kenoslogs | 2023 catch-all

[ Dimitri tenses as light suddenly flares to life around them and he swings around - tapping into a few of the mushrooms himself. There's a puff of spores and he starts to cough, his good eye stinging and watering as the spores get into his nose and eyes. ]

What is this-?

[ He steps forward, trying to get himself better situated. ]

I can't see-

[When spores puff from the cluster of mushrooms, Liem manages to avoid inhaling any, holding his breath on wary instinct — but he doesn’t close his eyes in time to stop the spores from making them water and burn, so fiercely that he couldn’t keep them open even if he wanted to. He can hear the cries of his companions below as well, and listens as carefully as he can to make sure nothing else unexpected is happening as a result of the eruption. As long as there aren’t any other effects, they can just settle down, wait for the spores to clear, and move forward with a bit more care.

Unfortunately, that isn’t a possibility.

From the gills of the mushroom colony come an entire swarm of flying little creatures, taking to the air with a thrum of tiny wings. Like bees protecting their hive, the creatures descend on the interlopers, seeking exposed skin and thin fabric to land on and bite. Liem can feel them thumping gently onto his clothes, crawling around and looking for gaps to slip beneath the layered and reinforced robes.

He bites off a curse — then, calling upon magic to reinforce his armour and toughen his flesh, he frees one hand from its grasp of the ceiling to cast a quick spell, bestowing similar protections upon his allies. The bites from the tiny creatures fade to little pinpricks.

Finally, he releases his hold completely and splashes into the water below.]

[ Karlach is stumbling about, coughing and blinded by the spores--fore once she misses the rumbling heat of her engine, something that might burn away the spores and then the insects as they settle onto her to nip and bite. She cries out in surprise, pain, anger and swipes about with her hand. A familiar sensation--magic--and the pain of the insect bites begins to wane. ]

Damn it!

[ Then the massie splash as Liem drops down into the water and Karlach curses, then ducks down, shoving herself as low into the water as she can in an attempt to keep the insects off. It helps. A little. She shoves her way forward, looking for Liem in the water--it's not deep and if he cracked his head on the stone, he might be in a bad way. ]

Liem?

[ She calls out again, the word half bubbles as she raises her head above the water to call out again. She still can't bloody see. ]

[ Everything turns chaotic in a moment. At first the sting of the bites is agonizing - but they fade with a wash of magic. He swings his hand in an arc, trying to shoo insects away from him as he tries to get a better handle on the situation. He hears a splash and his head jerks around, still not able to see in the dim light and with his eye watering. He shuffles a few steps and then, following Karlach's example, he plunges into the water as the insects continue to swarm and bite and wait. He ducks beneath the surface for a long moment and then comes up for air, only to have the insects redouble their attack. There's a low noise from him - pain and irritation.

These are an enemy he can't properly fight. He half rises again, shaking himself. ]

We need to push through! We can't stay here!

[Perhaps dhampirs, like cats, always land on their feet, because Liem twists as he drops, and manages to hit the water with his front instead of his back. For a long moment his world is just a confusion of water as he tries to find his footing on the submerged floor, relying on touch alone. Then he re-emerges, soaked and dripping and still mostly blind thanks to the burning in his eyes.]

I’m here.

[He reaches a hand out in Karlach’s direction, initially contacting the side of her face (sorry) before adjusting his reach to grab her submerged shoulder instead. If they don’t stay close, they might get separated.]

Can you see at all? My spell won’t last long, and this swarm— Fpth! [He spits out an errant bug.] —Will feast on us if we don’t hurry.

Not a fucking thing!

[ Karlach snaps a response to Liem. As his hand smacks her face, then her shoulder, she reaches out and grabs hold of his arm below the shoulder and starts to haul him forward, bulling along without bothering to pause. She spits water out and calls back towards Dimitri. ]

Come on! Stick close to Mama K!

[ That said, she puts her head down and barrels forward, bodily hauling Liem with her. Sorry! You're just the smallest and so in her head that means Liem is on the 'must protect' list. ]

Do we even know if there's a way out?

[ Dimitri responds with a hiss of pain. He can hear the splashing and the echo of Karlach's voice. After a moment of hesitation, he follows, eyes still stinging intensely. He can't see well, but he's still going, bounding after her with large steps as he tries to find a way out. Hopefully there's an exit... or a way to outrun these things. ]

[Liem lets himself be towed along as Karlach bulls through the water, heading gods-only-know where. He recalls, from before the were blinded, that the mushroom caverns continued some distance further ahead, too far for him to be able to see where the mushrooms might stop. If it’s nothing but mushrooms for another half-mile, they’re going to be in serious trouble.]

We’ll get lost if we go far like this.

[Not to mention, they’ll probably blunder into more of the mushrooms and make their problem worse, if the other mushrooms are filled with more of those bugs. Even as they press forward, Liem has to swat away creatures he feels landing on his face.]

Perhaps if we sheltered under Dimitri’s cloak, we could at least wait out the swarm.

[If they all crowded together low in the water, they could probably fit…]

There better be a way out. It's not like we can just... give up and turn around!

[ Karlach says, grumpy as can be. She winces as she tries to go forward again, then pauses as Liem speaks up. ]

I always feel like it's best to keep moving as much as possible with this kinda thing. Besides, if we just wait it out we still have to keep moving and there's more mushrooms--

[ Ow! She winces as she gets another bite. ]

We have to decide!

I think waiting it out is the best idea-!

[ Dimitri is sloshing toward their voices as best he can, swatting at the swarming insects. This is really not a good time. ]

At the very least, we might be able to better see where we're going once they clear up!

Even if the swarm doesn’t stop, we’ll be better off if we wait until we can see to press on.

[Liem’s eyes are still stinging from the burning spores; he’d be happier about trying to face down the swarms of biting bugs if he could at least see where they were going in the meantime.

Turning toward the sound of Dimitri’s voice, he reaches his free hand out to him, hunkering down in the water as he does.]

Let’s just take a moment to regroup.

Fine, fine--!

[ Karlach turns back, gathering herself in closer to the other two and hunching down in the water. It's a little awkward when she's (almost?) the tallest, but she's doing her best. ]

Get as low as you can in the water, hey?

On it.

[ He spreads his cloak for them as he hears them come closer, still blinking away tears. Fortunately for all of them, it's very big, but they're all going to have to get cozy. Especially him and Karlach. And definitely Liem. ]

[Ordinarily Liem would be the last person to suggest a three-way cuddle between him and two colleagues he only vaguely knows, but he’d rather be the filling in a Dimitri-and-Karlach sandwich than stay out in the open while bugs feast on his exposed flesh. If anything, the intensity of the buzzing around them and the bites pricking his skin is only getting more furious.

Staying low in the water, he obligingly scoots in close, bumping blindly against Dimitri as he seeks the shelter of his waterlogged cloak.]

2023 catch-all

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