While Maddy and Alex were conversing with the adult myconid and Hue was clearly deep in mushroom heaven, Precious leaned onto his staff and looked around with interest. Very little here that had been crafted in the way he knew it, but rather grown and guided, as well as no doubt adapting to the natural lay of the land. It was very different to the dwarven approach – not that they wouldn’t make use of a handy piece of terrain if it suited their purposes and incorporate it into the design – but it certainly fit the people living here.
Loobamub put his big hands on Hue's shoulders, stopping him in his tracks. ::Easy, fungus friend! I do not know the answers, but the Circle of Sowers and the Circle of Growers will surely be happy to talk to you. But first, Maddy and other friends of Stool, you must go to the Central Basin and speak to the sovereigns. They will want to know what you have seen in your travels.::
Stool nods, clearly nervous, and Loobamub adds, ::Be careful if you wander in the fungal wilds. There are some creatures that are very dangerous. A grick alpha has gone quite mad, and we are trying to find and kill it, so Basidia can reanimate it in a better way. A shambling mound is exhausting the soil, and needs to be put down for the good of our colony. If you come across them and have the means, please kill them for us.::
The journey to the central basin is short and eerily beautiful. Mushrooms, molds and fungi grow in abundance, creating a bizarre yet beautiful tapestry of colour. Luminescent lichens grow across the cavern and spread to the larger mushrooms, bathing the grove in soft hues of yellow, blue and violet. Dim light suffuses the grove, and lends it a dreamlike quality.
You see a few myconids around; they shyly hang back, though another sprout waves at Stool. Everything is very quiet, as the myconids communicate telepathically, so there is none of the clamor and chatter than would normally come in even a small village. Though you do occasionally hear strains of soft music coming from beyond the grove.
Soon you come to the main part of the myconid colony. A central circle mound is the only truly dry place, as it rises above the marshy ground of the grove. A small cliff rises above the cavern floor far across the clearing, with enormous mushrooms visible in the distance. Bioluminscent fungi trace strange constellations along the cavern's ceilings and walls, showing the darkness of the ravine and a mist-shrouded smaller cavern beyond.
Upon the mound you see five myconids. Sovereign Phylo towers above the others, its multiple caps swaying with the sinuous shifting of its thick stalk as it moves. Sovereign Basidia is shorter, but still very tall, with a single, wide flat cap a beautiful indigo colour. Three other strangely shaped myconid adults are attending them. As they see you coming, they puff out the now-familiar sight of the rapport spores, and you breathe them in.
::Stool! You have returned to us!:: The pleasure in Phylo's mental voice is enthusiastic. ::Who are these softers who accompany you?::
Stool's familiar mental voice shyly introduces each of you. The sovereign proclaims, ::You are safe, friendly softers! You arrive at a wonderous time, for Neverlight Grove is on the verge of something great, something marvelous! Celebrate, as the day of joy is nigh!:
Maddy nodded as Loobamub mentioned the potential threats that he would like dealt with should they come across them. A shambling mound sounded self-explanatory enough but she wasn't sure she knew what a grick alpha was.
As the group turned to take leave of Loobamub, Maddy felt the need to warn him of the creature they had encountered. ::On our way here, we spoke with a creature that was gangly, two-legged with brown-black skin, and its head seemed to be entirely made of one enormous eye. It didn't attack but it didn't seem friendly either. Do you know what it was? And there was a vrock demon not far from here. We managed to sneak by it but it is probably best to be on guard::
The journey through Neverlight Grove was truly amazing. Maddy had never seen anything like it. The glowing lights of differing colours were absolutely breath-taking.
Maddy smiled at the obvious joy in Sovereign Phylo's mental voice upon seeing Stool. Hearing that they had arrived just in time to witness something great was even better news. It was about time that something good had happened in the Underdark.
Wow these colors
Alexandras eyes switch between purple and blue
They are even prettier in when looked at through shadows
She just watches happily
Hue stood fixed in space by Loobamub’s out of scale hands and remembered where he was, snapped to his wits by Loob’s warnings, ::Shamblers! I was right! I’ve encountered one before but, you know, only to run from. How do you fight a Shambler?::
::Are Grick faerie-types?::
Hue looked out into the grove and waited for the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end (as it did when certain creatures were about).
Hue smelled the air and focused on faraway. His eyes became distant and goose-flesh formed on his neck as the hairs stood on end. ::Something is near, sure enough. Oh, something big!:: He leaned into it and tried to get more.
