The Muck Pond

[Razorlance]

Tek listens to Ao and watches as he puts the wizard down. "I hope you are right Ao, though I have his device so maybe he cannot do much without it. Perhaps he could tells us how to remove the boulders blocking our way?"

[Pie]

-*HE looks around at the groff. Slowly...but shurly.. he picked a small bunch of groff and tasted it. It tasted like air... or a cloud in the beggining.. but slowly... it started to gather a tast, wich tasted like an almondy sweetnes, such of wich was never before made by muck or man. He looks quite shoked at the delectible tast of the groff. He then looks to the snake.*

why... this groff... its.... well..... how....*He sighs (as he is inaudible at the moment with shok) and looks of into the sea, and picks and eats another lump of groff.*

so..... do you have any recent news of what is hapening in the area of the muck pond?

[Nalaris]

"I meant no disrespect Illosep, God of Justice, but I am very litteral, and your body is quite a bit weaker than mine by appearance. I am blunt, but at least I'm honest." After speaking, Deimos steps forward, eager and nervous at the same time to see what power he would recieve. Would his percieved rudeness effect his ability? Could a curse be given in place of a blessing? Could both be given? Thoughts swirl through Deimos' head as he prepares to accept Fate.

[Schme]

(Sorry to take so long. Christmass and police constables and such. Not had much time on hand.)

MushBall was at first surprised at this suggestion. He had not at all considered any thing of the sort happening. It had been his intention to leave the whole forest behind, to move on to greater things and to keep it only as a fond memory. He had been preparing to give up all he had known and loved there. And he had not even known that nymphs could venture out of the forest. The idea had never occurred to him, them having been so much of the scenery. And even if they could, would she not miss her home terribly? This development was quite a shock for him.

But he realized that it was really not anything that unusual. After all, someone as great as himself was not a person that people liked to be without. His absence would surely be completely unbearable to the poor creature, and quite obviously anyone would want to serve and worship himself much more than the mild mannered, idle and cowardly Bassus. He almost felt sorry for being so charming and wonderful that Bassus’s servants begged to dessert the God for the great MushBall, but then again, he thought, he could not help it. It was his god given greatness, and who was he to deny the splendor and glory of their handy work?

And so he quickly weighed over the decision in his mind. If he took Yanisha along, she may slow might slow him down. Furthermore, he’d have to protect her, as those nymphs were so very weak and delicate, he did not think that at all look like they could hold their own in any of the epic battles he was sure to participate in. But then again, he thought, she will surely come in handy, as I am clever enough to make her useful, and besides, it would be downright cruel to deny the poor creature the ecstasy of his presence and the insurmountable joy that it was to serve him. He didn’t have the heart to do that to the poor girl. He was, after all, a very sensitive individual.

What did surprise and confuse him, though, was how quickly Bassus resigned himself that he had lost his servant, and how little resistance he put up to her defection, to spite it’s being inevitable. He always supposed that, seeing as Bassus was a God, he must consider all his subjects little more than property (especially seeing as he seemed to be fond of roasted pheasant). But he supposed it did not matter. Bassus had given her away, and that was that.


And so, MushBall agreed to bring Yanisha along. “Of course you may come, my forest beauty! It brings me great joy that you shall accompany me. It shall make my travels so much more enjoyable. How happy I am!”

MushBall said a final farewell to the people of the forest, and thanked Bassus greatly for his hospitality, and his generosity in letting Yanisha come with him.

He then set off, heading through the familiar forest on the path towards the farmers’ fields and to town.

[Leo Luncid]

Andrik could only seem to think to itself as it stands alone at the Muck Pond, but afterwards, for whatever reason, it turned to the path to the Groff Fields and made it's way there.

[Fleegle]

(For AoM and Razorlance)

"I am afraid there appears to be no way to communicate with this wizard besides gestures. Most wizards know the art of mindspeak... he looks rather young though, perhaps he has not learned it yet. He seems to be a bit of an amateur, don't you think?" Kikkik said. "At any rate, what do you plan on doing with him, Ao? You do not strike me as the murdering kind."
The wizard nodded at Ao as if he understood his gesture.

[Fleegle]

(Global statement)
The sun had now risen higher in the sky, about halfway to its zenith.

(For Pie and Leo)

"Oh! Much has happened lately. Just last night, the Pink Ones in the Village north of the forest attacked. Your brethren from the Muck Pond fought them back, but tragically a most wonderful two-headed creature by the names of Vex and Xev lost their life. It is most sad, but I was pleased to hear that their fellow creatures gave them a proper burial. In their death they shall provide nourishment for further life. As for the Pink Ones, last I heard Ilosep, God of Justice, cast a plague upon their town. Do not worry though, the plague can only affect the Pink Ones. None of the creatures of the Muck are in any danger."
As Resuso was talking, Andrik ventured into the Groff Fields, coming within earshot of Resuso and Ithicus. "Oh! How wonderful! Another wonderful creature! Won't you come near, help yourself to the crops around you, they are most wonderful!"

