Kin-Kin watched as the bizarre spectacle revealed itself, and she couldn't help but pause at the strange sight- otherworldly almost- the mass of fungi like nothing she'd ever seen here before. that being said, she hadn't hung around Eridanus for long- she'd never found it homely enough to build a den here. Kin-Kin found herself feeling much more at home among Orion's crumbling walls or the dazzling array of lights that could be found in Polaris. and the prescence of these mushrooms only cemented that feeling.

Kin-Kin watched the mass of fleeing rats screeching past in waves that, from a distance looked almost like water, their shrieks fading away into the dark. Kin-Kin watched as one of the other gembounds- a reeking horse- began to descend into the gulley, and Kin-Kin followed in turn, with a gesture of her tail for any who remained to follow. her ears cocked to attentiveness at the words of the gryphon, and she answered with a vague nod.

"Let's put a stop to this," she muttered, under her breath in case any rats remained. A bone skittered away into the underbrush, sending a wisp of spores airborne. the fur along Kin-Kin's spine prickled with the unmistakable feeling of being watched. After what seemed like forever, she reached the bottom, just as what felt like a crack of thunder erupted through the air above her, causing her to bristle despite knowing it was coming. Kin-Kin waited for a moment before enacting her own plan; extending her foreleg, she drew her crystalline sword from its sheathe and plunged it into the nearest large mushroom, which erupted into a fountain of spores.



" speech "

As Khloros brushed their ruined hide against the soft bodies of the mushrooms, spore particles floated free, released by the physical contact. the fine powder clung to the moisture of their festering wounds and danced upon each breath, until it was impossible to avoid breathing them in. The earliest feeling would be one of elation; building. Or, maybe, it will be a sense of disassociation. Perhaps a desperate desire to consume the mushrooms. Perhaps, even, their vision would begin to blur. Fake feelings will begin to swell and bubble within the plague horse, until connection with the outside world is vague at best.

And then, Khloros will begin to feel their heart racing, and although it's only a hallucination, they'll feel the earth shaking beneath their hooves, an intimate connection suddenly forged in what can only be described as a lucid dream. In that instant, even though their connection to reality is severed, their connection to the earth runs deeper than ever before. Khloros has learned Stone Memory.

Kin-Kin, with breaths quick beneath crystal blade, caused a cloud of roiling powder to gather all around. She's unable to avoid breathing in the powder, and as she does so she, to, finds her grip loosened. The ground drops away beneath her feet and a sense of disassociation overcomes. Her heart will pound, her brain may reel, feeling a sudden influx of emotion. She will feel nothing beneath her paws, but will feel the energy flowing through her veins and through the world beyond her reach. When her gaze lifts, she comes face to face with herself- or a shade of it, anyway. She feels its energy the same as her own, and as the illusion fades, she will realize that the lingering impression of the ghost still remains. Kin-Kin has learned Drift.


As the explosion rings out overhead, a chorus of shrieks erupts from beyond the trees, but no rats will dare to rush into battle. The screeching fades, and it soon becomes clear that the lesser rats in the area have fled.

But...

A quiet rustling, along with the sound of grinding teeth and huffing. Several of the mushrooms bob, the smaller ones crushed as an enormous rat shuffles into view. Its eyes are nearly blind from streaky red tears and its gaze spins, dazed and enraged all at once. Its fur is dyed white and its body round with rolls of fat, but it's barely recognizable as a red rat, its fur a deep chocolate brown beneath the pasty white. As it waddles forth, yellowed teeth bared and grinding, tail lashing, it's around the size of an ordinary house cat, but the madness in its eye is not something to take lightly.

A large mushroom with holes torn into its sides close to Khloros begins to tremble, and bodies ooze from its flesh like worms from an apple. Three greys, equally dyed with powder, creep forth, growling and hissing and tittering nastily. Although around half the size of the red rat, they share the wild look in their eyes.

