Khloros saw no reason to change his plans, which seemed to be working quite well. The others were having their own effects--using their own magic and to useful ends.

With a snort he continued onward. Black hooves settled between the fungus, then lifted again as the horse moved on. With each tread, life wilted in his path--albeit more and more weakly. His magicka seemed to be fading.

He did not slow in his movements, but nor did he hurry; a quiet, steady stride.

He merely hoped the little ones had gotten out of it, by now. The fungus did not seem particularly wholesome.

________________

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD

Reseda heart shouting and felt magic blasting and and storming. Interested and attracted by all the energy, she searched through this strange, weird cave with too much green and life until she came upon a strange scene of mushrooms and spores and lots and lots of gems.

She looked at them strangely. What on earth were they doing? There was something going on with the strange looking mushrooms and the odd smelling spores. She flicked out her tongue. It certainly smelled strange. Perhaps if she helped them, they would appreciate it. They seemed to have the mushrooms under control, so she decided that she would do something with the spores. If she could do something really impressive, they would respect her. Perhaps even fear her power. But she would at least get noticed.

She stepped right into the spore cloud and breathed in deeply, gathering the magic into her while also inhaling some of the mushroom spores. She had to focus. This spell was extremely difficult and took all of her energy to perform. But it would hopefully work to be rid of the spores, permanently. Heat welled in her gem and in her chest as she began to activate it. Her muscles tensed as she stared at a point above her, at the thickest part of the cloud and, with a roar, released the magic.

In the middle of the cloud, black began to gather as matter was sucked into a tiny space and crushed completely. She expelled everything she had to into this tiny space, hoping the spores would get caught and crushed as well.
"Living with myself."
Nothing but lies.


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notes:

Rift's magic brought the forest's wrath beating down upon several clusters, which shattered, casting fungal fragments haphazardly around the hollow.

Amras' magic tore several growths from their very roots, sending them cascading down into the hollow in huge clusters.

Khloros kept on absorbing their very last traces of life essence, as the last mushrooms finally withered and died.

And Reseda's sudden appearance dealt with their last gasp; the spores carrying with them the threat of another outbreak were sucked into the void, the air clearing tendril by tendril, until the lungs could finally breathe clean, and the heavy-headedness of those present would fade. As the dragon's spell faded, very little remained except for broken stumps and fragments. very little, but enough, if one wanted to take and study them.

But for now, the threat had passed, the looming cloud over Eridanus fading into obscurity. The rustle in the undergrowth was wary, as sense returned in slivers to the rats of the caves.

0% of mushrooms remain.

This event is now complete! If characters have not yet received their spell, they may interact with one of the fragments that still remain. Feel free to take a piece to study in the future; perhaps the knowledge you gain will come in handy. Or, it might just make for a good time.

@Amras
@Kin-Kin
@Reseda
@Rift
@Sebastian

Khloros observed as the last of the fungus withered and died. He felt nothing left to take--no life left to siphon away. It is done.

He turned his thin head to stare briefly over the others.

They would survive.

He then turned, and simply slipped away into the darkness of the thicker jungle, not remaining, not lingering: he had no reason to take samples, no reason to test what remained. No reason to socialize. He had helped; now the threat had passed. What had caused it remained to be seen, but there was little that he, himself, could glean from it all.

Unless-...

He turned back, head tilted, wondering. Was this new connection with the earth meant to be useful to him? He paced back into the clearing, and pawed at the dirt, searching for stone beneath--looking for some hint as to who, or what, had caused the mushrooms to be as they were.

Or perhaps they were simply so? Perhaps it was a natural part of them?

He would find out.

Show me your secrets.

________________

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD

Khloros' magic would reveal a haze of fuzzy sounds, only just intelligible. First, the sound of distant footfalls, long and slow and heavy, as though they belonged to a beast of great enormity. Then, the sound faded into a soft, and throaty rumble, slowly ebbing and falling as time passed. Breathing, it would seem, or perhaps snoring...

