Myconid Patch

The things done in that room would not be spoken of, less Toad himself wished to reveal to his friends just what he had done with the lesser oni. Of course, the creature itself wouldn't speak, it simply couldn't. No, that lesser oni was good for one thing and one thing only, and Toad had just learned what. The tired shrooms would retire to their beds for the night, a long day of training and...activities under their belts. It seemed things were progressing well for the Myconids. Toad was growing stronger and stronger, getting ever closer to true power and now he would be able to usher in the next age of Myconids.

Spoiler:

Toad would wake up sore as a mother fucker in the morning, the previous days activities were more than apparent in his plant-like body. It would take a few minutes for the Myconid to get out of the leafy mass that was his new bed, and a few more just to clean himself off after the events just before falling asleep, by the gods, who knew a lesser Oni was capable of doing such things to a plant, toad would never feel clean again. After getting himself ready for the day, Toad would look back upon his new companion who was still just laying there, and would release a cloud of his sporelingo to list over their body so Toad could at least communicate with the being. "Get up and follow me Fang" He would say to his new mate, which he hoped would listen to his command. Today was a day of exploration for his team and any others who wished to join him, and he wanted to figure out what exactly this creature was capable of doing. He would go on out to the main area of the patch noticing both Mushrio and Mushpea standing around waiting for their team leader to return, but were shocked to see the Lesser oni that followed. "Alright, you all know the deal. We spent yesterday training, today we are going out into the world to explore a bit more." He would say to his group, leaving the patch.

[Mushtoad and Company]

Mushtoad and the rest of the hunting party would arrive at the patch just after nightfall with a new addition of a wolf pup that was rather pleased that after joining up with these walking fungi had been fed quite a lot. The group itself was feeling rather accomplished, exploring a bit further away from the patch, gathered a yellow baboon for nutrients and other materials. So Toad would drag the body back to his little corner and get himself situated. "Pea and Rio, get some sleep. Ruff come on over here, I have a couple snacks for you before you go to bed as well." The myconid would say to the group before the other two shrroms would make their way back to the soft patch of soil and going to sleep for the night. The pup on the otherhand would look at the Baboon body with hunger, but would be snapped out of it's blood haze by two stones being placed in front of it. One firery red, and one that seemed to be sparking with a small bit of energy. "Eat these up quickly before going to sleep." With that the Pup would pretty much inhale the two mana stones before curling up next to Toad in order to sleep. Just before going to sleep himself, Toad would spend a couple hours doing a slow carve of the beast, keeping any materials near him and the pup, and placing any nutrients deep in the soil where those who have yet to wake up could get some added food in the soil.

what doing:

Mushautumn shuffled into the patch with Elfbeau and Slothtress in toe, motioning for them to drag the carcasses of the two tanuki over to the corner Autumn had made their own. Autumn knew they didn't have the skill to harvest what was needed from the Tanuki, so they instead turned to the patch at large "Does anyone know how to carve beasts? I'm willing to share the spoils with whoever helps out!" If someone came over to help them out with their carving, Autumn would give them thanks and sit off to the side with Elfbeau. If no one came to help, she would sigh a bit but still sit down with her elf companion. Slothtress wasn't as tired as they were, she was more wired than anything, so instead of sitting down she moved a bit away to practice swinging her pickaxe.

Beau was still looking at Autumn as though they hung the stars in the sky. It sent a strange feeling rippling through Autumn's entire form. Part of it made them uncomfortable, because even if Autumn had saved Beau from the wilderness there was still an undercurrent of captivity to their relationship. But another part of Autumn, a part they felt might be darker than they'd like to admit, loved the attention. Beau was starting to need Autumn, and they didn't hate it. Autumn realized they had been sharing a stare with their elven ward for a few long minutes, then Beau moved in of his own accord and pressed their bodies together. It was strange, but it felt...right. Like something the mush knew how to do on an instinctual level. They spent the night together in bliss, fueled by the adrenaline brought on by a battle hard fought.

What's Happening:

Gained:

OOC for Toad:

The Black Wolf pup would sniff the stones before taking one after the other in its mouth and choking them down. It would let out a low rumble, its stomach quaking and unsure what exactly was happening. The pup suddenly felt quite full, nearly too full as it selected a corner to lay down in. There was some small pain as the pup began to drift off into an uncomfortable, restless sleep. Meanwhile, Mushtoad made short work of the baboon, able to retrieve a perfectly good femur for clubbing things and a makeshift loincloth from the creature's fur. Not too shabby.

