Stage Four: Into the Deep Unknown

[Sesshiyasha]

36

Stalactite attack!

You're startled by a drop of icy-cold something running down your back... only to discover it was simply a drop of water from a rock above. Whew, but also cold!

It would seem after his spore misstep that hes still covered in spores from, that he had wondered back into the stalactites. He felt the cold drip that landed on his shoulder. He wondered if maybe the stalactites might wash away some of the spores, but he doubted it. Nothing else had worked to get them off yet.

 

[Sesshiyasha]

10

A forgotten secret

In an alcove seemingly unnoted by anyone else, you find a patch of darkness covering what seems to be a small present box. The paper is torn and mildewed, and you can only guess that its recipient has long since failed to receive it. Unable to help your curiosity, you open the decrepit gift, and a small charm falls and lands silently on a mushroom cap. You pick it up and decide to take it with you. Please immediately copy and paste the PRIZE CLAIM form into a new post. This prize is restricted to 1 persons. If another person rolls it before lore team gets here, they will not gain a prize.

Covered in spores and wandering through the caves still, he stumbled upon an alcove. He looked around the alcove and decided to rest for a bit. As he rested his hoof found something strange. He found a small present box and decided to open it? He wondered if anything was inside of it.

 

[ChexaRain]

Ah, and THIS was why travelling in groups sucked, Lydia mused to herself. She had a weird sense of déjà vu over the echoing of the voices behind her, bouncing back from the cave walls and making everything seem much louder and more crowded than it had before. This time she swore there were even extra voices bouncing back that didn't belong, and a shiver ran up her spine. This ghost-hunting business was just going tog et weirder and weirder, wasn't it? She sighed, too exhausted to even shush them this time. This time? Huh...

 

[Sesshiyasha]

Hey, I found a thing!​

Roll where you earned a prize: This Post <3
Link to any requirement rolls: None I don't think?
@polliwoggi

 

[SwordOfTheNagas]

2/3
A soothing scent ... ::
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.

There was a moment of pure sheer calm and serenity for him. He felt truly at peace in this place. He blinked as he picked up on the scent of fresh flowers. Flowers he could only find in the Grove. Hastily he got up to find the source of this scent. Where was it? Could there be a way for the Grove to link to this place?!? Oh he would love---he stopped short as he looked down to the patch of mold. He stilled before hanging his head on the verge of tears.

 

[ChexaRain]

Lydia swore on her life then and there that if she never had to look at another rock again, it would be all too soon. They had been walking forever, found something all of, maybe two times? The charm dangling from her waist was proof enough of that, but she knew there was more to be found. For some reason, however, they just weren't finding it, and the spores covering her body weren't any less.... well, spore-ish, clinging to her like a second skin. What she wouldn't give for just a pool of questionable water, if it at least washed off the layer of grime, she'd die a happy death...

 

[ChexaRain]

Lydia was destined for the curiosities, it seemed. No sooner had she looked away from the group, she spotted something down the tunnel they'd just come from. Not wanting to lose it, she quickly followed the path she'd seen it travel, only to find nothing. But movement out of the corner of her eye had her turning down another path, so many twists and turns that she started panicking. Where was she? The impending dread in her gut seemed to get worse with each passing second, the effect almost dizzying to the point she stopped walking altogether and clutched her head, fear of the unknown seeping into her bones..... and then, in a flash, it was gone. Her heart still thundered in her chest, but that fear she once held was almost entirely dissipated. She let out a huff and turned to rejoin the rest of them, a little more than slightly spooked, when a glimmer caught her attention. Hesitant at first, she quickly just figured 'the hell with it' and stuffed it into a pocket in her skirt. She wanted to hurry back, but everything could be a key down here, you never know...

Picked up a Ghost Tear

 

[SwordOfTheNagas]

3/3
It's a cave :: You continue your search for the way through the caverns. They really are quite rocky.

He sniffled a moment then started to slowly move again. He was done. He was so by-the-seasons done. He wanted to go home, he wanted his parent, he wanted to just curl up in his Uncle's tails and just hide from everyone. He felt the tears well in his multiple eyes. There was a long moment before they actually fell.

