So this thing wants to bite you, you bite it back!

1/3 Nalthar 2024/11/05(Tue)19:45 No. 1099434 ID: 355e44
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Fighting down the instinct to sink your teeth into the bloated fungus, you work to secure your first kill. Dragging the corpse along with you, you would wave your blade threateningly, but its coating has it a bit stuck. Just as you yank it free the three-eyed fungo contracts and ejects a crimson cloud from the vents on its back.

2/3 Nalthar 2024/11/05(Tue)19:45 No. 1099435 ID: 355e44
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Retreating into the tunnel, you avoid the brunt of the spores. Nonetheless your vision tinges red. Rustling and scratching surround you, the fibers of the matress grasping for you. Bats screech, their cry's hunting you in this twisted maze.

3/3 Nalthar 2024/11/05(Tue)19:47 No. 1099436 ID: 355e44
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Your pincered quarry rears up, looming over you on its hundreds of legs. Its eyes burn with blood. The gash you left in its head splits wider and wider until you face a rending and tooth-filled void.

Hallucination! Don't panic. Keep moving back. Get back to the surface and do not use your blade on ANYTHING. After you've recovered you can come back and retrieve the corpse.

Oh shit, oh shit that is a big bug! Retreat retreat! I don't think you can fight this alone!

Keep your calm; panic serves no one, especially when stealth is of the essence. You know what the fungos can do, and that this is just one of their tricks. Close your eyes, keep your grip, and retreat whence you came.

Nalthar 2024/11/16(Sat)20:17 No. 1099893 ID: 6c233e
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It's not real. You tell yourself it's not real, but a thousand roars and screams assail your ears and the clinging fibers scratch like thorns. Abandoning the corpse you scramble away, its whirling teeth screeching like an winter storm. A death grip on your blade is the only surety you have left as you claw through a world gone mad.

You burst up from the tunnels into a sea of blood. Great shadows of wolves loom over head. The nearest fixes you with the stare of the moon on a frigid night. Standing in the rushing surf, frozen by its gaze , you almost don't notice the pair of shambling guard rats.

Nalthar 2024/11/16(Sat)20:17 No. 1099894 ID: 6c233e
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Silently glaring, they stalk towards you, spray whipping from shaggy fur. The closer one staggers forward and thrusts a rusty polearm at you.

>>1099894
Dodge! Tell them to stay back, you're hallucinating!

Put your sword away.

Maybe even the guard is a hallucination but still try to avoid it's attack if you can. All of this is fucking weird, like some apocalyptic premonition. Is this how the world is outside? Does the giant thing seem familiar to you? I have a feeling, that all of this has a more significant meaning to you personally.

Your mind cannot be trusted right now. This is as likely a vision of friend as of foe; but if you announce your condition, a foe will not retaliate, and a friend might show mercy. Let it be known that you're not in your right mind, and take care to avoid harm without harming anyone else, or yourself, to the degree that you can.

Nalthar 2024/11/23(Sat)15:30 No. 1100287 ID: 6c233e
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Illusory as it may be, you don't want to get a pike in the shoulder. Flinging yourself down out of the path of the blade, you dig your nails into the rough fabric of the sea. Hissing through clenched teeth, you warn any nearby to keep away. Surprisingly, the wretched rat heeds your words and backs off, though its demeanor still appears hostile. And melting.

Eyes wrenched shut, you try to block out the hallucinations. You clutch your head and try to think of something, anything, to focus on.

>>1100287
Focus on your breathing. Think about your home.

Yes, remember your origins. Think back to the Gravel Pit Nest, and what brought you here; the long winter, the fallow harvest, and venturing out into the world, to have arrived where you are now.

Start chanting this over and over "Heart Lungs Liver Nerves". It might help

1/2 Nalthar 2024/11/30(Sat)18:35 No. 1100599 ID: 6c233e
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Home. You think of home. The gravel pit, the nest, the tunnels. The smell of dried oats and blackcurrants in the store room. The sound of walnut-fungcakes sizzling on the hearth. The view of the setting sun from the pine stump.