Upon waking up the next morning, Mushtoad would be greeted by the slobbering tongue of what was once his black pup but was now a full grown, orange wolf. The creature seemed to be charged with energy and perhaps even more, but it was also a good bit larger than it once was. It cocked its head at toad, seemingly unaware of its growth spurt and wagged its tail with happy anticipation.

OOC for Autumn:

A small shroom would wander over, curious as to why something would offer up its kill. It looked the Tanuki carcasses up and down before turning to Autumn and communicating with them through sporelingo. I carve at least four pieces from this. Take best two for payment and half meat. Rest yours. With no qualms from Autumn, the fungus would get down to work, tearing away flesh and bone. The Myconid would walk away with some meat, a nice looking shield, far better than the one he tossed towards Autumn, and a thick fur top. He was baffled as to why the creature didn't want to at least watch him work and try to learn, but shrugged and was simply happy to get such a great deal out of it all.

As for Mushautumn, they would seem to day dream for several hours, staring directly at the elf. After awhile, Beau became a bit unnerved by the strange stares from the shroom companion and would wander off to bed. Whatever Autumn was dreaming about, hopefully it was pleasant, as they would eventually drift off to sleep as well.

When Autumn woke in the morning, she stretched out her arms with a loud yawn, then reached next to her looking for Beau. When her hand touched nothing she realized she was alone and that last night's "events" where a dream. It brought a heat to her cheeks to think she was having such...fantasies. She would've thought on it more, but she realized something else: everything was different. The world around her was larger, and her body didn't feel like it did yesterday. When she looked down at herself she gasped loudly enough for the whole patch to hear. Her stalk was gone, replaced with a body not unlike that of her elf companion. But it was different in that she had small breasts and she was lacking specific...equipment between her legs.

Her skin was different as well. Gone was the pale flesh of her stalk, now she was a rich brown color not unlike the bark of some of the lighter trees in the forest. And her cap was replaced with hair! Beautiful curly hair that bounced when she looked about. When she rose, she didn't use her legs. Her wings lifted her a few inches into the air and placed her on the ground. She had WINGS! Mixiautumn (she didn't know how she knew her new designation, she just did) let out a small squeal and went looking for the matron of the patch "Mushgran! Mushgran!!"

Mushroad had tried to wake up on his own in a couple more hours considering the busy day that they had, and of course, the fact that he had precious cargo growing within his belly at the moment as well. Instead no he was being woken up by something rather moist on his stalk, not moist like he experienced with his mate, this was in a different spot on his body and a lot bigger, less dribbly. When he opened his eye holes he would in fact be looking at something a lot bigger, and different than what he had expected to wake up to. The pregnant Myconid would look at the happily grown wolf, and would instantly notice the colour change on the wolf. "Okay, thank you for waking me up, but please next time do it a little nicer" He would say to the Orange Wolf as he got up from his horde of supplies that was left for the patch. However, what was more surprising was the high pitched spore talk of some tiny creature flying about the patch calling for Gran. "What happened to you?" Mushtoad would say to Mixiautumn as they flew by while trying to climb up onto the back of his new magic wolf.

Mixiautumn turned to Mushtoad with a glitter in her eye, taking a detour from looking for Mushgran to greet their fellow Mush...was he a "fellow" Mush anymore? Autumn wasn't a shroom anymore, that was sure. Her new body was evidence of that. She flittered over to Toad, alternating between running and floating with flaps of her wings "I don't know what happened, but it looks like I'm not the only one who changed!" She could remember the pup being smaller and black, but no less adorable, so she reached out to scratch behind one of his ears "I was looking for Gran to ask her about it. She told me about magic but she didn't tell me anything about...changing!" She motioned to her new nakedness. She was used to not wearing much clothes, but that was as a mush, as a...Pixie (again she didn't know how she knew what she was, she just felt it in her core) it felt a little more indecent. Maybe it was because she looked more like an elf now? She didn't think about it much more "Any plans for the day? Maybe we can test what I'm capable of now"

