Mycelic Slipspawn
The small fort was impregnable. In fact, from recollection, Ursca couldn't remember the last time it had even been attacked, which did beg the question as to why it was there. Apparently the Realm of Silence was nearby, tunnels dug beneath the ground by rat-like creatures, but he didn't believe any of that, it was all just an excuse to keep them penned up in the uncomfortable old garrison.
A shout snatched his attention away from the mundane task of chopping firewood and he looked up to the wall where one of the guards was waving vigorously.
“Bowmen, we need bowmen up here now!” the man cried.
Ursca forgot what he was doing, dropping the axe and running to the wall, excitement at what was on the other side dispelling any hint of alarm or panic. When he reached the palisade and looked over, he was met with the strangest of sights. It appeared the forest had sprouted legs and was shambling towards them, led by a peculiarly dressed woman and a shuffling…was that some kind of mushroom? As they neared though he could see it wasn't a woman at all, more like some sort of infected witch, and the other thing was white and rubbery looking with fiery hair, bright eyes and a white lattice work that blossomed out behind it.
Moss and rotten spores began to appear across the wood stockade, creeping up the wall, prompting Ursca to edge away. Some of the guards fired arrows at the approaching throng but they all turned in the air at the last moment, striking the white fungus creature at the front. None of it caused any damage though and the rotting horde continued, inexplicably on. He wanted to turn and run away but his limbs felt suddenly leaden, the energy sapped from his body. Then a guard screamed and Ursca looked along the wall. He watched in horror as the fungal spores reached the poor man, quickly absorbing the life from his body and turning him into a rotting husk within seconds.
Closing his eyes, Ursca dropped to the ground and began to sob. Mycelic Slipspawn was first found on the edges of the swamps of Praetoria, in areas where the fetid waters meet with the forests and jungles. It is highly toxic and grows to a substantial size. Death is uncommon for those who touch its fibrous body however, the side effects of its toxins can cause a long list of illnesses and disease, leaving its victims severely debilitated.
When the chaos portal opened and the creeping plague infected the land, the Slipspawn struggled to endure, being completely intolerant to the deadly pandemic. But then Queen Mycelia came, she touched the Slipspawn as she passed it by and it drank from her power, an enduring energy that ran deep and defiantly cast the pestilence of the chaos taint aside. The Slipspawn pulled its roots free from the ground and eagerly danced across the leafy forest floor after her, desperate to follow its saviour and stand by her in the times to come.