His eyes went big. Those who were next to him could see his eyes dilate to their maximum extent. His body seized like a wrung cloth. ::too much:: He fell to his knees and looked around him. ::Further down the cavern but also ... there ... no, there ... and there::
He crawled desperate and sweaty to the nearest glowing mushroom and put his back against its' glowing flesh. He tried desperately not to look out into the depths of the cavern.
"Frond ash herder ... flind ash farber ... hunching fundush berber hound dap carver ... shompding farbish feender done the caburn ... something fiendish further down the cavern ... sound the alarm!" He kicked out as he clung to the giant fungi, not like he was fighting something invisible but more like he was warding off something should it suddenly appear.
... something fiendish further down the cavern ... sound the alarm!"
Maddy was instantly on guard as Hue raised concern about something being near. She pulled on Kip's rein to stop her mount. When the halfling began to physically react, she becamse more concerned and unbuckled herself from the saddle to dismount. It seemed to her that he may hurt himself in his distress so she moved to his side.
She Crouched beside Hue and put her hand firmly on his shoulder. Maddy hoped her presence would provide some comfort. She looked down at Hue but mentally questioned the group, ::Do you guys think the vrock followed us? Stool, could something have gotten this far into Neverlight Grove? I could take Kip and scout ahead::
Hue clung to the mushroom like he was standing on a building's ledge, "bigger"
I meant for Hue to be reacting to Loobamub's talk about the grick and the shambling mound. He was trying to find the grick (which I think is fey) using his 'primeval awareness'.
Loobamub says, ::Gricks aren't of the fey, they're simple monsters.:: He went silent for a moment as Maddy asked about the creature she'd glimpsed, and Stool transmitted an image of it. Surprised, he added, ::That's a nothic! An aberration, a twisted softie, we don't usually...::
Then Hue began to react to whatever it was he had sensed, and Stool projected his fear and panic. The myconid hunter stands taller, turning in a circle and scanning the area. ::Further in? Not possible. Beyond is the Garden of Welcome, and the Sovereign's cavern. Nothing more.::
He crouches down by Hue, and gently takes one of his small hands in his oversized palm. ::Softies struggle with living in the dark. Perhaps this is an ailment of the mind? The sovereigns can help him.::
Maddy looked from Loobamub to Hue and back again, ::So you think this is in his mind and not real? Because I can go and make certain that there isn't something lurking. A cavern seems like a place something may hide, more so than a garden::
::But if this is only something the sovereigns can help with then the sooner we should get Hue there. I can carry him with me on Kip::
Maddy looked with uncertainty around at the others. What were they supposed to do?
With Maddy close by Hue fumbled at her scabbard not waiting for her to remove it herself, "Oh, Dawnbringer! Get Dawnbringer!"
It is equally likely that my friend has lost his mind or there is something here...
The silent Kalanzar, who is not yet participating in the conversation, rightly assuming that the drow are not the most beloved guests anywhere in the Underdark, begins to look around, trying to notice something hidden. Of course, Hue's recent chatter, addressed to him and to which he responded only with nods, pushes the druid towards the thought of the halfling's madness, but... Who knows.
Maddy was so concerned about what was happening to Hue that she didn't notice what he was doing. Never in her wildest dreams would it ever occur to her that a friend would steal anything from her, even if they weren't in their right mind.
Hue fumbles the sentient sword from Maddy's scabbard, and implores it to shine brightly. The sword, though not bonded to Hue, recognizes him as a friend, and responds with enthusiasm. The full brightness of daylight burns forth from Dawnbringer, temporarily blinding everybody in the vicinity.
With a shout of surprise, Loobamub stumbles backwards, shielding his eyes with one giant paw. ::What is this? What has he done?::
Kalanzar becomes aware of other myconids coming nearer. A handful of adults, approaching with alarm.
Through all this, the grove remains silent, all the communication happening telepathically. Even the echoes of Hue's outburst are swallowed up by the marshy grove, giving the illusion of peace despite the turmoil among you.
Kalanzar blinks a few times, and then rushes to Huet, intending to take the sword from him. It would be funny if he stabbed me now... A completely inappropriate thought flashes through the drow's mind and he even manages to grin...
Hue didn't avoid Kal, nor any of his other friends, but held tightly to Dawnbringer and wouldn't let it go. His gaze turned in every direction as he poured his gratitude into the sword.
