Scene #2525: Wart Removal

Owner	Pose
Steve	He's slowly learning how things work with multiversal visitors, that Steve. Those responding to his advertisements, or general calls for assistance, will find the Flat Earth fairly peaceful this time around, and once again the local time is well before mid-day, going by what passes for a sun in this land. More importantly, though, just past the warp gate set into some rolling, low hill, a curious creature stands apparently in wait and expectation. It is barely a meter tall - a unit of measurement with curious worth in the Flat Earth, humanoid in shape and apparently made of carefully bundled straw, brought to life by a mysterious magic. For some reason, it also has a suitably-sized bowtie affixed to its neck. It is standing next to a wooden sign planted in the turf closeby, which seems to present its purpose: 'Follow me.' When it seems to do some simple math, pivoting its head towards anyone that gathers in turn to regard them with large indentations that seem to be its eyes. When satisfied, it begins to waddle off with its wide-set, stubby legs, but with surprising alacrity, down a winding, gravel path. Assuming any visitors follow, the terrain changes little over the course of most of it, though forests can be seen far in the distance, with one meter wide trunks to the trees of course, as well as what looks to be a desert. Nonetheless, it all leads to what seems to be a small camp. A set of cloth blocks seems to be suspended by wooden fence posts, and a man can be seen sprawled on a bed placed beneath it. Other fence posts are placed around the area, with one having a white horse with its reins secured to it. The most curious thing is a rectangular construction closeby, that seems to be made of blocks of black, volcanic glass. Sensing the golem's approach, the horse lets out a snort of air, and the golem's plodding footsteps do the rest. The man wasn't asleep, you see. Who could possibly sleep when the sun is up. Instead, he moves to sit up on the bed, before springing off. "Ugh, back's still stiff from chipping away at the obsidian," he mutters, reaching a hand back to rub away the soreness, before he's fully on his feet, "Guess I'd better get my 'game face' on. Can't show any weakness to these people." Hey, you try to live in a world where you're the only intelligent thing around, and see how long you go without talking to yourself. The golem wanders right up to Steve, and he almost trips over it on his way to draw up some fresh water into the bottle he fetches. "What, you're back already?"
Bramble Patch	Bramble Patch could totally sleep in the sun is up.... but picking up a few nocturnal cycle habits is a bit expected when your boss is a phantasmic nightmare determined to shroud an entire world in eternal nighttime. But that is neither here or there. She's not really unfamiliar with following inanimate creatures, either. Though she does squint a time or two along the trek, mostly at the strangely flatness of it all, and the blockiness of some things. "I feel like I'm walking through a foal's building block set," mutters the green maned tan pony to no one in particular. The 'normal' horse tied to the fence does get a bit of a glower, but she's aware of the fact that other races outside of Equestria use their equines for transport. Just as long as none of them try to ride Bramble herself, everything will be fine.
Fudou Moto	This is the second time Fudou has been to this particular world! Though he still thinks it is /mighty/ weird how everything is so... geometrical. "Tell me about it," he says to the small and also adorable little pony. Fudou quietly resolves to take a picture of this creature before he leaves- if not just because his daughter will probably love him forever if he does. Well. Love him more anyway. He might take a picture of the Golem, too. You don't exactly see those very often back home. Or... ever. The Street Fighter follows loyally along, taking a few moments here and there to compare another pair of disorientingly similar trees. How does someone avoid getting lost in the woods around here, anyway? But soon they're at Steve's camp. Fudou lifts a hand in greeting, "Hey. Good to see you again. You said you needed some help around here, or something?"
