GM Note: this thread takes place shortly after this thread as a preparation for the Mother assault. This thread is not mandatory but can be used to roleplay out preparation of the outpost from which the assault will be launched. Note that deliberately provoking Mother or her minions in this thread may result in potentially fatal/infectious consequences, but is otherwise safe.

However, the follow-up assault thread that will eventually take place carries a risk of character death or Mother infection or captivity. If you have a character that would IC wish to join, but you do not want those risks OOC, you are free to help out in this thread and then use the time between this thread and the eventual assault to find a reason that they cannot attend.

Anyone may join this thread at any time, bearing in mind its timeline.

Tunnel E Mouth

Ursa's winds howled. They were as strong a gale as Ursa ever got: roaring past in great battering sweeps, ready to stagger the unwary off their feet. Here, just inside the Tunnel E mouth, there was some shelter: but a few paces out, and the world was blinding white. It wasn't snowing, exactly--but the snow was heavily-driven, curling up from the drifts to be hurled into the 'sky' beyond.

The dim aurora above was half-eclipsed, so that the light was difficult to see by; with each gust and lift of snow it seemed that the cave was plunged into even deeper shadows, and even when it seemed to settle momentarily, there was very little light.

It was good, perhaps, for staying hidden. For preparing away from prying eyes. To have an advantage--time to set up--before the enemy noticed them. But one would need to use caution so as not to stray too far; in the brief glimpses of clear air between hurtling gusts, it was clear that Ursa's vast white plains were far too easy to get lost in.

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas had barely stepped foot into the snow of Ursa, along the bitterly cold river and rough rock of Tunnel E, when he came to a complete stop. Here he looked around, gauging the landscape as best he could. He squinted toxic eyes against the biting, bitter wind, and grunted at the strength of this storm.

He looked back, then, to those who had chosen to follow.

"This is where we should prepare," he told them, raising his voice some to be heard over the gale. He gestured, indicating an area maybe thirty yards in diameter, a sort of arc outside the mouth of the tunnel--a place they could set up to defend the tunnel entrance should they need to even temporarily retreat. "The Hunter's traps, barricades of ice--spiked outward, if you can. Anything else that you can think of. Leave gaps for us to come and go, but make it a large base, make it defensible. I will ensure it is guarded until the time comes for our assault--ahh, and do not talk about the assault too loudly, especially if the wind drops! I do not doubt that he has eyes and ears everywhere."

Vargas looked around again, and offered another, louder, sour grunt. "I will find some boulders to use as obstacles, meanwhile. Make sure this place is clean," he added, with a glance toward those who used the magic of fungus.

He hoped his meaning was clear.

@Tahi-shei (Sora) @James (Arwen, Carja) @Attikias @Madhukar @Twisted @Comet @Nemo

Tahi-shei was a walking, talking fungus sensor. Thankfully, Vargas either had not noticed his apparent blindness or had not commented on it -- in this place, it wouldn't much matter. Especially not if they were fighting Mother. He had visibility over the spores of the entire cave and even the nearby tunnels, now -- fungus was stubborn, and Mother even moreso. Spores and mycelia and anything else growing in one's skin. He was planning on laying down spores here anyway, just so he could keep track of "home base". Vargas was putting trust in him -- Tahi-shei could not and would not betray it.

He scanned the horizon. Ursa always made him nervous -- he could see the infected Lessers hiding beneath the snow, watching him from afar. Waiting. Now, he was narrowing his focus as best he could -- willing any hidden secrets, no matter how far they were, to reveal themselves to him. Perhaps he would have to thank the Collector, one of these days. No matter how disgusting the prospect was.

"It looks fairly clean to me," he said. "No Lessers lurking nearby; the nearest fungal growths are ones we passed in the tunnel, and I'm pretty sure those are innocuous."

Ursa would be exceedingly difficult for the deer to navigate.

Where most caves had a faint spread of spores--even microscopic--to feel with, the snow and harsh ice of Ursa had... nothing. He was truly blind, here, bar the distant specks and clusters of fungus surviving beneath the ice, or Lessers carrying their own fungal burdens--be it Mother or the regular slight molds and so on that most Lessers tended to have. The ground all around him was unknown, with thick snow blanketing it; the distant mountains were not shrouded in thin fungal outlines the way the terrain elsewhere might have been.

There was nothing particularly close, regardless: distant life, but the nearest fungus were back behind him, on the living molds and mushrooms surviving in the cold of Tunnel E.

