#dying to a potential warbeast

[vaalthus]

Threat of the Fungus

Ya know when it was initially mentioned that the Proclamation Rift located near Dragesvard was producing nothing else but fungal growth I immediately thought to myself oh this will probably have something silly like foot waves of those mushroom creatures we have fought in the wild from time to time.

Even as Niki showed up ten seconds later mentioning that Dragesvard had been overtaken by mushrooms I thought the only real threat were the obvious structural damages and loss or injury of human life from massive spontaneous growth of large mycelium structures and the usual spores that you’d expect in general to be toxic to human health, mold and what not. But still nothing that would present a feeling of...wrongness

For all intents and purposes I thought this was going to be a rather straightforward conflict. After all, mushrooms in this game have always been still rather comedic in their presence here despite the technical threat they bring on a regular day. To me, at the time, the danger in concept posed no more of a threat than say Kinori from MHA who held the power to produce a variety of mushrooms practically anywhere. Something that could be lethal sure but something that would to a death no more different than being poisoned

....And then we journeyed across the Depths to Dragesvard...and then I saw them

The unfortunate hollowed Killguins and Tuksers that have fell to perhaps one of the most disturbing fates out there

And then I remembered that 1) We’re in Book 3 of Dragonfable and 2) Fungi, particularly, parasitic Cordyceps, can produce one of the most horrific deaths imaginable for creatures of our size if they ever evolved for our species. Losing the ability to think as your body slowly turns into nutrients for fungi that will just spread more spores is...yeah

And then I remembered En from Dorohedoro as well as the infected variants from the Last of Us games that proved why underestimating the destructive potential of fungus on a regional scale is no laughing matter.

AAAND what’s worse is this little guy right here

This thing that looks like a beefier and tankier version of the normal shroom people we faced that looks like he could punch you to death if he was a bit taller

AND THEN! ONLY THEN DID I REMEMBER THESE WALKING CONCUSSION INDUCING MADLADS RIGHT HERE!

I don’t think I need to explain the horrific possibility of them walking right past this dude’s corpse and not even realizing it. 

Moral of the story kids is fear the power of the shrooms and the horrors they bring