Amras took a deep breath as the last of the fungus was blown away, dislodged from their perch to lie harmlessly on the ground. The spore clouds were dissipating and the rats were now long gone. This strange event, these flesh eating creatures, that was behind them now. Or at least they had a moment before it might pop back up somewhere else.

Though part of him knew to leave the site be, perhaps gather wood and purge the area with a bonfire, the curious side of him was intrigued by the mushrooms' odd effects. Perhaps he could gather a bundle while they were still fresh, take them to an area they likely wouldn't take root like Orion, test them to see if they reacted to any magic type in particular.

If these things arose again they would definitely need a better way of combatting them, perhaps a better way of detecting them early. With that in mind the gryphon moved over to the closest pile and scooped up a large armful for future testing.

---

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

Amras’ efforts caused a near-explosion of bitter-tasting powder, right into his face. With the mushrooms held close enough to breathe and so many of them, the effects were immediate and powerful. Amras’ vision would blur, a feeling of disassociation and perhaps elation taking hold of his mind.

And then, a feeling of sickness and bloating. Amras might start to drool as sickness took its steady hold. And there might be the feeling that he wasn’t alone, but carrying something deep within, in a deadly state of barely-suppressed dormancy...

Amras has learned Incubate! He must roll in order to shake off the mushroom’s effects!

@Amras

Thankfully, it seemed, no one was permanently harmed. The group seemed to be dispersing, as though nothing had happened. First the monster horse, and then the blond wolf. And so he remained by Rift, fussing over him, wishing that there was something he could do. Would the spores have a lasting effect? The effects seemed to have faded, but he still worried.


___________________________________________________________

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

tags: @Rift
notes:

Rift watched as the roots of the trees crushed mushroom after mushroom, sending the spores straight into the void a strange lizard had made appear in the air. He let out a long sigh of relief when all settled down to peace and quiet.

But he couldn't relax just yet. This was a mess. The forest would take time to recover here. He decided that he would try and speed along the process.

He leaped down from his place and cautiously made his way into the mess of mushroom fragments, careful not to step on any pieces that would give him another attack. Every so often, he would touch his nose to a plant that looked to be affected and let healing bacteria surge into the plant. He even did it with a few stumps in case they could be saved and grow into something more benign. It wasn't much, but hopefully it would help clear up some of the mess.

He returned to Sebastian's side once everything was done and he gave his shoulder a friendly lick. He looked worried, probably from his inability to shake of the spores. He smiled. "Don't worry, I'm okay! We should probably be more worried about this part of the forest. I'd like it to be cleaned up, but I don't want us burning down the whole thing like we would do with any other diseased part. There's just too much." He paused and considered what they could do. But besides burning and healing, he wasn't really sure. He shrugged, realizing that he was a little bit tired from the fight against the spores and all the magic. "Well, we can brainstorm later. Are you ready to go?"


___________________________________________________________

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

tags: @Sebastian
notes:

The gryphon immediately dropped the mushrooms to the ground, coughing and sputtering as the unexpected explosion was set off in his face. His wings folded inward and his back legs crumpled, causing him to tumble clumsily forward, barely catching himself with his talons. This was more than just dust or pollen; the mushrooms carried with them something more sinister.

Amras barely resisted groaning as his gut churned, his vision blurred, and an overwhelming sense of disorientation overtook him. It was in that moment that the words of his arcane induced dream came back to him:

An alien visitor you may finally meet...

He hadn't expected to come even close to confronting that line without cycles upon cycles of reflection, but here it was staring him in the face. Through the nausea the gryphon took a deep breath; he had to confront this. As unpleasant as the mushroom's effects were he could feel another process going on as well now. Something... no, a whole lot of things residing in his gut were springing into action. Had they always been there? In his delirium he could feel the alien entities seek out an unwelcome guest. He could almost sense their confusion as they sought to restore balance to a system that... wasn't out of balance to begin with?