James approached from behind, ears perked up. On his legs were leather greaves to protect his legs against harm, from his shins to just beneath his shoulder. A leather and fur blanket was draped over his back with slits cut out for his wings, and over his chest and neck. It wrapped under his belly, providing a little bit of protection against teeth and claws. Gifts from Attikias.

He lit up in Tahi's vision, covered in spores in order to allow Tahi to recognize him. He didn't light up as brightly as Mother did, so hopefully no one would mistake him for infected.

"It's cold," he said softly, standing beside Tahi-shei, and gently draped a warm wing over his back, "And quiet."

The wind blew, but he wasn't talking about the wind. It was almost like there was an absence of life. It was rather terrifying, actually.

Here came Reign. The king of nobody.

He couldn't lie, he always had his dreams of leading a valiant army. But now was not his moment. It was Tahi-Shei's, he who organized this battle, and Vargas', no matter how much he disliked the valkhound. His role was to be a protector, a far-range fighter, and to prove he could stand up to Mother once more.

The little cub...

The crowned cheetah found himself at the mouth of Ursa, searingly cold winds batting at his form. Behind him was the tunnel front, barely visible through the blizzard, and before was a shadowy flurry of snow and wailing wind. He shivered. Cheetahs were not meant to thrive in such cold temperatures, and, unfortunately, he didn't have any coverings to help with it. He'd just have to weather it through.

Reign's ears flicked towards Vargas as he began to speak, managing not to wince at the loud and guttural voice. This is where they shall prepare? Alright. He took a moment to shake the snow off his muzzle before meowing: "I will help dig a light trench to protect from the elements," he announced, "Any others are welcome to join me."

And with that he started pawing at the snow, trying to dig to some semblance of ground while also not smacking anyone with the upturn. Unfortunately, the snow was a lot deeper than he assumed it was. And harder packed. Even after several moments of forceful scraping, the crowned soldier found himself staring at nothing more than slightly scruffed ice.

"Sharp! Sharp delivery!"

What's that noise? To anyone listening it'd sound like a small (but also loud), scratchy voice coming from the tunnel, almost drowned out by the howling winds.

"Sharp delivery? Sharp delivery!"

Here came the speaker: A small, spiny lizard flying haphazardly on spectral wings. Her uneven flight patterns suggested she wasn't used to the magic. Or the cold. Or both. In her tiny claws was what remained of a cart, now thoroughly burned and functioning as an impromptu basket. A basket filled with-- oh!

"Sharp brings things-- Hi James!" Various neolithic tools and weaponry clinked inside, bumped a little by the turn of her head. "Sharp heard from James! Sharp happy to help!" Spears, shields, all sorts of wonderful things. Sharp was glad to make them!

She neared the ground, tilting the basket so they all fell out with a foof onto the soft snow. She couldn't stay long, not with her cold-blooded body rapidly cooling, her wings faltering, and her general aversion to cold white stuff. Once she was sure they weren't gonna get buried in the snowstorm she beamed a happy smile at the other gembounds and flew back, barely registering any of them were there at all. Not even a word was given--

Gasp "BUY SHARP THINGS!"

Of course.

© ©

Sharp is bringing with her an assortment of various tools and weapons for the battle. She's not an actual combatant and won't be staying for long, but anyone's welcome to come and take some supplies:

--- A wide-lidded canteen, made from the husk of a Watermelon Tree gourd. Inside is a weird broth made of vegetables, (dead) grubs, and... other foods. Certainly won't taste good, but will be filling, in case one of them gets hungry.
--- Two dark, medium-sized shields made of wood. A large, easy-to-grasp handle sits at the top for those without thumbs. Can be used by multiple small gembound or a single large one, though they'll likely break from strong attacks.
-- Two flint-tipped spears. Can be used as a weapon or buried in the ground as spikes.
-- Two rope slings, which can be swung to throw small projectiles.
-- Smiles for all!

Please note all things were crafted by a literal lizard and are probably no more useful than toothpicks for massive gembounds. Additionally, all materials have been branded with a small, crude etch of a lizard smiling. Ads, I tell you.
Crafted in this thread!

The elf had followed dutifully behind Vargas, hands mostly either on his cloak or his satchel, the contents knocking together with the faint sounds of wood and rawhide. He was going to be useful. Everyone else was here with him- and he was going to do good for so many families beside his own.

But, then, why could he feel such a weight in his gut? It was probably just anxiety, yeah. He'd be fine. They'd be fine.

