Skylanders: Found

18. Mushroom River

Swarms of zapper bugs dashed for shelter as water streamed from the sky, their golden glow lighting an otherwise obscured path through the dense wildlife. The promised glowing mushrooms were nowhere to be seen, although perhaps this was simply a consequence of the group still being on periphery of the island. The wind lashed down on the crew of Bowhead as they attempted to make any progress towards their goal of hopefully finding anyone. Stump Smash had never been the most mobile of people, but the treacherous weather was providing to be a great challenge. The wind had meticulously stripped his cactus hat of its spines and, frankly, he was quite happy to still have it at all. Every step of progress felt like thousands of miles, the mud forming around his feet and refusing to let go. Squalo was similarly struggling; his lack of legs gave him little to anchor himself with against the terrible wind.

Thumpack, meanwhile, seemed to be having the time of his life. Despite presumably weighing considerably more than Stump Smash, his feet didn't sink into the Earth as he ran in the rain and wind like it was nothing. "BRING IT ON!!" he yelled out as he swung his anchor to clear the group a path. Various plants found themselves uprooted by this action, but Stump chose to ignore this for the sake of making progress. Yet, still, he found himself almost incapable of movement. "Need a hand?" Thumpback asked, pulling Stump onto his back.

"Thank you," Stump replied, clinging on for dear life. He recognised, perhaps correctly, that the rain was descending so hard and so fast that any attempts to speak were likely drowned out by the conquest of the clouds. Thumpback also seemed to take a firm grip on Squalo, pulling him through the storm too. In the pursuit of somewhere where the wind and rain couldn't get to them anymore, Thumpback found himself running quite quickly, flicking a trail of mud behind him. His journey was not fruitless, however, as he managed to drag the group into a cabin of some kind.

The relief was immeasurable. Thumpback lightly hurled Stump and Squalo onto the floor before collapsing too. Stump found himself simply laying there for what seemed like hours; he hated to admit it, but Ermit may have been onto something when he talked of the evil of the clouds. The lacerating downpour had been severely aching his body and the absence of it gave him the most wonderful feeling. Simply, he couldn't get over it. Thumpback was panting, but to him it was just a thrill, perhaps a blast from the good old days on the Phantom Tide's goriest days. Squalo, quite unlike the two skylanders, got over the weather quickly and reclaimed his balance.

"That was rough," was all he said for a while. Stump watched, whilst retaining his tranquil stillness, as he checked through his fish log for any water damage. By his expression alone, Stump could tell it was bad. Yet, for a fisherman such as himself must be used to such setbacks as these. Afterall – Stump Smash presumed – fishing is no walk in the park. Eventually, Squalo spoke again. "So," he asked, "you said we might find Shroom Boom around here?"

"Aye," Thumpback replied, "I've heard him mention this place a couple times, although he's always about somewhere or other." He swiped excess water from his arms onto the floor, creating a puddle. "In conditions like this, though... I'd be surprised if anyone stuck around." He smirked, "Besides me of course."

The cabin was mostly made of wood, which was quite unnerving for Stump (but something he'd naturally had to get used to during his adventures as a Skylander), but also used more natural resources like hardened mud and stones. It was cosy and was quite effective at keeping out the rain, although there were a few manageable leaks. There seemed to be something ironic about coming all the way out to this natural phenomenon only to find happiness within a building. This brought to his mind something he regretted: they would eventually have to leave. "What's our plan, then?" He asked, finally sitting up.

"That storm was really messing you guys up," Thumpback recognised, "I say we pack up and return to Shattered Isl..." Thumpback trailed off, bringing a finger to his lips. Stump stared to the giant with slight alarm; had he heard something? He took a brief glance to Squalo, who looked quite as confused as Stump felt. What was going on? Stump prepared himself for anything, adjusting his cactus hat. Yet somehow it still alarmed him when a ghastly violet beast ripped through the earth beneath them. He'd heard of things such as this lurking through the Mushroom River, but to see them in person was another spectacle. Although the main body of the caterpillar was a dark blue, its great horns, which had torn the very earth they were standing on, were all that he could see. Violet doom. He clung to the walls; the creature was the size of a leviathan, which was far beyond what he'd heard from Gill Grunt's accounts of the wildlife.

Thumpback tried to grapple onto the wall but found himself falling victim to the terrible jaws of the creature. Stump knew he'd be too tough to get digested, but it was concerning that such a presence as Thumpback could be downed so easily. Squalo looked terrified; it was easy to forget how desensitised to these things the Skylanders had become. Stump would once have been terrified to see a close companion be swallowed by a giant beast. Of course, there was some concern, but solutions usually appeared when trouble was afoot. And when a sensible solution cannot be drawn up, more... experimentational methods are sometimes as good an idea as any.

"Stay here," Stump commanded as he looked upon thejaws of death and smiled. "I'll be right back." Noting to himself that this wasa stupid idea, Stump Smash dove after Thumpback.