fungi

But it was as they went to leave there lunch site that they were assaulted and by something neither of there paranoid imaginations could have predicted. As Ert lead the way out of the glade continually looking around alert for danger then stepped between the trees, one of the small yellow fungi seemingly reacting to his presence starting to quiver, then as he passed one of the starks wilted slightly to point the bloated puffball atop it strate at him. She yelled out in warning, something she would later curce herself for –she she should have left Ert’s clever instincts to it- he turned to hear her utterance and got hit right in the face by the cloud suddenly spurted form the spoor sack. He stumbled and his face went slack, Peep dived fawad to hold him up


Suddenly there seemed to be even more fungi around or maybe it was a trick or her eyes, the brownish cloud was thinning and spreading through the glade and now she could sense its smell itching inside of her nostrals. Grabbing firmly hold of him and holding her breath she smacked his face and stared at him in a last attempt to be recognized. After what looked like a concentrated effort Ert managed to look forward and recognize her, “urrarg” he managed befor his eyes unfocused and he continued his stumble away from her easily braking her grip without even noticing, .


Peep panicked, there was no way she could move the bulkier Ert without his help and whatever his mind was doing it was well set against moving on from this grove. She could sense her own mind becoming the same, her sanity dissolving away, she did what every remaining bit of it told her and ran hoping to return for her lover when the hylusingenic spoors had cleared and it was possible to be of aid to him.
She reached a small clearing -more a small gap where new generations of trees had not yet replaced one of their fallen ancestors which lay rotting on the forest floor.
She looked around, the air was clear and no sine of fungi anywhere. She breathed deep and gathered her thoughts for a few seconds. She could not possibly abandon her husband but nor could she rescue him by putting herself in the same situation. Has she known more about spores she may have damped a cloth and raped it round her nose then attempted rescue, but she didn’t. She turned to the hooded bird on her shoulder was it afflicted? Was a insane kestrel noticeably different to a sane one? Would the Soromen be able to offer any help anyway? she decided to try it. Scrawling a message with one hand and fumbling against the bird’s bonds with the other she suddenly halted. And stared. There clear as anything a large stand of yellotoped toadstools now dominated the dead tree. She was already running before the spoors filled the air, the bird fluttering in confusion above her.

She ran weaving between the trees, things which has not bean there a second before crunched and squished under her feat. She glimpsed bright yellow things between the trees and trend to another path. Thinking it clear she raced down it failing to catch her breath in time as a yellow mist drifted towards her. Utterly panicked now and rounded another clump of trees she slammed her feet to a halt barely stopping herself before hitting some fungi of absurd proposions towering besides her, she felt herself go faint with fright and confusion as one spire capped mushroom as tall as herself slowly span round revealing a face like a leathery old man smeared across its stem, the apparition squinted at her from under the mushroom cap for a moment as she gasped stupefied at the weirdness, then this face was suddenly alight with a wide look of recognition and an exited yell of “HA HA!”
Peep crashed through undergrowth in unthinking panic, her winged companion screeched and dived upon some imaginary pray only to smash into a tree, seeing another huge fungi growth ahead of her she tried to tern only to slip on mushy toadstools beneath her feet, she crashed to the ground losing control of her momentum and saw an expression of panic and fear to mach her own etched imposibly on the mushroom closest to her as she speed towheads it. Her skid was almost over by the time they collided but her helmet crumpled like foil anyway form the light collision with the soft fuigiflesh and despite the lack of momentum pain flared as if she has smashed her skull open, she started to black out as her senses quite sensibly decided to leave her for somewhere they would feal more at home, the last she saw was the same impossible face look down on her from under a mushroom cap and “TUT TUT!” her misshap, then everything in her head turned black.