Attikias let out a shaky breath at that.

No matter. Vargas stopped and addressed them- Attikias straightened at the use of his old title he'd once given himself over a year ago. The Hunter. Actually, he still quite liked the sound of it, and he did hunt for leather so many times, and he was good at finding people, if he did say so himself.

But, he shouldn't let it go to his head. Instead, he nodded along, listening to both him and Tahi-shei as they began to lay out their plans.

"Right," Attikias began breathlessly once he was certain the area was clear. "Boulders would help around the edges, I think?- we can use ice to secure them. A few entrances-" because the mouth was quite big- "but try and not close those up. We want the infected to get funneled in that way."

His cape bellowed in the wind as he turned, pacing towards a nearby wall as he thought. "Make them large enough so the biggest gembound still has to place at least one foot in the place. We'll set up thin hills on either side for us- I'd think the bigger people could jump over since they know what to look for." Attikias paced in the opposite direction, retrieving a bead and a short rawhide rope from his bag as he talked.

"With- not talking too loudly, we might wanna make sure we don't give off a lot of light, too. Um-" He blinked, stopping for a moment to thread the rope into the eye of the wooden bead.

"If you want some faint lights, I can make them, but try to keep them obscured." The bead he was fiddling with glowed just slightly,  its white barely sticking out against the snow. Quickly, Attikias wrapped the rope about his hand with the bead at his palm and balled his fist- and the light was gone.

He let in an inward sigh, shoulders raising as he prepared himself. "Right. Let's get to work."

He split off to work on what he needed to, allowing the faint light to illuminate his path. Scrabbling though, caught his ear- his head turned to Reign, cocked to the side.

Ah, shoot. Standing from kneeling over the river, Attikias quietly retrieved a prepared pelt from Carja before approaching the shivering cheetah. "Hey," he began, quiet. The pelt was held up between them, obscuring his face, before he dropped it to look. "If you're cold, wear this." It wasn't a permanent solution, but it would help. He was worried about lighting a fire and bringing attention to themselves, after all.

His tail twitched at Sharp's arrival. He hadn't seen them before- he blinked dumbly, still holding the pelt for Reign. "Did you make those?" is what he asked of her, genuine- for all he knew, she was a young, enterprising gembound. Beings like those deserved encouragement- certainly people would find use for the things she had made.

He watched for a moment before holding a hand through the sewed neck hole of the pelt, attention back on Reign. "The- digging, its a good idea, I think. The magic users could find a place to hide in it and have a little hole to shoot from. Or we can have backup fighters in it or something. It'll help."

don't forget to lmk if anyone asked attikias for armor or pelts! the pelts are free to have, but ill make the armor in his solo (that im.. still working on--) and you can say they got the armor at any point.

Comet was one of the few who wasn't shivering in these icy cold conditions. Her thick fur was built for this stuff, but even she could feel a slight piercing chill get past her fur. She looked around at the others, who seemed to have barely any defense against the cold. Luckily Attikias was giving out warm fur blankets.

Walking towards the front, she started setting up some sharp ice barriers with the pointy parts sticking outwards. She made sure to position this in front of the trench that Reign was digging. The snow was mounded up for her to freeze now, but when she cast the spell, it instead froze the snow on her fur into ice, and she was frozen in place.

Pride stepped through the snow, white on white, with delicate movements. His eyes were squinted against the snowfall, and his limbs had to lift quite some distance to plunge through the snow; each step with narrow hooves plunged him down again.

"I have no experience in preparing for a siege," he called out over the wind, glancing to Attikias. "I am capable of forming gemstone into shapes, if you wish it-? And setting those traps I showed, earlier, though I will wait until before we head out, for that. Ahh-" he looked to Reign. Digging in snow was one thing; but the frozen earth beneath, he knew, would be somewhat harder for him to manage. "Allow me to help, Reign--just step back a bit, please," he suggested.

Pride stepped forward, stumbling a little in the snow, and then looked around to gauge the landscape and to plan. Without his movement, the ground shuddered and then split, a fissure opening in the earth, the frozen ground cracking apart violently enough that the snow atop it tumbled in. Pride sagged a little, and stepped back; the effort was never easy, but now they had a trench to work with, anyway. "Will that do?" he asked.

He then looked back to Attikias. "I suspect you have more experience with traps than I. Just let me know what you need and I will do my best. I will defer to you," he added, as if to clarify.