Steve	It's hard to put too much beyond Steve. Thankfully, he's gathered some minimum of manners from his multiverse interactions so far, so while pigs might be for riding, he'll probably know better than to try with sentient ponies and their kind. That doesn't mean he won't give Bramble Patch a slightly rude stare for a moment, though it seems to only be that - it's followed by a thoughtful, and seemingly genuinely curious, scratching of his beard stubble. "Huh," he wonders, and completely misreads things, "You one of those Pokemon that Lute guy keeps going on about?" He really doesn't have much of a clue on some of the multiverse's life forms. Regardless, he grins welcomingly right after, "The name's Steve! Welcome to the Flat Earth. Least, that's what I heard someone call it. It's catchy, so I kept it." Fudou is one that he had already met, of course. A look of realization greets him, and he once again extends his own beefy hand for a nice, manly, meaty handshake. Or a fist bump, whichever seems to be preferred. "Hey, a familiar face! At this rate I'm going to have to show you around my base, sometime. Maybe share some porkchops." He suddenly remembers something, and cranes his neck towards a wooden chest placed to the side of the camp. Inside, some BREAD, PORKCHOPS and even pre-bottled WATER. "Yeah, on that. Might want to stock up before we go, take whatever you need. There's not much edible or drinkable where we're headed." With introductions, and re-unions, finished with, he moves right on to business, since he's learned that multiversal types appreciate that when they're on a job. "Anyhow, the reason I didn't go over this job in detail is, I didn't want everyone and their cousin knowing my business. But since you're both here, no need to keep it hidden any longer." He turns toward the obsidian creation, basically a squared off arch of that purplish-black glass. "This is a Nether Portal, or, what will be one. They go to this weird...sub-dimension, I guess. Full of these half-rotten pig people, but worse than that live there. Truth is, I don't know what to expect this time, so I figured I'd bring some help along." As he explains, he retrieves something from the tenuous 'item space' that he keeps around him. This time it's a quaintly utilitarian flint and steel. He strikes it a few times, muttering curses under his breath at how ineffectual this is. "Gotta figure out how to make a fire focus, sometime." Then finally, a spark flies off and lands on one of the two blocks that form the 'floor' of the portal frame, and it gives a low, groaning sound, as the fabric between dimensions strains, before the hollow middle is replaced by a swirling, purple vapor. Steve seems unfazed by this, probably because he's an old hat at it, at least on this end. "Ideally, our stay will be brief. I just want to get some of these weird-looking mushrooms that only grow in this place." With that, he withdraws a crystal bell from the same 'place' he got the flint and steel, taps the golem with it - which seems to render it inert again, and then picks it up before storing both away. This is right before he enters the portal itself. After standing there a few moments, he vanishes!
Bramble Patch	Can't be the first time she's been mistaken for a Pokemon or Digimon or whatever, as Bramble Patch pretty much just gives a flat look in return. "No, I'm Bramble Patch, a Pony for the world of Equestria," she explains, keeping her snark in check for the time being. Don't want to upset the guy in charge before the job even gets under way. That said her ears flick up a bit more attentively when Steve gets to actually explaining the mission. "Yeah, heard it was about weird mushrooms." She puts a forehoof to her chest. "I just happen to be an expert in all manners of botany, herbalism and alchemy; so the potential to see the exotic growth of another realm was too good to pass up." This is hardly the strangest thing she's had to put up with apparently, as Bramble follows Steve into the portal without questioning it or its purposes.
Fudou Moto	A fistbump it is! But only because Fudou's that kind of casual, relaxed type of mercenary. "Porkchops would be great. Always like a good barbecue," he grins, before moving towards the crate to fetch... Water. Just water and bread for now. "Is that what that thing is," he nods his head at the gigantic obsidian portal. "I was sort of wondering. It looked like something pretty nasty, you know? Guess a hellgate would make sense." It sort of bothers him that he can just casually accept 'hellgate into desolate terror-hole' as a matter of course now. The multiverse does a lot to change a guy. "Hey, as long as the pay's good," Fudou responds with a shrug, moving up to join the other two in the portal. "I'll watch your back for however long you need. Just point me at the problems when they show up."
