-Callia-

  I took point as Callen and Reesia dropped down from the tree. Callen and Reesia didn’t have the skills to stick in the branches, but I was at my best on complex surfaces. So Reesia took point on the team below, and Callen followed behind, using magic to erase their traces as we moved east.

  Getting turned around in a forest is a real issue, especially in a massive forest like this one. Instead of trying to guess which way is south and hoping to reach town, it would be worthwhile to take a detour and follow the coastline. At the very least the threat of large fish might keep dangerous monster habitats further inland. I set off just ahead of the others, scouting the path ahead and occasionally climbing high enough to reorient us with a view from above.

  The first hour or so was quiet, and soon the coastline was visible from the tops of the trees. It would take another three or four hours, but the peaceful beginning boosted my confidence. However, it wasn’t all good news because I also caught sight of something that once haunted my nightmares. A field of blue and red mushrooms sat on the path ahead. They weren’t moving yet, and none of them had grown to sizes matching the one that had attacked our convoy when we were little, but they were set right in our path ahead.

  I dropped down and warned the others.

  “Callen, it's those mushrooms ahead. A whole bunch of little ones scattered around the trees,” Reesia had heard the story, but it didn’t seem to click right away; however, Callen knew what I meant.

  “It might not be a terrible thing; just hear me out. When I was little I noticed the mushrooms have a field of mana projected around them. It might have to do with whatever they did to put people to sleep, but I suspect it also has to do with their ability to perceive. Mushrooms don’t have sensory organs, only light and touch sensitivity, and in this case likely use mana sense to perceive. How about I make a set of mana suppression enchanted equipment, and we test if they react? If not, it's safe passage through their territory.”

  We agreed to give him an hour, and he set to work while Reesia and I kept watch. He pulled out the dead bear and quickly cut out three sections of fur, fashioning them into makeshift cloaks with built-in masks. The whole process was much faster than I expected, and in half an hour our new bearskin cloaks were ready to test against the mushrooms.

  I tie a rope to Callen and watch him from the trees as he approaches the mushrooms. He walked right up to the field around several of the mushrooms and even grabbed a stick and poked one. It stood up in response and skittered around randomly trying to find what hit it but eventually settled back down into a new spot. It seems the plan was a go.

  We huddled together carefully walking through the mushroom field. The slight mana cost of the coat was annoying but nothing too extreme. As we got deeper, bigger and bigger mushrooms loomed around us, but nothing responded. They even started getting bigger than the one that had ambushed our caravan. The silence in this part of the forest was nearly deafening, but gradually we passed the heart of the hive. We almost missed what was the biggest and strangest mushroom at the heart of the field.

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  It stood twice the size of any other, and on its stem were the faces of countless people overlapping in silent screams. The sight almost overwhelmed me as I saw a new face swell up, wiggling and screaming from inside the mushroom as it settled into place, pushing down the others around it.

  I almost stopped feeding my enchantment from shock and revulsion, but Callen tugged me, snapping me out of my moment. I could see the others holding expressions very similar to my own, but this wasn’t our fight. We continued to huddle together, and eventually the mushrooms shrank. In the distance I heard the gentle lapping of the ocean, and together we escaped the mushroom field.

  “Callen, next time you suggest going through something’s territory, remind me to hit you.” I use my brother as a tool to break the nervous tension and also get an excuse to hit him when he suggests something stupid in the future. Reesia and Callen chuckle slightly before we refocus and begin following the coast from just inside the forest.

  On the path ahead, much more life is present. The area around the bear and the mushroom territory was clearly not the standard out here. I continuously had to navigate us around swarms of large bugs or an extra-large snake. Sometimes I even took the initiative to ambush weaker creatures to open a path through more chaotic zones. With how much death was surrounding us, I couldn’t help but wonder how the forest had enough life to support this kind of activity. Even up in the trees I frequently had to hide to avoid attention from large bugs.

  Reesia and Callen were having an even worse time, as her lack of stealth meant numerous clashes with various bugs that came up behind us. Eventually they found a rhythm for driving off bugs: Reesia would draw them in, and Callen would use a pair of fire starters and wind wands as a flamethrower. It didn’t kill many of the bugs, but for some reason the fire was highly effective at scaring them temporarily.

  Meanwhile, I easily shot through the joints of the exoskeletons, clearing a path but at the cost of most of my ammunition. As it got later, the daytime creatures took to their shelters, and we needed to establish one for ourselves. Instead of a branch, which was proving to be only relatively less dangerous, we used some wands to shift the dirt under a tree, forming a small burrow for us, and then Callen used another wand to pack the dirt around us, making a vaguely more solid wall.

  The War-path

  It was midday by the time Mother Bear reached her child's territory. There was nothing left, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t follow. Tracking down prey was only natural for a large bear. Running them down was impractical for the smaller and faster prey, and endurance was her specialty.

  It was easy to lock on to the trail even if nothing remained from their passing. Mother Bear ambled east and soon found herself confronted with another infestation of those annoying mushrooms. The trail led straight into the hive's nest, which looked undisturbed. That was as good as a death sentence for the mushrooms. Her aggression was met equally by countless mushrooms filling the air thick with parasitic spores. The mist swirled around her, trying to disorient her while draining her stamina, but it was like trying to empty the ocean, and her body crashed through the mist faster than it could form.

  Large and small mushrooms alike were ripped to pieces, and Mother Bear trampled everything on the trail to the killer. Small mushrooms began to sprout from her fur, but the spores weren’t strong enough to breach her defense. The mushrooms seemed to figure out she was moving on a very specific path straight to the center of their hive, and the attrition attacks amplified as even the largest mushrooms crawled into the bear's path trying to slow her.

  Nothing works, and Mother Bear reaches the center. The one mushroom that couldn’t run but was also the most important to the entire hive. The mushroom roots burst from the ground, ready to entangle her. After a moment's pause, Mother Bear and the mushroom clashed in the swirling mist of spores, roots, and thunderous impacts. With a tremorous crack, the ground split and the mushroom was smashed. Mother Bear let out a triumphant roar before switching back onto the trail.

  It seems the mushrooms hadn’t killed her cub, but they did block her path and as such deserved being ripped apart. Nothing would stand between her and her vengeance. She continued on following the trail with the ground softly shaking with each step and the forest parting.