What is going on? Alexandra is confused
Daylight blossomed in an area where it shouldn't and Maddy immediately squinted against the brightness. She implored Dawn to dim the light. Dawn, Stool's people aren't used to this brightness. You're hurting and scaring the myconids by shining so brightly. Hue is not in his right mind, please dim your light
Audibly she cried out Hue's name as if he'd betrayed her. "Hue, stop! Before you hurt someone!" As she spoke, she reached for the halfling to bring him into a confining bearhug. Although the halfling was proving difficult to grab ahold of.
Hue let himself be grabbed by his friend but still held onto the sword for dear life, "Hur' someone! I'm saving them! Can' you feel i'! There! No over there! Every time I turn they disappear!!! I'm sure of i'. They're reporting back. Back to the big one!"
”Oh here we go ‘gain,” Precious muttered as Hue shifted from having a mushroom-related episode to a panic attack. He didn’t know what exactly had triggered this one, but considering the party’s previous experiences – including several of his very own! – he was more surprised it had taken so long for one of them to succumb again.
”Ach!” he grunted as somehow the halfling got his hands on Maddy’s sword and cranked the illumination up to eleven. Holding out one hand in a mostly futile effort to shade his eyes, he tried to reason with Hue before he did something more drastic... or before their hosts took enough offence to his antics and called one of the guardian critters over to subdue him… and perhaps the rest of them while it was at it.
”Listen to the lass,” he implored. ”Ain’t nothin’ that’s gonna creep up on ye here. An’ if there be… don’t ye think we’d all be better protected if ye went an’ gave the shiny pointy pig-sticker back to Maddy? She can outfight the rest o’ us combined, ye know?”
You underestimate my power Precious, but yes, Hue, not stealing of other peoples gear. Alexandra says
You he be for real though? Like, something lurking in his shadow?
She moves closer to Huet, and suddenly removes some covereing from her quite bright chainshirt which does reflect light
You see them via a mirror? Hue?
Kalanzar tears off his cloak and covers the blade with it, seeing that Hue let his friends grab him and now it will be quite difficult for him to prevent and throw the matter off the blade.
”... An’ if there be… don’t ye think we’d all be better protected if ye went an’ gave the shiny pointy pig-sticker back to Maddy? She can outfight the rest o’ us combined, ye know?”
Hue, "Tha' makes good sense. Hold i' high Maddy and don't le' the ligh' go ou..."
Kalanzar tears off his cloak and covers the blade with it, seeing that Hue let his friends grab him and now it will be quite difficult for him to prevent and throw the matter off the blade.
Hue, "AHHHH!" He tried to rush back to the mild comfort of the glowing mushroom but was stuck, held by his friends.
You see them via a mirror? Hue?
Hue searched the shinyness of Alex's mail, "See them? I don' see them a' all! Bu' they're ou' there! Can' you feel them watching?!"
Maddy held tightly to Hue but didn't want to ignore his concerns entirely. "Don't worry, Hue, Dawn won't go out but she will adjust her light so that it doesn't hurt or scare Stool's people."
With much grumbling inside her head, Dawn agreed to Maddy's request and dimmed the light to a more tolerable level. Maddy shook Kalanzar's cloak off of Dawn and figured they had reached a balance between everyone's needs.
::Loobamub, my apologies for startling your people with the sudden light. You said that the sovereigns can help our friend? Maybe we should go to them quickly and get this sorted::
Hue stood directly under the much dimmed Dawnbringer like it was an umbrella. He jumped at shadows and went wherever the sword went.
The journey to the central basin is short and eerily beautiful. Mushrooms, molds and fungi grow in abundance, creating a bizarre yet beautiful tapestry of colour. Luminescent lichens grow across the cavern and spread to the larger mushrooms, bathing the grove in soft hues of yellow, blue and violet. Dim light suffuses the grove, and lends it a dreamlike quality.
You see a few myconids around; they shyly hang back, though another sprout waves at Stool. Everything is very quiet, as the myconids communicate telepathically, so there is none of the clamor and chatter than would normally come in even a small village. Though you do occasionally hear strains of soft music coming from beyond the grove.
Soon you come to the main part of the myconid colony. A central circle mound is the only truly dry place, as it rises above the marshy ground of the grove. A small cliff rises above the cavern floor far across the clearing, with enormous mushrooms visible in the distance. Bioluminscent fungi trace strange constellations along the cavern's ceilings and walls, showing the darkness of the ravine and a mist-shrouded smaller cavern beyond.