Steve	The portal must pass sound, at least to some degree, as on the other side, Steve is already responding to Bramble Patch's curiosity, "Well then, Bramble Patch. Assuming we find enough, you're welcome to keep some samples for yourself." He's not that greedy, and once some is secured, if they can also find some soul sand, he knows it can be regrown elsewhere. Or at least, that's how it's always worked - he's trying to not make too many assumptions, as of late. Speaking of his assumptions. The landscape that greets otherworldly travelers here is familiar enough to him, though likely isn't to others. It is essentially a hell scape, a duplicate of the portal that had brought them here set on stone the color of blood. It looks like an enormous cave, as far as the eye can see, heated and lighted by lava that forms deep lakes, and flows off cliffs from unseen sources above. Despite that, there doesn't seem to be much actual...life around, to greet them at the moment. This is actually a good thing. It gives Steve some time to do a quick survey of the landscape around them, as he responds to Fudou, "Eh, the obsidian's useful, really, besides just making portals. Though...I guess there are these weird totems I've been seeing around." He gives a light shrug of his shoulders, climbing to the crest of a small hill, on the low-lying penninsula the portal had dropped them on, in the middle of the lake of lava. "Well, we seem to be alone for now, and that's fine with me. Hmmm." He squints into the distance, where in the orange-hued haze, something akin to a structure can be seen. It looks almost like a bridge spanned between two towers, made of a dark red brick. Steve's satisfaction is quite evident on his face, "Heh, we got lucky this time. We're headed up." Expecting the terrain would not be favorable, Steve had prepared his favorite pickaxe for the occassion. The rock here, called netherrack, swiftly falls to his swings, and he seems to be picking up roughly cubic sections of it, which he then places down in front of them, creating an ad-hoc set of steps up that would, in any other world, make little logical sense. Whether his body guards and fellow adventurers for the evening immediately follow as he works, he soon has it built up the precarious height to that 'bridge' before. "Phew..." That took a lot out of him, so he draws out a bottle of the cool water he'd taken with him, chugging it down. Little does he notice that while they were alone down there, they definitely aren't up here. One of Fudou's old Flat Earth nemesises, a skeleton, makes its presence known! Though it's unlike the skeletons were in the barrow. This one, instead of being a bleached white, looks greyed and pitted, and stands a lot taller as well, around 2.5 meters. It charges right at the distracted Steve, brandishing a sword hewn from stone, and strikes at him! This sends poor Steve tumbling, his half-finished bottle of water clattering to the bricks and immediately evaporating, "Ugh, let my guard down!" Another two of the same skeletons' bones can be heard chiming, approaching from further along the walkways.
Bramble Patch	Bramble Patch actually takes a longer pause on the other side of the portal, turning her head in both directions to look around. "... Wonder if this is what Tartarus looks like. And hope I never find out! Though just to be on the safe side." She (how do Ponys even hold things with hooves? It's best to just not think about it too hard beyond 'cartoon logic?') pulls a small vial of red stuff out of a pocket of her vest and chugs it down. "Heat resistance potion." She did mention alchemy was one of her specialties, after all. Being the world she comes from, Bramble just assumes the stairs are being held together by some sort of magic after the blocks are placed back down. "That's handy." She does note. And doesn't appear to have any sort of issue with the stairs despite being a quadroped. "Samples would be great. More I can learn about other worlds the bette--" Steve getting jumped by the skeleton cuts her off. "Don't worry, I've done my share of adventuring too." She rears up on her back legs to pull out a larger flask, gives it a few good shakes, and then flings it at the approaching skeletons. Regardless if it hits one directly or the ground near them, the concotion will explode rather energetically, much like a large grenade being thrown. She figures the big punchy guy is going to take care of punching the close up one.
Fudou Moto	So. This is what 'hell' looks like, huh? Or rather, a fascimile of hell. Something that, if one were utterly uneducated on how this world works, would assume is some nasty variety of afterlife. Well, at least they didn't land /in/ the lava. For some reason, even though it's so close by, Fudou isn't bursting into flame like he should be. The wonders of multiversal travel. "Going up is a good thing, I'm guessing," Fudou asks somewhat incredulously as he begins scaling the steps. The first few are a bit tentative as he tests the strength of the cubic staircase with a firm nudge of his toes. At least they make it up to the 'bridge' and some semblance of solid ground before, "Better than going down at least, right?" There's a noise, like bone upon ash. A chill runs down Fudou's spine. His body reacts before he can fully gauge the threat. "Stay away from the edges! I don't want anyone falling into that hellpit down below!" He roars, surging forward into the skeleton accosting his employer. One shoulder is leveled like a battering ram. He leaps close, gathers his center of gravity, and then tries to straight up body-check the thing away from Steve-- and, ideally, off the cliff and into the lava.
Steve	It's certainly hellish enough in its appearance and presentation, in any case, compared to most worlds' and mythos' concept of such. Yet, oddly, it manages to be 'balmy' instead of 'flesh vaporizingly hot'. Certainly enough that it would not be comfortable to live here, or even take a vacation. And that's before you get to the matter of some of the denizens, like the one that had just assaulted Steve! The skeletons are quick, but are not particularly bright, perhaps from being reanimated corpses that lack a brain or even any higher impulse besides charging the living and slicing them up. That means the ones that approach from further away have a predictable path, one that Bramble Patch's grenade of a flask is relatively easy to aim and time. How does she do that with a hoof? The skeletons might ponder that question, if they had the faculties to: Instead, they get their bones blasted apart. One's torso had actually survived the initial blast, still trying to crawl forward with its sword still in hand, but the sinister magic that had been keeping it bound together seems to surrender shortly after, and it, too, collapses into its component bones. Should anyone wish to gather them, both skeletons' STONE SWORDS are now on the ground, for the taking, as well as their bones, which have been partially pulverized into BONE MEAL, if you're inclined to fertilize your garden with who knows what. The one that was right atop Steve, meanwhile, is going in for a second swing before the poor miner fellow can properly react - but is interrupted by being suddenly slammed into. This seems to have a similar effect as being blasted apart, though the magic remains strong enough to pull the bones back together. That isn't quite enough, though, and it gives a somehow angry-sounding clatter of its bones, as the raw momentum carries the still intact bag of bones careening into the lava lake below, just as Fudou had intended. What is perhaps less intended is that, rather than bursting into flame and vaporizing, if one were to check, the skeleton is bobbing up and down in the current, before being hauled away in it. Re-dead or not, though, it seems it won't pose any further threat. Steve grumbles as he picks himself up off the bricks, rubbing his butt, and seeming to be sweating even more than one might from the heat alone. "Thanks, guys. You saved my bacon! Those things were wither skeletons," he explains. "They got some kind of bad crap on their attacks that sticks with you." He gives a glance to Bramble Patch with intense blue eyes, before shakily standing, "So you mix potions? Never could get the hang of that myself, but if you've got anything that can cure sickness." He gives a rough cough, "I'd appreciate it." Regardless of that, though, he gazes warily into the rest of this place: A nether fortress, there was no mistaking it. What seemed like just a bridge between two towers is now more obviously a large complex, partially set into the rock itself. "What we're looking for should be further inside. Tend to find it...in places like this. Always wondered - if someone was growin' it. But that'd be impossible." Despite these places, he was the only one he'd ever met from his own world.
Bramble Patch	"I .. have reasons for keeping a decent stock of medical potions at hoof," Bramble Patch replies. Considering she is the 'bad guy' and her sidekick is a walking bad luck magnet, it probably isn't a surprise. She sticks her tongue cutely out of one corner of her mouth as she rummages through an inside pocket. One can just assume the pockets of her vest are enchanted to be bigger on the inside. In the end she produces a small bottle of swirly liquid and passes it to Steven. "It's just a general purpose antitoxin/anticontamination potion, but it should at least stifle the effects without getting into the intricacies of what your world's sickness effects may be." Then Bramble goes to scrap up some of the BONE MEAL into a flask and tuck it away. The mushrooms may be her primary interest, but a good alchemist doesn't pass up any potential resource to gather.... Dark skeleton fertilizer probably would work really well in Everfree. Maybe.
Fudou Moto	Well. That went much better than expected. Fudou grunts at Steve's warning, judiciously brushing his shoulder clean of whatever dust the skeleton might have left on his shoulder. He'd very much rather avoid being withered down at all. That does not sound pleasant. Speaking of-- "You okay?" Fudou asks, crossing his arms, "Looks like you might be uh... Withered? Is that what they do?" Sounds like that's what they do. Fudou glances to the pony, then gestures vaguely at Steve. "I'll leave that to you. This isn't really a problem I'm equipped to handle." You can't /punch/ a debuff! But, anyway, they've got some places to be. Some stuff to look for. Fudou scoops up the swords for now- he can hang them on the mantle later or something. "You mentioned pig-men, right?" Fudou meanders over to peer into the massive complex. "You think maybe they've been doing the mushroom-growing? Pigs like mushrooms, I hear."
