes a number of visual and auditory issues for those suffering its toxins. These are purely in the mind of the sufferer, with little to no physiological impact outside of the effects of the body reacting to perceived stimuli - because of this, early cases of thrumdrum are often confused for minor-to-major mental health episodes. Unfortunately, therapeutic tactics can only calm the body's reactions to the poison and do not affect the poison itself.

Hallucination by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

The initial effect of thrumdrum, universal through every sufferer, is a heartbeat-like drumming in one's ear. Subtle enough to sound like one's own heartbeat pounding with adrenaline, and initially quiet enough that it's oft waved off as nothing. Most people don't take note of the drumming until it gets louder, which it always will. As it gets louder, other effects steadily increase. Along with the drumming, there come auditory hallucinations. Whispers and singing, usually to the beat of the unseen drum. Calls of one's own name from voices that you'd thought you'd forgotten. Sections of conversations that you respond to, only for the others to pause in question - for they never spoke. The exact symptoms seem to depend somewhat on the type of illusion magic that spawned the thrumdrum, and the type of vegetable that is consumed. Naturally, poisoned carrots spawn less auditory symptoms in favour of more visuals!

Speaking of the visual hallucinations: unless spurred on by carrots or the like, the visual hallucinations thrumdrum causes are typically synchronised to that eternal beat. Illusory figures will stroll around the streets with every footstep matching the sound that rings eternally through the victim's skull. Conversation partners may gesture in tune to the beat, their motions only visible to the victim. Animals - or even humans - might get into fights, carefully choreographed in perfect time.

The more the victim observes this synchronisation, the more reality begins to feel unreal. They begin to act in sync as well, to the worry of all of their companions. If they fail to adhere to the drumbeat in their brain, they can become overwhelmed with nausea and dizziness from the incompatibility between their mind and what is real. Eventually, most victims of thrumdrum confine themselves to bed and drift in and out of an incoherent slumber, unable to truly distinguish dream from reality. They are rarely so far gone that they cannot take care of basic bodily functions, for their mind does not want them to die, but it can be dangerous for them to access kitchens when there's a risk that they may not see the knives or flames for what they truly are. This is the largest risk with thrumdrum, for the condition itself is not fatal.

Toxic Slumber by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Maybe Poisoned by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Type

Magical

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Short-term

Rarity

Uncommon

Affected Species

Humanoid

I remember when it hit Ordan's nobility! Oh, that was a hilarious time. The servants weren't to eat the same food as the royals, so we were all spared. But the nobles had forgotten to check for poisons, and we certainly didn't have the skills. It never hits immediately, and the rich fools didn't have any idea of what to watch out for. Worse: they didn't want to admit that they'd been taken by some mysterious illness. I'm sure the smarter of them had removed the poison immediately, but the rest... ...well, they were acting stranger and stranger. It got so ridiculous that they were all bickering in different rhymes and dancing in the streets! It didn't last forever, and the punishments were heavy, but it was a very good time. And it got a little more attention on thrumdrum in the aftermath. Lots of royal decrees about cleanup. Probably saved us all coin in the end. Apparently we should poison the rich more often.
— former servant

Drumming Sound by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Make it - make it - make it - stop it. The sound - it is - so loud. Do you - see them - as well?
— victim

Cultural Reception

Not this again!
— panicking farmer

Communities hit by thrumdrum once are loath to experience it again. As so many farming communities live in communal fashion, trading food throughout the village, an outbreak is rarely going to be isolated to one individual and may indeed affect the whole community. It isn't uncommon for merchants in magically-dense areas to travel with someone familiar with antidotes to counter food-borne illnesses; this practice was at least partly spurred on by the bizarre warping that thrumdrum induces.

Antidote by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

It has unfortunately also increased the disdain arcane mages receive in these rural areas. While practitioners of divine magic are far more likely to cast wide-area spells, these are usually beacons of protection and security, and rarely affect the crops in any negative manner. Pockets of illusion magic are usually due to wizardly shenanigans, be it mass invisibility or large-scale illusions in battle. When the effects linger and impact the ground, they are inevitably blamed on the mages that once cast them. Unbeknownst to the commonfolk, who rarely understand magic beyond its existence, it is not necessary for the spells to be recent - or even to be spells at all. Dumped potions or ingredients may also trigger thrumdrum, as may magical herbs that invoke their own illusory effects. The impacts of ley currents may also duplicate magical effects, and the past destruction wrought by the two Divine Wars and the Worldrend - along with all the mortal destruction - cannot be ruled out either.

Fortunately, once an area is determined to be safe for food to be grown, it usually remains that way unless hit by a significant magical event. Thus, farming communities usually pool resources or call in favours to ask that someone able to detect issues in the soil checks new prospective fields over prior to their sowing. In most cases, this serves as a pretty good preventative and can help reverse some of the reputation damage thrumdrum causes to the magical community.