Turning from Solomon, Mark surveyed the area before picking a few random bits from the wide variety of corpses….

“Uhh….” Solomon stood confused as he watched Mark turn his tribemate’s remains over and repeatedly reach inside to tear out bones….Each time he found one he liked, he tossed it into an ever growing pile. The process seemed completely random leaving Mark to have nearly three complete skeletons from the various bones…

Dusting his hands off, various pieces of flesh flaking off, Mark stored the pile of bones in his spatial ring before looking for his guide.

‘So far, the only issue I have with this thing is trying to find what's in it. If I don’t put things in specific spots, I can never find them from the sheer size of this thing…. I can’t believe it's supposed to scale to my soul as well….’

A few more moments of confusion for Solomon ensued before he jumped back in fright…

“What the fuck is that thing…”, Once again, he could only stare as an enormous crow with three and half heads materialized before hugging Mark…

Its half head only consisted of a lower jaw, loosely holding a tongue way too long for any living being. That same tongue was currently wrapped around Mark’s neck in a gesture of what could only be called affection…

“Easy there buddy, you were only in there for around a day….” And somehow Mark actually understood the abominations intentions…. Petting the thing, Mark quickly offered his left arm as a perch before giving Third time to speak….

“Ah, sorry there chap… I felt so bad for what I had previously done. Never have I ever felt such fear, I don’t know what came over me…” Third put on a puppy dog face before staring intently into Mark’s watching eyes…. “Could you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?”

Solomon retched in the background, the sight of such a creature too much for his newly developed sense to handle. Even someone as well versed in brutality and killing as him couldn’t look at the crow for too long without his inside shivering….

In order to pull off said ‘Puppy Dog Face’ Third had ruptured his eyes’ inner vessels so they would swell with blood, easily tripling in size. Next, he dislocated his upper beak in order to create a slight underbite which only managed to exasperate the endless rows of razor sharp teeth hidden inside this appendage…. Puffing his feathers, blood welled from their tips, transforming Third into what normally would be called something straight from Satan’s nightmares….

All the while Mark could only chuckle from his relatively new friend….

‘Oh wow, I actually consider him a friend already? Little guy must be more charismatic than I thought…’

Disregarding that thought, Mark returned to the matter at hand…

“It's fine Third, although a warning would be appreciated next time. We’ve spent enough time here anyways, can you still point us towards your master?”

All of Thirds misplaced parts quickly reverted to their normally less grotesque but still horrific appearance before he spread his wings and took flight….

“Yes sir! Follow me!”

Still eager to meet the so-called master, Mark hardly gave Solomon any warning before launching off the ground with Aerokinesis and snatching his newest companion by his shorts….

A few minutes of frantic flailing later and Mark was forced to buy him some cheap metal clamps to better levitate Solomon… Applying them to the still screaming boy only took a few moments before he was upright once again…

The next few hours were relatively smooth sailing, save a few enormous bugs that had tried their luck from below….

The new world seemed to accommodate the chitinous creatures far better than the old as the things grew nearly five feet long. Anything ranging from Barber Bees all the way to Horned Beetles would simple lock onto the trio before rushing to their deaths….. The Barber Bees had been especially annoying as they would release acidic shots from a good distance…. Those shots could easily melt through Mark’s leg it turns out, sadly, testing that theory ended up getting their entire nest wiped out in a cataclysmic ball of fire….

After their fifth hour flying straight, they finally caught sight of an enormous wall of fog that seemed to stretch all the way to the stratosphere….

Third seemed completely unperturbed by the massive phenomenon so they continued flying over the jungle canopy unabated….

Only another hour later, they easily passed through to find themselves surrounded by light yellow spores…. They ranged in all sizes, the most common seeming to be the size of your average piece of lint….

The spores lazily drifted through the air, never crossing past a certain point, and always in motion despite the lack of wind. While at first they had tried to invade Mark and Solomon’s facial orifices, they quickly vacated after Third made a short chirping sound from one of its still many heads….

Another cawl later and a wide tunnel was formed in the endless expanse of spore leading off into the distance….

“So I suppose we aren’t there yet?” Mark could only ask the question seeing as he took the wall as their destination….

“Almost, this was merely a defensive measure put in place against outsiders… My master is at the end of this channel…”

The silence stretched on as the trio made their way down the long shaft, the various spores never entering the area, while still moving in an indiscernible pattern….

“So…. Do you think you could tell me a bit more about your master before we meet them? I have a few ideas on who they could be, but I would rather be prepared for anything….” Mark glanced towards the back of Third who simply manifested another head to face him, in order to answer his questions along the way….

