Description (Healing Blade Lore)
Bacteroides fragilis are widespread in Soma. They can live peacefully along the aqueduct, where they feed on the nutrients and other resources that flow down from Buccal Bay, and are among the most common residents below the Southern Dam and near Fecal Outlet. They can even be beneficial to Soma’s health, partaking in important metabolic activities along with the other peaceful inhabitants of the aqueduct. But at heart, they are nasty beasts, turning on the land when the opportunity presents itself, and can be found in the vast majority of anaerobic battles. They are also capable of escaping the attacks of many of the Apothecaries, including the great Penicillin, making them a real and ever-present threat to Soma’s well being.
B. fragilis abandon their harmless lifestyle after other Lords or enemies of Soma cause physical damage to the aqueduct lining, allowing them to travel to nearby towns and cities, where they unleash a suite of deadly poisons. Among their weapons is a toxic bomb—an enclosed capsule loaded with an acidic venom that paralyzes Soma’s Noble Sentry, preventing them from reaching the site of battle. If the appropriate Apothecaries are not deployed in time, B. fragilis and their collaborators can be fatal.
Furthermore, B. fragilis don’t just fight side-by-side with other Lords of Pestilence, they also share their secrets. Thanks to its close living quarters with other aqueduct-dwelling Lords, in particular E. coli, B. fragilis commonly trade the weapons that are most successful against Soma’s inhabitants and defenders, as well as defenses that allow the Lords to evade the Apothecaries’ attacks.