Zee walked and walked and though each movement was excruciatingly painful, some part of her sickness drove her to continue. Death and decay, that was what drew the once-alpha's paws toward the swamp. She hungered for it, more even then she had once hungered for meat. Her muzzle dipped into the swampy waters, jaws opening wide as she ran them across the surface to consume the glowing bacteria and scum that collected there. It wasn't enough, it didn't satiate the craving, and so she moved on deeper into the swamplands. Not the tallest wolf, Zee's legs were quickly engulfed by the murky water. The water deepened and she was forced to begin to tread to stay afloat, each movement of her limbs adding further painful pressure to the mushrooms that sprouted across her body. It was becoming painful to merely keep her head above water, and desperately she turned back toward the shore and struggled to paddle, urging her body to last just long enough to escape drowning. "Speech"

Archon appeared, more solid and steady than before. He could feel the breath in his lungs and the squishy, soft ground beneath his paws. What he felt in Sominum had felt real at the time, but now that he was here, back in the mortal plane, he felt so much more. The swamps were murky and filled with mists. The scent of another caught his attention. Even his own scent felt unfamiliar now, but he swore he recognized something about this one. He, as a ghost of sorts, was not infected by the Ooze so many others suffered from.

The scent led to the waters where a smaller figure struggled to swim to shore. With some effort, Archon aimed to grab her by the scruff and pull her out of the water, his figure shimmering and threatening to dissolve with the effort.

She paddled and paddled, losing steam with each heavy movement of her mushroom-laden limbs. Her head dipped below water again and again, and just as she'd resigned herself to a watery grave teeth came upon her scruff, dragging her along the top of the water and out onto the shore. A round of hacking coughing began in her throat, though Zee did not know if it was the water she'd inhaled or the spores growing in her lungs. When the coughing subsided, she opened her weary eyes and looked up at the wolf who had rescued her, a vague sort of recognition stirring in her chest. She tipped her heavy, mushroom covered head and eyed him intently. This wolf, she'd not seen him for years. He played a vital role in her origin story, but somehow it was like she'd forgotten his name. Her foggy mind struggled to grasp on who he was and when the recognition hit, it was visible in her eyes. "Archon?" Zee whispered. "Am I dead?" "Speech"

The woman recognized him, called him by name and the memories came back. This was the woman Archon had gotten to serve Deathbelle all those years ago. She asked if she was dead and Archon hesitated for a moment, "I do not... think so. However, I know I am dead and yet, here I stand." He gave her a look over, aiming to guide her a little ways from the water. "Are you alright?" Archon asked first. She looked worse for wear, and Archon wasn't particularly keen on playing grim reaper today. "Do you know if Deathbelle is okay? My kids- when they visit me in the realm beyond, they do not mention her and I fear for the worse. Is she... still in this world?"

Zee's stare was shellshocked as she looked up at Archon, a wolf she knew to be dead, but who'd physically dragged her from the waters. He seemed to understand no more then she did, and before she could inquire further into his 'situation' between life and death, Archon asked about Deathbelle. Zee worked her paws beneath her and pushed herself to her feet, the weight of the mushroom growths leaning her slightly to one side. "I hope she's dead." The small wolf spat. "It seems to me that being dead and buried would be the only way that backstabbing bitch would no longer be able to tear down my life." Her nose wrinkled in disgust, and she turned her head from the ghost to indulge another round of unrelenting coughs. The spores mixed with the water felt like she was still drowning. "Don't worry, she's got along fine without you. I lost count of the men she's bedded - including my own husband." "Speech"