“Ahh, yes. I suppose it was quite rude of me to simply ask you to meet my master without an introduction. Although he may want to introduce his more noble traits, I can say he has many subjects. My master happens to be one of only four over lords that oversee all of South America. In fact, he has been working on establishing this northern section as his own domain for a few days now.”

At this, Mark could barely restrain himself from looking into veritable flood of fungal seed that happened to completely surround them at the moment….

“Other than his insatiable desire to spread his noble reign, my master happens to be a legendary craftsman… or at least as amazing as one could be at his age…. Given time, he will no doubt be the best in everything, unfortunately the system does not plan on giving him that….”, Third’s face reconstructs itself to reveal a hidden worry that even Mark didn’t have the heart to ask about….

Seemingly lost in his own thoughts, Third provided no more information about his creator leaving his two companions alone to converse….

Solomon was still deeply confused despite having hours to think on his newest predicament… His small world had been forcibly expanded many times in the past day leaving him reeling, and the birdlike anomaly certainly wasn’t helping. So conversation was one of the furthest things from his mind, simply choosing to stay back and be a spectator to Mark’s unnatural life.

Towards the end of the tunnel, one could an enormous tree although it wasn’t clear until they were closer that the tree had in fact been a colossal mushroom. The thing could easily compete with skyscrapers with various natural fortifications that made it resemble a cross between nature and human construct. The odd castle like formations only made the entire structure stand out further, as well as the funnel constantly emitting countless spores into the air. Around the base, thousands of mastiff sized ants constantly swarmed the area while other insects filled what little air was not already coated in spores….

Everything gave off the same light, yellow as the spores, some insects and parts of the mushroom even radiating the color as awkward growths protruded in their stead. They each gave the impression that if disturbed, they would violently explode.

One of the many branches that extended from the main trunk of the mushroom seemed to stir as they entered the area, slowly unfolding to reveal a horrible mix between red carpet and a runway…. However, instead of a runway… it seemed as if it were an enormous tongue while the flickering lights would double as countless rows of serrated teeth…

Third continued despite these minor details, swiftly landing on the spongy surface.

The inside of the mushroom seemed just as congested with life as the outside as three individual ants separated from the masses to meet with them partway…. On their backs, saddles made of woven plant life could be seen, the straps disappearing inside the ants armor like carapace… The saddles seemed to pulse with life, begging the question of whether the straps were truly securing them to the ants, or if they were designed for more nefarious purposes…..

Allowing Third to take the lead, the other two mounted the ant steeds in a much less graceful manner before speeding off into the heart of the mushroom…

-----

Finding out their mounts could indeed walk on walls, Mark and Solomon had to hold on for not so dear life as they quickly ascended the innards of the alien structure. Rooms occasionally dotted the walls from which ants could be seen carrying various parcels back and forth, unfortunately they couldn’t see inside from the sheer speed at which they were ascending. Nearly two thirds of the way to the top they finally disembarked onto a wide ledge which had a decorative stone pathway leading to a collection of large buildings clustered together in the middle of the shaft. They seemed to be suspended in mid air, everything resting on a thick island of dirt with trails of roots dangling from various places along the bottom.

The whole thing stuck out as the it seemed to be the only not foreign piece in the entire mushroom sized skyscraper….. Stone and wood buildings littered the area, some even spouting chimneys constantly exhaling a thick smoke, which funneled straight up through the same opening as the spores….. As they neared the end of the spiraling path to the floating island, they stopped at a gigantic gate with countless marks scratched along its outer surface….For the first time since brooding upon his master, Third turned around revealing an oddly distinct expression of joy….

“I have been waiting for this moment my entire life! Thank you my dear companions for giving me this opportunity! Only those Sentinels that bring worthy candidates to my Master are allowed to step into his sanctuary. Some even being granted personal modifications per their request!”

Before giving us a chance to reply, he quickly lunged for a bell hidden to the side of the gate.

The bell’s reverberations shook the area as louder than possible dings echoed from its small frame. During the quaking, the door had begun to swing inward revealing nine humans standing in formation.

Seeing Third, they quickly saluted before turning towards Solomon and Mark….

“Please come right this way…”

The voice seemed to come from all of them at once, yet none of their mouths moved…..

As one they all turned, before marching towards a central building. The one that seemed to spew the most of the noxious fumes into the air while also being the largest….

Taking this time to examine them quickly exposed their false appearances…. While they all had the same awkward and unnatural movements, some had various pieces of fungi growing from the base of their necks, while others had patches of skin completely replaced with a thin plant mesh…..The few glances received also revealed the emptiness present in their eyes, and the slight movement behind those same eyes that only Mark had managed to catch….