Upon the mound you see five myconids. Sovereign Phylo towers above the others, its multiple caps swaying with the sinuous shifting of its thick stalk as it moves. Sovereign Basidia is shorter, but still very tall, with a single, wide flat cap a beautiful indigo colour. Three other strangely shaped myconid adults are attending them. As they see you coming, they puff out the now-familiar sight of the rapport spores, and you breathe them in.
::Stool! You have returned to us!:: The pleasure in Phylo's mental voice is enthusiastic. ::Who are these softers who accompany you?::
Stool's familiar mental voice shyly introduces each of you. The sovereign proclaims, ::You are safe, friendly softers! You arrive at a wonderous time, for Neverlight Grove is on the verge of something great, something marvelous! Celebrate, as the day of joy is nigh!::
Hue forced himself forward through the hellscape of the grove. Between every stalk and mound was the threat and the threat was clear. WHY DIDN'T THE OTHERS SEE IT! An old voice appeared, the voice that helped him when he was alone in his barrel with his broken oar. Mostly he hissed at himself but, every once-in-a-while he shouted out at his friends or the nearby myconoids, "stay calm, Mr. Hue, stay calm ... you stay calm! They're everywhere COME OUT YOU MANIACLES!!! no, no, look a' your friends. Are they reacting? ... they don' see, only I see, Mr Hue, surely you can see ... course I can bu' we're in this together ... sure we are WATCHOU' BEHIND YOU! They can' see, they don' know. I's heeeeere."
He spun and walked in stops and starts. He was slowing everyone down. The sweats started and his skin went pale but he saw the others and they were continuing on ... to safety???
-
::Stool! You have returned to us!:: The pleasure in Phylo's mental voice is enthusiastic. ::Who are these softers who accompany you?::
Stool's familiar mental voice shyly introduces each of you. The sovereign proclaims, ::You are safe, friendly softers! You arrive at a wonderous time, for Neverlight Grove is on the verge of something great, something marvelous! Celebrate, as the day of joy is nigh!::
Hue had made it all the way to the Neverlight Grove but he couldn't hold it in any longer.
" Wai'aminute ... 'joy is nigh'? " His voice was going horse.
Maddy tried to keep Dawn as close to Hue as she could which meant she led Kip instead of riding him.
She was torn between not wanting to offend their hosts and joining Hue in his warning. Did this joy have something to do with the dancing myconids they had already encountered? That had seemed off to her then but if the joy the sovereign spoke of was due to something else then there was no need to panic their hosts.
She figured that the thing they needed to do was get Hue in a calmer state of mind since the presence of light didn't seem to be helping as much anymore.
She couldn't remember if Sovereign Phylo had shared his spores with them or not but trusted Stool to translate if needed. ::Sovereign Phylo, our friend Hue has been feeling distress ever since entering Neverlight Grove. Loobamub, who met us along the way, said that the sovereigns would be able to help him. Is this true? Is there something you can do to help Stool's friend?::
---------Earlier with Hue and the shiny mail-------------
I occassionally feel as if my Patron is watching me from my own shadow, which I find more comforting then alarming. Perhaps I am less suseptible to whatever it is that affects you because I am spoken for, so to speak.
She speaks politely to Hue, while he seems unhinged, she is not discounting that he may be on to something.
------------------------------------------------------------
We have encountered some... serious threats to sanity along the way, it may just be stress, but it may be hostile action. There are things which attack their targets sanity, rather then their bodies, and one of these things is... of the kind one should not mention, for if it is mentioned, it may know the location of who did the mention.
Alexandra speaks neutrally and politely
Nor do I wish to perturb your society by making an image of it, although to do that is within my capability.
Day of Joy? That is an odd thing to say for a subterran Myconoid, perhaps it is a translation? Could this imply a degree of... contamination from something that has a day night cycle? Alexandra may note something with a degree of alarm
The two sovereigns look at each other, and you get the sense that they're communicating. Phylo turns back and cocks several of his multiple caps towards them. He lowers one many-fingered hand towards Hue's head, and asks, ::May I examine you, Friend Hue?::
Hue braced himself too afraid to refuse as Phylo's hand grew closer ::Ahhhhhhh, Okay?:: He trembled and glanced at the nearby shadows.
