Stage Four: Into the Deep Unknown

[Natty-chan]

As you travel, you note that patches with no mushroom or lichen are actually quite rare - enough that when you see a spot of dirt with nothing on it, you pause to take a moment and examine it. As it turns out, there's a small section of stone that's actually movable, revealing a small hole in the ground with a tiny charm inside. Excitedly, you pick it up, relishing in this miniature treasure hunt you didn't know you were on!

With new trinket in tow, Reaper pressed on with his search. With so many mushrooms, it was odd to see a patch without one. Apparently, it seems someone else had noticed that as well; the Pegicorn noticing the empty patch. Coming across a hole that was clearly dug into. He had no idea what may have been inside of it, but if there was anything there, it was gone now. With nothing to find, he went to the next path.

Prize already claimed

 

[Natty-chan]

You can hear some of the others talking behind you, but the cavern walls make their voices bounce and echo in the strangest of ways. It certainly makes everything seem livelier than it actually is, though whether or not that's a good thing ...

These caves were really misleading. Every now and then, Reaper had to pause and look around. He heard voices of others in the group behind him, beside him, even in front of him. All at the same time. It was so very confusing, he could understand how others could get lost in such a mass of jumbled noise echoing around the walls. Either way, he had to keep searching.

 

[Natty-chan]

You find a strange fungus in the shape of what you're fairly certain is a celebrity's head. Or maybe it's a piece of broccoli? You're not certain, but it'll make a fun story anyway.

Gain +1AP.

Not surprising, on the lookout for something… which he’s unsure of at the moment, there are more mushrooms around him. One in particular though, caught his eye. Stopping in front of it, he leans in close to get a closer look at this one growing fungus. He was pretty sure it looked like his favorite movie star. A shame he didn’t have his phone, he would have taken a picture. Oh well, perhaps he could add it to that possible story he could write.

 

[ChexaRain]

Ugh, nothing but rocks. Travelling was getting more and more tiresome with each passing moment, and Lydia wasn't any closer to finding out where they were actually trying to go any more than the rest of the group. She was still firmly glued up with colorful spores, and more than once she'd sworn a snicker had emerged from one of her companions, but there wasn't much she could do about it in her current situation. Kicking a pebble, she cursed under her breath when it was heavier than she'd expected and ended up hurting her hoof. Ugh.

 

[ChexaRain]

She had been contemplating her luck at not having to limp when she was suddenly struck with the smell. To most folks it was musty, it was an attic filled with old books and old paintings, but to Lydia is was a smell from when she was a small foal in her parents' eccentric home. Feeling more of a pull than her usual curiosity she chose to follow the scent, the stronger it became as she went and the more she had to know where it was coming from. Just when she was about to take a deep breath she noticed the source, the most obscure patch of mold. She backed away quickly, disturbed, but snapped a picture anyway, making a mental note to write a description on the back of a printed image when she got back home.

Gain +1 AP

 

[ChexaRain]

Ah, of course... no sooner had she found the weird mold, it was back to the old pattern she'd had to deal with before. Rock after rock, nothing to find again, and she was more than a little miffed by it. This adventure was turning out the be quite the side quest to her usual ghost hunting, and she was finding not nearly as many ghostly apparitions as she'd hope. Ugh, the queens weren't going to be very pleased when she came back with a camera roll of nothing but rocks. Well, no that was a lie, there was that cool lantern from before...

 

[houllow]

[ 26: An odd find ]

Mushrooms. Muuussshroooms. Wei Ying had partially forgotten what exactly it was they were supposed to be looking for or doing, but he went on anyway. He did think he saw a couple of ponies covered in mushroom spores (ew) and thankfully that hadn't happened to him, so perhaps he was no worse for the wear/better off.

Even better after he found a weird ticket thing under a rock. He still didn't really know what it was, but he had a few already so why not add to it?

[ first time: +1 spector ticket ]

 

[houllow]

[1: It's a cave ]

Carefully moving so as to not get covered in spores like everypony else, Wei Ying continued to follow the group (more or less) because he'd mostly forgotten the whole point of this now. His enthusiasm for the search had waned drastically, but he wasn't about to give up if there was a chance the answers he sought were here.