 

[ChexaRain]

Something creepy this way comes ...​

Link to where you rolled a Ghost Tear: Here~
@polliwoggi

 

[Natty-chan]

Walking among the well-lit paths of the mushroom caverns seems almost dreamlike, with the colors slowly winding from cyan to deep azure, and from rippling azure to sullen violet before glimmering back to that brighter tone. How such enchanting beauty exists unknown is a fanciful topic, and perhaps suited for the easy contemplation in such a setting, but you are unfortunately diverted from your thoughts by a particularly strange misstep.

As you step down into a slight indent, you're taken by surprise as you touch down into much softer ground. Moments later, you realize it isn't ground at all as a cloud of spores rises up around you, swirling upward into the glimmering light in a wave of a thousand colors - some familiar, and some strange to your eyes. You stumble backward, coughing and sneezing, but you find that the strange spores are absolutely clinging to you, leaving you awash in new tones.

Try as you might, you can't seem to get them to come off; you only hope they give up and fall off or can be washed off eventually.

First time only: Gain Covered in spores.

The search continues, and instead of being surrounded by rocks, Reaper finds himself amid a plethora of those mushrooms. The colors that they shined were amazing and awe inspiring, it was hard to believe some of the colors that shone were even real. So caught up in the light display, he didn’t notice what he was stepping on until he gets a face full of spores. Almost like colorful confetti, everything is covered by these little colorful specks. He mutters a bunch of profanities, wings flapping in attempt to shake them off; sneezing profusely to clear his nostrils. Little he did seemed to work though. ”Really?!” He sighed to himself, shaking his head and just walking along.

 

[Natty-chan]

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

Still muttering to himself about the spores, he kept walking down those caves. Back to rocks again, but right now, it was a lot better than mushrooms and their stupid spores. His wings were still flapping every now and then to try to blow them off his body… to much of his chagrin, without much luck.

 

[Natty-chan]

While you've seen a few things here and there, don't caves usually have more, you know, inhabitants?

Eventually, Reaper gets over his annoyance to concentrate on his search. During this whole time here, he’s seen mushrooms, rocks, and weird lights. But, oddly enough, he hasn’t seen any other things around besides the ponies in the team. Well, there was that odd spider thing from before… but he hasn’t seen anything since then. ”Weird...” He thought to himself as he walked along.

 

[belloblossom]

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

Rock Kandy was beginning to get tired of walking around in a cavern. Their guides weren't being very helpful. Was this trip all for nothing? The ghostly specter may have tricked them all into coming down here! May have managed to trick the princesses too! The next chill she felt wasn't from the dripping water off of the stalactites, but from the unease growing in the pit of her stomach. Or maybe that was just hunger. She reached into her saddle bag for a piece of rock candy to suck on. Her supply was diminishing. How long would it last? How long would she last?
((1/3))

 

[belloblossom]

((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...))

Kandy had been staying pretty quite for the majority of their journey. She had exchanged pleasantries with the pony who had offered her not one, but two chocolate chip cookies and had tried to offer some of her own sweets to others. However, save for those brief interactions, she let the others in her group talk. Kandy was beginning to feel so out of place. All of the ponies around her looked so brave. She could hear them talking behind her and her crystals shuddered - were they talking about her? Their voices echoed around the cavern and she hurried on ahead, eager to put the chatty ponies and the echoes, behind her.

((2/3))

 

[belloblossom]

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

As Kandy hurried forward, the echoes and chatting voices behind her did, eventually, fade. Breathing a sigh of relief, she looked around at the scenery. Oh goodness, even more rocks! She certainly hadn't been expecting that! Then again... she noticed how some of her fellow travellers now had unpleasant and colorful looking... fuzzballs? attached to their coats. She kept her distance - she wasn't going to get any contagious disease from those puffballs! She had a life to return to!

((3/3))

 

[houllow]

[17: Nothing at all... ]

It seemed like more and more ponies were getting covered with spores and a small part of Wei Ying wondered if that was something they were....doing on purpose? Or if being covered in spores did serve some purpose? Either way he wasn't entirely too keen on that and would have preferred to avoid it, if possible.

Thankfully it didn't look like he would encounter spores, as there was nothing around him but rocks. If the Suli had been a pony who loved rocks this would be paradise, but alas he was not.