You think of old Forti, telling yet another parable on the virtues of being a good steadfast rat. You think of little Trep, sorting her collection of striped stones, arranging them around the big one with the hole through it. You think of Joc'lar, gathering herbs while chanting that horrible song she learned from the crows. You think of your sister Aud'ity, taking up the second of the only wolf-hair cloak and iron long-knife that the nest has. Her patting you on the back before you both went your separate ways, searching for an ember of hope in the frozen wood.

They're still out there, waiting for you. There's still time to save them.

2/2 Nalthar 2024/11/30(Sat)18:36 No. 1100600 ID: 6c233e
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You slowly open your eyes to a dark room. The meager light that filtered through the dingy curtains when you entered has faded to near imperceptibility. With a stiff groan you roll over, staring up at the distant ceiling.

With a snap, soft blue light washes over you. The lantern hovers in your face, blinding you for a moment, before Surrep sets it aside. The haggard rat looks down at you with a frown.

"I thought you had the looking of a capable hunter, not like these soft house mice." she hisses "What happened down there?"

Tell him a fungo had hallucinogenic spores and you tried to back off but still got too much exposure. That mutation's not easy to deal with in close quarters. Guess you'll go back to collect the one you managed to kill.

A soft house mouse wouldn't be alive to tell you.

At any rate you haven't hunted fungos before. You won't fall for that trick again.

What happened is that you successfully defended your mind from panic, and shielded your fellow hunters from retaliation against an imagined foe that lesser hunters would have attacked without hesitation.

But there's merit in the criticism; your guard was down, and you weren't expecting the beast to attack your mind. This is something you'll have to be more careful of in the future.

Absurdity DeVoid 2024/12/01(Sun)13:31 No. 1100623 ID: e380c4

Tell that you saw some crazy shit and ask if the hallucinogenic fungos can be poisonous.

Nalthar 2024/12/09(Mon)23:02 No. 1101068 ID: 6c233e
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"Wasn't... a normal... fungo." You croak, breaking into a parched coughing fit. Surrep takes the water skin from your belt and passes it to you. Taking a long pull, you feel well enough to sit up. "A *kaf kaf* a house mouse would have bloody well died, straight off. Never seen the like, some bewitchment of visions of Hell itself."

The slim rat regards you thoughtfully. "Hmm, that would explain the mouse corpse we found sometime back with its eyes clawed out." she lets out a tired sigh "Just another thing to worry about."

"There's still a carcass down there." you get to your feet a bit dizzily "I need to retrieve it."

"That will have to wait" Surrep lends you her shoulder, leading you towards the foot of the bed. "Everyone else has already gone back. If you run into that thing again, no one will save you. Come, Lisel insisted on waiting for you."

Resting against the footboard, the chemist stirs awake at your approach. Switching her lamp on, she looks up at you with a relieved grin. "Still with us Tem'rty? Oh, you've got some red on you." Running a hand through your fur she pulls it back covered in a clingy crimson dust.

>>1101068
Wait, that's dangerous! Those are the hallucinogenic spores. ...wonder if we can weaponize them. The zombies aren't *completely* brainless, after all.

>>1101069
That is thinking small potatoes, can this be used to poison the puppet master?

Warning first, plotting afterwards. At the moment, extraction is our primary objectve. We must ensure that all present are able to retreat to safety with all due promptness.

Although, it must be said that to the best of our knowledge, that fungo is still alive; its spores might be harvested. A mouse obsessed with developing futher knowledge and technology might even think to capture it, and maintain a store of the stuff for fun and profit. Imagine if such a mouse could amass a ready supply of it; that mouse might begin to identify its utility, and refine it for intentional use. Such a mouse would have to be bold, perhaps to the point of a foolhardy recklessness, in order to attempt such a thing, of course. But such a mouse is likely to be unable to resist the promise of the stuff.