And finally, a shriek erupts from the mushroom still bearing Kin-Kin's sword, and a darker, but still powdery rat claws its way free. It's oozing with blood from a wound on its shoulder, and it immediately lunges for the golden-she-wolf as she recovers from the hallucinogenic properties of the mushroom.

Red Rat has 30/30 hp.
Echoing Greys have 30/30 hp.
Pitch rat has 25/30 hp.

Kin-Kin and Khloros must roll Other in order to shake off the effects of the mushroom spores.
@Kin-Kin @Khloros
Everyone else may fight off the rats! Any contact with the mushrooms will result in the learning of a spell of a random element, but the afflicted must roll successfully to shake off the effects.

@Zevruu @Carni @Aeroth @Amras

As the spores’ effects first hit her, Kin-Kin paused, standing stock-still with her violet eyes widening for a moment. Vaguely she felt her jaws open and the sharpened crystal dropping to the ground amidst a carpet of mushrooms and soft undergrowth. She blinked slowly, gaze blurring, fur bristling. Her breaths came short and sharp, and she felt fear in her heart, but couldn’t quite reach it, as though it belonged to someone else.

Somewhere along the line, she sank down onto her belly, gaze flickering wildly, swaying vaguely, ears cocking and swivelling. She looked dizzy and dazed, driving her claws into the ground. It was clear that whatever she was seeing, she was blind to the real world.

And the daze didn’t fade; even when her head jerked backwards and she stumbled to her feet. The wolf began to stumble and shake herself. It seemed like she was making an effort to free herself, but couldn’t.

" speech "

Khloros went still as the world slipped away around him. In its place were joy, and then a sense of drifting away--and fear, contentment, rage, a slew of emotions far more powerful than anything he normally experienced in his muted mind. He stood silence and trembling with the intensity of it, blind to the world around him, feeling a strange sensation of the caves themselves linking to him. It was brief, but there.

He snorted, shaking his long head on its thin neck, blinking lamplight eyes as he tried to clear his mind of this strange foreignness, a bemused bliss leaving him rather halfhearted about this.

His mind slowly cleared, and as it did he found himself face-to-face with the three grey rats. It was too late to react much bar to slowly back away, a soft snort exhaling from his pus-slicked nostrils.

A quick glance around told him that he wasn't alone in facing the creatures--there were others, strange ones, emerging from the darkness.

...Fascinating. What is it that ails them, I wonder..?

He wasn't yet aware that he'd learned new magic--nor how to repeat the process--but he knew that he was changed. That something about him, was changed.

________________

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD

Aeroth backed away slowly before she saw the rat, the mist, having cleared, showing actualy adversaries. Her muscles teensed as her vision narrowed down to the few creatures left, she felt lie this could end if she ended them. She lunged forward at the neck of the red rat, gnawing and ripping with her claws in an attempt to bring it down. She hoped it wouldn't put her in a state like the other rat did, but she'd have to take that chance.
"Speech"
"Thoughts"
Tags:
Notes:

Amras Even expecting the ear-splitting sound Amras winced at the combined noise and heat of the explosion produced. The feathers on his wings were puffed out and despite having an unusually thick protective barrier on his talon during the smolder step spell his entire forearm was sore from minor burns. As the ringing faded the gryphon looked into the gulch to see if his plan had worked. What he saw, however, were his fellow gembound caught in some kind of daze with five very angry-looking rats closing in, with one in particular looking like it was about to land a severe blow to the golden wolf. Not taking into account the possibility that it was something aside from his explosion that had caused the others to become dazed Amras jumped headlong into the trench, spreading his wings slightly to direct himself to the confrontation between Kin-Kin and the pitch rat. Amras began to cough as the thick fog hit his lungs, but despite the surreal twinge that felt like it was trying to take hold he managed to land right behind the wolf, reaching over with his burnt hand to send a wave of pure force toward the lunging rat. "Pay attention! It's still dangerous down here!" he managed to get out as realization dawned on him that the mist might prove more a threat than just impeding vision and attracting rats. Pouch 1: Black talc stones x7 (medium) Pouch 2: Charcoal dust 45 in3 Pouch 3: Quartz sphere x1 (large, soft glow) Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium) Take hold of the power within "And shape the fabric of reality around you" tags: notes:

SEBASTIAN

Perhaps this wasn't his best idea. But cubs, hatchlings, were known for their curiosity.


