A Sudden Realization

Milhouse sat in the middle of the tavern, smiling ear to ear. Rafa frowned, a tinge of regret and jealousy mixing together at the thought of not pulling in the jewels he had.

"I told you lot. Eye monsters? Those haven't existed for...gee, since the second age. I think. History was never my best subject." his smile turned to a thoughtful look for just a moment before he lit back up. "You lot sure are gullible. HA!" He laughed, flipping his dagger in the air before catching it with a smirk.

Amy rolled her eyes. "Yes, but Mrs. Sam said it was foolhardy to rush in. Any rumors like that ought to be respected, and the adventure party was strong enough to take it on their own. They were hiring hirelings to carry out treasure; it's grunt work. Fitting for you and Lissandra I suppose..." she trailed off, sick of hearing the bragging of her peers.

"Turned out the damn thing was a fungus. They call it a Death Spore; apparently the damn things are like mimics. Take the shape of something else. But instead of hunting, these things do it for defense." He chuckled. "No danger at all...well, unless you actually kill them."

"What happens when they die?" asked Rafa, half paying attention and half eyeballing a poorly guarded purse.

"They pop. And when they pop, they spread their spores. Hurts a bit on impact, but the real kick is the disease, they say. It's fatal. They give you a few hours after you contract it; the hardier you are, the more likely you are to make it. But after that? It's get it cured or meet your end." He shook his head, looking more serious now. "Lucky, those folks knew what they were doing. So instead of leaving sick, I leave rich lads. Next rounds on me!"