The first thing that Pierce thought he needed to work on was a better form of weaponry. As it stood now, he could hardly affect the child mushroom, so he couldn’t imagine that the other mushrooms would go down as quickly under the mandible’s strikes. Pierce experimented with his cloak's ability to move quicker while amongst trees and found that he was like a ghost darting and weaving through his surroundings.
This experience drove home the fact that he was supernatural at this point. He wondered if an Olympic athlete could keep up with him at this pace. As he ran through the underground forest, he gazed about, thinking that the only living thing in this cavern he had encountered so far was that mushroom. He ventured back towards the clearing he had initially found and finally came to a halt as he recognized his surroundings. He was glad he hadn’t gotten completely lost, but it also seemed like he had a deeper connection with his surroundings and knew where to go instinctively.
He admired the river flowing nearby and the trees lining his small open patch of grass. He fished into his new toolbelt and found what he sought. Amazed that he actually could, he pulled out the basic wooden-handled hatchet. He apologized for what he was about to do to the trees and struck out into one of the closest trunks. Pierce was surprised that he went into the trunk about an inch on the first strike. He swung repeatedly until the tree creaked ominously, and he scrambled out of the way. As it fell, Pierce called out, “Timber!” He then was a bit abashed as he realized no one was around to hear the warning.
He hoped he wouldn’t start talking to the local foliage out of loneliness. It may have suited Tom Hanks, but it wasn’t a trait he wanted to pick up on. He approached the felled log, looked at the gems that had cracked off in the fall, and picked one up.
Mana Stone(minor)- This Mana Stone possesses Minor mana storage. This stone can be used to refill one’s mana pool or as an ingredient in a profession. Current capacity 100/100 mana
Okay, great bigger battery, now what to use the said battery for? How could he use this power for destructive or constructive means? “Aha!” He shouted, “I just have to put shit together.” Realizing he was the enemy of the mushroom state currently, he probably shouldn’t have shouted. Disregarding that small matter, he chopped away at the wood again, making a smaller log. He then split the log down the middle to make two halves. Realizing he hadn’t inspected the tree’s wood yet, he picked up one of the halves.
White Iron Ash Log (common) - This thick tree log is known for its toughness as an ingredient and its ability to live off of mana alone, which gives it excellent mana circulation possibilities when used as a material.
Mana circulation possibilities? He liked the sound of that. It made him think he could imbue some function to release a concentrated blast from the mana crystal using this as a base.
He put the hatchet back into the tool belt, and it seemed to melt away in his hand. Then he fished around for a knife. It took him almost five minutes of rummaging to find one this time. He clasped his hands around it and pulled it out to reveal an essential whittling knife. He then peeled the bark off it and started to shape a hole for one of the lesser stones he had gotten off the insect earlier.
He set the stone against the wood and gauged a general outline. Then, he started to slowly chip away at it, giving the stone a slight divot in the wood to rest in and carving a channel point to release the energy. He then made more of the twine and tied the stone. He needed to learn how to make this work. The idea for the channel had come from his skills, but he wasn’t sure how to implement it.
He sat on a rock nearby and fiddled with his weird Wii remote, thinking about how to trigger the expulsion of mana from the stone. Mana, being literal magic, was a foreign concept to him, and how to interact with it did not come flooding to him.
He had already tried “By the power of a gray skull!” but no such luck. Unlike He-man, it seemed he did not have the power. He then tried a few Harry Potter spells, shaking it as if it owed him money and eventually throwing it, but nothing. Running out of ideas, he started tapping the gem he had inlaid and finally got a response. A small beam of light shot from the crystal down the channel he’d carved and into a tree. He whooped and hollered for all the world to hear until he finally got a hold of himself and ran to look at what damage his toy had dealt.
It was safe to say it had knocked some of the bark off. Okay, not great, but progress; realizing he had to touch the stone to shoot any form of mana projectile, he started to work on a way to condense the mana stone's power while also being able to activate it more effectively. He first considered enclosing the mana stone to create a more refined point for releasing energy.
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This did work in a general way, given that it bore into the tree trunk about a quarter of an inch, but it wasn’t enough for Pierce. He thought to widen the channels of both halves of the wood to produce a larger projectile, and when he activated the mana stone through the chiseled-out hole on the sides of the two planks, a lot of mana shot out, hitting the tree with what seemed like a lot more force.
Pierce excitedly tried to activate it again, but there was no response from the gem. Cursing, he took one of the planks of the other by undoing the twine that held them together, and he took out the gem.
Current capacity 0/50 mana
Pierce held it in his palm and tried to channel what he felt channeling mana should feel like, and slowly, the stone started to recharge. It was exhausting. The feeling was like pushing a boulder through a crack in a wall. After about half an hour of arduous channeling into the stone, he finally had recharged it. He lay back on the grass and breathed in the underground air. He needed some rest.
He got up and looked for a comfortable tree to lie back on. He then drew the hood of his new cloak deep across his eye to cover his eyes and fell asleep pondering how to address changing the mana crystals.
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Pierce awoke to his body bouncing on top of something relatively soft and opened his eyes to see what it was. A giant that looked from the top, a shitake mushroom, was running along with Pierce strapped to its head. Horrified, Pierce looked around and saw three other mushrooms running along beside him. The difference between these and the one he had fought earlier, or let's be honest, the tree had fought earlier, was that these had arms. Arms? Arms! Arms.
The two running near Jacob looked like they were wearing some kind of tree bark Gambeson. At the same time, the one in the back was carrying a flag that seemed to be sporting a picture of a morel mushroom. All the mushrooms appeared to be different types; the one at the back was a larger version of the blue mushrooms that dotted the ceiling and walls. Another close and to the left of Pierce’s shitake was an acid green color with purple swirls on its dome, and its stem, legs, and arms were a dark brown. The one on Pierce's right looked like the parent of the one that Pierce had slain.
Admiring his ability to fuck up anything and everything, he thought through his options. He could run if he got free from these damned bonds, but if the child one could almost catch up to him, it was practically inevitable that these could as well, even with the cloak's boost to speed. What were these bonds even made out of anyway? He looked down and tried to discern what material they were. It seemed to be a leather-like substance, but he wasn't positive. He went back to the drawing board. So, at least, it was a mildly good sign that these mushrooms had captured him instead of killing him outright. \
It gave him hope that maybe he would avoid death in one of those gross mouths of theirs. He shuddered as he remembered the lolling tongue of the child. He supposed that they were probably taking him to the mushroom village. He didn't even remotely recognize where in the cavern they were, though he noticed some darker foliage colors here. The mushrooms on the walls and ceiling seemed to shine light through a fog as it came through dim and distorted.
He accepted whatever fate was upon him and waited to see some sign of Mushroomtopia. The constant bobbing of his vision while looking up at the ceiling gave him a headache, so he closed his eyes. Almost half an hour later, the worst ride he had ever taken was finally over. The shiitake he was on lowered itself, and he felt mushroom hands untying him. He opened his eyes and saw the adult fairytale mushroom grabbing out of him. he then had the wiriest experience of his life, especially given what was happening right now, but a voice with a very neutral tone spoke in his mind.
"Ah, so you have awakened child murderer."
Pierce wanted to scream. It felt like his mind was reeling to whatever this creature was doing to him, but it wasn't nearly enough, and his headache just turned worse.
"Do you think I would not know my own child's spores on you? We always know of every one of our kin, but especially those of the same spore."
Pierce screamed as though his mind was splitting open. He didn't even look around as he was hoisted into the mushroom's arms and carried through what seemed like the Smurf's town come to life, except with mushroom inhabitants. The pain in his head was excruciating; it felt as though someone had taken a dozen hammers and slammed them into his brain all at once. He writhed as he was brought through the streets of this town, and eventually, they stopped in front of a building with a giant black toadstool on top. Two guards, or what seemed to be guards, opened the doors and let them pass.
They entered into a hall of wood and a living vine. Thousands of roots, plants, and vines covered the walls and ceiling, and a dark wood trunk cut through it all,y with branches leading down and making pathway corridors. Pierce would've thought he was dreaming if he hadn't been in such excruciating pain. He could not believe what he was seeing.
"Man, earth mushrooms are losers," he slurred out. " They need to take a few pointers from you guys."
They went down to the end of the hallway and stopped in front of a doorway with two golden handles that had morels engraved onto them. The shiitake tasted the knobs, and Pierce's world was filled with light as a bright sun, or what seemed like a sun, hung suspended by a single branch in the center of the room. The eight from it revealed the rising platforms and seats that made a crescent moon shape on the room's far end. And a giant Morel mushroom man was on a dais high above the others. Pierce sighed as the doors closed behind him.