Bleakform: Fungaloid
Pom Blooms
The spongy red orb landed on the flesh with a springy little bounce before beginning to unfurl like so many spring-loaded tongues. They slapped down wetly against the flesh, splattering out syrupy red stands in all directions that began to hiss and sizzle.
Within the tongue petals was an unfurling cage of cartilaginous innards, and within that --revealed by the unfolding tendons-- was another blossom laying diminished, swelling up as the tongues burned into the flesh.
The blossom rose as the flesh turned sickly grey, resolving itself everything a few seconds into a trio of ripe spores like the one Fykk had thrown.
Over the course of about five seconds, Fykk's spore had landed, unfurled itself into an inverted meaty lilypad, and fruited into three more spores.
"Huh," Cassan said, after several more long moments. The spores we're already beginning to wilt.
He stepped in and crouched down to have a closer look, though stayed out of arm's length.
"It created Orga Adipose where it touched," he pointed out. "Digested the flesh directly into fatty fuel. Very interesting."
Fykk swallowed back his fear and fidgeted with the unevenly layered cloth of his tattered envirosuit as the spores withered.
“A-ahh… are they gonna do that too me?! Am I d-dying!? “
Cassan's lips turned downwards and his head dipped briefly to the side in a noncommittal nod.
"Could be." He said, tearing his gaze away from the now crumbling, ashen growth. Nothing was left behind but the desiccated mandala of interlocked cartilage from the center of the fungus. "Have you met many old Bleakhearts?"
Cross Section of a Pom Bloom
Play a Royal: You tear off a painful fistfull of your mushrooms. You may chuck it up to 10 ft away using the Royal, or may make a Precision check to throw it further. Once it lands, the mushroom attempts to take root. If the surface is viable, it will begin releasing spores. This generates a spore cloud that fills the space the mushrooms are in. In doing this, take 2 points of Stun from the pain.
The mushroom cloud will either drift downwind for [Bleak] spaces in , or will condense and spread in 1 space in every direction.
Experiments
Conducted by Cassan and Fykk during the trip to Gishani.
Ex 1: Feed to a Rat
- Feed Raw Orga Adipose: The rat sniffed the adipose, but was seemingly disinterested in consuming the dense material. The scent may have been too mild or offputting.
- Feed Cooked Adipose: The rat ate the cooked adipose ravenously, and attempted to drag the rest way. It was found dead a few hours later with a yellow tint to its skin.
- Feed Spore Berry: The rat are the berry. All soft tissue was converted to adipose within a few minutes.
- Feed Cooked Spore Berry: It ate the without effect.
"I took a chunk of this stuff to leave out in the back end quarters. Found eight dead rats a day later. This stuff is great.
Ex 2: Test Growth Limit
A Pom will consume an area of mass of up to twice its size, as determined with a pom about 4" across. When it lands it breaks open, spreading out over a surface, then sinking into it and releasing 4" long filaments. Everything around the filaments and between the filaments is turned into Adipose soon thereafter.
Ex 3: Feed other Matters
When presented with a multitude of materials from the kitchen, it only ate soft tissues. It was unable to penetrate Rutas shell, but was able to core through the marrow of a broken beef bone, and consumed poultry bones outright.
I like the idea that it can be useful for the... host? Afflicted? Looks painful though. But also really reminds me of pomegranates. :D