But let us not forget that extraction is our primary objective. Let Lisel know what she's dealing with, and that she shuold under no circumstances ingest the substance, or touch her face before her hands are thoroughly washed. For that matter, if the stuff is still on your face, you had better get her help to clean it off, lest you breathe in a wayward mote too many and repeat the episode.

1/2 Nalthar 2024/12/20(Fri)17:23 No. 1101421 ID: 6c233e
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You grab her wrist. "Red? That must be what hexed me! The beast let out a cloud of the stuff right before the visions started."

Lisel's grin only widens. "And you brought me samples? Ah, you spoil me friend." She slides her free hand back into her coat's wide cuff and whips out several vials. Scraping them through your fur, she soon has three packed full of the vivid dust. The strange materiel glitters dully in the harsh lamplight. Stowing them away in her sleeve, she examines her other hand. "Hmm, no effect from skin contact. It must need to be breathed in. Hmm, yes, and from there it would enter the blood, and from blood the brain. This might have some usefulness to us, seeing as the glow-eyed ones seem to be controlled via their brains."

Surrep stalks over "How do you know that Lisel? You didn't practice that 'anatomy' did you? To butcher an animal is a sin Lisel!" The little chemist's enthusiasm falters, and she scrambles to defend herself. "No no, it wasn't that at all! Before, in the washroom, it-" "There was a fight." You interject "Before we met up. A bat attacked us, and it ended up getting it's head caved in. There were a lot of... wires."

Your family is somewhat more pragmatic on these matters, but you know many woods families take the proscription on hunting one's fellow animals very seriously. It may be the biggest taboo in the forest. So it is with relief that you see Surrep calm, her ire fading back into her normal more dour expression. "Very well then. If you think this powder can be used against them then investigate, you'll have my family's support. Let us retire for the evening, we can talk more when we are safe."

2/2 Nalthar 2024/12/20(Fri)17:23 No. 1101422 ID: 6c233e
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The three of you make the trip back without incident. Through the dusty and gray library, out the broken window and through the snow. The storm has broken for the moment and a brilliant full moon makes the night almost pleasant, the crystalline glitter of the hard packed snow matching the stars above. You take a minute to rub handfuls of snow over yourself, ridding your fur and cloak of the maddening dust.

Inside the shed is a bustle of activity. The fire pit is surrounded by cooking fungos and the eager mice that tend them. A few rats standing nearby look over as Surrep enters. She gives them a surreptitious hand signal, they nod and head away, weaving through the crowd. Surrep turns to you "Get some food in you, then come to the shelf. There is much planning to be done." With that she follows the other rats, only pausing to gather a few roasted fungos from the fire.

Lisel hefts the mechanical heart you two pilfered earlier in her hands, safely hidden under ratty cloth. "I should get this secured above before anyone sees it. Before you join us, you should take your finds to the tinker shrews. They may be able to make something from them. Thanks again, for all your help today." She executes a little half bow, more of a deep nod, and scurries off.

Left alone, you look around the hubbub. Some faces stand out from the crowd. The aforementioned tinkers are sitting on the stoop of their wagon, chatting with passers by.
Jasper is sitting with Horace, who looks some the worse for wear.
Afton is walking around, stopping to talk to various folk. His hedgehog bulk making him easy to spot in the crowd.
That sorrowful bat from this morning is also moving anxiously through the crowd, shadowed by her, you assume, younger sibling.
There's a set of three beetlefolk just come into the shed behind you. You would be alarmed, but you remember Lisel mentioning them earlier. They seem to be carrying fungos, though they aren't headed to the fire. Maybe bugs eat theirs raw? You wouldn't put it past the creepy bastards.

You think you'll have time to talk to a few people while you grab a bite to eat, before Surrep and Lisel wonder what's keeping you.

>>1101422
We should make a sketch of the spore-fungo with a warning not to breathe the spores, so that people will recognize it and know to hold their breath to avoid the hallucinations.
Talk to the tinkers, we've got business with them already.