F̷̢̢̢̨̨̢̛̛̬̜̩̹͇̝̗̪̜͙͕̝̫̟̥͖̯̱̰̹̗̺̜͈̰͚͎̜̘̩̠̱̱͈̜̭̀̍̇̋͊̉̂̈̑̓̉̄̈́͗̑͗̓̽͋̾̍͛͗͛̏̐̑͐̒̔͋̕͘͘͜͝͠͠͝͠͝ͅͅÍ̷̡̢̞̘͖͙̮̺̝̼͉͈̼̣͕̲̜̤̦̦͚̗̃̊̕͝ͅR̵̨̨̳̭͚̻̱̥̮͓̫̤̺̱͕̹͚̲͕̼̙̯̟̻̠̖͙̘̦̀́̊̒͑͊͋̏́͑̈́̔̌̈́̒́̂̑̃̅͗̅̄͆̍͆̃̓̾̀̾̒̎̾̓̿̅̏͊̕̕͝ͅȨ̸̡̛̤̬͇͍̬̗̙̠͔̓̅̄͊̀̃͐͐̄̏̈̍͗̓̋̏̀̈́̉̐͊́̄̅͘͠F̸̡̡̢̣͔͎̭̳̱̙͖͍̣̳̣͓̰̠̳̜̲̣̠̖̖͉̘̗͙̖̼̜̖̞͙͇̲̫̺̻͙̥͈̬̤̬̩͒ͅͅĻ̸̳̟̘̫̺͓̺̊̋͑̈́͊̇̽̏̒̔̉̊̽̇̉̔̑̉̔͋̈́̈́̃̐̽͘͝͝͝Y̵̡̡̛̛̦͙̬͙̮̘̺̗͕̜̜͙̟͍̺͙̖̫͕̩̆͊̊̈́͛͛̈́̌͊̀̾̿̄̅̏̿̽̑̌͂̇̋̎̐́̑̈́͂͊͒̏̕̚͘͜͝ͅ ̷̨̢̢̢̨̛̣͓̭̘̯̜̗͔͇̜̟͕͙̬̘͖̠̫̫͚̩̠̬̠͍̦̰̯̈́̂̄̂̐̆̀̅́͘͘͜S̷̡̧̡̛̬͕̫̮͖̹̣̖͓̥̹͓̹̹͉̩̠̩̻̠̝͕͐͐̈͒́̈́̄̿́͊̉͊͐̈̆͒̈́̈́̍͊̊́̾̾̄̕̕̚͠ͅͅḨ̵̪͍͓͍̓̎̽͐̐̇͊̈́̊̐̓̎̄̔̋͐̔̏̽͐̿̑̏̏̅͐̆͂̂͒͆̒̄̉̏̈́͌̒̉̎̆͘̕͝͝Ŏ̵̢̧̢̗̬̰̣̹̘̰̥̗̥̦̫̙͈̞̣̘̞̯̟̱̖̀̏͝ͅͅP̵̨͚̟͚͇͎̣̝̞̈́P̶̨̛̛̘̣͍͎̱̙̲͚͚̼̟̈̀̍͆̍̎́͐̈́͐̐̓̆͂̃́̋̍͆͠E̵̢̨̧͍͕͖͍̰̹̦͕̼̺̤̙͉̫̝̠͇̯͙̬̩͉̱͍̔̓̉͋́́̆͐̇̈́̔́̂̓̄͋̈͗͘͝ - Zeitgeist

Your ears start ringing before going silent completely. You feel fluid build up in your ears and cannot shake it all out. Eventually it trickles in streams from your ears.

You gain:

• Crystals (6x)- 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:

• Go fast juice- 1 /
  The liquid in this bottle is thick and dark, and has something that looks surprisingly like muscle
  
• Crystal Bath Bomb- 2 /
  It looks like a bunch of crystals, glitter, and plants rolled into some mud. The seller assures you it’s good for styling your coat texture exactly how you’ve always wanted it.
  
• 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...
  

The woman spoke of Deathbelle, saying she wished she were dead. She said it was the only way the woman would stop tearing down her life. Archon thought for a moment, "No, I don't believe she's dead, though she has no visited me either- nor many of my children."

Zee coughed and Archon waited for her to finish. He wasn't sure exactly what was happening, but he had seen many sick animals and wolves. Zee went on to say that Deathbelle had slept with many other men, including her husband. "Which one is your husband?" he asked. "He betrayed you with my once wife?"

Archon tried not to feel anger at the woman. He had been dead, after all. "Is it fair to expect something like faithfulness in death? I'd think I'd want her to move on, but is she still practicing her religion? What of our kids?"

Archon

You take a large breath, remembering how fresh air feels.

Like she'd sank into a dream, the world shifted. Had this all been a dream all along? It would make sense as to why Archon somehow was before her, tangible and breathing - even more sense then that she'd somehow died and arrived in Sominum with him. Before Zee's eyes the stall appeared, familiar by now as well as the shopkeeper who was manning it. The first time he'd appeared to her he had given her a miracle cure bandage, though Zee had been holding tight to it until it seemed a member of her family was in desperate need of that help. The second time he'd appeared to her she'd had nothing to bargain with, and this time along with the man 6 crystals floated mysteriously in the air that she somehow knew belonged to her. "That, please sir." She lifted a paw and gestured toward the Companion Flute. It was an item Zee knew well - her husband had purchased one long ago and it had made Marshall and Bast much stronger. Would this one work the same way on her toucan and snake? "Speech"

Firefly Shoppe- Zeitgeist

The flute is handed over swiftly as the currency is exchange, the 3 crystals disappearing in a sweeping motion... and then he was gone, disappearing into the night as quickly as he had arrived. Strange.


You gain:

• Companion Flute- 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...
  

You lose:

• Currency (x3)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...
  
  

The exchange was handled quickly and before Zee knew it, the firefly man and his shop was gone and in her paws was the flute she'd requested. It was much like the last time the figure and his roaming stall had appeared to her, except this time she felt she knew what to do with the item she received. If this flute was any like the one that had given a boost of strength to Sirius' companions, Zee knew she wanted it. Tilting it up to her muzzle, Zee put her lips upon the flute and attempted to blow into it. Her aching lungs fought her every step of the way - and there were probably going to be some spores lodged into the device later - but eventually she managed to make it make noise. "Speech"

Black Bill

oris it obsidian?

She played the flute and the toucan began to imitate it. When Zee glances at her companion, she notices its beak glowing a faint blue. When she stops playing the flute, it falls apart and the glowing subsides, leaving the toucan with a serrated obsidian beak.

You gain:

• Boosted Companion- Now with a cool obsidian beak.