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Mycomilt — Description

The incident began at the coastal town, Valuc, which had been nothing more than a simple fishing community in its entire existence. Things would change, however, when the people awoke to a whaling ship approaching their docks. Though none of the usual folk or businesses dealt with whaling, such vessels coming to port here wasn't that alarming. There had been the rare times in the past when such ships got lost in a storm, or when they were desperate for supplies after a long voyage. The people would be surprised by the arrival, but not alarmed. The more concerning thing was the sloppy job the crew did at docking their ship, nearly running over the simple structure as they sped in. Despite the rough entrance, the workers did well to secure the ship and make way for the whalers to offload. They expected a cargo of meat, blubber, bones and ambergris, yet would find a far different product coming to their shores.
The whalers were rather chipper, the whole crew ecstatic to make landfall. Notes would be made mentioning their high spirits, how nothing seemed to dampen their mood. Suspicions were that the crew had enjoyed a final night of drinking to celebrate the end of the voyage, and thus were still drunk (which would explain their crude arrival). Inquires were made about their cargo, the villagers no doubt interested in getting some of the rich blessings of the leviathans. To their surprise, the whalers confessed that their hunts had been fruitless, which was odd coming from such smiling faces. Their reason for this joyful nature was because they claimed to have found something far better than leviathan meat. Coming from their ship would be a few crates packed with rotting substrate, and from these putrid mounds were clusters of ripe black mushrooms. The whalers said that their useless search for prey had led them to an island that was filled with wondrous fungi, and that these choice mushrooms had been the greatest prize of all.
These mushrooms were pitch black in color, their caps bumpy and dripping. The whalers said that their flavor was unmatched, but that wasn't the best part. These fungi had heavy ties to Black Bile, and seemed to grant a great boon to mind and memory. Those who consumed them felt freed of old doubts and anxieties, any baggage of the past wiped away. They felt smarter, sharper, more focused on their tasks. The strain of Black Bile within was no doubt potent, for this incredible high had lasted for days for the whalers. They could foresee these mushrooms being incredibly popular, which in turn would mean lots of coin. Though they said these few crates were all they had, they offered some of this fungi to the dock workers to try, so that they could feel the magic themselves. Some obliged, and indeed felt the wonderful rush. It didn't take long for word to spread through the small town, everyone becoming curious or interested in these new mushrooms.
The whaling crew brought up talk of farming these mushrooms within the community, for their meager supply would not last forever. Such a remote village would be perfect for their operation, allowing it to grow into a proper size before others got wind and tried to steal their fortune. More people would get onboard with the idea as the whalers handed out free samples, everyone enjoying the clarity and bliss that the mushrooms gave. Chunks of substrate would be granted to specific folk, with the order to plant and feed it in order to grow more fungus. It started with a few traders, then it spread to families and households, everyone getting their own piece of the fungal fortune to grow. The whalers would make their own base of operations within their docked ship, bringing out more mushrooms and substrate to ensure everyone got a fair share.
These efforts would go on for over a week when an Aquanaut vessel would arrive. It was just a small research ship that had come by looking for supplies, but they quickly learned of these incredible mushrooms. The crew would be treated to many different dishes made from the abundant crop, and they too realized the wonder within these fungal growths. The way it freed the mind, made it easier to work and think. The medicinal benefits were clear to see, and any with ties to Black Bile would benefit immensely. They began to talk with the whalers and town about getting in on this action, telling them how the Academy would support them graciously to get such fungus mass produced. While these discussions were made, one member of the Aquanaut crew would collect some of the mushrooms and package them up for delivery to an Apothecary friend. One of their homunculi would serve as the messenger, carrying these samples to the distant research hall where Apothecary Phellin worked. They believed delivery of these mushrooms would be vital for their efforts, not realizing just how crucial of a role they would wind up playing.
Days later, the homunculus rode up to the research hall with package in hand. Phellin would receive the box and a note, with a message telling them the wonders contained within. They had sent these mushrooms so that Phellin could experience them and help with finding a way to properly grow them. As an Apothecary, no doubt they would see the immense potential within! But when Phellin opened the package, he was puzzled by its messy contents. What should have been properly stored specimens had spilled from their containers and stained everything an inky black. The box was soggy, the mushrooms a jumble. He would transplant what he could to a pot within his greenhouse, then toss the mangled box away. Phellin hoped to regrow the wrecked samples so that he could look into all these "blessings" they were said to grant. The Apothecary did not eat any of these mushrooms, finding no appetite in their messy remains. However, they would not be left alone for long within his greenhouse...
