Even though she had been careful to avoid the infected ones, Dantalian fell victim somehow. Her illness had come on quickly. Seemingly overnight she had become riddled with the fungal form of the Ooze. Mushrooms sprouted from the corners of her eyes. Once specks they grew large enough to nearly blind her. If that wasn't enough her lungs were heavy with some kind of gritty substance. If she coughed hard enough she could bring up what look like tiny scabs, but the effort was painful and exhausting, and more than a little distressing.

As she had been before falling ill, Dantalian was still hellbent on a cure. The difference now was that her desperation was compounded. She needed it for herself and others. Inexplicably, she found herself drawn to mulch. Somewhere deep in the gorge she'd found what she was looking for. Countless rains had washed seasons of leaves, grit and grass into the cave she now dug in, and upon finding the heap, Dantalian had fallen on it greedily.

Heedless of the mess Dantalian repeatedly buried her paws into the detritus and scooped mounds of it out. She was exhausted but committed; she needed to gather enough for herself and her family.

Eligos staggered a step as he crept along the ravine, shook his head to clear his eyes, and spat glowing fluid from his mouth. Sores had opened up where the fluid continuously drained from his eyes, ears, and mouth, with more along his forelegs where he kept wiping them, and oozed the same glowing fluid. He moved like a feral creature, in fits and spurts and startling at every sound in the darkness, turning on the source of the sound with snarls and snapping teeth so that much of the time the glowing fluid in his mouth dripped out mixed with blood - some of it his own where he'd bitten tongue or gnawed at the inside of his cheek, or lips, or legs. It was in that state that he'd found himself in this ravine with no memory of having travelled there. He took another step and found himself halfway across the ravine from where he'd last been, nothing but blankness in his memory to say how he'd gotten there. And at his feet was a young wolf and he was snapping at them reflexively for their unexpected proximity. Even as his teeth flashed some part of his brain was screaming at him in recognition.

Dantalian continued her furious work. She was so caught up in it she didn't hear Eligos' approach. The sound of the mulch hitting the ground ad her claws on stone was all her ears had room for. It wasn't until a sharp pain in her hip caused her to leap to the side that her concentration was broken. She spun to cover her mulch protectively, but upon recognizing Eligos her heart went out to him. She was here for her family, after all, and he was in a very bad way. "Uncle Eli," said with a heavy heart. "Here, let me help you..." Convinced the decaying leaves held some sort of cure and determined enough to throw caution to the wind, Dantalian reached out and tried to wipe the substance on her uncle's face.

His teeth met flesh and the ache in his jaws was soothed momentarily by the violence, but the hapless victim turned to speak and the familiar coffee-and-cream visage caused his vision to momentarily grey and he shrank back. "Aureus," he said pitiably, in the tone of one pleading though he could not say precisely what the plea was. He knew this couldn't be Pyrrhic because he'd left Pyrrhic in charge of Aerie, and Pyrrhic wouldn't have abandoned the pack, not like Eligos had, so it could only be Aureus after all though he had watched Aureus' body burn to ash on his funeral pyre was it any odder than having spoken to his murderous, blasphemous uncle? "Aureus," he said again, but sudden movement and the touch of something smeared on his face broke rational thought once more and he turned on the touch with a wrathful snarl and a rage that blinded him. "You use my brother's face to trick me, demon?" he rasped, for what else could this be? Aureus would not have tried to kill him, so it could not be Aureus despite his certainty a moment before. "To lure me here so you could poison me?" He didn't know what the creature had rubbed on him but it stung in the sores and that small pain drove the conviction of poison.

Confusion settled across her features for only a moment before being replaced with dismay. "No, not Aureu-" a coughing fit suddenly seized her. Dantalian grew dizzy with the effort and her legs suddenly felt weak. She tried to speak, to explain to her uncle who was she was, but couldn't form the words around the coughs that wracked her body. It felt like what little air she could bring in was used up on trying to expel the spores from her lungs.

"No," she wheezed finally. "It's Dant-" There was a sudden popping feeling in her head, a bursting behind her eyes, followed by what felt like the blood draining from her head. Overcome by weakness Dantalian dropped her to knees with a soft cry of pain. She lifted a paw to her nose expecting blood, but there was nothing. What was happening? She didn't understand...

Dantalian crumbled to the ground. Panting now, she pleaded with Eligos, "get help, please, Eligos!" Her mind swam as she tried to think of who to send for. "My mom...my dad...get..." It was a fight to keep her eyes open but she was counting on getting the message out. "Ama..."

-exit Dantalian via death-

Eligos snapped again in the direction of the demon masquerading as his brother and backed away to watch its odd reaction. His recognition of its trickery must have done something to it, because it fell wheezing and acting strangely, gabbling out disjointed words as though desperate to keep him enthralled, but Eligos was wise to its tricks now. He stepped forward to wrap his jaws around the now-still creature's throat, intending to end its trickery permanently, but a sudden wave of vertigo made him feel as though he'd slipped sideways from his body before snapping back into himself again, feeling his teeth touching Dantalian's throat...

He jerked away with a cry of horror. He'd seen fresh death before. He knew what it looked like, what it smelled like. Abraxas save his soul, had he murdered his own niece in the grip of his madness? He tasted blood in his mouth. Oh, Fallen, no. Eligos cast his mind frantically through the foggy, half-blind memories of the last few moments with all its blank spots like moth eaten cloth. Was the blood from her throat, or had he bitten her before? Had he killed her? Had she been alive when his teeth reached her throat? Had they reached her throat?

Panic blinded him where moments ago rage had, and his limbs shook like a palsy. He could not bring himself to look, to confirm his worst fear. He couldn't... he couldn't... but he couldn't run either. Couldn't leave her there. Pyrrhic would kill him for what he had done... may have done? and that was right, that was Pyrrhic's right and it was what he'd deserved. Failure, failure and murderer and a betrayer to everything the Abraxas meant. Cloaked in despair and self loathing he closed his teeth gently over the scruff of her neck and carried her, pup like, the weight dragging at his neck and at his heart with every step he took as he set forth to take Danta home for the last time.

-exit sad sack-

Dantalian

WASTED!


You gain:

• Permanent Somnium Pass (player-bound)- One time use. Allows a Somnium character to return to site permanently. Restricted to only threads where you have permission to enter, no trespassing, pass will be revoked if abused. Post in Maintenance when ready to use this pass.
  
• Elixir of agility (player-bound)- This bottle of milky blue liquid has a shoe etched onto it… whatever that means.
  

F̷̢̢̢̨̨̢̛̛̬̜̩̹͇̝̗̪̜͙͕̝̫̟̥͖̯̱̰̹̗̺̜͈̰͚͎̜̘̩̠̱̱͈̜̭̀̍̇̋͊̉̂̈̑̓̉̄̈́͗̑͗̓̽͋̾̍͛͗͛̏̐̑͐̒̔͋̕͘͘͜͝͠͠͝͠͝ͅͅÍ̷̡̢̞̘͖͙̮̺̝̼͉͈̼̣͕̲̜̤̦̦͚̗̃̊̕͝ͅR̵̨̨̳̭͚̻̱̥̮͓̫̤̺̱͕̹͚̲͕̼̙̯̟̻̠̖͙̘̦̀́̊̒͑͊͋̏́͑̈́̔̌̈́̒́̂̑̃̅͗̅̄͆̍͆̃̓̾̀̾̒̎̾̓̿̅̏͊̕̕͝ͅȨ̸̡̛̤̬͇͍̬̗̙̠͔̓̅̄͊̀̃͐͐̄̏̈̍͗̓̋̏̀̈́̉̐͊́̄̅͘͠F̸̡̡̢̣͔͎̭̳̱̙͖͍̣̳̣͓̰̠̳̜̲̣̠̖̖͉̘̗͙̖̼̜̖̞͙͇̲̫̺̻͙̥͈̬̤̬̩͒ͅͅĻ̸̳̟̘̫̺͓̺̊̋͑̈́͊̇̽̏̒̔̉̊̽̇̉̔̑̉̔͋̈́̈́̃̐̽͘͝͝͝Y̵̡̡̛̛̦͙̬͙̮̘̺̗͕̜̜͙̟͍̺͙̖̫͕̩̆͊̊̈́͛͛̈́̌͊̀̾̿̄̅̏̿̽̑̌͂̇̋̎̐́̑̈́͂͊͒̏̕̚͘͜͝ͅ ̷̨̢̢̢̨̛̣͓̭̘̯̜̗͔͇̜̟͕͙̬̘͖̠̫̫͚̩̠̬̠͍̦̰̯̈́̂̄̂̐̆̀̅́͘͘͜S̷̡̧̡̛̬͕̫̮͖̹̣̖͓̥̹͓̹̹͉̩̠̩̻̠̝͕͐͐̈͒́̈́̄̿́͊̉͊͐̈̆͒̈́̈́̍͊̊́̾̾̄̕̕̚͠ͅͅḨ̵̪͍͓͍̓̎̽͐̐̇͊̈́̊̐̓̎̄̔̋͐̔̏̽͐̿̑̏̏̅͐̆͂̂͒͆̒̄̉̏̈́͌̒̉̎̆͘̕͝͝Ŏ̵̢̧̢̗̬̰̣̹̘̰̥̗̥̦̫̙͈̞̣̘̞̯̟̱̖̀̏͝ͅͅP̵̨͚̟͚͇͎̣̝̞̈́P̶̨̛̛̘̣͍͎̱̙̲͚͚̼̟̈̀̍͆̍̎́͐̈́͐̐̓̆͂̃́̋̍͆͠E̵̢̨̧͍͕͖͍̰̹̦͕̼̺̤̙͉̫̝̠͇̯͙̬̩͉̱͍̔̓̉͋́́̆͐̇̈́̔́̂̓̄͋̈͗͘͝

Your teeth ache as if you need to bite something right this instance instant.

You gain:

• Crystals (9x) - Used in Firefly Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...
  

You blink, and you're face to face with a figure who seems as if it's clipping through d̴̰͚͖̮͙̥̥̙̥̬̬̼̙̟̤͖̘̺̩͓̙̣͙͇̤͓̰͕̺͉̳̰̰̺̠̠̟͓̘̭̘̿̈́͛̈́̇̈͗́́͂͌̓̈͛́̀̿̽̓̈́̈͘͜͝͝į̸̡͔̖͈͕͙̺͈̺͔͇͍̭͖̖̟̙͚̠̯̻̘̼̙͇̮̬̳̹̼̣̻͖͉̪̾̀̆̔̉̽͋̄̇̄͂̈́ͅͅm̶̧̢̱̯̲̻̳̞̦͚͖͎̼̹͙̩̹̟͕̥͉̤̭̠͔͎̜̪̲͈̰̼͙̟̱̺̯̼̐̿͛͑͛̅̍́̇̔̎̀̾̉̒͋̾̒̿͛̀̕͠͠͝è̸̢̡̧̥͓̩͉͉̙̺̫̦͍̮̤͙̩̭̹̬̰̭̮̫̹͉̦͔̘͛̈́̍̓̒͌͊͌̌̍̽̓̏̎͘̚͜͝n̴̢̧̝͕͇͚͉̩̱̫̭͇̬̹͎̈ͅś̷̨̨̡̖̩͚̖̱͇͇͔̪̺͎̮̤̻̹̯͔̺̰̯͉͔̼̗̙͈̯͙̮̳̤̹̳̹̝̝̦̻̃̇̌́͒̊̓͋̌̍̐̕͜͝͝ͅi̸̧̧̨̧̭̳̦̲̣̜̼̙̅͛̓͊͆͌̔̿̋͆̑̍̏̔̏̓̌̕̕̕̕͠͝o̴̧̢̦̗̘͔͕̮̼̣̬̥̠̱͚̱̣̩̭̟̺̲̠͕̹͓̲̜̙̝͇͓̩͚̦̿̇̽ņ̶̧̢̢̛̥̣͎̦̬̫͍̪̣̣̦̜̹̝͖͚̟͕̮̫̣͉̗̘̼͎͕͈͉̇͂̊̒̅͛̄̄̅́͂̍͌̌̀̀͂̎̍̆̉̈́̐͋͂̍̈́̽̌̽͘̕͘͘͘͜͜͠ͅs̸̢̧͚̖̟̞̲̥͔̣̼̰̥͔̲̟̮̟̹̠̱̩̬̹͉̯͇̣̭̦̪̱̣͉̭̖͖͚͊̃͋̐͑͌͋̊̕͝ͅ. In front of him, a small wooden stand, which thankfully looks firmly placed in your dimension. On the table lay three items, with their prices beside them. "Choose if you ḑ̴̛̠̲̰̪͎̮̻͕̝̻͉͇̳̙̗̬̤̖̙͚̰̲̑̆̎͆̉̉̈́̍̂̑͂̽͐̽̔͌̈̈́̓̒̂̅͘͘͜ͅą̵̪͙̦̖̮̮͈͖͇̭̗͈̖̫̲̗̜͍̀̾̾̎͂̈́̓͗̎̎̿͋͛̒̑̅̐́̔́̓̕̚͠ͅŗ̵̧̧̛͉̝̰͉̖̯̘̜͉͍̥̟̖̫̤̪͖̬͇͖͓̪̩̫̊̍͂̄͘͜ę̴̡̢̧̢̳̲̹̬̻̫̦̣̣̠̳̼͍͇̜̓͌́̚͜͝, and if you can a̵̘̜͇̱̽̌̇̅̐̏͗̑̂̽̊͆̏̒͝f̵̨̨̜̭̬̠̞̫̮̲̺̼̝̻̟͖̯̼͚͕̻̤̤͉͉̯̈́̾̈́͐͝f̷̟͓͖͔͕͎̥̖̝̞͈͆́̏̀͐̌̈̀̓̎͒̾̃̊̏͛̍͗͜ơ̷̡͓͙͓͚͙̪̖̻̣̞̹̻̻͇̫͓̟̹̔͌̑̈́͛̀̀̀̑̚͝r̷̢͈̝̝̲̼̦̺̜͔̲̳̀̈́ḑ̵̣̜̤̲̹̠͖̪͖͔̗̫̮͎̼̯͎͕̫̭̣͈̥̏ͅit," the figure says. You can't bring yourself to look away without some effort. You are keenly aware of his gaze. He does not seem like he's in the negotiating mood...


