ORIGIN - [QUEST] EMERGENT INFLUENCE

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Wilder's magic showed her what would come an instant beforehand, though in a jumbled and chaotic way. Flashes of colorful light--too colorful--and a strange taste of tangy sugar strong on her tongue, like berries. Had the magic been stronger it might have shown more, but the pink and gold that rippled through her mind was quickly replaced by the real thing.

Esther's attempt to find history for this crystal failed. There was... nothing. It was new. A few glimpses of bustling pink and gold; a hint of buzzing, a thoughtful hmm. But Esther, before anyone else, would feel strong suspicion: something wasn't what it seemed...

The moment stretched on for a beat, all the other Gembounds watching as the giant crystalline structure shimmered in the Spire's light. Then the silence was broken by a soft buzzing... which grew louder... and louder... until:

The new Spire shattered.

...It wasn't very dramatic, though: not an explosion of magic so much as a crack, as something was born-... no, as something tumbled out, high above their heads, with a loud "TA DA!"

Nemean waved her wand, then broke into tittering laughter. "Hahahaha, GOTTEM!" she cried, and then reached back, snagging a tiny chunk of the collapsing second Spire in her hands.

She licked it.

"DELICIOUS," she declared, and waved a sparkling wand. The second Spire's collapse accelerated, little blue crystals tumbling across the floor and in amongst the Gembounds.

Sugar; it was sugar. Not a Spire with ancient history... just a tall pillar of now-collapsing rock candy. "I guess I'll be NICE," Nemean said, after a moment, grinning down at those present. Another wave of her wand, and the deepest inner understanding of Rock Candy™ was granted to these Gembounds. "April fool's, or whatever; don't ask me to explain that, kay?" Nemean said, and then shrugged and buzzed a little higher, grinning as she watched.

_________

The Quest Emergent Influence is... complete. April Fool's!

Those present will be granted the new spell Rock Candy!

Rock Candy
Low Intensity Transformation. The user creates small, crystalline sugar snacks in any shape and color they desire. These candies can be combined with other magic or items, but cannot hold living beings.

...In addition, the spells Rock Candy, Fool's Feet, and Fabulous Banana will be available in the shop for purchase for one week's time (ending on April 8th).

@Wilder (Tectus) @Esther @Tourmaline (Asterius) @Fahl @Zephiran (Pyrosera) @Diem Dark

Her overwhelmed senses thankfully calmed over that dreadfully long pause, and she looks up just in time to see the first of countless cracks split the second spire. Ears pin back in fear for a moment, but nothing comes.

The Spire shatters with no greater fanfare than glass. Into countless shards of nothing. "What?" she gasps, before the dancing figure behind it all finally comes into focus.

It's a face Tourmaline already knows too well. All of the fear and awe and confusion drains from her face, replaced with indigence. All this, just for what? Candy? It all just feels like a smack in the face.

"Thanks, Nemean."

There was a moment, just before everything...happened, in which Wilder paused in her tension, borderline panic. She tasted...sugar?

She stared as the "Spire" suddenly broke open and something came tumbling out and. Ah yep, yes, she should have known. The breath she'd been holding was released in a long, exasperated sigh, her heart still rabbiting in her chest from the now rapidly fading energy and tension in the air. She glared at the shards of rock candy at her feet.

...Okay, she had to admit, at least, it was a good prank and they're all been real fuckin fooled. But embarrassment and the stress of the moment made it not so funny, at least for Wilder, who had seen enough shit and been hurt enough to just let things go like that.

In a moment, it boiled over. She wasn't intending on causing harm, but the exasperation was so great that she just couldn't help it. A banana popped into existence in front of her and she hook a claw into it and threw it as well as a cat could throw something. "Come on!" she yowled. "You scared the hell out of me!"

The silvered pup watched with interest as the spire shattered to nothing. Out popped a... thing he's never met before. Something so bright and colorful. With wings. Ears pinned to the sides as he carefully watched what was happening. The creature had said something. April fools. What was that? And what was sugar?

The pup decided to try and see if.. he could summon the same thing. Focused for a silent moment, he was able to summon a light blue rock candy. Small, but it was there. A perk of his ears and a flick of his tail. Proud to say the least, so he went down to lick it.

A flash of disgust crossed his lips. Immediately he spat it back out onto the stones.

"Speaking"

She was tense, ready to fight, ready to storm at whatever was going to happen. Was it a chrysalis? A signified of something new? Would it birth some new monstrosity into the caves?

Well. No. It was Nemean.

Overseer Tectus stared at the Master for a long moment, distaste rising in her gullet. She had never liked Nemean - her overseeing Master did not like her, and so she did not either. Not that she would ever show any blatent disrespect towards her, but she silently cursed out the pixie for wasting her time and stressing her out when she really didn't fuckin need it.

She stood up, unamused, and snorted. "False alarm. Go about your business, I guess. Well-played, Master Nemean." Her voice was flat, deadpan. She was not impressed.

Tectus didn't wait around to try the rock candy. Maybe she'd find this all funny later, but for now, she had work to do.

*exit

They sit, still as a statue, watching the chaos unfold. Asterius's expression is impossible to read as the world comes crashing down. For a moment, they are alone, in the depths of despair and failure. That this is somehow their fault.
Nemean's voice returns them to the present.