Khloros would hear the soft pitter-pattering of a thousand rodent feet as the rats found their place. The echoing sounds of the rodents fighting one another in a crazed stupor, and then... nothing. The sound and the memory the spell had revealed cut off, as abruptly as it had begun in the first place, and yet still Khloros was no closer to an answer.

@Khloros

And then, it was done.

The Puma panted, looking around. The gathering of Gembounds using their various Magicks to destroy the mushrooms. He looked around and, seeing a nearby leaf, he took a moment to use it to pack up some of the ashes, intent on looking at them later. Perhaps they would reveal to him their secrets.

Setting the leaf aside, the black big cat looked around, before trotting to Rift's side. Seeing him like that had been scary. Very much so, and he butted his head against the elder's side with a concerned rumble. "Rift, are you okay?"

Then he looked around, seeing the other Gembounds. "Is everyone okay?" He called out, making sure everyone was accounted for.


___________________________________________________________

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

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notes:

She watched as the spored were sucked into the black hole, just as the other gems finished disposing as the mushrooms. She released the magic just as she began to feel a tug against her body and the darkness disappeared, leaving the world quiet for just a moment.

There were a few small stumps and such left. The gems would probably want to take samples, discover and learn. She did not care much. She desired knowledge and power, but this kind of thing was not something that interested her. Instead, she strode forward and looked up at the gems, particularly the one that had shouted out. "I am fine. The spores are gone, so it is safe to breath."

She looked down and found a small mushroom, still mostly intact. Without hesitation, she raised her claws and smashed it down, ripping it in half.


"Living with myself."
Nothing but lies.


tags:
notes:

Khloros spent a moment mulling over what he had heard, and then, in his rasping, empty voice, he spoke.

"A vast thing paced in. It slept. And then, this." He did not know what it meant. Perhaps he should have let the mushrooms' spores simply run their course, rather than putting a stop to them? Who knew what their purpose had been?

Perhaps it had been something important.

No matter. If it was that important, there would always be another way. The black horse turned pacing away into the shadows of Eridanus, speaking no further to those who remained.

________________

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD

ooc - exit Khloros

The mushroom smashed easily under the komodo dragon’s claws, releasing with it a puff of spores right into the dragon’s face, like the last gasp of a dying beast. Reseda might feel a sudden dizziness, as her vision and the world around began to swim. This hallucination was slow to set in, but nauseating nontheless. The dizziness would soon give way to a violent sense of spinning, as though she was being tossed uncontrollably in some kind of whirlpool.

And the air, falling across her muzzle seemingly out of nowhere, felt laden and prickling, stinging like dust. But of course, none of it was truly real. No matter how hard Reseda might try to shelter from the suddenly violent winds and her spinning vision, it was inescapable, and in the real world the air remained still. Reseda has learned Dust Devil! She must roll in order to shake off the mushroom’s effects!

@Reseda

Kin-Kin watched the Gembounds around her carry on their efforts in destroying the strange fungus- another large lizard entered, and took care of the spores. It seemed like the battle was done, only fragments remaining- and with the majority of the spores absorbed into the abyss, Kin-Kin thought that another outbreak was highly unlikely, and if it did come to pass, well... they’d be ready, surely. In the meantime, if she came upon any similar mushrooms, she knew to treat them with utmost caution and maybe destroy them on the spot.

Kin-Kin couldn’t help but wonder what had caused such a dramatic outbreak, but fungi really wasn’t her specialty, and as it was, she rarely came to Eridanus. For all she knew, this could be normal for this cave, and the rats that belonged here. Maybe it had just gotten out of hand. She shook her head slowly. Even with her age, there was a lot that happened in the caves still beyond her. She supposed all that could be done now was to wait and see, and maybe keep checking back to make sure the mushrooms didn’t start to regrow.

For now, the she-wolf would take her leave, and ponder the strange vision that they’d brought her. She felt different somehow, since awakening from the bizarre trance. But perhaps that was just the effects leaving her system. The wolf turned from the gulley full of ruined mushrooms, and trotted away with her head held high and cape flowing behind her, exuding the confidence of knowing that she’d helped to keep the caves safe.

-exit kin-kin-