The steam rolling atop of the warm pool of water split apart as they stepped into its surprising chest high depth. None of the men removed their clothes until fully submerged, the steam cast enough doubt to the water below, that they finally released their cares, though Courage was the first to undress, he coughed and asked for help taking his shirt over head.

  Lance couldn't help but marvel at the mosaic of color that sprawled along the wall of shower heads and spouts that flowed into the large communal bath. The showers sloped downward and then up like a ramp, the flow coming down as a gentle rain but warm like a summer shower. In a few areas of overlap the rain was strong enough to soak and scrub. There was a hint of something in the water like flowers or spice, it was gentle but Lance could feel his pores open up like menthol, only to be warmed by the tub. He smiled, looking at the mosaic he noticed it shift slowly, and back again, until the tiles arranged in the wavy shape of the Hymnin tree. He rubbed his eyes like he found himself breaking a confusion. It was then Bam stepped over with the platter of drinks Lance had prepared.

  No one so much as shared a word, but a glance at each other then bottoms up. Courage’s lips curved upward and down forcing the beverage back with a gag, one gulp then two more until it was gone. Bam only opened his eyes wide as he slowly drank it, seemingly tasting it at first but then hurried to a finish. Lance took a drink first before looking at them stifling a cough, catching their reactions. There was a good reason he hadn't tasted it until now, the kitchen was enough of a show for how strong the tincture was, but mixed with the alcohol he couldn't believe its effect. He hurried to catch up, swallowing large gulps quickly before another cough could come. The drink as it hit the palette rolled a warm breath of cinnamon to the back of your throat where the minty hoth of a strong liquor nearly made medicine burned its way to your stomach leaving a quick prickle into numbness behind before hitting your stomach and lighting it ablaze with a heat that continued to rise in temperature, the only lip of the pot of flames the few burps that came after, and in some cases a gag or gasp for breath. All the men tossed the wooden cups clear across the bath to the edge where their clothes lay. Bam looked back with his tongue stuck out.

  “ Lanthe whal da phuk, I cank pheel my tonk” His tongue lie to the side of his mouth and flailed across his lips like a foreign object, he bit it to speak where it dripped into the pool.

  Courage gagged even further. He heaved a few times but only swallowed it back down and shoved his nub of a forearm into his mouth. He reached over and with four fingers poked Bam's tongue into his mouth and closed his jaw. Lance wanted to laugh at the spectacle. But unbeknownst to everyone here he was in another state of thought. The heat he was under rose quickly and a dizzy fog-like state came over him nearly instantly after tossing the mug.

  He pushed his hair back and the water out of his eyes. He stared at Bam and Courage, at first he began to doubt himself. Their color began to fade a tint of red, a sense of worry almost overcame him until he realized that it wasn't the flicker of low health, it was Discern Ingredients. Not only did it activate on it own, but a notification popped up with it.

  Discern Ingredients has reached Middle Mastery - Skill Converted to Passive.

  He would have said something but the changes to his sight overwhelmed him momentarily. As their skin began to tint red, he could see faint lines web across their skin. His heart thumped and his vision slowed, as he felt his heart bump in his ears he watched their lines appear in earnest. It was clear that it was their veins, but a blue cord wrapped along their limbs and down to their core, up to their head, and around their back in a strange fashion unique to each of them. Lance trembled and looked down only to look at himself. Only his chest appeared above the water, but he too saw the blue cords their tangled mess weaved alongside his veins and down, in a counter to his own heart beat they thumped an opposing rhythm. His sight flickered blue and the red fell away, as did the water, he looked through everything for a moment, a frame of blue cords spreading all the way to his toes.

  Discern Mana skill gained

  His sight returned to its new norm but steam began to roll off his arms, he looked back to his companions, only to seem them punching each other, a red rage overcoming them, their eyes full crescents of pure black. Lance went to speak up only to feel the cords of the sac on his head tighten, they tightened so quick and sharply he felt himself cut off from breath.

  “ Ohh shhh stop now, no need to spoil the mealll…. Look at them.. Bloody, red, warm flesh. Let me harvest what's over due. It's about time I had a real meal. Thanks Lance, you fattened up the pigs. Hahahaha” He heard his voice crawl across his mind from the back to the front. Time slowed as he felt the pressure in his lungs and stomach build, the odd tickle scratching at his neck.

  Bam and Courage were like animals, no skills, no real skill either, just a flailing mess along the water, punching kicking biting shoving until Courage ended up in a headlock. Blood mixed with a black ichor that seemed to sweat out of them. Lance simply held his throat digging at the weave in a fit for air. Wellyn burst into the bath from behind the curtain. He quickly jumped into the water atop the fight. He grabbed at a point in Bam's shoulder where his arm went limp, Bam snarled while Courage fell forward into the bath. Wellyn moved a hand through the water with an odd swirl, the water rose and separated like a hole had appeared its bottom, the water peeled back to an encirclement around everyone, in his movement Bam spun like a dreidel in place his arms spun like a limp noodle only for Wellyn to catch his palm and literally waltz across the floor where he dipped and tucked a shoulder into Bam's chest, sending him flying to the side of the tub, flickering red taking a ghastly breath shuddering unconscious. Wellyn bent forward and picked up Courage and the water rushed back in turning into a column where its spin continued. He twirled and exited the column not even disturbing the water in a flourish, where he sat Courage next to Bam. Wellyn paused and snapped his fingers and the water fell from its peak and rolled and became calm, still. Lance the whole while watched what happened in mere seconds like a dream. Wellyn appeared before him a second later from across the bath. A quick swipe of his hand cut into Lances neck, a heaving gasp broke as Lances trachea was cut below the sac on his head.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “ Pity… Im so…hungryyy….” Lances stomach turned and a moment later he began to puke, blood and bile, black ichor, spraying from the hole in his neck. In between heaves he took a few quick breaths, Wellyn held him by the shoulders above the water.

