The first thing Caruso felt when he woke was comfort—soft and luxurious comfort from the bed’s angelic embrace. The silky blankets were somehow both warm and pleasantly cool, he’d never felt anything like it. He stretched out wide, his arms and legs couldn’t even reach the sides. He was used to a lumpy sack of rags for a pillow but this one was a fluffy cloud.

It was bliss.

Then his mind kicked in.

Memories and anxieties from last night barged through like a crazed boar set loose on the main promenade. Foresters skewered with a pole. Strange smooth-skinned man dying infront of him. Blood dripping sack. Slimy fungus gripping his arm. Foresters dragging him into Zone 3. The armoured Urchin standing threateningly over Webber—that one hit the hardest.

Caruso ducked his head under the covers, trying to eek out another hour or two of sleep, trying to escape. But it was hopeless. He was wide awake now, in the Forester compound. In Zone 3.

He peeked out from his blanket and stared down at the Forester disc beside his bed, suddenly remembering the decision he had to make. But before he could organize his thoughts, Ferris barged in.

‘Good morning!’ Ferris said.

The man was grinning widely and sat down on Caruso’s bed. Caruso shifted away but Ferris trapped him with a firm hand on his blanketed leg.

‘How are you feeling?’ Ferris asked.

‘Good.’

Ferris maintained eye contact without saying anything.

‘And, I guess, a little confused as well,’ Caruso admitted.

‘I get it. You’re overwhelmed. Understandable after the night you had. You witnessed a brutal Urchin attack. Saw good men die. I would be concerned if you weren’t overwhelmed. Have you ever seen a man die before?’

‘No. Well, I saw a man get kicked by a horse once, back in Bob. They said he died the next day… But last night, it all happened so fast.’

‘I know. It’s not easy to stomach.’

‘Those Foresters that died last night, were they your friends?’

‘Daniel was well known here. He’s the one that leapt into your tree. A good man. He was in charge of our edible gardens here. The other, I wasn’t as close with. He was based in Jamala. This compound is more for training and honing skills. Something you will learn about if you choose to join us.’

‘So you’re just prepared to teach me and train me, free of charge?’

‘Of course. Niko was impressed with you. Said you had great Forester potential.’

‘This makes no sense.’

Ferris raised an eyebrow.

‘Sorry,’ Caruso added. ‘I’m not saying I don’t want to be a Forester. I do. I hope I’m not sounding ungrateful or anything... I just want to know, why me? I’m not strong, I can’t fight. When the attack happened yesterday…I was too scared to move, let alone think. I don’t understand why I was chosen…Even if Niko thought I had potential, no one knew that when I was dragged into Zone 3. So, why me?’

Ferris gave Caruso’s leg a couple hard pats. ‘I should’ve known. You’re too clever to lie to. I’m going to come clean. You want to know the truth? The real reason we wanted you?’

Caruso nodded.

‘You remember what you found in that sack?’

‘That slimey fungus thing?’

‘It’s called a slimekey. A very rare fungus that absorbs into your skin. It is highly sought after by Foresters and Urchins. Once absorbed it can never be removed. It unlocks your ability to use Zone 4 shrooms.’

Caruso recalled Niko mentioning the Zone 4 shrooms and how they gave certain abilities. Although she never mentioned that the slimekey was needed for them. She didn't mention that they needed to be "unlocked".

‘So you want me because I have a slimekey and therefore can use these Zone 4 shrooms?’

‘That, and we think you would be a good fit here.’

The explanation made sense. It explained why he was taken, why he was made into an initiate.

‘So how many have this slimekey?’

‘There’s a natural limit of 144. But that number is split between Urchins and Foresters. The important thing is ensuring we have more than them.’

‘Why not just tell me all this before?’

‘We keep our secrets well guarded, Caruso.’

‘Guarded from the Urchins?’

‘The Urchins know as much as us. We guard our secrets from civilians.’

‘Then why tell me?’

Ferris grinned. ‘What I told you is nothing compared with what you stand to learn. Even if you become an apprentice here, there are still secrets I must keep from you until you become a full Forester. ’

Ferris picked up Caruso’s Forester disc and patted it onto his chest. ‘This is not something I can force upon you. You must choose. Now.’

Caruso looked away from Ferris’s strong gaze. He tried shifting away again, but Ferris’s hand was still pinning his leg down.

‘What will happen if I say no?’ Caruso asked. ‘Will you show me how to return to Jamala?’

‘If that’s really what you want. But are you sure you would want to go back there? If you do, you will never see the Urchins who killed your friend brought to justice.’

Caruso felt a twisting in his stomach. ‘Is he really dead? Did anyone actually see it?’

‘I’m afraid so,’ Ferris said. ‘But know this. The Foresters are strong. We look out for each other. There is no safer place than inside these walls. If you choose to become part of us, know it won’t be easy. Being a Forester is a full time job. One you will have for life. You will be expected to train and work on whatever duties are given to you. It’s a lot harder than simply slipping on that necklace, but that is the first step.