One day, while Phellin was doing a checkup of his greenhouse's contents, he noticed severed mushroom stalks within the pot. Such cuts were too precise and clean, which meant someone had taken a sample. He would confront his assistants, and quickly find that one of them had grown curious of the mushroom's power and tried it himself. He excitedly confirmed what the Aquanaut had claimed, that this fungus had strong Black Bile with wonderful effects. This was the opportunity of a lifetime, and they encouraged Phellin and the others to try the mushrooms for themselves. Furious to have his samples eaten behind his back, the Apothecary refused to let any others come in contact with them. The mushrooms would be moved to a more secure location. He wanted them to properly grow so he could run tests, and having workers taking bites out of them was unacceptable. Frustration would turn to concern when he caught the very same assistant trying to break into his lab.
The young fellow would be confronted, and his excuses were thin and flimsy. It didn't take long for him to confess that he wanted more of the mushrooms, but things got weird when Phellin pressed on the issue. The assistant's reasoning kept flip-flopping between wanting to give the fungus to others to eat and just wanting to devour them himself. When Phellin brought out a cutting of the mushroom, the assistant's joyful demeanor would falter. One second he would talk about how wonderful the fungus was, then desperately ask for a bite, but then encourage Phellin to try it for himself. The rapid changing between behaviors raised concern in the Apothecary, and he ordered that the assistant be detained and kept for observation. It was a curious case indeed, but it would soon escalate.
The contained assistant would be watched, and it was clear to see his condition worsening. His excited state of joy was becoming delirious, this was not the focus of a sharp mind but the aimless wanderings of a drunk. Though the kid had previously proven to be wise in the field of plants and medicine, knowledge tests showed a clear degradation. That was when the subject even chose to partake in them. He seemed obsessed with the mushrooms, talking about them nonstop, begging for them while also pleading that his captors eat them. Any food put into his cell was refused, he wanted nothing but his beloved fungi. Phellin's easily saw addiction within the assistant, which drew his attention back to the mushrooms. Now more then ever, he wanted to test these growths to figure out what their deal was. When he returned to his lab, he found that he had plenty to work with.
The pot of mushrooms was suddenly overflowing with obsidian growths, and it wasn't just there. The area where the pot had been sitting in his greenhouse before also showed patches of budding fungi. The growth rate was incredible, and worrying. It didn't seem confined to its substrate, as the slime easily spread onto anything around it, leaving more mushrooms in its wake. And it got even worse when other random Academy members showed up to his lab, raving about these new mushrooms. The Apothecary was baffled by the sudden obsession, as these folk from completely different arms were rambling about turning these fungi into their next big project. It didn't make sense, as he had kept his greenhouse and lab under lock and key, no one else should have been able to access them. Then his mind remembered the box he had thrown away....
In the bowels of the research hall's garbage vault, the fungal remains within the box had spread and grown into a mushroom paradise. They had completely consumed the rich trash, and it seemed certain folks had sampled these new mushrooms. Phellin immediately noted the growing epidemic and set off the alarms. The heads of the research hall were quick to act, restraining the infected and igniting the trash vault to stop the spread. Phellin would destroy and cleanse most of his samples, saving only a few in sterile containment for further study. Other Apothecaries would come in to study these bizarre mushrooms, while the Vivisectors hauled out the assistant to try and figure out what was happening. Answers were found, but it only disturbed them.
Through study of the mushrooms and vivisection of a few of the infected, the "blessings" of the fungus would be exposed. Indeed, they had strong ties to Black Bile, and the strain affected memory and mind. It seemed that consuming this strain caused it to zero in on "bad memories" and doubts. They would drown out this mental baggage, which led to the joyful state of the consumer. Everything that ever weighed them down would be wiped away by the fungus, and with how little anesthetic the Vivisectors had to use, it seemed that it even numbed pain. They felt sharper and clearer because it seemed like nothing was holding them back anymore. But this euphoria was not because the fungus eliminated the negative feelings, it was because it overgrew them. Areas of fungal infection were found throughout the body, affecting the nervous system and mind while causing the spleen to enlarge. The fungus was practically eating the negativity, and growing strong from it. And when it ran out of bad memories to consume, it spread to other facets of the mind. Knowledge and mental capability would begin to degrade as the fungus took over, only keeping the feeling of bliss and the need for more mushrooms intact. The reason why the infected were so happy and obsessed with the fungi was because they literally had nothing else going on inside them, the fungus had eaten everything else away. Later stage of infection showed the black growths choking the internals, quickly replacing the original human within.
This was no blessing, it was a parasite. One that was looking to spread, using conked out hosts to infect others and aid the mushrooms. Phellin's mind would go to the note that had come with the samples, and realized the imminent threat. Though the outbreak had been contained within the research hall, there was a little fishing village out there on the coast where the nightmare had all began. Phellin would notify Academy officials and demand a team of Prosectors. They had to get to Valuc, and Phellin would pray the entire way there that they weren't too late.