First of all, what is this bullshit against the butchering of corpses, it isn't butchering it is research and you should encourage your science friend to do that no matter what others say. Knowledge is power and we need to know as much as we can. As for who we should visit, I just have to say to go to the almighty wagon. If I could I would make a religion over that object, that is how much I am fascinated by its existence.

Yes, heed Lisel's advice, and visit the shrews. They will be good people to know better, if we're seeking to best the master of the house without the home court advantage. If there's any time, I think it would be nice to say hello to Jasper and Horace, as well, and catch up with them.

I worry that being too bold in professing a desire to dissect any creature we come across may push us away from allies we cannot afford to lose. We may be sympathetic to Lisel's scientific efforts, but if it's known we're pushing for the whole den to abandon decency and plunge itself into barbarism, that may quickly put ourselves in need of another place to live. If there's any reassurance, it's that there is no desire to butcher for meat; we know well what happens when one eats the flesh of another. The desire is for knowledge, that would be pursued by dissection.

lisel may have been the only one to insist on waiting for us, but surrep was also apparently the only one to agree. she's an ally already, and i second that we've got to be careful going forward to balance our support of lisel's scientific adventures with everyone else's reasonable sensitivities.
that being said, if we only have time for a brief chat before seeing the tinker shrews, can we go see how horace is doing?
it doesn't feel like we have time to get into an entire exposition with those poor miserable weeping bats, unfortunately, but see if you can get a better look at them as we go past. maybe overhear some stuff.

1/3 Nalthar 2024/12/30(Mon)20:06 No. 1101778 ID: 6c233e
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Feeling chagrined that you came back empty handed, you take only a small portion of roasted fungus from the fire pit. You sit by Jasper and Horace to chat while you eat.

"How's the arm?" you ask Horace, who shrugs with a wince. "I'll be in a sling for a bit, but I'll live." he grumbles. "Tis a real set back though. Not going t'be breaking into the pantry like this, no way no how."

Jasper leans in to whisper "Ey, Tem'rty, ye've gotten chummy with that rat lass right? They've been acting awful sneaky lately. Iffen they let ye in on whatever they're planning, ye let us know right? A little commotion is just the thing to pull of a good heist."

The rest of your meal is spent talking about fungo hunting tips. The two mice appreciate your woodsy hunting expertise, as fungos are rarely encountered in human villages.

Before you head over to the shrews you take a minute to greet Afton and warn him about the mad fungo you encountered. He says he'll put the word around so the hunters know to be on the look out. While you mention Lisel's idea that it's dust could be useful you tacitly withhold her earlier findings. Best not to draw attention to her unorthodox practice, you'll keep her secret safe.

2/3 Nalthar 2024/12/30(Mon)20:07 No. 1101779 ID: 6c233e
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As you approach the cart the shrews aboard wave to you. "Hail stranger! Ya must be the new blood, s'been a while since we've had some." The tinker on the right greets you. "Name's Geoff Estus, and these are me sisters, Polly Athena and Heck Kate."

Kate chuckles "Its a mouthful innit? Our ma were a learner. Named us after gods she did." She leans out of the cart to bring her toothily grinning face closer to yours. "So what did ya bring us?"

3/3 Nalthar 2024/12/30(Mon)20:08 No. 1101780 ID: 6c233e
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Sweeping your cloak from your shoulders, you lay out the day's finds. There's a matchbox with a jaunty picture of a duck. It contains eight matchsticks. There's also a fancily decorated pair of embroidery scissors.

"Oh now that is nice" coos Geoff "Actual blades fer a change. Needles just haven't been cutting it, ah ha ha." Polly hefts the scissors, petting the metal affectionately. "Since ya brought em back ya get first pick of what to do with em. Can't reforge right now, all out of coal, but we could still split this inta a nice pair o' long knives. Or a spear. Ooh ooh, we've gotta chain! Could make ya a pretty grappling knife!"