Mushtoad would inspect the pixie as it continued to float around him, and for some reason started to feel uncomfortable staring at their naked body, but couldn't for the life of him figure out why. So as she spoke about how Mushgran was supposed to explain how she had changed, Toad would look down at the loincloth that he was able to get from the yellow baboon and judge from the amount of material it should be enough to cover Autumn's bare body. "If you would like some coverings, there is the yellow fur from a creature we came across yesterday. It might be a bit large for you but it's better than nothing when out there" He would say scratching behind the opposite ear of OrangeRuff, then looking back at Autumn after they offered to do some training to see what they could do now. This was rather fortunate as today was a day for his hunting party to do some training as well. "That would be great! I learned something similar to what you are doing yesterday. Although it would seem I would need to get a bit higher up in order to do it, unlike you" Toad would state pointing out the Pixie's ability to float in the air. "However, if you don't mind I will be joining you alone. This big fella needs to eat, so I will send him out with Rio and Pea in order to gather some food and materials for the patch."

Ah yes my child, my so lively today. A soft voice echoed in Autumn and Toad's mental space. The elder shroom stepped out from around the tree that separated her sleeping quarters from the rest of the patch. She walked with a gnarled tree limb acting as a cane that honestly, could have been older than even she was. Her back, or rather stem, was hunched as she slowly moved towards her kin. My, my, She said with a squint, focusing on Autumn, These eyes of mine aren't what they used to be and you, you tiny little thing, don't make it much easier, but I'd say you've ranked up. Some sort of...Pixie I'd imagine. She said with a soft smile. How marvelous indeed, and you Mushtoad seem to have a new friend as well. She said to Toad, motioning towards the larger, orange wolf the Shroom sat upon now.

Mixiautumn would look down at herself for a long moment. She did feel more exposed now, but it wasn't a bad sort. It was, however, more dangerous because she could feel that she was more frail now than she had been before, and she had no armor "That's very kind of you, I'll wear it with pride." She said as she accepted the loincloth. She spent a few moments figuring out how best to wear it, but decided on wrapping it about herself like a dress. The yellow hue of the fur fit nicely with her new earthy coloring, making her hair and eyes seem more gold now than brown. Then Mushgran walked out from her sleeping quarters and Autumn turned to her excitedly. Pixie did indeed feel right, but not totally true to what she was. She had more to her, she just needed to figure out what "Have you seen mush turn into Pixies before, Gran? Ooh! Maybe our parents?"

Notes:

While Mixiautumn spoke to Mushgran about her rank up, Mushtoad would jump off the wolf's back and begin to walk over to the patch with the wolf following him. That is where he spotted both Mushpea and Mushrio waking up from their sleep. "Pea, Rio. You two are going to go out with ruff today in order to find us more food and materials for the patch. I would say head east for a couple of hours and find what you can in the area. Please keep an eye out for things we can grow, especially any poisonous things." He would say to the trio as they all nodded and gathered their gear before leaving the patch, this would probably give Autumn and Gran enough time to finish their conversation. Just in case they weren't finished, Toad would instead go towards the edge of the patch and begin climbing up the walls, hopefully, they were high enough for him to practice his new gliding skill.

OOC:

Mushgran regarded Autumn with a curious smile, Indeed, I have seen your kind before, though not often. You also seem...a bit different than the usual Pixies that flutter out of here from time to time. Perhaps you'll meet another upon the return of the Older Generation. We shall see. Gran would continue looking at Autumn, waiting for the small pixie to ask her anything else of note. If Autumn had nothing else, the older shroom would shuffle off to check on the youngest spores and make sure they were taken care of while this generation decided what to do for the day. Meanwhile, Mushtoad would climb expertly before launching himself off a rather high point. Miraculously, and for no real logical reason at all, the shroom managed to glide a bit and land safely in the patch.

Exp:

Mixiautumn nodded and took in Mushgran's words, then let her gran go and take care of the younger Mush. Autumn would walk over to Beau and Tress, both just waking up "You two go out with them too, see what you can find or learn from them." After that, Autumn would follow behind Toad, but partake in some training of her own. She'd spend time practicing her ability to move about unnoticed, slipping around the patch as quietly as possible and hoping she wasn't noticed by anyone else there. After a few hours of stealth-work (and a few scares for some of the less observant mush), she would spend hours tossing her viper fang and trying to get used to the weight of it, as it would have to do for now until she could get something better. When she got finished with that, she would work on her ability to examine others, focusing mainly on the mush around the patch. When Tress and Beau got back, they'd share their haul (if there was any) with Autumn before splitting off to do their own things as well: Tress practicing with her Shield and Beau with his Magic.