Phellin and a crew of Prosectors (headed by Prosector Landu) would ride out to Valuc, heavily armed to deal with the possible contagion. His fears would be realized as they got closer to the village, and saw the black tendrils of fungus spreading outward from the settlement. The outskirts of the town were showing early infection, while the very heart of it was completely consumed. It was hard to tell that a village had ever existed here, for the buildings had been buried beneath fungal blacks and grays. It looked more like the beginning of a fungal jungle, with great clusters and stalks rising from the slimy mess. Every surface seemed completely infested, and the team worried that their own thick containment suits were not enough. Yellow Bile bellows were unleashed, with Alkahest sprayers on back up in case of dire emergency. They burned their way down the clogged streets, trying to get a scope of this madness. Everyone assumed that the people of the town had been completely assimilated, their bodies nothing but fungus food. But as they got deeper in, they would find that they were not alone.
Some of the mushroom stalks would suddenly move, breaking free from the slime and tendrils. Horrible shapes would lurch forth, skittering on infested limbs. They came after the team, but their weapons did well to fend them off. Yellow Bile burned them, while powerful saws cleaved easily through rotted flesh. It took a few kills to realize these were not just animated mushrooms, but the original hosts of this plague. There were people buried beneath all of this rot, the pulsing mushroom "caps" born from their erupting spleens. Amongst the squelching was wet mumbling and choked laughter, some part of them still alive despite their sorry state. It was clear there was no saving them, so the crew continued to burn their way through the town, heading for the docks. To the ship that brought this plague upon them all.
The whaling vessel was still docked there, but it was so buried beneath the fungus that it was almost impossible to recognize. The only part free from the fungus was where the ship met saltwater, the ocean fluid seeming to keep the mushrooms at bay. From this vessel came the biggest tendrils and growths, making it clear that the heart of it all was within its hold. They boarded the ship, finding the infested crew fused to its walls and deck. Some would break free to attack them, while others remained content to chuckle and rot. Exploration revealed dozens of rotted crates, alongside mounds of consumed leviathan bones. But the greatest mass hung in its very center, having eaten through the walls and floor to create this vast rotten chamber. Countless mushrooms sprouted from it, with sprawling tentacles reaching out in every direction. Some of the team swore they could see things caught in the huge mass, like the withered arm of a person, or oars of a long eaten rowboat. But there was no time to study, it had to be destroyed. Yellowflame was spat onto the heart, and several vials of Alkahest were launched. The moment it began to burn and dissolve, the whole ship rocked and writhed. The boat quivered, and fleshy tearing sounds could be heard. Phellin and the Prosectors knew that they had to leave. Now.
They fought their way through the rotting halls as the whaling ship quaked like a wounded beast. When they made it to the deck, they saw the many tendrils that once held it to the dock ripping free. With no time to waste, they threw themselves into the sea, refusing to stay onboard to witness what would happen next. Within the saltwater, they were free from the fungus' reach, and they floated there to watch as the ship tore itself out of the dock. There was no functioning crew onboard, instead, the whaling ship seemed to move like a single organism. Sheets of gray flesh unfurled and ridged stalks paddled through the water. Even as the glow of yellowflame seeped from its burning belly, the ship sailed off into the blue horizon. This home had been lost, now it sought another.
The Academy of Veritas Mundus would oversee the cleansing of Valuc, obliterating it with Yellowflame and sterilizing it with bile salt. It was assumed that all within the town perished, with no one escaping the insidious infection. Even then, scouts would be sent to all surrounding settlements in search of the mushrooms or signs of infection. It was said that the Academy even secretly put out false claims of surviving mushrooms patches to lure in any infected. Promises of tasty fungus to draw in its thralls, where they could be captured and euthanized. Phellin would work on the creation of a fungicide that would directly combat its rapid growth, for he feared that this was not the end. Such growths came from somewhere, and he shudders to think of any others who would find themselves upon the overgrown shores of that insidious island.
As for the ship, the Academy would search for it to no avail. The fungal vessel appeared to have escaped their clutches, no doubt seeking new shores to spread its spores. But Phellin hopes that the disaster has been stopped, by the Church's hand no less. For a week later, Academy spies would send word of a strange Church report that came from the high seas. A golden fleet would spot an unknown ship passing through the dark. Attempts to identify it or hail it failed. No one responded to their calls, their voices in the night answered only by silence. Yet the vessel would continue to sail on, its shape strange and shadowy. Fearing it some Academy trick, the Church opened fire and demolished it with its cannons. The pitch black vessel would be claimed by the sea, and so would its silent crew. Though no one had responded to the fleet, spotters swore they saw waving, writhing things aboard as the water swallowed them. Phellin can only hope that it was the escaped fungus ship that met this fate, sent to an abyssal grave. Let it be the end of this madness....
There are many mysteries out there on the ocean and in its depths, and there are times we pray that they remain hidden where man cannot reach.
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