Kate inspects the matches. "Or we could do ya something with these fire sticks. Lissy showed us how'ta get the get the sparkings outta em witout grindin em down. We'll stick em in a special juice and harvest the crystals in the morn. Could make ya some flare torches, scrape em on the wall to light and get ten minutes o' burn." she retreats into the cart and you can hear rummaging. The shrew pops back out with some copper contraption. "Or we could set ya up with a couple o' these bad boys. Just point it at the enemy, twist, and flash! Keep yer eyes shut when ya do though."

"So what'll it be?" Geoff asks "Whatever ya don't use'll go to the other hunters."

one blade for a spear, the other for a grappling knife, then one each of a torch and a flashbang — since we didn't bring back any food, i think it would be nice to leave the rest of the matches to be distributed among the others.
(and let's remember to keep an eye out for coal next time we head out! we can try to make sure we pass by a stove or something.)

I think the knife we have has been serving us well, and need not be replaced. But it might be supplemented; it offers us precious little range. I think the grappling knife would best suit our purposes; the spear offers reach, but is cumbersome for stealth.

Anything that burns bright risks drawing attention. I think that the flash grenades (would they bang, too?) should be considered a last resort, to enable us to scurry to safety. Torches would be more utilitarian, to navigate the dark between the walls and under the floors. Prioritize those.

All that we need is matches go to the library and start a fire, the puppet master has been attacking us so let's return the favor. Let's hurt him this can create a huge distraction or a huge destruction. So it is a win-win scenario, we need for him to fear us and to know that we can fuck up his shit.

1/2 Nalthar 2025/01/14(Tue)17:27 No. 1102369 ID: 6c233e
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"I do like the sound of a grappling knife." you say "It should pair well with the long knife I already have."

The matches are giving you some troubling ideas, but they would be so useful. "Tell me, how loud are the-" before you can even finish the thought Kate claps her paws together just short of your nose. "That loud!" the shrews all snicker as you jerk back. "Hmmph, well give me one of those and a couple torches." you grumble, rubbing your snoot.

"Ya got it, boss!" Geoff offers a sloppy salute while his sisters eagerly bundle the supplies into the cart. "Come by in the morn-" CLANG "the morning ta" CLANG "TA PICK UP THE" CLANG "THE GOODS!"
A final clang and a wrenching snap ring out, accompanied by giggling. You look into the cart to see the scissors already unscrewed, and the first half cleft blade from handle in some torturous looking springed contraption. Kate draws the cart cover closed "Kee hee, no peeking silly."

2/2 Nalthar 2025/01/14(Tue)17:27 No. 1102370 ID: 6c233e
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Shoed away from the cart, you make your way over to the far wall, where the Surrep's family's tents are visible high up on a shelf. With no obvious way up you dig your claws into the rough shed wall and climb.

Reaching the shelf, you are met with a gangly young rat. He reaches down and helps you up, pointing towards the larger tent as he does. "They're waiting for you." he mutters, then turns back to watching the camp below. With no further conversation coming you slip into the tent.

A small lantern hangs from the tent pole, the fungo inside shedding its sullen glow into the gloom. The rats seated within look up at your arrival, and a figure you can just make out as Surrep gets to her feet. "Good, everyone's here then." Pulling a pinch of punk from her belt, she feeds it to the fungo, which chitters and brightens.

The light washes over the rough looking rats, including one big enough to loom, even while seated. He inclines his head to you, waving a hand to indicate you should be seated. "Well met, Tem'rty." he rasps "My name is Tempestuous, or Pestuous for short. On behalf of the Shale Ledge family I bid you welcome."

"As you're here, I presume Surrep has told you our story, and you are willing to help. Suffice to say, we will have vengeance on the monster of this house. Tell me, as an outside perspective, what would you say we most need to do this?"

Dealing with this puppetmaster feels like making one step forward and making two steps back, maybe we should change our approach. Instead of moving slowly from one room to the other, why don't we enter the room from the chimney opening? His monsters will never see us coming, he will probably not see us coming from that entrance. My question is has anybody else tried this approach?

This is our chance to influence things in Lisel's favor. What we need is intelligence and new approaches. We have the element of surprise, and shouldn't surrender it; but it's not enough. We need to know more about the Master, and how he runs the house, in order to know how to strike a killing blow to his control over it. Our current means are insufficient to accomplish shuch a coup, as well; we need weapons capable of standing up to the Master, of effecting whatever blow we determine is necessary.

1/3 Nalthar 2025/01/22(Wed)19:44 No. 1102721 ID: 6c233e
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You consider several things that would be helpful, but one most comes to mind. "We need to learn. How to hurt these puppets, how to get to the top, and most importantly; what kind of monster lives up there."

Pestuous laughs and claps you on the shoulder. "Very shrewd sir!" the others murmur agreement. "That is certainly what we need most, in time. I believe Lisel is looking into some aspects of that as we speak."

"In the immediate, however, what we need is armaments. Needles are not, as they say, cutting it." a chuckle grumbles in the big rat's throat as he leans forward to poke a finger at your belt. "We need good, strong blades like yours. The shrews could supply us, for we have enough metal gleaned from the house, if we just had coal for their forge."

2/3 Nalthar 2025/01/22(Wed)19:47 No. 1102722 ID: 6c233e
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"Why wait?" You ask "Could not the strongest of us sneak right to the top, strike him where he sleeps? The chimney seemed unguarded." Surrep glares, "You think we haven't tried? There's thrice as many guards in the walls up there. And as for the chimney there are no holes in it, straight up to the roof. Only one of us has been up there and back, tell him what you saw Diss."

The half breed stirs, squirrely tail twitching. Fixing you with her one good eye. "Crows." she rasps "Cages."

3/3 Nalthar 2025/01/22(Wed)19:47 No. 1102723 ID: 6c233e
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"In any event," Pestuous places a calming paw on Surrep's back. "We have to assume we will be fighting our way up, so good steel is a must. Now the house has a furnace, you can smell the coal ash in the vents. Its just a matter of finding where they keep it, and something that heavy must be in the basement."

"Thus, on the morrow, we search. The plan is, pairs will comb the underfloor for a way down. Whatever you find, reconvene at the washroom at noon. We'll proceed with the best route found. How sounds this to you all?"

>>1102723
Yeah that sounds fine. Straightforward scouting mission. Though, are pairs enough? The foes here are so dangerous.

Buddy system is a must, even if pairs of buddies need to work in concert. Raids like the ones we do need to balance power, stealth, and reach, so spreading out without leaving anyone alone seems like a reasonable compromise.

How much do we know about the basement, though?
If we have some intelligence, then we can use that to inform deployment (squads of three). If we don't have any intelligence, then now would be a good time to know; I'd assume scouting would come before a raid.

Can we try to clog up the pipes, that will make a big distraction for the puppet master without burning down the house. We should never forget what the end goal for this whole war we are fighting, and it is for the rats to control the corps of the puppetmaster. First will will take over this house and then the whole world!

ask if anyone has experience traversing the basement

Nalthar 2025/01/29(Wed)22:35 No. 1103065 ID: 6c233e
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You raise your concerns, as do the others. A revised plan is formed, with teams of three to investigate possible entries to the basement. Given that the walls down there are stone, there are far fewer ways to sneak around.

You bring up the pipes as a means of sabotage. Some locations of pipes are known, though none recall ever hearing them in use. Still it might be worth checking, as they should lead into the basement as well.

With plans established the group adjourns for the night. Pestuous invites you to take the spare tent, which you accept as exhaustion is creeping in. Dragging yourself into the tiny tent you barely manage to bid Lisel, who is puttering around some collection of glass tubes and fluids, a good night. Curling up into a tight ball under your thick cloak, you fall into dreamless sleep.

End of the first day in House Cadvere