Despite all of these normally glaring signs of a trap, Mark simply smiled to himself as they neared their final destination…..

In no time at all, they had reached the desired building. The nine seemed content to wait outside as their dead eyes closely watched them enter the buildings more modest entryway….

A pleasant smell of sawdust and sweat assaulted their sense as they adjusted to the artificial lighting inside the room….. Despite what the outside suggested, the inside was even larger, sporting various tables with a diverse selection of plant like tools…. At the end of the room was an enormous forge where a giant of a man was hammering at a piece of metal…. Each time his hammer struck the metal, sparks would coat half the room from the shear force with which he struck it… A cape seemed to cover him from shoulders down, although even it was unable to hide the sheer mass of muscles with which he continuously used...

Seeing Third settle into a designated area for guests, fully furnished with nature themed furniture, the other two quickly followed suit, relaxing to the simple sounds of the man working….

Minutes turned to hours while the man kept hammering at the same plate, only seemingly content when it had become a sheet thinner than a single hair….

Turning around he stumbled a moment as if surprised he had observers….

This finally highlighted his features as his tanned and wrinkled skin came into view….

Despite looking late into his 70s his body could rival that of the world’s best bodybuilders… Laugh lines heavily accented his mouth and eyes, while a full dwarven style black beard graced his face as it remained otherwise unblemished by any scars or tissue damage….

“Forgive me, had I known there were guests I would have greeted you sooner….” The deep baritone that reverberated from the man carried an air of majesty as he calmly took in the situation…. His eyes seemed to drill holes into Third who conspicuously happened to be observing various works of armor and weaponry that lined the walls….

Mark, quickly taking advantage of the situation, stood from the couch before approaching the man…. Who easily stood a foot taller putting him at around seven feet….

Sticking out his right hand to the man, who Mark could only assume was Ophio, the giant paused as if confused before seeming to understand the gesture and reciprocating it…..

As their hands met, Ophio jerked back as if stunned as Mark’s smile only deeped….

The 2̶̖͕̯̹͇͕̱̯͙͑̔͗͋͝1̶̡̼̻͖̻͎̹̓ş̴̛̙̞̮̺͔̺͈̯̅͌͗͑͐͋̚͘t̴̝̥̔̓̅̎̑͆͠͝ Scourge has petitoned you to work together

Accept / Decline

The old man’s face quickly twisted as his cape fell away to reveal a body covered in fungus…. The various growths protruding in such a way as to be barely coverable by his previous apparel, but now free for the world to see. They seemed to pulse with an inner life, each lighting up similar to a brain reacting to stimulus….

As soon as he was revealed, he seemed to shiver before his human facade was lost in exchange for a more appropriate form….

His back arched as enormous spines of bone sprouted forth, while more grew from his hands and feet…. Landing on four limbs, his skin quickly shuddered until it took on a light shade of green and brown as a mossy bark forced itself to the surface….

His previous brown eyes and dark hair quickly shed in favor of the same light yellow and green as the rest of his body, ultimately leaving him as something similar to a cross between a panther and porcupine…. The various fungi still clinging to his outsides, although now slightly protected by awkward angles, and being on his underside…. As the creature moved to circle Mark, the boy calmly spoke as if this was all expected….

“Now now, Ophio…. Play nice, we just met! I was becoming such good friends with your sentinel as well, Third is simply amazing. I figured his master would be a similar existence capable of actually making me befriend them, no?....” The panther like creature continued to circle him, causing Mark to exhale in exasperation…. In the background, Third seemed to be agitated while also being incredible frightened. Even more than when the storm approached, as if his master’s reaction was far from what he thought it would be upon seeing the two new vessels he had appropriated….

The previously closed eye in the middle of his forehead once again began to open…. Oddly enough, after being revived, it continued to revert back into a tattoo whenever he wasn’t using it…. Meaning suddenly an enormous phoenix eye began to open on his forehead startling Ophio…. If that wasn’t bad enough, Mark recreated the same jaw tearing as before, leaving a jagged smile from ear to ear as copious amounts of blood dripped from his freshly torn lips…. If that wasn’t bad enough, eldritch fear inducer seemed to kick into high gear, giving Mark the idea to do a similar process of bone lengthening as Ophio…..

Cracking could be heard as everyone watched in horror at Mark, as his spine began to sprout from his back in splints and his fingers were forced through his hands…. The ends quickly being sharpened into claws through grinding the air around the bone in quick succession….

The end result made even the fungal monstrosities hair stand on end as it starred at something it could only come to admit was a Scourge….

Something that could only be a Scourge.

The thing that stood in Mark’s place revelled in the fear as he returned the exchange….

“So are you ready to talk?”