What's Happening:

Mushtoad would continue climbing up the walls on the patch as the rest of the hunting party left the area in order to do what they were tasked to do today, and after about ten feet he would take the first of many leaps he would do throughout the day. This was something that he knew would become useful to him later on in his adventures, because the past few days have proven to him that getting the high ground can be advantageous, but also dangerous.

What's Happening:

Only moments after the hunting party left on their trip, a new band of Myconids would appear in the Patch. These creatures were unrecognizable by all except for MushGranny, who hobbled over to them as quickly as her gnarled stem and cane could take her, Oh my, could it be? Do my old eyes deceive me? She chattered, nearly falling into the leading Myconid, who welcomed her with open arms. Ah, Granny, it has certainly been too long. We bring food, gifts, and creatures that can better serve the patch. Our crusade was most successful I would say. We exterminated numerous cur and relieved them of their possessions before they could waste them. We shall flourish. The Dryad said. He had long, brown hair the color of summer dirt and wings that would make the fairest Pixie jealous. Behind him, other Myconids brought in not only carts of food and supplies, but several Oni bound in chains as well. They paused, all taking their turns to say hello to Granny as well while the Dryad gazed across the patch.

His eyes settled on Pixautumn and Mushtoad as they seemed to be about to start a training session and, beyond the younglings, were the only Myconid currently in the patch. My, a pixie? It's been some time since we've had one of those. Most interest and a fine edition to our bloodlines, may they run pure and free as the forest. And you, my small mushroom friend, my you seem a bit rougher and tougher than the rest of your kind. Mind you, I mean no offense, it's actually rather a compliment. Compared to the others of your kind you're positively glorious. I look forward to meeting the spawn you make with our people. The Dryad said with, a strangely predatorial smile before introducing himself, I am Dryoak of the generation before yours. Perhaps Granny has told you of me. Please, we have plenty of food and supplies to share with our people. The cur we collected are also...free to use as you see fit. Though, mark me, you are not to free them for any reason. Work for you fine, but don't converse or give them anything unapproved. Best to be careful with these sneaky mongrels.

Spoiler:

Older Generation:

Mixiautumn found her attention drawn to the old generation as they entered, immediately moving over to get a closer look at them. Autumn found herself preening under the praise of the Dryad, her hand moving up once more to twirl a lock of hair between her fingers "Granny didn't tell us about you specifically. She said I might meet more Pixies but..." Autumn gave the group behind Dryoak a searching glance before pouting adorably "I don't think it's in the stars for me today...Anywho, I'm Mixiautumn! Thank you for all the food and the uh...servants seems like the nicest word for them." Autumn motioned to the Oni that were being ushered back to the breeding space.

An idea came to Autumn just in that moment, using her wings to flutter up to that she was eye-to-eye with the Dryad instead of being dwarfed by him "You've all been out and about, going on adventures and such for a while yes? I don't suppose you'd know anything about Magic? Or possibly ranged weapons? I got real tiny real fast so I'm looking for more ways to fight from a distance, and it would be wonderful if you had any knowledge to pass down to a young Pixie." She fluttered back to the ground, rising and staying in the air being tiring on her little pixie wings. But another thought came to her, Autumn fluttering up once more "Oh! And if you have any spare equipment or weapons around my size that I might be able to use, that would be swell too!"

Mushtoad was far too into his personal training for the day to pay attention to the older generation that had just arrived in the patch, climbing up ten or so feet up the inside walls of the patch before jumping off in order to try and work on his gliding. Sure the older generation probably had stories to share with the patch, but at the moment he couldn't be bothered with that, especially since he already had an oni mate in the breeding area. So yeah, as stated above, the unevolved myconid would just continue to limb and leap until the rest of his party returned from the forest.

Dryoak regarded Mixiautumn with a warm smile, My, so eager this one. It's good to see the next generation taking such a go getter attitude upon themselves. Truly the blood of the myconid will flow freely and prosper in this land. He pulled the ornate spear off his back, it was made of a thick gnarled branch and a large animal tooth at the top, I'm afraid I can't help you much with ranged weaponry, I prefer the spear as my weapon of choice. As for magic...hmmm...let's see here. Have you an affinity? Perhaps a blessing from one of the divine entities? That would grant you a magic affinity of sorts. Surely by now you've learned to at least detect mana in the world around you, and in other creatures, yes? Dryoak asked Autumn curiously.