Still bored at looking at rocks though.

 

[houllow]

[ 5: Ouch! ]

It was rocks and shrooms as far as the eye could see, which.....really, what did he expect? They were in a tunnel (or something) and Wei Ying was wondering if this one actually had an end. Or maybe if that mushroom picker the other pony had talked about was anything like the thing that gave him his charm.

And of course because he was thinking he stepped on a rock and hurt himself even more. Really? Really.

 

[astralprogenitor]

You've found some kind of charm! You'd better hang on to it...

​

​

On a wide, flat area in the middle of your walkway, you see a glimmer of something sparkling. Upon a closer examination, you discover that it's a little charm. Huh. Weird, but you decide to take it with you. Why would you leave it there when you just know someone else will find it if you do?

Something different was definitely found. Walking on, he noticed something sparkling on the floor, and it wasn’t a rock or a mushroom. Reaper stepped closer to it to examine it, curious what it was before he decided to pick it up. Was that a charm? How did it get here? Did someone from the team lose it, or… perhaps, others of the living have ventured this way before. It couldn’t have belonged to a ghost, right? If so, it definitely proved the term ‘you can’t take it with you’ wrong. Either way, the Pegicorn scooped up the item and attached it to his harness before he kept walking.

 

[Natty-chan]

You find a strange fungus in the shape of what you're fairly certain is a celebrity's head. Or maybe it's a piece of broccoli? You're not certain, but it'll make a fun story anyway.

Gain +1AP.

Not too long after walking away from the first odd shaped mushroom, Reaper moves along to find another one. A brow lifts a little at that. What are the odds of him finding two in a row? Looking close again, while it didn’t look like any famous pony he knew, it definitely looked interesting for a mushroom; like a little tree or something. Getting an eyeful of this second fungus, he pressed on for his search.

 

[Natty-chan]

You continue your search for the way through the caverns. They really are quite rocky.

Well, no more funny shaped mushrooms. Back to normal mushroom and rocks, lots and lots of rocks. It wasn’t all too surprising, but it definitely was very boring. One thing Reaper had to think about though, a good thing about that was the dull scenery wouldn’t act as a distraction from what he was searching for at least.

 

[Sesshiyasha]

50

Beautiful luminescence

You're really quite struck by the beautiful luminescence in this section of the cavern. The mushrooms grow in strangely swirled patterns, creating an almost purposeful artistry from nature.

Nememus had been wandering for a while. He had passed silence, a fighting pair of ponies, rocks falling on him in a small passageway, and more silence. He knew eventually he had to come across something not just rocks and darkness, and here it was. He had found a section of the cave that glowed. He looked around at all the mushrooms around just taking in the sights. He was enjoying this section of the cave!

 

[Natty-chan]

Folded in half and tucked under a rock, you find a small ticket to some event. You're not sure what that's about, but you decide to take it with you. It might come in handy, eh?

First visit only: Gain +1 Specter Ticket

Reaper sighed, a little tired and definitely sore, but he wasn’t going to stop searching. He found a few good things along the way, so it wasn’t too bad. It seems that trend wouldn’t break soon either. Gazing down, he noticed something sticking out from under a rock; and with enough effort, he pushed the rock out of the way. It was an odd ticket. Maybe it was from the circus back when the gate was originally opened? Yeah, that sounded silly in his head too. Whatever it was, he picks it up and carefully tucks it among his feathers for safe keeping.

 

[Sesshiyasha]

12

Skin-crawling skittering

You hear something scuttling on the rock above, but when you tilt your head up, you see nothing there. Something about the way it sounded makes your skin crawl, and you can't wait to get out of this place. You just hope whatever's past this isn't as creepy as the cave...

He had passed through the gorgeous Mushroom section and now was back in the rocky darkness. He wondered if he should turn around and go back to the mushrooms and hang there for a while longer, but decided it was best to continue on for what they were looking for. It was then that he heard the skittering overhead. It made his skin crawl and he just wanted to leave this place.

 

[Sesshiyasha]

40

Unexpected visages?

You find a strange fungus in the shape of what you're fairly certain is a celebrity's head. Or maybe it's a piece of broccoli? You're not certain, but it'll make a fun story anyway. Gain +1AP.