Lady Yzalina, do you hear me? Alexandra tries to think very very strongly about her patron, as she knows that her Lady sometimes listens
We are negotiating with 2... Myconoid sovereigns right now? I have no idea if you can telepathically communicate to me, but if you want to open relations with them via me I would be gratefull to assist. They certainly have an eye of beauty.
A puff of spores is exhaled from Phylo's hands as they lower gently to Hue's head. Many small tendrils extend from the extremity, massaging gently around the halfling's head and shoulders.
You hear the sovereign's voice in your head, gentle and caring. "Would you accept my lady's blessing? She can cure you of your fear and your pain. There is nothing dangerous here."Hue cringed at the hand like someone who was used to getting hit but then tried to relax. It wasn't working. He remembered the dancing myconoids they'd met near the water weird. He remembered Voosbur's words, 'The Lady is wise and powerful! She loves all myconids, and those who worship her. She has led us here, and we can travel with her, back to our home. We have been enjoying our time here, but soon she will take us away, back to our homes ... The Lady will care for you, if you allow her to."
He thought at the time 'The Lady' was a sweet syrup on a rotten apple, at trick, a lure, like the picture plant or an angler fish. Had he been wrong? Was the Lady really helping? The dancing myconoids seemed so tired but hadn't they all been taken away to some other place, away from the dark.
Away from these shadows.
He thought back at Phylo ::You see her in your dreams? Beautiful. The colour of Zurkwood before you cut it down ... with head tendrils like trillimac, and eyes like fire lichen?:: He waited for The Lady's blessing.
Hue breathes deeply as the sovereign myconid holds him. A swirl of spores seems to dance around the two of them.
Sovereign Phylo releases Hue and stands up to his towering height. "I believe he will feel better now. Please, you must stay and take your rest here. Explore Neverlight Grove and enjoy its beauty. Just stay away from the Eastern Plateau for now, as the Circle of Masters is preparing a wonderous and glorious surprise in the Garden of Welcome. We will help you any way we can, and answer any questions you have. There is clean water, plentiful food, and a safe place to sleep."
Hue looked terrified as Phylo reached for him. He tried to stand still. He tried to breath deep as the spores entered him. He was miserable at both. His wide eyes relaxed. His posture relaxed. He breathed a long breath out and his shoulders dropped.
He looked about at the myconoids he’d alarmed with his wildness and his shouting and the corners of his mouth fell.
”oh”
He looked over at Dawnbringer and slouched.
”OH”
He looked at Maddy and looked down at his feet.
”Oh no”
”Thank ye, Sovereign, fer the welcome an’ fer helpin’ our li’le ‘shroom enthusiast in ‘is moment ‘o need. A spell o’ peace an’ quiet would be a much-needed boon ‘fore we continue on our path to Blingdenstone. An speakin’ o’ that… could ye perhaps set our feet on the right path? Makin’ one’s way through these tunnels an’ caverns o’ the darkness under be a bit much fer most o’ us,” Precious said, with a nod in Kal’s and Jimjar’s direction, to exclude the Underdark natives, ” an’ I’d prefer not to walk a week past the previous junction only to realize the tunnel veers ‘way in the wrong direction after all or comes to a dead stop.”
Maddy put her hand on Hue's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It's ok, Hue. We're just glad you're feeling more like yourself."
::Besides, Dawn was more than happy to shine::
Maddy wanted to ask the halfling more about what he had sensed but figured now was not the time. She didn't want to risk another episode just as things had calmed. However, she couldn't shake the memory of the dancing myconids and wondered if the joy the sovereign spoke of could actually be a bad thing.
With Maddy's hand on Hue's shoulder, he chanced to be a little braver and looked up.
Everything looked to be glowing with life. He couldn't understand what it was at first then he figured it out, it was beauty. The fungi about him glowed SO much brighter then he first perceived. It was hard to hold in his heart. Joy and peace and beauty. How could a shadow ever be dangerous here.
This place was perfect.
Hue looked up at Maddy, "I's so beautiful. I' looks like music."
He looked to everyone else and spoke aloud, "We should res'. A good hour. Then we should go ou' and find tha' shambler, and the grick. They'll need i'."