  “ Lance my boy… You must fight it. Get it out of you. Your breaking the foundation to build again, stronger, be more.” Wellyn shook Lances head back and a gaze he’d yet to see from this man bore into him, a wave of fear, Death hung over him.

  The water had turned dark, purple like streams of blood, puke, and ichor from all of them swirled across the water, the same rainbow like film on the beverage gathered in different spots atop the water. Lance spared a glance over at his friends. Courage was pale drained unconscious, Bam took deep breaths his color faded as well, but they still held the hue of red on their form, again his sight flickered blue. The wires of blue changing in them, condensing into channels along their limbs instead of the spread mess. Wellyn's brow pinched hard as he saw Lances eyes change color briefly.

  “ Mana sight? Oh. How unfortunate.. My dear boy..” Wellyn stared down onto Lance, face a mix of emotions. With that sense of fear still overwhelming him Lance began to go into shock, the hole in his neck sputtering in and out for breath. Wellyn's palm rose over his face and came down onto his forehead. A light brighter than white overcame lances vision. For a moment it felt like heaven. It was only until he realized he was back in his Spectre homescreen did he finally sit up, his panting coming to a slow.

  EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN INITIATED. HEART RATE - TEMPERATURE - BRAINWAVES - NERVOUS SYSTEM SHOCK - MOISTURE DETECTION - EERRRRR BZZT

  Black.

  No the inside of his helmet. First he felt it, next he smelled it. He awoke to breathing in a rapid pace, his face covered in puke, the inside of his helmet a mess. He pulled up his arm weakly and tore off the helmet, only to find a mess around him. He felt heat all across him, steam rising on him in bed. He weakly looked down.

  “ I shit myself? What the faaawkkkk”

  Lance rolled over and out of his bed where he fell on the floor. He was weak beyond measure. He spent the next few minutes crawling to the bathroom in the dead of night. He nearly yelled for help only for his pride to hold him back, and fear his parents would take away his console. He crawled into the tub and turned on the water only to fight his clothes off over the next thirty minutes as they clung to him. Not only had he soiled himself, he stunk beyond measure. The same black ichor on him now but in smaller quantities. He hated the feeling of the turds in his hand as he tossed them into the toilet bowl from the tub. Over the next hour in the shower he slowly got more energy back not quite enough to stand, but enough to scrub. The puke in his hair came out black as well, although he wondered he had not presence of thought to wonder why beyond the gross sensations and feeling dirty. At some point the water ran cold. He didn't care, not only had he not cleaned himself but now the tub and bathroom held its fair share, it clung to the porcelain basin. He remembered near the end he still wasn’t done, and had his room to clean. After getting out he only did the most logical thing and wrapped it all together in a bundle. It was the dead of the night, and for the next few hours under his weakness Lance fought himself to walk down and toss the linens in the garbage, and up again to scrub the bathroom. Once in his room he finally took a few moments to clean out his helmet only at some point he fell asleep at his desk.

  He woke to a banging at the door, he looked over at the clock, it’d only been three hours. Rogue opened his door after a moment.

  “ Lance what the hell did- She stopped mid sentence to gag. She pinched her nose and looked at him at the desk where he hardly moved his head up to look at her.

  “ I’m… sick”

  “ Fuck.. with the plague. Jesus dude, this place smells like hells anus. The fucking bathroom is worse, MOOOOM!” She yelled back down the hallway.

  “ No Non nono Rogue wait.. I’m fine just..

  The speed of footsteps up the stair made Lances heart lurch. “ She had to use that frikken tone like i did something…” he thought.

  Lance’s mom rounded the corner with puckered face like she swallowed a pile of dogshit. She smacked her lips like she could taste the air. She pulled Rogue back into the hallway before pulling her shirt over her mouth.

  “ Lance. Honey. Whats going on? And seriously you should have lit a match holy – (she broke into a giggle) Fuck.. You got an ass worse than your dads.. ”

  Lance giggled his head on his desk, red from embarrassment. “ I don't feel good mommy… I uh.. Pooped myself and puked and stuff.” Lance said hoping the child rearing would win out over any scorn.

  “ I knew it, your tacos tasted like something was spoiled, left the meat thawed too long. Frikken food poisoning. Great. Ill get a bucket, stay in here.” She slammed the door unintentionally, Lance could hear her giggling with his sister down the stairs. A piece of him died at that moment. He doubted he would ever cook for them again.