Her face hardens into the coldest glare, pale eyes boring into the Master responsible. If looks could kill... well. "What is this meaning of this!?" she barks in anger. "I do not want 'candy', I want ANSWERS!"

Granted a small degree of safety by distance and a conjured protective layer of bark, Fahl was shielded somewhat from whatever unease mounted within the observing crowd. Magic was where his confidence lay, much as he often despaired in its slow improvement, and so he stood untrembling and vigilant against any dangers this second spire might bring. When the audience held their breath, he unconsciously did as well, an imagined muscle in his mind tensed and ready to flex if any defensive power required summoning. Sketching out a plan, the idea of evacuating his fellow Gembounds through the personal crack in reality he possessed seemed the ideal method to minimize casualties; it all depended on whether his reaction time was swift and if his voice and presence were strong enough to usher many strangers to a destination known to him alone. He reasoned he'd learn these answers soon, wary eyes tracking the ominous cracks spiderwebbing over pulsating blue crystal.

The gradually building buzz surrounding the foreboding phenomena reached its crescendo. A crack of finality split the air, and multitudinous shards developed out of the spire's surface fell apart in a sudden cascade. The event was quieter than expected, and Fahl found himself taken aback by the anticlimax. That dull surprise morphed into something else entirely upon the realization a small, colorful figure had been ejected from it.

His mouth ran dry. A very horrifically familiar figure.

Just as she'd subjected him to the humiliation of being showered by vomit, the urge to respond in kind to her presence welled up in his esophagus. Scales flushed orange, red, and white in reflection of the heat swelling beneath them. The last ounce of restraint he struggled to hold on to formed a barrier against the growing rage battering the walls of his throat. Weak in the face of tremendous pressure, a truly volcanic eruption of molten vitriol blasted through it.

"Nice?" Fahl bellowed. "You call this nice, you dung-eating ego... centric! I swallowed a dozen bugs... at least! Flying over here! All so your pus-slathered self could rain ed—edi—oh, fuck this! Tasty rocks on us?"

Repeatedly gusting superheated air out of his mouth over the cycles had permanently roughened his voice. Combine this with the eternal irritation of his gemstone-embedded tongue, and already he needed to take long, fuming pauses between his verbal assault. He glared up at Nemean, not an iota of amusement spared for her supposedly harmless prank, and silently formed the words, "You fucker," before finally regaining the breath to give the rest of his insults sound.

"Here's an idea for something nice. How about you take the sharpest of those can-dee rocks and shove them... straight up your ass! It should fit a bunch of them... what with how loose your hole must be... constantly taking a heaping shit on us from high!"

A loud noise, then the crystal shattered to nothing. Out came a bright.. thing. Something the others called Master Nemean. Hot red eyes glanced at the other creatures. But the pup stiffened.

Some called out to them, some left. But the next thing she heard, increased her vocabulary by a long mile.

A lizard, a creature. Spat out words left and right. Which caused her to giggle under her breath. But she was on their side. Why was she brought out for some sort of stupid candee?

"Hell! Fuck! Shit!"

Pyrosera didn't say it loud, but only enough to remember them. But she stomped her paw down to speak louder.

"Yeah! We want answers!"

The pup narrowed her eyes to what was considered the master. Perhaps she shouldn't have called out, but she wasn't interested in some candy. She was interested in learning. Or getting the hell out of here. Pyrosera didn't even try to eat the candy, she wasn't interested.

"Speaking"

Diem was just happy to be here. He grinned around at everyone, enjoying the sight of wolf pups and Tectus's massive glowing bulk, and eyeing up Fahl with a friendly smile. He grinned at Nemean. He grinned at the Spire, and at the rock candy.

Diem then reached out a taloned hand, palm-up, in his own little world for a moment. A snap of clawed fingertips, and a rock candy chunk (also rainbow-blue) appeared in his hand.

It didn't have a 'handle' or whatever, the little stick thing they were meant to have, but maybe the magic was limited to the candy. That was fine. He could incorporate sticks later. "Bet the drones would love this," he muttered to himself, turning the candy over in his hand. Mold-infested candy? Or disease, for the plaguey types, or... Flowers, maybe, or berries in them. The possibilities!

He licked and chewed idly on the rock candy, and though he looked with amusement between Fahl and Nemean (watching Nemean in particular with bright interest), he did take a step backwards, too.

Just in case.

The spell connects, but since the spire is new there is not much to see. There's a hint of something being off, like all is not as it seems. There's flashes of something pink, perhaps a little gold. This spire does not seem dangerous. They do not heed the warning of Diem Dark, and stay close.

Just as the thing explodes outward. Crystal falls at their feet as they watch the familiar shape of Nemean. It was a trick! They think, huffing out a growl. All excitement for no reward.

Except there is a reward, something flashes inside as Esther feels themselves gain a new spell. They don't know what it is yet, but watches as the others use it. Another spell useless for combat, but perhaps good for a small snack. Not something Esther would use most of the time. Oh well, a reward is a reward. Even if they're giving Nemean a very unappreciative look.

Though they do not voice their disappointment like some of the others.

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