Caruso passed the necklace between his hands. If they did let him go back to Jamala, what would he be returning to? He imagined explaining to Bozi that instead of teaching Webber he instead let him be killed. Caruso would once more be jobless and friendless, at the mercy of the Vandeliers. What could he do for work? Return to Bob, work at his parent’s brothel? Be another kid who failed to make it in Jamala…

At least here, he would never have to worry about a job. He could be with the mushroom forest. Surrounded by the strength of the Foresters. What more was there to think about?

Caruso slipped the necklace over his head.

Ferris nodded at him. ‘Don’t disappoint me.’

‘I won’t,’ Caruso said, trying to sound confident.

‘Good. Now get up. I’ve a few things to show you.’

Caruso followed Ferris out into the compound. “Compound” was an interesting word to describe the grounds; the word fell short of the ground’s appearance. The compound could easily have been used for a king’s estate. It was the type of grounds a king would gaze upon from his castle while servants fed him exotic fruits. There was elegant statuary, fancy stone carved buildings, everything tidy and proper. It was beautiful. Yet Caruso couldn’t say it felt inviting or relaxing. In that sense, “compound” accurately captured the vibe of the place.

Several trees remained inside the walls, yet all feelings of being in the forest had been stripped away. The shroom gardens were overly manicured with sharp, clean edges. There was a large section dedicated to Zone 1 edibles, and a smaller section for Zone 2 medicinals. They all looked competently grown but gave the gardens a very functional feeling to them. There was no sign of anyone strolling down the meandering garden path, or laying by the little brook that gurgled through the grounds. The walls were high enough to block out any sight of the surrounding tree line, casting long shadows across the compound. Even the countless colourful shrooms failed to add much cheer to the place.

Ferris led the way into a room lined with wooden shelves all stuffed with jars of fresh and dried shrooms. There was an extensive stock, all professionally stored. Caruso was impressed. The heavyset Forester from last night was inside, deftly destemming some sourcaps. He looked up at Ferris and Caruso, continuing to destem just as quickly and carefully.

‘Caruso,’ Ferris said. ‘This is Kactus. He’s our medicinal grower here. Although now without Daniel, he’ll be taking over the edible growing aswell. I trust that won’t spread your duties too thin, Kactus?’

‘Nothing I can’t handle. I reckon I can do a better job than Daniel ever did.’

‘Don’t disappoint me.’

Kactus finally turned his attention to Caruso and exchanged a friendly nod. ‘You findin’ out your Zone 4 Ability today, I take it?’

‘That’s right,’ Ferris answered for Caruso.

Kactus rummaged through his collection of jars. ‘Grew and dried all these myself, ya know. You ever need anything from Zone 2, I’ve got it. And better quality than you’ll find from those clueless idiots in Jamala.’

Caruso knew several apothecary owners in Jamala. They were far from “clueless idiots”. He wondered how skilled Kactus must be to think that.

Kactus finally dropped three dried shrooms into Ferris’s hand. Ferris explained them. ‘These are the three Zone 4 Ability shrooms. But only one will ever work on you. You will either be a blinker, a threader, or a waller. You cannot choose, or change.’

‘How will I know what I am?’

‘Eat all three and we’ll see which one works.’ Ferris handed him the shrooms and a ewer of water.

There was something about being handed mysterious mushrooms that Caruso found deeply unsettling. But if he could trust anyone, it was the head of the Foresters.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

‘Now?’ Caruso asked.

‘All three,’ Ferris answered. ‘They don’t taste good. But you only need to eat one of them about once a year.’

Caruso chewed each shroom and washed them down with water. He had expected to feel a rush of power or something. But all he got was nervousness and sweaty palms.

‘Should I feel anything?’

‘Not yet,’ Ferris said.

Caruso wanted to linger in Kactus’s room and talk to the man about cultivating mushrooms, but Ferris guided him back outside, leading him across a stone pathway through the gardens as he talked. ‘The feeling is subtle for first timers, like a muscle you didn’t know you had. At first you won’t be able to flex it consciously, only reflexively. The surest way to draw it out is to react to a threat and let it happen naturally. Don’t worry,’ Ferris grinned, and put an arm around Caruso’s shoulders. ‘Not a grave threat, we’ll go and find us a little wild shroombeast. They become quite territorial around sidemind patches.’

Another Forester armed with a crossbow approached as they reached the wall. He was of similar age to Kactus and Ferris, perhaps around thirty, and looked somewhere between bored and sad.

‘Miles here is a powerful Waller. All these walls were built by him,’ Ferris thumped the wall before them, producing a solid earthy thud. Caruso felt the wall, it was solid and rough, clearly made from mycelium.

At a nod from Ferris, a section of the wall before them sunk into the ground, making a fibrous twisting noise, until it was low enough to step through. Caruso glanced between the sunken wall and Miles.