The partially grown black Puma had followed the trail of foul smelling slime, hearing voices ahead of him. He'd stayed behind, wanting to hear what would be done first. And it had been true chaos; the bird thing had blown away the wind, and something had set off a small explosion. When he'd seen the others go ahead, he'd waited a bit, before following.


There was a field of mushrooms, and he tilted his head. But then, there were rats. A large one, some grays, and some reds. For some reason, some of the Gembounds seemed incapacitated, and he couldn't stand for that. So he snarled, racing forward into the mushrooms without thinking, being an impulsive cub. He dropped his jaw, and breathed out, launching a burst of superheated air.


"I'm speaking..."
'I'm thinking...'

A great amount of death had taken place here, and more was to be had. Mortis lumbered from the tree line and up to the gully. As ominous as an omen, and as still as a corpse, it watched the battle unfold. It took notice of the mushrooms birthing rats and the gembounds engaged them with them. They were just as faceless as the rats they fought.

The infected rats nor the cloud of spores were of any concern to it, instead, it was more interested in the unique fungi that plagued them. It did not recall summoning them. Mortis reached out to the fungi, reading the delicate mycelium like a its own language.


"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: // OOC:

As Aeroth lunged and ripped at the red rat with tooth and claw alike, she might have found her vision begin to swim with the spores stuck to the red rat's fur- but with her previous exposure, it may not have affected her as much as it would have someone else. If Aeroth continues to breathe in the spores, however, she may start to hallucinate! With the rat struggling and unable to escape, it's up to her whether or not she lets go or keeps attacking!

As Amras uses magic, the pitch rat is flung with a piercing screech back towards the back of the gulley, where it collides with a rock. Shrieking with rage, it returns with a vengeance, hissing and grinding its teeth as it lunges this time for the Gryphon.

A small black cub took this opportunity to leap into the fray, using this moment to let out a blast of superheated air. One of the echoing grays is hit, and with its shriek of agony sending it fleeing into the forest, the remaining two greys turn on the cub!

More subtle, another shadow enters the scene, this time a lanky foal. They do not engage but reach out to the fungi, which lie still and silent throughout the trench. Many of the mushrooms are ravaged by the rats, but Mortis' curiosity reveals to them that many of these mushrooms are a part of the same organism, connected through the soil and their roots. The smallest of these fungi sprouting among the ruins of their predecessors are the exceptions, having not yet joined into the fungal network that they appear to share. There are hundreds of these small mushrooms lining the sides of the gulley and beginning to leak out into Eridanus, and worse yet, the mist that hangs over this part of the woods is composed entirely of its spores! What would happen if it spread? Better not wait to find out!


Red Rat has 12/30 hp.
Echoing Greys have 21/30 hp.
Pitch rat has 13/30 hp.

Any contact with the mushrooms will result in the learning of a spell of a random element, but the afflicted must roll successfully to shake off the effects.

@Zevruu @Carni @Aeroth @amras @Kin-Kin @Sebastian @Mortis @Khloros

[/quote]

Khloros observed the melee. He felt detached from it, head still swimming with foreign emotions--though these were now fading--and with a sort of aloof pondering. His new link with the stone beneath had him reeling, but he focused once more on the situation, with some effort.

What was this all about? He felt there was another factor at work. And regardless, the rats were clearly suffering. With a sudden rush of motion, his near-skeletal black body lurched into violence. He leapt through a gap in the brush and aimed for one of the gray rats, trying to strike into it, and impart the plague he carried to its body, with his.

His intent was to see the thing flee, and spread this gift to the others. Better to sicken and die, than to live suffering as they were. Mad, and consuming one another.

No; they would sicken, they would spread his plague and they would die, and this madness would be over.

Be at peace, he thought as he charged.

________________

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD