SEBASTIAN

The cub smirked proudly, seeing his newest attack strike one of the rodents. The rodent shrieked, making him cringe, that was loud! But, thankfully, the rodent was quick to flee, as though he'd set his tail on fire.


Unfortunately, this drew the other rat's attention. The two grey rats turned his way, and he crouched down, snarling loudly. Bright golden eyes darted from one rat to the next. He was startled as a... was that a horse? seemed to come from nowhere, charging at one of the rats. The cub dropped his jaw, attempting to use his newest spell again, only for nothing but smoke to spill from his maw. 'Aw, crap!' He growled, backing up a few steps, not noticing his hind paw touch a mushroom.


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

Just as Amras was about to wind up for another dispel to finish off the rat that was charging at him a small black non-rat figure caught the corner of his eye. A cub! What was a child doing here in this den of monsters? It had apparently managed to scare one of the rats away with fire magic, but was now being chased down by two more.

If the black rat bites me I'll survive. I may not end up in the best of conditions but I'd be okay. If the grey rats attack that cub... I'm not so sure how well it would turn out for them.

The decision was made, a painful one but the most rational one given the circumstances. Without regard for the rat in front of him or the mists closing in around him Amras transferred the raw magic from his right talon to his left and manifested it in the direction of the two echoing greys.

The spell came out a bit sloppy, a wide blunt wave of force rather than one that would make a sharp impact, but that should be enough to get their attention at least. He had wings, the others didn't. If too many focused on him he could always try to fly out.

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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: None

When Khloros lunged, the two grey rats stalking towards the puma cub were taken by surprise. One of them froze and was quickly trampled beneath the horse's hooves. the other was only struck, Khloros' fetor clinging stubbornly to its wound. Luckily, it turned away from the cub and snarled at Khloros instead, but, with blood oozing from a gash in its side, it wouldn't last long if it stayed. And something akin to reason seemed to stir in its formerly red-crazed eyes. With a final scathing look, the rat scrambled out of the gulley and began to flee; taking Khloros' plague with it. Should it be allowed to escape, it may end up becoming a danger to the greater Gembounds!

...luckily, it was at that moment that Amras's energy burst sent it sprawling back onto the cold, hard ground. It twitched vaguely, and then was still.

Meanwhile, the pitch rat lunged for one of Amras' scaled ankles, yellowed fangs bared.

The red rat, having finally struggled free of Aeroth's grip, charged at the plague horse.

The cub, meanwhile, as their back paw brushed against the base of a mushroom, will find the spores rising from the point of contact like smoke spreading to wreathe them. They might find the world around them fading into a blur, as every emotion within them is amplified. A crawling feeling might spread over the skin, and looking down at a paw reveals to the cub that the spores have taken root, a sprawling array of fungi sinking their roots into their skin. The fungi grow by the minute, until at last the cub is consumed- but luckily for them, it's all in their mind's eye, and in reality, they are fungus-free. Sebastian has learned Mycelial Swarm!


Red Rat has 12/30 hp.
Echoing Greys have 0/30 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 @Sebastian @amras @mortis @Khloros @Aeroth

SEBASTIAN

The cub snarled at the rats, baring his fangs. So they wanted to fight, did they? He'd fight, but it might not end well. The rats were about as big as him, unfortunately, and he wasn't sure how much his magic would do.

The cub jolted as a horse suddenly appeared, crushing one of the rats under his hooves, leaving only one. And then a blast of magic was launched forward, slamming into the remaining rat, sending it down into a heap.

His eyes widened as one of the rats launged for the horse, and he moved to lunge forward, only to nearly topple over. The world seemed to spin, and his heart raced. The fear that had been low in his chest began to grow out of control. His eyes widened, feeling something crawl along his skin, and he looked down, to see fungi growing along his paws. He squeaked, shaking his head and leaping forward, managing to throw off the effects. Sebastian looked down at his paws, surprised to see the spores were gone.

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

Rift hadn't explored this side of the forest. He didn't know what lay beyond the mist. He had meant to explore it long ago, but he had been too busy creating his home. However, now the fog was gone and a surprising scene was laid out in front of him. Mushrooms, huge mushrooms, mushrooms that both intrigued and revolted him and gembounds fighting rats. And Sebastian was there as well!