(For Nalaris)

"Very well. There may be some decency in you yet." Ilosep grumbled. "Honest. Indeed, that is a good quality to have. Justice depends on it." Ilosep shuffled back up to his podium and rearranged his bits of parchment.
"Court is back in session!" he announced. "Deimos, creature of the Muck! Your fate has been decided. From this day forth you shall have the power of MindCloud. You will be able to disorient any mortal being with a mist that can penetrate the mind. While under the mist's influence, the being will be unable to think clearly. You may only create one mist cloud at a time, and you will not be able to control how long it lasts, so use it carefully. That is all." Ilosep blew on his whistle. The voices rose up, then vanished again. He stepped down from his podium.
"I suppose its a reasonable fate. I can imagine all sorts of mischeif it could cause... I hope you will use it in the service of Justice and not just to hoodwink innocent creatures."

(For Schme)

As the pair walked down the forest path toward the large clearing, Yanisha began to sniffle. MushBall could see tears streaming down her face. "Mushy, there's something you need to know... I... once I leave the... the forest, I won't um... exactly... be... the same. You need to promise me that no matter what happens you will keep me with you... I am giving up a lot, leaving the forest, but... I want to spend my life with you, no matter where you go or what happens to me." At this last thought, she began to softly sob, though she wiped away the tears and tried to compose herself. They continued on to the larger forest clearing.

(For El_Skwidd and Lumin)

As Shaakh departed the Temple, he noticed that Squall still stood near the entrance, and the lizard girl still rustled about in the bushes by the edge of the forest, trying to stave off boredom while waiting for Squall to do her business in the Temple.

[Schme]

MushBall was a bit taken aback by this revelation. He had not at all known that anything of the sort would happen. Again he felt guilt in being so wonderful that people made irreversible changes to themselves just to be in his company. But the shame was short lived, as such a great visionary as himself did not have time for such things. It was blasphemous to be shameful of fulfilling his divinely appointed destiny.

“I do appreciate you telling me, dearest follower.” He said.”To spite my nerves of steel, it would have been somewhat disconcerting for you to change suddenly and without warning. You’re not too worry, Yanisha. I could never give up such a loyal follower as you. Only a fool would do so! No, I won’t have you fearing that.”

He really hoped that this change, whatever it would be, would not make her too upset. If she were sad, she might be distracted. He was somewhat uncomfortable that she did not tell him what this change would be, but he supposed that, seeing as it was making her very upset, it would probably be better if he did not bring it up. “Dwelling on that which makes you sad unnecessarily is great folly indeed.” He thought to himself, adding the phrase to his mental list of quotes that were sure to become world famous.

And so they continued on their way.

[Leo Luncid]

Andrik looked at Resuso and approached the two just within reach and bent and pulled off a handful of the crops and gripped it firmly, examined it, and tried putting it against where it's mouth should be, which is nothing but an iron surface. It then rubbed the substance off it's helm and it swayed from side to side, then made a few gestures: it put it's hand on it's chest and then used that hand to point to the forest up north. It returned it's eye contact at the snake.

[Nalaris]

Deimos is quite pleased with the ability he has recieved. It carries quite a reasonable advantage when combined with his powerful body. It also has no limit other than the number of clouds created. The minute one disperses, another is created.

Smiling over his new power, Deimos leaves the temple. Having overheard what Illosep said to Shaakh, Deimos considers his options. To the north was an impenetrable forest that could only be reached through the Groff fields to the east. To the south were hills and valleys infested with crazed wizards. Since Deimos possessed no aquatic abilities, attempting to cross the ocean was quite out of the question. What lay to the west of the Muck Pond? And what inhabited the cave?

Deimos decided his end goal would be to enter that cave and explore it, but before braving so great a danger it would probably be better to experiment and gain full control of his Mind Myst, which he felt was much more catchy than Mind Cloud.

"Illosep, can you tell me what lies west of this temple?"

[Fleegle]

(For Schme)

The pair reached the clearing. From here they could travel towards the Groff Fields or the Village.