Sovereign Phylo nodded his head, and several secondary caps nodded too. ::I know little of the lands beyond the grove, but the Circle of Explorers can help you. And perhaps Sovereign Basidia, as they came from away.::
The second sovereign, smaller than Phylo but not by much, had a lovely blueish cap and fewer extraneous caps and limbs. . It bobbed its head and shared mentally, ::Yes, I can help. Let me show you around Neverlight Grove, and perhaps I can answer some of your questions.::
Basidia leads you away from the Inner Circle, and up towards the southern terraces. As you walk away, you hear Stool say softly into your mind. ::Something is wrong. The harmony between the sovereigns doesn't feel right.:: You get the sense that this wasn't broadcast to Basidia.
Hue thought back at Stool, ::Just between us ...:: He looked around at his friends. ::It stinks like sour mash. I ... don't dare ... open myself up to it again but, the panic I was in, the fear, started when I felt something. Something bad. It's hard to try to remember: Hue winced. ::Like 'Sloobludop Bad' in the direction of the eastern plateau. Honestly, can we risk the hour's rest?:: He walked forward a bit until he had a vantage point to see the Neverlight Grove a little better. ::This is the most wondrous place I've every seen. If we don't do something now ... I'm going to snoop::
::I know::
::It's bad form to snoop when we have such hospitality. Mum used to say, 'A great guest makes their host feel at home.' But she also said 'Sometimes, you have to offer mushrooms through the back window'. I'm going. Next opportunity to sneak away.::
::Something IS poisoning the underdark and it's either following us or we're following it ... or, it's everywhere::
Hue tightened his belt, smiled a brave smile at their guide, looked at the grove, and his eyes welled up.
::I ain't terribly fond o' this whatever great thing they be waitin' fer,:: Precious confessed, noting Basidia's sidelong glances at Hue. ::Bring to mind the 'shroomfolk we met earlier? The fellow Voosbur an' 'is mysterious Lady with her gifts, all that dancin' 'round feelin' almost forcefully 'appy? Seemed unnatural to me. 'haps something similar be happenin' here as well? Stool, these here be yer people, an' hard fer me to read... do ye git similar vibes from here or ye think this here be somethin' different kinda wrong?::
Maddy smiled down at Hue, "I agree, it is the most beautiful place I have seen in the Underdark. Although I can't speak to how music looks."
She thought that things were looking up until she heard Stool's voice in her head. ::If something is wrong then we will help you make it right::
Maddy couldn't help but have her eyes continually drawn to Sovereign Basidia. They were so regal and different from anyone she had ever met. It was while she kept glancing at Basidia that she noticed that the sovereign was continuously looking over at Hue, and with concern. Did they know something more about what was plaguing Hue that they weren't sharing?
She trusted those she traveled with so when they expressed additional concerns, she listened. ::If something is wrong, Sloobludop wrong, then we owe it to Stool to set things right. Besides, if there is evil growing in the Underdark then I think it would be silly to think it won't spread to the surface::
I dont hear my patron and she doesnt answer me, my powers work though. But yeah, lets investigate
Alex says as she tags along with Hue
Hmm Hue, sometimes bouts of madness are enemy action, could it be something put a mind whammy on you?
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Hmm Hue, sometimes bouts of madness are enemy action, could it be something put a mind whammy on you?
::I've been a 'shroomer for a long time now, from a tween anyway. My work's given me a kinda sense of things. A smell on the air. My hackles rise. And no two kinds of creatures are alike. With restless dead things I smell a foulness in the air. With aberrant growths, the hairs on my neck stand on end. With devils and angels, the backs of my hands get itchy. It's different for dragon things and fey things and elemental things::
::This time 'round I felt like I was looking into the sun, except the sun was half-days walk away and it wasn't golden. It was a big black hole of nothin. I couldn't close my view of the thing and my good-sense went blind. Then all of the shadows, I understood, for a while, they'd all come from this 'way too big nothing'. They were bad. They were waiting in the corners and they wanted to do bad to us.::
::It was like I was looking for a sip of water and then someone threw me in the ocean and I forgot how to swim and I ... I ...::
Hue started to talk to himself in a whisper, "Now now Mister Hue. Remember wha' happened las' time ... oh, good of you to poin' out Mister Hue ... Well, we go' to have each other's backs now don' we ... righ' we do, Mister Hue, righ' we do."
Hue breathed in and out and looked at Alex, ::It didn't feel like an attack. It felt like I opened a door and took a peak at something and that something was too much. But, really, what do I know::
Stool was listening carefully, and you could tell the sprout didn't know what to do. ::Sovereign Basidia feels the same as when I left. Sovereign Phylo...they never talked about this celebration before, or days of joy.:: You can sense a deep unease in Stool.