Steve	Withered, that's definitely a good way to put it. While Steve remains whole and intact, there's just something about the way his body is suddenly being carried that suggests he's weakened, and progressively so. It would have worn off eventually, but he wouldn't want to face another batch of those things in that state. That's why his expression visibly brightens when Bramble Patch produces an antidote, to well - something, and that sounds good enough for him. "Hey, thanks," he rasps in between sweating more profuse than even this sweltering environment should call for. And since he, too, is in a habit of not really questioning motives, he guzzles it right down. Mmm. ...well, while he might not feel 'completely' better, it at least seems stabilized. "Nah, I'm good," he gives a thumbs up to Fudou's concern, though still just a bit shaky from the leftovers. "That fixed the worst part of it - that it gets worse. The rest will wear off eventually." He offers the empty flask back to Bramble Patch, figuring that it's reuseable like most of his glass bottles are...that don't end up broken across netherbrick bridges, anyway. Without his body slowly crumbling from the inside, he also has time to consider Fudou's sudden hypothesis, which prompts him to scratch at his beard stubble again, "I hadn't really thought of that. Maybe they're like villagers. Know just enough to get some basic stuff done, but not enough to know what to do with it. Weird, though. Pigs like carrots, not mushrooms." He only knows of the pigs of his land, not of the truffles and swine of elsewhere. "Anyhow, let's not hang out out here," he says, feeling healthy enough to begin moving inside the fortress itself now, "If a Ghast comes by and spots us, it'll be trouble." The fortress itself seems fairly empty, though the architecture seems study enough, and all of that crimson brick. Every so often, a 'well' is set into a larger intersection, with lava inside of it rather than water. As he walks, Steve keeps a wary eye out, thanks to the skeleton encounter, and places torches from somewhere in his nebulous 'inventory' to mark their path. Before long, rounding a corner, it's one of the pig men Steve mentioned. In fact, more like four of them, loitering around in a chamber. They are half-rotten and decayed, and while they notice his approach, they seem to do little besides give a low grumbling, snorting sound. "Don't attack these guys," Steve quickly warns. "They don't really bother anything." Though, perhaps there is merit to Fudou's theories after all, as as one of the pig men shuffles and shambles around at the base of some steps, it is revealed that he was standing on a space in the bricks where some softer soil peeks out from beneath. Growing on this silty soil - which eerily looks for all the world like it has tiny faces staring out from it, is a curiously crimson red fungus. Several large clumps of it, in fact. "Ahah! The netherwart!" From somewhere nearby, there's also a high-pitched squeaking sound, which causes Steve to pause mid-step towards the bounty, "Eh? Bats? What are they doing here?" He gives a shrug of his shoulders, and gets to collecting some of the goods.
Bramble Patch	Bramble Patch accepts the vial back. Just because she's a baddie doesn't mean she doesn't appreciate the concept of recycling! "Yeah, let's not waste time pondering the specifics." The pony is all too willing to keep a steady pace going so they avoid running into any unnecessary trouble. "Other than the red stone, place kinda reminds me of the old castle in the middle of Everfree, being mostly in ruin and all." Nightmare Moon may use the old castle as a base, but she likes the dark and creepy atmosphere too much to fix it up much. Probably part of the reason Bramble and Jinxel live in cottages nearby instead of the castle grounds, too. "Some species of pigs have strong noses and an affinity for what we call truffles. They can even smell them underground. My cousin kept a pig as a pet for just such a purpose, really." Ick. Rotten pig men... though this really doesn't phase her much, either. Again, minion of dark and corrupt entity and inhabitant of dark and creepy forest. Not that the rotted part isn't gross. It's also quickly shadowed by Steven spotting what they're looking for. She grabs her gardening spade from her back, in her mouth since its easier to reach that way than by hoof. Only to stop at the squeaks, and her eyes flatten to the sides. "It's a cave, big and dark and hell-like, but a cave. Of course there's bats." Makes perfect sense to her.
Fudou Moto	"Right," Fudou nods to Steve as he affirms that is condition is all green, "Just wanted to make sure. This isn't exactly the safest place." He follows along again, content to let the more experienced adventurers blaze the trail. Fudou is the muscle- and it's pretty clear that Steve knows what he's doing down here. Besides, it's pretty fun just seeing the sights, too. Tourism is just economized and mass produced adventuring, after all. He steps through the fortress, idly wondering if this is the first time he's actually been in a proper castle. Somewhere in the dim recesses of his memory, he can maybe remember one or two other times- and there was that one fight in that castle-themed casino. That doesn't really count, though. Wait. Hold on. Encounter. Fudou's knuckles pop when he sees the pig-men, and he begins to advance only to come to a halt at Steve's instruction. Right, don't need to cause more trouble than they've got. What if half-rotten pigmen can transmit pig-zombie disease!? It's a possibility! Speaking of which. "What she said," he nods to the pony. "Those mushrooms are pretty pricy, too. Got hired to protect a shipment of the stuff, once. That was a nice haul, that one." Fudou sniffs, and immediately regrets his decision as he takes in a whiff of Ender-stench. His face scrunches up, and the fighter takes a moment to try to rub away his nose entirely. "Ugh..." Wait. Bats? "What, are bats not normal down here?" Fudou inclines his head as the cringe-worthy smell fades into dim, pungent memory. "Should we be concerned?"
Steve	"Hmm, castles." Steve reflects, with a far away look in his eyes, as he uproots another cluster of the fungus, and puts it away in the inventory space. "Only ones I've run across have been ones I've built, myself. I should see some of the multiverse's castles. Maybe get some inspiration." He does openly stare a bit at the notion that pigs would desire valuable mushrooms, and even dig for them, but then he has to remind himself that things apparently aren't the same everywhere. "I wish my pigs did something useful like that," he mutters. "All they do around here is eat my carrots. Though sometimes I ride them places, when I'm in the mood for it." At least they don't smell as bad as the pig-men do, that seem to be vaguely interested in what the visitors to this realm or are up to, but not enough to actually get in anyone's way. They simply grunt and grumble their gutteral nonsense. The mushrooms aren't the only thing he's going to help himself to while he's here. That silty soil is his next target. He paws at it with his hand for a few moments, then reaches partially into it, yanking up vaguely a cubic meter of it, "That's convenient. Everything you'd need to grow more." The face-like patterns in the block of soul sand, which are surely just one's pattern recognition going on overload, almost seem to moan wordlessly. He thinks for a moment, then hauls up several more blocks of it, "I'll just stash this away, and let you have some before you head back home, Bramble Patch." That bat sound continues on just outside, apparently in a hollow area just outside this part of the fortress. This once again causes Steve to pause in his work and glance up towards the source, and scratch lightly at the back of his neck. "Well, sure, they spawn a lot in caves back home, but I've never met one here." That can't be helped right now, though. With the haul secured, he gives a thumbs up again. "We'll solve that mystery some other time. For now let's get out of here before something worse shows up, like a Blaze. Not feeling like third degree burns today." He gives another curious glance at the pig-men, and then begins following the trail of torches back out. That's when more of that squeaking comes from one of the adjacent hallways that hadn't been pursued. Within, some sparks of flame can be seen wreathing what is indeed otherwise a bat, and several others like it appear to be filtering in through a crack in the fortress' structure. They're all gathering - and seemingly flying right towards where Steve, Bramble Patch and Fudou are, respectively. "...huh, that bat's on fire," Steve states the obvious, then something prompts him to repeat with more urgency, "That bat's on fire!" And not in the usual way that tends to make him laugh, it almost looks like it's 'made' of it. With that, he's suddenly hauling ass, and withdraws a wand with his trusty frost focus atop, "Normally I'd be all up for studying a new life form, but I'm not looking to lose this netherwart in the process." He lobs a projectile that looks like a snowball back toward them, that somehow doesn't melt mid-flight. It makes a soft, fluffy noise as it impacts the bat furthest ahead of their group. That part is expected. What isn't, is that this causes the bat to violently explode, taking out several pieces of adjacent netherbrick with it. "Cripes!"
Bramble Patch	"I'll just take a few samples to work with, as this is meant to be your big haul... and if we're lucky they'll grow and we won't have to make any more trips down here." Experience aside, the place was starting to make even her a little on edge. Just because it's one of those sort of places. Doesn't help when they not only get GODDAMN BATS, but GODDAMN BATS ON FIRE. "Nothing that is on fire and -still able to move- is a good thing!" Bramble Patch agrees sharply to the summation that just leaving would be a good idea. She's quick to join in the running, but when the fire bat EXPLODES she instinctively dives to the ground and covers her head with her forehooves. "OR EXPLODING. EXPLODING THINGS IS NEVER GOOD!" She scrambles back onto her hooves to catch up with her companions. Okay, exploding bats on fire, not good. Not something they want to stick around to deal with, but not something they want following them back to the surface, either. Need to slow them down. To which Bramble Patch pulls out something akin to tangled clusters of roots and tosses them over her shoulder, then zaps them with some of the corrupt magic stored in the gem on her headband. The result is several POOFS of rabid growth that sprout from the clusters large thistle leaves that apparently serve as wings, and protrudant 'heads' that are akin to venus flytraps but have gnarled thorny horns and a vagely lizard-like appearance to them. Instinctively drawn to motion they swoop at the bats and try to chomp down on them, even if doing so will cause them to explode. Hopefully the exploding will take out more bats in a sort of kamikazi sacrifice manner. "The snapdragons will hopefully slow them down. KEEP RUNNING." Yes the tendancy for punny names includes plant life in Equestria.
Fudou Moto	Dirt and mushrooms. All this way for dirt and mushrooms? Well, Fudou's not exactly the boss of this particular operation. He scratches at his chin, eyeing Steve as he goes to work. "So what do you even do with those things, anyway? Make stew?" Would it even be slightly wise to make Netherstew? It might ust be tasty! Or it could melt your flesh from your bones. And then, there are bats. "What." Fudou stares incredulously at the swarm of burning chiropterans. His fists tighten reflexively, before he turns to chase the other two back out of the fortress. "What kind of castle has flaming bats?" There's a sudden BLAM. "/Exploding/ flaming bats!?" How does that even work? Are they made of gunpowder? It just means he has to hightail it even faster, following after the other two as they make their way back onto the bridge and down towards the warpgate. Fudou growls, his stance lowering, one arm sweeping out underneath him to tear chunks of loose stone out of the structure. If they explode, then... "Let's see if I can still pitch on the run," he mutters, squeezing the lump of earth tight between his palms. Red light wafts briefly from his wrists and all the way up his shoulders. The fighter lunges, twisting about on the balls of his feet, and transforms his body's rotational momentum into an impulse of force across the lever of his arm. He hurls that clod of rock and stone straight into the most prominent concentration of bat-things. Unlike most loosened stone, it somehow stays in a single cohesive block throughout its flight. Gotta love that weird geometric physics.
Steve	The bats must have been gathering for a while, waiting for this chance. By the time they finish flowing into the hallway, there must be at least two dozen of the things. What do they want? What is their goal? It is probably better to not find out! Steve glances back every so often, but for the most part he's just trying to not trip over anything, which in the midst of all the netherbrick and with these things chasing them, would be a double whammy. Despite the high pressure of the situation, he still fumbles through his inventory to retrieve a curious scanning device, that looks like a glass lens set into a gold frame, which he directs towards the pursuing flight of fiendish bats. "Ignis and bestia," he utters, "I don't know what I expected." Nonetheless, a sudden burst of inspiration strikes the back of his mind. Perhaps if these creatures could be tamed, they could be wielded... Okay, let's save that for when they aren't trying to blow him and his contractees up. They pursue doggedly, even around the winding corners and corridors of the fortress. Even if they're bats that are partially made of fire, it seems like their echolocation still works just fine, unfortunately. However, like the skeletons before them, that same single-minded desire for mayhem is also a weakness that can be exploited. They try no alternate routes to attempt to flank the ones they are pursuing, relying completely on their own incredible flight speed. If not for obstructions, they would certainly catch up eventually, and as Bramble had predicted, likely follow them back to the other side. Thankfully, the quick thinking also leads to the deployment of the aptly named snap dragons. The first of several bats, more concerned with the ones they were chasing, slam into the veritable wall of plants, seeming to be trying to ram their way through. That is before they begin to be chomped at. There's only one thing to be done in this situation if you're fire bat: EXPLODE. The force of the blast of several of the bats going off at once rumbles, channeled by the narrowness of the corridor. Yet, while the tangle of bat-eating plants reduced their numbers a good deal, the blasts have given an opening for the ones that were further back, but still remain in pursuit. If anything, it only makes the fiery aura around them seem to burn even hotter, their squeaks more frenzied. "Never thought I'd be running from a bat," Steve muses, then he audibly 'huhs?' as Fudou rips a chunk of wall out, which is not unheard of mind you. The more confusing part is when he hurls it back, smacking into the 'lead' bat. The bat also manages a single, puzzled squeak, before its body explodes. The supercharged glow around it seems to have amplified its explosive yield, as well - other bats captured in its blast radius beginning a chain reaction that, directly behind the crew, take out a very sizeable chunk of the fortress. Well, probably good that noone was back there. It's obvious, post-explosion ripping apart the floor and most of the corridor, that it's a sheer drop into lava, below. At least, it seems, the bats are no more. Despite this, while Steve stops running to down another glass bottle of water to regain some stamina, he doesn't outright stop moving, either. He doubts that is the only surprise this new nether has in store. "Eesh, exploding bats, on fire," he simply gives a shake of his head. "That's a first." Thankfully soon, the torches lead back out to where Steve had made those impromptu steps up, and thankfully the portal is directly below, still active. He explains as he begins climbing down, "Like I'd said before, I might have tried a potion mixing or two, but never really 'got it'. All I know is that these things are the start of every potion base in this world. I wanted them for something else, though. Seems like they absorb the very essence of magic from this weird dirt they grow in." He nervously glances behind, almost worried that escape was a little 'too' easy, then enters the portal to return to
Steve	Despite this, while Steve stops running to down another glass bottle of water to regain some stamina, he doesn't outright stop moving, either. He doubts that is the only surprise this new nether has in store. "Eesh, exploding bats, on fire," he simply gives a shake of his head. "That's a first." Thankfully soon, the torches lead back out to where Steve had made those impromptu steps up, and thankfully the portal is directly below, still active. He explains as he begins climbing down, "Like I'd said before, I might have tried a potion mixing or two, but never really 'got it'. All I know is that these things are the start of every potion base in this world. I wanted them for something else, though. Seems like they absorb the very essence of magic from this weird dirt they grow in." He nervously glances behind, almost worried that escape was a little 'too' easy, then enters the portal to return to the other side. Once they are back over, he gives a sigh of relief. There's still plenty of daylight, and he got everything he needed. "Thanks, guys. Wouldn't have made it without ya." He gives a thoughtful pause, then realizes, "Oh yeah, your payment!" He steps back over to the chest that had held food and water before, and places some of the SOUL SAND and NETHERWART inside for Bramble Patch patch to retrieve. And for both of his employees, a half of a stack of GOLD INGOTS, which presumably will spend just as good as gold most places.
Fudou Moto	As a few dozen bats join together and blossom into a beautiful explosion, Fudou is left feeling somewhat... impressed, honestly. Fire-explosion bats are utterly terrifying, sure, but that was a damn impressive boom. Part of him wishes that he was able to just straight up hurl fireballs like some of those World Class Streetfighters. But, hey. This wasn't so bad. ...And the payment is pretty great, too. "No problem," Fudou grins, sweeping his share of the gold into a convenient inventory slot/sack. "Just let me know if you need me to run another escort. Always good to have a job well done, yeah?" Gold is good too. Very, very good.
Bramble Patch	The bats may of been waylayed, but Bramble Patch has had to run from enough things in ruins (and heroes looking for retribution) to know to not stop running just at that. To the point that she practically dives through the portal at the end, to come out skidding across the grass on the other side. Sometimes it does pay to be a four legged being use to running for long lengths of time... especially when it comes to fleeing. It takes a moment before she gets up, shaking herself off. Cocks her head a little at Steve's last explaination. "Asborbs magic, huh? That's good to know," she replies even as she trots over to take her share of the reward, and some of the shrooms and soil, from the chest. "If I come up with anything interesting, I'll let you know. Might help you get back on track with that. Even the simple stuff like mixing your own healing potions can be useful to an adventureous sort."