(For Leo and Pie)

"Oh how awful... you poor thing, you cannot eat? However do you survive?" Resuso inquired. "And you do not have the mindspeech either? I suppose you make up for it with your wonderful form."
He angled his head toward the forest path. "There? That is the Forest. No, it doesn't really have a name, though it is the residence of the Lesser God of the Forest, Bassus, so you could call it Bassus Forest if you wanted. Bassus is a most wonderful god, though I am afraid his powers are limited. If you go through the forest to the other side you'll reach the Village of the Pink Ones. Ordinarily they are not very friendly, but right now they are mostly incapacitated by a terrible plague mighty Ilosep cast on them."

(For Nalaris)

"West?" Ilosep replied incredulously. "This Temple backs onto the forest, and it is quite impenetrable. No, I'm afraid if you want to go west you must go north to the forest path, go through the forest, head north of the Pink Ones' village, over a small bridge, and THEN you can go west. I know it's a long way around, but that forest is incredibly dense. I suppose if you went far enough south, through the valley, you could go west somewhere, but it's much faster going north."

[Schme]

MushBall chose to continue onward to the village. With the plague cast upon the heretics by the God of Justice, and with his incredible fighting skill, any pink ones who tried to block his path could be brushed off like so many insects.

And so onward he traveled toward the village.

[Fleegle]

(For Schme)

They made their way down the path toward the village. As they approached the edge of the forest, Yanisha became visibly more anxious. "I'm scared, Mushy." she said, looking worriedly into his eyes. All of a sudden she stamped her foot down and rubbed the tears out of her eyes. "But I made you a promise, and I'm going to keep it."
She held onto his arm as they stepped slowly out from under the tree cover. Yanisha grabbed at her stomach, doubling over in pain. She crumpled to her knees, though she still held on tightly to the squishy "flesh" of MushBall's arm. She sobbed as the change began to take place. Her skin turned a greenish hue, and she seemed to decrease in size. As MushBall looked at her, her body seemed to become hazy, like an apparition, only a little better defined. Momentarily, she started to lose her shape. She turned into a glowing ball that seemed to lose its weight as it floated into midair, suspended by nothing at all. The sparse clothing she had been wearing landed on the soft grass, falling through the ball like it was not even there. The ball wobbled and twisted, like a soap bubble in the wind. It shrank until it was not much larger than a walnut, at which point it floated over and rested on MushBall's shoulder. The ball began to take shape again, elongating itself into a long, thin form. Colour began to fill the shape as it gained definition, until MushBall saw Yanisha's final form. She had turned into a caterpillar.
"I am here, Mushy." he heard what sounded like Yanisha's voice, though it had the distinct ring of mindspeak. "I know I am hideous... I am sorry. I just wanted to be with you so badly. This is our curse... we cannot remain as nymphs once we leave the forest."

[Schme]

MushBall was rather uneasy to see that the transformation was painful. He did not quite like to see people subjecting themselves to pain because of him.

But, seeing Yanisha become smaller and smaller, and finally, seeing her take on the form of a caterpillar, he felt great relief. He had been very afraid that she would transform into some kind of Tagus like monster, and devour him whole, or some such unpleasant thing. He was in fact greatly pleased at this new development. He had been apprehensive about taking Yanisha along, as he found it very likely that her seize and height would slow him down. But now, he could easily carry her on his shoulder, and she would be no problem at all. “This form is much more convenient.” He thought. “I suppose she must be a bit upset, but transition is hard for some people.”

“Now now, Yanisha!” said MushBall in a tone of mumble he believed to be very comforting. “Sweetest, do not apologize! It is perfectly understandable for anyone to want to be in my company! No one can blame you for that! And I won’t have you saying that you are hideous! No, I shan’t have it! You are quite honestly the most magnificent caterpillar I have ever seen! Just the perfect caterpillar to be part of the entourage of MushBall the Great.”

He bent down, taking her in the palms of his hands, and raised her onto his left shoulder.

“Now, come up on my shoulder here, and we’ll continue on our journey. We mustn’t waste time you know. There are many places that I am needed, and someone as great as myself has responsibilities, as you well know. The masses are just seething in anticipation to see me, and I am much too kind to keep them waiting. I’m just that kind of person, you see. Sometimes my altruism amazes even me, it really does. Why, just the other day, I was walking along the road, and………”

And so onward he traveled, launching into a somewhat long diatribe about his numerous virtues.

[AoM]

Ao grumbles in earth and mindspeak: "I don't think I'm the murdering kind either, Kikkik. But I haven't been alive long enough to be sure, and if this one tries to kill my friends, things could change drastically."

Ao's tone, if such a thing exists in mindspeak, is gruff and unapologetic... 'set in stone' so to speak.

He then mindspeaks to Tek. "Can you get those rocks cleared with that thing?" As he speaks, he nudges the wizard to go in front of him, keeping a rocky hand on the wizard's shoulder.