As the spores floated away a kind of clarity came upon him. The foreign invader that thrust him into sickness wasn't real, but the alien visitors remained. Could it be that the disease element was linked to them? Objects carried within the body while not being part of the body, technically fulfilling the role of an external element but strange in the way it worked. How different those born with such an elemental attunement must have perceived the world!

Amras began to right himself again, reeling slightly before he could stand up fully and deciding to stay on four limbs. Even if the disease had been false he could still feel some of the lingering effects. Perhaps it would be a good idea to go back to Monoceros for a bit.

Without looking back at the others the gryphon started to make his way out of the gulch and toward the room of stars, from which he would be able to get back to his home under the winds.

- Exit Amras -

---

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

Reseda wasn't quite expecting the violent poof of spores that flew directly into her face. She didn't really react to it, though, how much harm could it do? All the other gembounds had been breathing them in and they seemed fine. But then she learned pretty quickly that she was wrong as the world began to spin. Wind smashed into her side and dust settled on her nose and poked at her eyes. Confused, she looked around, but it hurt her head to do it. She was starting to get very dizzy.

She thought, for a second, that this was perhaps the same sickness she had after she had accidentally cast her spell on herself. No, it couldn't be, she didn't really feel her stomach squeezing. Besides, her spell had been fine. It had been the mushrooms.

She tried to shake herself out, but the wind was too strong. She could barely get her body to move. Her claws were gripped instinctively in the ground. If she could be scared, she would have been terrified, crouched to the ground, maybe even wailing with fear. But she simply stood them, gripping the ground and trying to fight her survival instincts.
"Living with myself."
Nothing but lies.


tags:
notes:

Finally, after crouching low and bracing herself, she managed to swing herself enough to shake the spores still clinging to her body and neck. After a few moments, the wind storm began to subside and the dizziness fade from her head. The world eventually went back to normal and she was left around some spores in the middle of the forest.

She looked up. The gems didn't seemed to have noticed. They actually didn't really seem to notice her at all. So much for impressing them. She shrugged. It didn't really matter, she would have other opportunities. She'd had enough in this forest. It was too bright and too full of life. The opposite of Canis, it seemed, full of rotting carcasses, littered with the bones of the dead. She much preferred there. Perhaps she should return.

Ignoring everyone else, she turned and lumbered off towards the exit, craving the snap and crunch of bones.

*exit
"Living with myself."
Nothing but lies.


tags:
notes:

To his relief, Rift seemed to be fine. Somewhat fatigued, perhaps, but otherwise unharmed. As he watched, the Plant-Magicked Puma walked around, giving life to some of the afflicted plants. He watched him worriedly, afraid that he might be stricken down by the plants once more. He wished there was more he could do, but doubted his fire would be of much use here. But, it seemed, he was fine, as he returned soon enough, even giving his shoulder a friendly lick. He returned his brothers smile, tension leaving his form.

"I'm glad. I wish there was more we could do," he sighed, taking in the destruction. But, it seemed, even Rift didn't have any plans, as he suggested they return home and brainstorm later. "Alright, I'm ready." he nodded and, if Rift didn't stop him, he'd turn, plodding off towards home.

-Exit Sebastian-


___________________________________________________________

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

tags: @Rift
notes:

Rift nodded and made to follow Sebastian away. However, he cast one more glance back at the forest. The air was strange, even without the spores hanging around. He thought back to his hallucination and shuddered. But he had an urging feeling that it all meant something and he just wasn't listening hard enough.

He blinked and decided to test it out. But on what? He wasn't going to ask a random stranger to test magic on them. And if he was right, it would probably only work on conscious beings. So he sighed and focused on himself, remembering the hallucination and bringing it forward.

Immediately, he felt his chest tightening again as the air began to thin. He took a gasping breath and found it lacking, his lungs struggling to take in oxygen. Out of pure terror, he released the spell and took a step back, wide eyed. Whatever those mushrooms were, they had given him new magic. And that deeply worried him.

Without another look, he turned tail and ran after Sebastian, anxious to get home and back into the routine so that he could forget all about this.

*exit


___________________________________________________________

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

tags:
notes: