Pyrrhic quietly stepped up to the door, set down the bundle he'd been clutching, and took a deep breath. On the other side of the door was his wife, who was, to put it delicately, not herself. If he were being honest Pyrrhic had no idea what he would find on the other side of the wood. It was a grim thought and one that covered a bevy of possibilities. The illness had caused Riva to spiral. What would have been a horrible illness had it been limited to the physical was compounded by a mind so warped from its usual sweet, careful self Pyrrhic almost felt he was dealing with a stranger. To say he did not recognize the woman on the other side was an understatement, but if this was the end - and his mind refused to linger on that thought long - he was not going to leave her. Riva had brought him back from the brink. It wasn't hyperbolic to credit her with saving his life. He lifted a paw and knocked gently on the door, which was barred from the outside. "Riva? Sweetheart, I brought you dinner..." Pyrrhic then leaned in and listened. It hadn't been long since he'd left to go hunting for her but he really didn't know what to expect. The illness and its many effects continued to surprise him.

The dirty, oozing, huddled lump rocked back and forth in agitation. Forepaws wrapped tightly across hind as she lay curled in a ball so tight she was no longer recognisable as a wolf. She was a mattered, stinking, hellscape of a creature. So far a cry from a gentle little healer that it was a wonder her husband was even certain he had the right creature barred inside. “Coming, coming, coming. He’s coming.” She muttered into her fur. Glazed eyes seeing nothing of the world around her. It was dark inside her prison, and that in itself was a part of her torment. But how could they know, how could they help her? When everything and anything seemed to set her off. If they had not barred her inside, she would have fled a long time ago. She would have run until the soles of her feet were flayed, and her stomach a ravenous hole. A voice - louder, but less familiar than the whispers in her ear sounded beyond. The huddled mess stilled, raising her head slowly, listening. “Who's there?” she cried, her voice hoarse and small. Perhaps this is him? Perhaps now he’s come for you. Your death, your savor the voice whispered, cackling laughter filling the words. ""

The fear in her voice struck him like a blade to the heart. Pyrrhic opened his mouth to speak but ended up biting his lip instead. 'Who's there?" she'd asked not 'what did you bring me?' She couldn't even remember the sound of his voice. He took a deep breath the quell the grimness that threatened to invade his tone, then replied, "It's Pyrrhic. I brought you a rabbit." Remembering what else he had brought, Pyrrhic slipped a pack off his shoulder and shimmied out from under its strap. Inside was a flask of water. He'd noted last time that her bowl was dry. "Water too." He pursed his lips wondering just how well his next words were going to go over, then said, "I'm going to open the door, but before I do I need you to go to the back wall and lay down."

Pyrrhic? ….Pyrrhic. Yes. She knew that name… she blinked slowly, some of the madness receding, if just for a moment. She whimpered softly in the darkness, ashamed and horrified at what she had become. She didn’t want Pyrrhic to see her this way, but her craving of his presence was stronger than her shame. There was a long delay after his last words. A silence, lingering and hostile, before a soft sigh escaped her. She got slowly to her paws, wincing at the pain across her body as she shuffled slowly to the back wall. The sound of her paws dragging on the floor seemed loud in the silence, and then the sigh of her body as it sagged against the ground, her head pressing to the cool stone. “You shouldn’t be here.” She whispered, the words a contrast to her movements. What if she wasn’t safe? The voices had fallen silent at his name, but she knew they - and the madness - could return at any moment. ""

He wasn't sure what he had expected but Pyrrhic still found her response disheartening. He wasn't enough of an optimist to have hoped for recognition when introducing himself, but something, anything, to have eased his distress even a little would have been a relief. What of their son? He was sick too. Was this to be his fate as well? "You're wrong," he said gently, smirking softly knowing in different circumstances Riva might have been amused by their disagreement. "This is right where I need to be." She'd taken care of him in his time of need. It was time for him to return the favor and he had no qualms with that. From the sound of it Riva had moved back so Pyrrhic set about unbarring the door. There was a great deal stacked in front of it because truthfully, he didn't trust her not to try to tear her way free in a panic. He didn't trust her now, either, so when the door was undone and all its trappings set aside, he opened it a crack to peek inside. In the sliver of light he could see Riva had done as instructed so he opened the door wider and began to set his things inside. "I skinned and pulled it apart, see, and wrapped it back in its coat." Hopefully that would encourage her to eat. Even though he was moving between one side of the door and the other, Pyrrhic kept an eye on Riva throughout. Just in case.

She quivered softly, worry running through her veins at his gentle words. Knowing his presence was inevitable, and craving it, but fearing all the same. She watched the door as she heard the sounds of him unpacking the barrings. Her eyes wide and white as the door creaked open. A touch of starlight splashing into her little prison. She stared at the light and the crack with no small measure of longing. This is your chance! a voice hissed. She tensed her muscles, watching at the golden wolf that entered began to set things inside the door. Go, go, flee! To stay is death! a voice hissed in panic close to her left ear. She dug her claws in the ground before her. Pyrrhic lowered his head to place the wrapped rabbit, and NOW! it screamed in her head. So loud, so vivid, it was like death imminent behind her. She yelped in surprise and rocketed to her feet, hitting the ground running as she raced for the door. ""

She moved with a speed that caught him entirely off guard. Riva was so sickly, so small, he never would have guessed that in her state she would be capable of such movements. There was scarcely time to react before her tiny form struck his chest full force. What she hoped to accomplish with that was beyond him as all she succeeded in doing was winding him and smearing him with foulest goo he could imagine. Whether it was old or pressed from the depths of its abscesses under the force of the collision, he didn't know, but the glowing filth splattered up his chest and down his legs and left gummy marks like a smashed bug. Instinctively Pyrrhic tried to nab her, to wrap his arms around her tiny shoulders and prevent her escape, but she was so very slimy. It was like trying to wrangle pond scum and he knew immediately that this was going to be a battle. If she didn't literally squirt from his grasp it would be a marvel. "Riva, please," he tried to reason with her, "you aren't well, you need to stay here and rest!"

Riva

You hear a small pop inside your head, like a small abscess burst. Internally. Shortly after, you feel woozy.



You gain:

• Crystals (8x)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...
  

F̷̢̢̢̨̨̢̛̛̬̜̩̹͇̝̗̪̜͙͕̝̫̟̥͖̯̱̰̹̗̺̜͈̰͚͎̜̘̩̠̱̱͈̜̭̀̍̇̋͊̉̂̈̑̓̉̄̈́͗̑͗̓̽͋̾̍͛͗͛̏̐̑͐̒̔͋̕͘͘͜͝͠͠͝͠͝ͅͅÍ̷̡̢̞̘͖͙̮̺̝̼͉͈̼̣͕̲̜̤̦̦͚̗̃̊̕͝ͅR̵̨̨̳̭͚̻̱̥̮͓̫̤̺̱͕̹͚̲͕̼̙̯̟̻̠̖͙̘̦̀́̊̒͑͊͋̏́͑̈́̔̌̈́̒́̂̑̃̅͗̅̄͆̍͆̃̓̾̀̾̒̎̾̓̿̅̏͊̕̕͝ͅȨ̸̡̛̤̬͇͍̬̗̙̠͔̓̅̄͊̀̃͐͐̄̏̈̍͗̓̋̏̀̈́̉̐͊́̄̅͘͠F̸̡̡̢̣͔͎̭̳̱̙͖͍̣̳̣͓̰̠̳̜̲̣̠̖̖͉̘̗͙̖̼̜̖̞͙͇̲̫̺̻͙̥͈̬̤̬̩͒ͅͅĻ̸̳̟̘̫̺͓̺̊̋͑̈́͊̇̽̏̒̔̉̊̽̇̉̔̑̉̔͋̈́̈́̃̐̽͘͝͝͝Y̵̡̡̛̛̦͙̬͙̮̘̺̗͕̜̜͙̟͍̺͙̖̫͕̩̆͊̊̈́͛͛̈́̌͊̀̾̿̄̅̏̿̽̑̌͂̇̋̎̐́̑̈́͂͊͒̏̕̚͘͜͝ͅ ̷̨̢̢̢̨̛̣͓̭̘̯̜̗͔͇̜̟͕͙̬̘͖̠̫̫͚̩̠̬̠͍̦̰̯̈́̂̄̂̐̆̀̅́͘͘͜S̷̡̧̡̛̬͕̫̮͖̹̣̖͓̥̹͓̹̹͉̩̠̩̻̠̝͕͐͐̈͒́̈́̄̿́͊̉͊͐̈̆͒̈́̈́̍͊̊́̾̾̄̕̕̚͠ͅͅḨ̵̪͍͓͍̓̎̽͐̐̇͊̈́̊̐̓̎̄̔̋͐̔̏̽͐̿̑̏̏̅͐̆͂̂͒͆̒̄̉̏̈́͌̒̉̎̆͘̕͝͝Ŏ̵̢̧̢̗̬̰̣̹̘̰̥̗̥̦̫̙͈̞̣̘̞̯̟̱̖̀̏͝ͅͅP̵̨͚̟͚͇͎̣̝̞̈́P̶̨̛̛̘̣͍͎̱̙̲͚͚̼̟̈̀̍͆̍̎́͐̈́͐̐̓̆͂̃́̋̍͆͠E̵̢̨̧͍͕͖͍̰̹̦͕̼̺̤̙͉̫̝̠͇̯͙̬̩͉̱͍̔̓̉͋́́̆͐̇̈́̔́̂̓̄͋̈͗͘͝ - Pyrrhic

You gain:

• Mushrooms (2x) - Used in Firefly Shoppe, or 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:

• Fun shroom- 1 /
  An ordinary everyday mushroom that just has a little handwritten tag on it that reads “eat me”. It seems pretty risky, but it might pay off in the end. Maybe...
  
• Companion Flute- 3 /
  A familiar looking companion flute, the selection appears to include several with growths very similar to the strange appearances over the continents, you can’t help but feel drawn to one in particular...
  
• ??? Potion- 3 /
  This potion is a surprisingly light looking purple liquid, clear and slightly fruity smelling. Something floats in the middle of the bottle, what it looks like changes depending on how you look at it, from one angle a crystal, from another a mushroom and from yet another a firefly? Weird...
  

Pyrrhic looked over the items advertised and hovered a paw over each as he tried to decided. The cloaked figure didn't seem particularly pleasant and open to haggling which meant he only had one option. He pointed to the fun shroom ad held out one currency mushroom. "I'll take that one." He wasn't exactly a bastion of fun, but hey, it was what he could afford and he was curious...

Her headlong dash ended as quickly as it had begun. She slammed into Pyrs body, the voices still screaming madly inside her skull. Screeching, wailing, and pleading for her to flee. She could scarcely think past the terrible racket inside her brain. She collapsed against Py, but her junky, slippery body had her slipping right off him, hitting the floor. She shook out her head, dazed and confused. “You don’t understand, Py.” She whispered. He thought his god was benevolent, but she knew the truth now. His coming would be the death of everything. She felt and heard something ‘pop’ beneath her skull, and the voices cut suddenly into silence. She blinked, a dribble of blood on her nose, and blinked at Py. “Oh, I don’t feel so..” and collapsed, unconscious at his feet. Mere moments before the firefly man blessed her husband with his presence. ""

Firefly Shoppe- Pyrrhic

He looked pleased with Pyrrhic's choice, sliding the fun shroom over. "Fine choice, if you're feeling lucky that is." Nothing else is said besides that as he disappears, leaving the item at Pyrrhic's paws.


You gain:

• Fun Shroom- An ordinary everyday ̸̾͌m̴͑̋û̸́s̵̀͒h̸̏̒r̶̍͒o̷̢͊o̷͊̀ṁ̴̃ that just has a little handwritten tag on it that reads “eat me”. It seems pretty risky, but it might pay off in the end. Maybe...
  

You lose:

• Currency (x1)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...