Preparing to Battle the Spore Boar

10.Draw or write about how your character prepares for battle.

Huh.  It seemed that the crazy rumors were actually true this time - there really was a spore boar causing havoc in the region.  You’d think that such a behemoth would be easy to track, but it had actually taken Lyric several days of collecting information and following her seismic sense to even confirm that it even really existed.  Eventually, through a combination of Lyza, Lyra, and Lyanna’s efforts, she had managed to find where the damned thing was making its home.  Being able to take on many different forms and personalities certainly had its benefits.

She had spent the last few hours portalling through the trees to watch the boar from a distance and take notes on its behavior and etymology.  This was a pre-battle ritual for her - gather as much information as she can on her enemy and wait for the precise moment to strike.  One can never be too prepared.  Plus, she could sell what she had learned later if another of the same kind showed up someday - an information broker’s work is never done, after all.

It seemed to have an affinity for fungus, as the makeshift cavern that the beast had made its home was overgrown by several different breeds and varieties of mushrooms.  It made sense - the thing was called a spore boar after all.  The combination of growths was odd - there were mushrooms that were toxic, edible, or even had medical benefits that were seemingly growing in harmony with each other.  Whether the boar sought this place out or it caused the growths to occur simply by being in the area, Lyric didn’t know. 

Currently, the beast seemed to be munching on a field of brittle candy caps, completely unaffected by their deadly poison.  Damn it.  If it ate these extremely poisonous mushrooms as a meal, logic dictates that it likely contained some sort of poison in and of itself.  In fact, upon closer inspection, the red fungus that grew on its body likely emitted some highly toxic spores or fumes.  That would explain why no one had seen it up close or been able to completely confirm its existence.  Once she was ready to fight, Lyric was really going to need to be careful not to get too close.

After its meal, the great beast stumbled over to its cave and into...was that a patch of blackening chanterelle?  It flopped on its side, seemingly unbothered by the cloud of extremely toxic spores that burst from the fungus.  Damn it.  That seemed to be a theory confirmed.  She absolutely could not touch the beast, lest she accidentally inhale some of these toxic fumes herself.

As the creature drifted off to sleep, Lyric noticed that the cave that it slept in was weighed down by the sheer amount of fungus that grow on and around it.  It would only take a bit of a nudge to make the entire thing collapse.  She decided that a better time to strike the creature would never come, and that it was time to finally make her move.  The poison that the beast certainly had coursing in its veins was her greatest concern, so finding ways to thwart whatever its deadly effects might be took top priority.

Quickly, she took the form of the demoness Lyza, suspecting that the beast wouldn’t be felled by a simple cave collapse and wanting to be prepared for a fight.  She pulled out a seed from her pocket and threw it on the ground, whispering for a fymelion to grow.  As it did, she plucked it and chewed on some of its leaves - that should be enough to counteract any airborne toxins that she might encounter.  She pocketed the rest, just in case.  Lyza then called upon the rocks nearby to surround her in a form of makeshift armor - certainly it made her less mobile, but she hoped that it would be enough to protect her from any tactile poison that she might come in contact with.  

Well, there wasn’t really anything else Lyza could think of to protect herself.  It was time.  Taking a deep breath, she began to nudge the cavern rocks out of place.