Nememus continued on his way, hoping that whatever had been skittering on the ceiling of the last part of the cave wasn't following him. He kept going onward deeper into the cave. This was until he stumbled upon a strange fungus. It was weird, maybe it was the shape of a head? Or maybe it could just be broccoli. Who knew at this point. He was fairly certain everything in this cave was weird.

 

[belloblossom]

((A patch of softly glowing bioluminescent plants casts a beautiful twinkle on the wet ceiling above. You wonder if you'll ever see anything like it again once you return home. If you return home - a thought that somewhat dampens your spirits, though you still appreciate the sight.

Gain +1 AP. ))

Rock Kandy moved forward, looking between her fellow travelling companions. She was having a tricky time getting to know them, but she was making an effort to. Who knew what they would experience on this marvelous, unusual journey? Her eyes were caught by a faint glowing and she turned her head to look more closely at it. Her loose braid brushed against her back and rolled over her side, as she craned her head back to observe the twinkling lights. It was almost like the stars, but more... ethereal. She felt a brightness blossoming in her chest - was there anything like this back home? Could she recreate it with enchantments or holiday lights? However, the notion of home was beginning to gnaw at her.

Did time pass here the same as it did in the realm she left behind? Would she return to the same Metamora that she'd left? She had left him. She frowned deeply, trying to appreciate the pretty twinkling on the ceiling in favor of the gloom that was seeping into her mood. She faced forward. Of course she would return to her mate. Everything would be fine. She couldn't afford to stop moving forward - there was no turning back now, so missing Metamora wouldn't do her much good here. Rock Kandy continued on.

 

[belloblossom]

((Something in the air hits you suddenly and intensely; it's a smell, something you can't identify but reminds you of somewhere you might call home. It makes an ache form deep in your chest, squeezing as though it might wrench your heart from your body; desperately you want to find the source, the whole of your being wracked by an intense need to satisfy that overwhelming nostalgia.

...imagine your surprise when you realize it's coming from a patch of mold. Ew.

Gain +1 AP. ))

Rock Kandy had encountered the mold before, but it didn't help her when she was trying desperately not to miss what she had left behind her. For what? For riches and fame? Those things seemed so small in comparison to the little things that she'd left behind at home. She brought one of her rock candy sticks from her bag as she stood over this new patch of mold. She almost wanted to touch it, to carry the scent with her.

Oh come now, that would be pushing things. She thought. Mold was gross at the best of time and mold from an unknown realm could be dangerous. Metamora wouldn't want her to put herself in harm's way. She perked her ears, breathed in a smell of home and then bit down hard on her rock candy stick, the gritty texture jolting her back into reality. As unreal as reality seemed at present, she had to keep moving forward. She would get through this, she would get home and hopefully, she would return with friends from the journey too.

 

[belloblossom]

((There's nothing here. Just more rocks.))

Kandy was happy for some peace. She passed around the rocks. They didn't seem outwardly strange or foreign, which was somewhat of a relief. She wasn't certain how much more nostalgic mold or twinkling glow patterns she could encounter on this trip, before she started crying. She was surrounded by ponies - she couldn't cry in front of them, no matter how much she missed Metamora. How long had it been since she'd left? She turned her gaze to their guides... though she reflected that she was just as much a guide to them at this point, since they seemed a bit... uncertain. She flicked her ears.

Maybe she could ask one of them about how long they'd been searching around this mushroom-filled cavern? She couldn't quite remember it herself.

 

[SwordOfTheNagas]

1/3
Prize already claimed.
Buried treasure? :: As you travel, you note that patches with no mushroom or lichen are actually quite rare - enough that when you see a spot of dirt with nothing on it, you pause to take a moment and examine it. As it turns out, there's a small section of stone that's actually movable, revealing a small hole in the ground with a tiny charm inside. Excitedly, you pick it up, relishing in this miniature treasure hunt you didn't know you were on!

Passhon blinked as he watched the patches pass by him. Stopping at a overturned stone he sighed. Looks like something was here and its not anymore. Fun. He looked around. It would of been great to find something here to take back home. A reminder of this amazing adventure...as boring as it was right now.