The cold was always what struck her when she ventured into the tunnels. Irriari enjoyed the deep recesses, mainly because they were quiet and peaceful. While there was a slight risk of running into a creature here, the patrols by some of the colony’s warriors kept the deepest recesses of the den safe. The tunnels had been dug long ago, many years before she was born, but she still could appreciate the vast coiling pathways as they burrowed into the earth. The darkness did not bother her but it did make it impossible to bring any slaves to help her gather fungi and mushrooms as she had planned. There were no lights here, as the communal areas had for the sake of the slaves, and the pitch blackness would have the humans stumbling all over themselves and most likely hurting her in the process. To Irriari the darkness was a comfort. Her eyes saw better in the dark, and it was a simple pleasure to know that if any human ever did it make this far into the den, they would be without light, no matter what torch they carried. The oxygen thinned out here, and while the colony would not be able to stay indefinitely, it was a highly defensible spot. Irriari knew that there were passages that had been kept a secret even from her. They were rumored to have massive rooms and weapon caches, though the Elder's could have simply been bragging.
Most colonies planted and harvested the fungus, salialana. It was a powerful aphrodisiac that many outsiders sought, though it was not sold cheaply. While Irriari wanted to make a poison that included salialana she had no intention of collecting the fungus here. Her search was mainly for mushrooms and anything else of interest she could find in the depths. It would be strictly a hunt, gather and return home mission- as she refused to relive the horrors of the hasale'ith'savaht poisoning deep within the cave. She could test it when she got back to the main area of the den.
Irriari hoped that she would find some hallucinogenic mushrooms in the damp ecosystem. While not entirely harmful in their on right, hallucinogenic mushrooms could be paired with other poisons to cause some truly horrific effects for the victim. It made her laugh when she imagined a human, stumbling and groping at the world around them, completely oblivious to the fact that the things they were seeing and hearing were not true.
With her night vision, the colors were mottled but her overall sight remained sharp in the darkness. Some colonies managed to dig caves that naturally had the right temperature and environmental factors to cultivate mushrooms without anyone overseeing the process. Her colony, however, was not so fortunate. When the den was made, and the tunnels were etched into the earth, the warriors made their slaves bring a plethora of organic material to make budding compost heaps. Dung, soil and grass were the most common components. Every five hundred feet or so Irriari saw one of the piles of compost and she would stop to examine them.
When she walked by the first one, she saw that a few mushrooms had sprouted since her last visit. These mushrooms were not in any of her books, and to her, they had no name. They were simply a cream color, with a white stem, and darker gills. The gills, she had learned, held spores which dropped as the fungus matured to produce even more mushrooms. More mature mushrooms often had no spores, but she preferred these, as the poison within them tended to be quite potent.
Irriari counted the mushrooms in the area and saw there were six of this type. Many books and avid growers advised against taking more than a third of any organic material. This allowed the remainder to reproduce time and time again. Four of the small capped mushrooms were old and she traced her claw lightly over the gills and found no spores as she had hoped. One of them looked as if it was already decaying, so she skipped over it, knowing that it would return to the compost, strengthening the mixture in the process. After a few chimes of scrutinizing each mushroom from two or three angles she picked the healthiest looking two of the group and placed them gently in the bag. The other one was hardly grown at all, and as tempting as it would be to pick them while the cup and stem were maturing Irriari resisted. Too many colonies had eager members that picked everything in sight, hoping to get home sooner with a good amount of mushrooms. It was a quick way to get a massive amount of salialana, and other fungus, but it took up to three weeks for the next batch to grow- if they grew at all.
She continued forward, deeper into the tunnels, looking for more fungi to add to her collection, and she hoped that she would find something new.
Most colonies planted and harvested the fungus, salialana. It was a powerful aphrodisiac that many outsiders sought, though it was not sold cheaply. While Irriari wanted to make a poison that included salialana she had no intention of collecting the fungus here. Her search was mainly for mushrooms and anything else of interest she could find in the depths. It would be strictly a hunt, gather and return home mission- as she refused to relive the horrors of the hasale'ith'savaht poisoning deep within the cave. She could test it when she got back to the main area of the den.
Irriari hoped that she would find some hallucinogenic mushrooms in the damp ecosystem. While not entirely harmful in their on right, hallucinogenic mushrooms could be paired with other poisons to cause some truly horrific effects for the victim. It made her laugh when she imagined a human, stumbling and groping at the world around them, completely oblivious to the fact that the things they were seeing and hearing were not true.
With her night vision, the colors were mottled but her overall sight remained sharp in the darkness. Some colonies managed to dig caves that naturally had the right temperature and environmental factors to cultivate mushrooms without anyone overseeing the process. Her colony, however, was not so fortunate. When the den was made, and the tunnels were etched into the earth, the warriors made their slaves bring a plethora of organic material to make budding compost heaps. Dung, soil and grass were the most common components. Every five hundred feet or so Irriari saw one of the piles of compost and she would stop to examine them.
When she walked by the first one, she saw that a few mushrooms had sprouted since her last visit. These mushrooms were not in any of her books, and to her, they had no name. They were simply a cream color, with a white stem, and darker gills. The gills, she had learned, held spores which dropped as the fungus matured to produce even more mushrooms. More mature mushrooms often had no spores, but she preferred these, as the poison within them tended to be quite potent.
Irriari counted the mushrooms in the area and saw there were six of this type. Many books and avid growers advised against taking more than a third of any organic material. This allowed the remainder to reproduce time and time again. Four of the small capped mushrooms were old and she traced her claw lightly over the gills and found no spores as she had hoped. One of them looked as if it was already decaying, so she skipped over it, knowing that it would return to the compost, strengthening the mixture in the process. After a few chimes of scrutinizing each mushroom from two or three angles she picked the healthiest looking two of the group and placed them gently in the bag. The other one was hardly grown at all, and as tempting as it would be to pick them while the cup and stem were maturing Irriari resisted. Too many colonies had eager members that picked everything in sight, hoping to get home sooner with a good amount of mushrooms. It was a quick way to get a massive amount of salialana, and other fungus, but it took up to three weeks for the next batch to grow- if they grew at all.
She continued forward, deeper into the tunnels, looking for more fungi to add to her collection, and she hoped that she would find something new.