Į̴̧̘̹͙̘̲̤͖̔́͑͌̅̾̊͐̍͋̀̓̅̉̇̑̍͠͠ń̶̯͉̫̤̳͚̣̖̳̯͍̤͓̟͉̥̩̀͋̌ͅv̵̡̧̳̠̬̰̺͔̖̠̳̥͉͉̜͕̗͕̋̈͘ͅę̸̧̢̢̯̠̜̟̘̺̳̟̃̑͌̀̉̓͋͊̃̍̑̂̐̇̓̌͆̈́́͗̓͘͠n̵̡͙̲̞̰̭͖̠̮̺͊̉̑́͒̓͌̈́͐̅̚͝ţ̶̢̛̠̮̼͙͙̗̣̘͇̘͓͈͈̱̮̩̲̩̱̠͎͌̽̈́̒̍̎̀̋͗̇̔͊̇̀̀̋̈́͋̉́͌͜͝͠ơ̸̢̨̨̱̟̹̘̩̤̠͈͕̠̪̥̥̙̓͋̎͛̌͐̓̈́̐̌̂͂͑̋͘̚͜͝͠ȑ̴̠̬̫̻̠̘͔͖̦̰̩̖͎̜̞͉̘̭̙̮̰̹̙͔̳̬̱̆̎̍̿̌̇́̍̒͆͗̀͒͐͋̄̓͆́̕͘͠͝y̴̧͎̟̦̘̝̠̣̮̻̥̰͆͆͋͐͂̈́͊͛̈͋͆̊̇̄̾̈́̔̓̽͂̋̽̚͘:

• Ghost Bath Bomb- 2 /
  It’s a see-through orb. The seller assures you it’s good for styling your ears or tail exactly how you’ve always wanted.
  
• Potion of Perception- 3 /
  This bottle of silvery liquid has a pair of glasses etched onto it… whatever that means.
  
• Small unfleshed thought- 2 /
  This bottle contains whispers of what has passed, what is passing, and what has yet to pass. It looks kinda like a firefly….