His friend and his home, torn up by fighting and the presence of these strange, horrible mushrooms. He felt rage boil in the pit of his stomach at the side of the blood-splattered grass and the ravaged foliage. He yowled with anger and leaped into the fray, brushing past a mushroom as he lunged at the red rat. As his paws touched the ground, he called for the roots of the trees and the vines to come to his aid. "Help me protect our home! Crush the rats! Destroy the defilers!"


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"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: here
notes: here

His attack had been a success! Between his shockwave and extra help from the sick-looking horse the cub was now safe from the rats that had been closing in on it.

Amras, on the other hand, was not in quite so advantageous of a situation. The black rat that was charging him had gotten even closer, much too close to even attempt to prepare other spell. With adrenaline pumping the gryphon could almost feel where the attack would land, sharp yellowing teeth that while not deadly would doubtlessly cause him trouble down the line.

While he was standing on back two paws he was a large target, but his lateral movement was superior to what it would be if he had his wings folded to his sides. The rat was aiming high, toward his scaled forelimbs. In a last ditch effort to save his casting hand from being injured the gryphon shifted most of his weight to one paw and attempted to spring out of the way to the right.

Instead of a solid dodge, however, his back paw slipped on the remains of the rats that had been there before, resulting in him tumbling ungracefully onto his side, still in full range of the rat's incoming attack.

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Pouch 1: Baubled talc rods x12	Pouch 2: Charcoal dust (50 in3)	Pouch 3: Empty	Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium)
Back bag: Empty

Take hold of the power within
"And shape the fabric of reality around you"
tags:
notes: None

Khloros turned, letting out a loud, sharp snort as the saw the red rat coming for him. He lunged forward, ears pinned, eyes unblinking as he attempted to plunge bare teeth into the animal.

He did his best to snag it, to grab it and to fling it in the way that horses do, instinct driving him, the desire to bite and stomp and kill guiding him. A shrill, unearthly whinny echoed from him as he thrashed, nostrils flaring.

Kill it. Kill it. Attacker, but small. Destroy it. End it.

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BRING OUT YOUR DEAD

((ooc -- sorry for short post, just getting one in before update!))

Rift's attack using the plant life of Eridanus to his advantage managed to stop the creature in its tracks, tearing into it and delaying it long enough for Khloros to sieze it in his teeth, finally stopping it in its crazed assault. A final scream echoed until it faded into nothingness.

The spores, meanwhile, clung to Rift's side, and the motion of his contact had caused a fresh wave of orange-ish mist to float free, hanging thick and heavy on the air. As Rift breathed, he might feel vision blurring, darkness creeping in at the edges of blurred vision. Unlike the others, the hallucination which ensued remained rooted in the real world, but the cougar might feel his chest getting tight, lightheadedness ensuing. If Rift tries to move, he might find it hard to. Rift has learned Scale!

Meanwhile, the Pitch rat was the last left standing, and it sank gnashing fangs into one of the gryphon's flailing hind limbs as he struggled to dodge out of the way. When this rat dies, all that's left to do is somehow destroy the mushrooms!

Red Rat has 0/30 hp.
Echoing Greys have 0/30 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.

@Khloros @Sebastian @Amras @Rift @Mortis

Rift felt a flash of satisfaction when his vines held down the rat for a strange horse thing to finish it off but, all of a sudden, his chest tightened. He suddenly couldn't move. He opened his mouth to take in a breath but found that it was hard. Fear laced his body and he felt something itchy across his pelt. He tried to shake it off but the effort made everything crush down on him more. His legs wobbled and he struggled to keep his composure.

He gasped for breath before collapsing on the ground, unable to move a single muscle, his eyes wide with fear as he tried, desperately, to breathe.


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"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags:
notes:

Sebastian looked up from his paws at a sudden, familiar voice. Rift? Rift was here? He looked around, seeing the puma charge into battle. "Rift!" he cried out, tail lashing anxiously.

As he looked around, he saw the... cat-bird-thing slide on the rat's remains, sprawling to the ground. The sickly looking horse killing the red rat, flailing and stomping on it.

And then, to his horror, Rift began to thrash and buckle, before collapsing to the ground. "Rift!" he cried again, leaping to the older Puma's side. He crouched next to him protectively, knowing that he needed to get rid of the mushrooms.

He turned away from Rift, not wanting to harm the puma, and launched a stomach full of burning bile into the mushrooms.


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"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags:
notes: