The gälsnur is a large wild mountain goat species native to the Kaduun Mountains region. The gälsnur is also known as the yellow-coat or yellow-coated goat. The word gälsnur goes back to an ancient dialect of the Old Earth word Gelbfell, meaning “yellow fur”. Going back to a sub-regional dialect, the word is a combination of the words “Gäl” and “Schnur”, which literally translates to “yellow thread”.
The long rugged fur of the gälsnur naturally grows white. Through constant exposure to the extreme humidity in the mountains a fungal contamination in the wet fur is inevitable. The piss cap, a mushroom with a striking yellow cap, can grow uninhibited in the dense fur of the goat. The piss cap’s grey mycelium fuses with the gälsnur’s white fur, giving it a greying base appearance.
The piss cap’s mycelium oozes yellow exudate and combined with the yellow fruiting bodies, which sprout all over the gälsnur’s body, it appears to be wearing a yellow coat, hence its vernacular name. It is unclear if the goat is naturally immune to the toxic piss cap or if some form of symbiotic relationship has evolved over time. It is however established that the constant exposure to the fungi leads to a steady saturation of spores in the goat’s blood. In turn, gälsnur milk from older individuals is highly contaminated.
Raw gälsnur milk is, as the piss cap, extremely toxic to humans. Yet, the milk is highly sought after. Carefully prepared, a special potion can be brewed from it: Merry Gold. The recipe asks to simmer the milk over twelve hours while steeping young female cones of the East Willow pine in it. The infused milk is then to be reduced with honey of the Glovemaker bee. When the mix turns into a creamy golden and silky smooth sirup it is safe for consumption. A small flask provides immunity to the piss cap’s of the Alarna Thicket, the forest at the foot of the Kaduun Mountains, for about twenty-four hours. Heavy sweating cuts the immunity window roughly in half. Responsible consumption of Merry Gold is advised. At higher doses it is used as an entheogen and the resulting cardiorespiratory depression can be deadly.