Older Generation Skills and Stats:

Captive Information:

Your NPCs WIP:

The more Dryoak asked Autumn about what she was capable of, the more the pixie's wings drooped. Even her ears seemed to dip a bit "Oh...um I'm not actually that capable with Magic. I know how to mold it, and I can use it to drain life directly from other people, but other than that I've got nothing." Autumn's eyes searched the ground, but then she realized how pitiable she must look so she forced a chipper mood onto herself, flicking her wings out and fluttering them excitedly "I don't know if you can pass on your...what did you call it? Affinity? But could you teach me to detect magic? That would definitely be helpful, even if I can't weaponize my magic too much right now."

Training & Learning:

Autumn's Skill Rolls:

Dryoak let out a heavy sigh as his training session with Mixieautumn passed, My, my, look at that. It seems the day has passed us by, child. While I enjoyed this time with you, I really must be off to make sure my people have settled back into the patch and have direction. Perhaps you should venture out into the forest again. You may find better luck with magic when faced with adversity. The dyad would say to Autumn before fluttering off to begin directing his people. It was around this time that Beau and Tress would return from their training as well, having clearly become more proficient with their tools. They were tired and dirty however, much like Mixieautumn. The sun had set quite some time ago and everyone was looking for a place to rest their head.

As Mushtoad descended back to the patch, his own party would return looking equally has haggard but stronger.

Mushtoad's Party Rolls:

Autumn's Party Gains:

"Thank you for teaching me what you could, Dryoak!" Autumn was also tired out, but the pixie's excitement didn't seem to be tamped down at all by it "And I'll remember the basics to practice later. If you ever need help with anything, just let me know." With that, Beau and Tress returned to the patch, looking tired from a day of work but also content with what they had done. When Mushtoad's part came back, Mixiautumn would call out "Toad if you've got any plants or things you want to grow more of, Elfbeau can plant them tomorrow." The pixie pointed to the young elf, who gave a confused smile and sheepish wave, not knowing what they were talking about of course. Not too soon after, he gave a wide yawn and shuffled over to the part of the patch Autumn had claimed for them. Tress and Autumn followed suit, all of them hunkering down for the night.

Calcs and Stuff:

Mushtoad would groan as he landed on the ground for the final time of the night, and shake any dust off his body as his team had come back to the patch in one piece, which was a bit surprising to say the least. As his group returned to where he was standing, he would notice the accomplished look on Rio's face as they returned with a decent amount of berries and poisons for the patch. After all the berries had been placed in the pile, the rest of the group would crawl back into the area they had claimed for sleeping while Orangeruff and Mushtoad stayed at the pile of equipment, that was when Autumn's voice could be heard shouting that if anything needed any growing that the tall skinny thing was capable of growing stuff. That could definitely be useful, to say the least, perhaps that thing could teach the patch how to grow and harvest food in the future. Keeping that in mind the Myconid and the orange wolf would curl up and get some sleep for the rest of the night, tomorrow was going to be another day of hard work.

OOC: All calcs are fine except that Basic Language is technically a Proficiency so it's 100 per use, not 200. Sporelingo I believe is a skill, so 200 works.

The shrooms and their companions would gather around for the night, settling fitfully into sleep. The patch had become noisier with the homecoming of the Older Generation, who seemed to stay up far later than one would expect of a group that had been gone, traveling and fighting for the last several days. Apparently as you age you become more filled with energy? How strange. Regardless, Autumn, their comrades, Toad and his comrades would be undisturbed in their sleep and wake to a new dawn and a new day. The world was at their fingertips...or stumps...I don't know, I'm just the narrator, your anatomy is strange, Mushrooms.

Levels:

When Autumn woke up energized and actually ready to go out and tackle the day. She waited for Elfbeau and Slothtress to get up as well, then ate some of the food that the Older Generation had brought back. She thought about spending some time with Dryoak, but decided she would go out and do something exciting in the forest so she could come back and regale the dryad with a tale of her own. The time they had spent together yesterday was...nice, even if most of it was spent instructing and following said instructions. Once they were fed and ready, Autumn would attach spores to both Tress and Beau so that she could communicate with them. Then, without further ado they left the patch headed east, back to where they had encountered the Tanuki the other day.

-Autumn & co. exit-