 

[houllow]

[ 17: Nothing at all... ]

Rocks rocks rocks, rocks rocks rocks. So many rock roooocccks. Wei Ying was feeling like crying might be the best option as he continued along, seeing more and more rocks. Had he passed that one rock before, was that why it looked so familiar? Or were they all looking the same because they were literal rocks and being able to tell them apart on first glance was beyond his knowledge and interest.

Thankfully the best part of this was no one was around him to slowly watch his decent into unhappiness. The Suli had something of a reputation to keep, after all.

 

[houllow]

[ 8: Beautiful luminescence ]

If it was more rocks Wei Ying was going to riot. His next encounter happened to be that same patch of beautiful luminescence that he'd seen before (was it the same? Who knew) and so the Suli paused to look and enjoy. It really was quite lovely and he wondered just how it had come to grow this way. Had something somehow or another lent a hoof, carefully guiding it? It really did feel like it had a purpose, even if it was one beyond his knowledge.

 

[Natty-chan]

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.

Despite his blunder with the spores, Reaper couldn’t help but admit that the mushrooms… while mysterious, were very beautiful. He couldn’t help but think it was a shame that the lovely display was stuck down in these caves, rather than out in the world where the other ponies could see them.

 

[Natty-chan]

In your searching, you finally find signs of life - or, well, something. It's a glint of light, different than the glow cast by the mushrooms, and as you round an impressive collection of stalagmites, you're greeted by a blaze of green flame - and a particularly startled looking pony.

At least, you think they're startled - it's rather hard to tell from their solid black eyes, but the rest of the expression is on point. You both take a jump back, but before you get a chance to speak, they're upon you! You brace for some sort of retaliation for the scare, but instead you're greeted with a shrill, excited voice.

"Wonderspores!" they cry, happily, and moments later you realize they're not concerned with you at all. Rather, they're apparently honed in on the myriad of colors clinging to your body.

"Where did you find them? I've been looking for days - how am I supposed to make a potion of wonder without wonderspores? Can you take me to them? You simply must!"

Unable to get a word in edgewise, you agree to take the ghastly pony to where you fell into the pit of puffballs; immediately they waste no time in shimmying down into it and gathering a huge basket - were they always carrying that? - of the things. When they re-emerge, their coat is completely different, a wild mess of hues and dusty spores over every inch but those unsettling eyes.

Before you can ask any questions, they hurry away; you follow after, hoping to get directions at the very least, but when you chance upon their camp again they've already set off into the caves.

You sigh, though moments later you realize that they have at least left a colorful trail behind them - hm...

Having more pressing matters than glowing mushrooms, Reaper keeps walking a long. His eyes dart to and fro, here and there, back and forth; almost as if his head was on a swivel. That’s how he noticed the glow… well, other than the mushrooms, though he hoped it wasn’t that glow from before either. Turning a corner and getting closer, his eyes widened in amazement at what seemed to be a campfire.

The fire, or the color of it, didn’t keep his attention long when he seemed to notice the pony that was along side it. So there were others down here. He thought to himself, too shocked… maybe even spooked to actually voice it out loud. Even if he did want to say something, Reaper didn’t get a chance before the other pony lunges themselves at him; his hooves shuffling back before tumbling, eyes closed expecting to be yelled at for scaring the other or for trespassing. He got neither. Instead, the other started talking about some ‘wonderspores’. He was completely clueless what they were going on about, until it finally hit him. His gaze looked over his multicolored fur, feathers and harness. Is that what these things are?! He thought again. If they knew what they were, maybe they knew how to get them off.

It was a shame he would never get a chance to ask. The other just went on and on, asking him where he found them. Since it didn’t seem they would be privy to answer any questions of his, he sighs and motions with his head for them to follow him. ”This way.” Was all he said before leading the ghoulish pony all the way back to where he collected his new ‘coat’. When they arrived at the pit, he watched as the other pony pulls out a basket. Reaper has seen so much at this point, he had no point in questioning where it came from; silently watching from where he stood while the other pony gathered what they needed. It seems the results were the same for the other pony, coated in these spores… though it didn’t really distract from the dark eyes. Perhaps now he could get some answers. Nope. They were already heading back in the direction of their camp. With a snort, he quickly followed suit after them; hoping they were at the camp making this potion of wonders as they called it. Turning around the stalagmites yet again, that was a big negative as well. There was no sign of them what so ever. Well… besides a very colorful trail. At least he and the group could follow that.