‘Have you met Caruso,’ Ferris said. ‘Our newest initiate? I’m taking him to see what Class he is.’

Caruso said ‘Hi,’ but received only a stiff nod. Caruso winced slightly at that.

‘Why don’t you show Caruso what a proper Waller can do?’ Ferris said.

Miles handed Ferris his crossbow, and stepped outside the wall, to the middle of the clearing. Apart from the blue and yellow carpeting shrooms, all other vegetation and trees and been cut back twenty strides or so from the compound. Caruso stood with his back against the wall to watch Miles do whatever it was he was about to do. He felt that childlike excitement of a kid about to see a magic show.

‘Show him the basics,’ Ferris said.

Miles nodded. Caruso waited, unsure what to expect. Then a wall pushed out of the ground in front of him. It was only a few strides across, about shoulder height and a handspand thick. Caruso walked up to it, feeling it, pushing it, as if it he could prove it was just an illusion—it wasn’t. It was identical to the compound wall; same beige colour, same ropey, knobbly texture. Caruso tried to push harder, see if it would bend or break, but it wouldn’t budge.

Three more walls sprouted up in rapid succession. One behind him, to his right, to his left, boxing him in. The corners of the walls all seamlessly fused together. It was frighteningly quick.

‘You’re controlling all this with your mind?’ He asked Miles.

‘More or less,’ the man grunted. The walls around Caruso all dropped back into the ground.

‘Where does it all come from?’

‘The mycelium network below us,’ Ferris answered. ‘Wallers can control it directly. But as the name suggests, only as walls.’

Caruso couldn’t think of anything else to say.

‘Feel free to show off a bit,’ Ferris said.

Miles nodded. He reached down, then threw a bit of loose dirt in the air, watching it fall. What is he doing? A wall then appeared under Mile’s feet. It rose quickly. Faster even than his previous walls. And Miles rode it upwards, managing to keep his balance with bent knees. Before Caruso had time to wonder what his plan was, the wall jutted to a halt, shooting Miles up into the air above it.

The wall was barely over head height, but its momentum must have launched Miles over four stories high, straight up. Miles didn’t flail in the air—he looked irrationally calm. He started to descend, maintaining his upright posture, perfectly in line with the awaiting wall. He’s going to break his legs! But the wall sunk quickly to soften the impact, then smoothly lowered back to ground level until Miles was once again, just standing there, wearing that same sad, bored expression.

Ferris gave a loud applause. Caruso just stared, dumbfounded.

‘I’ve seen him go twice as high,’ Ferris mentioned.

Caruso tried wrapping his mind around that as Miles moped over.

‘So wallers can basically fly?’ Caruso asked

Miles gave a small shake of his head.

‘Not quite,’ Ferris answered. ‘Walls can only ever go straight up or down. Anyway, If you turn out to be a waller, Miles will be happy to teach you all the intricacies when we return.’

Miles didn’t look like he would be happy to do anything, least of all with Caruso. He had barely acknowledged his existence. Caruso now hoped he didn’t turn out to be a waller, just to avoid the awkwardness of learning with Miles.

‘Kumiko hasn’t returned yet?’ Ferris asked Miles.

Miles pointed out into the Forest, ‘Still gathering truthbuttons at the caves.’

‘That is all,’ Ferris said, dismissing him. Miles gave him a nod, ignored Caruso, then returned inside the compound. The wall rose back up behind him leaving no trace of a seam.

‘Let’s go,’ Ferris said, heading off in the direction Miles had pointed out.

There were no clear paths through the Zone 3 forest. But the space between trees seemed easy enough to travel through. No ferns, vines, or scraggly bushes to cut through. Just shrooms of varying sizes. Caruso recognised the red poppy amongst the ground shrooms, and the brown bakkostems studding the branches. But many were new.

Some were taller than Caruso, with wide brimming caps that would fit easily over a small hut. While others resembled small piles of wobbly pink jelly. Needle thin shrooms prickled the tree trunks in clusters of wavy orange hair. Other shrooms hung from upper branches like long drooping tentacles that swayed and bumped in the breeze.

Caruso was reminded of why he’d always been drawn to the forest—the mystery, the wonder, the novelty. He was hungry to learn more, to discover all he could.

His nervousness slowly morphed into excitement. It was hard to believe he was actually strolling through Zone 3. And the prospect of discovering his own Ability thrilled him more than anything. He tried to feel something from the three Zone 4 shrooms he had eaten. But no such feeling came. A couple of times he focused on the ground and tried to imagine a wall emerging, but to no avail. He would have to wait until his Ability occurred “naturally” as Ferris had put it. The prospect of forcing it out while being attacked by a shroombeast was not an event Caruso looked forward to. Although the crossbow Ferris carried made him feel somewhat safer.

Before that would happen they were to meet with Kumiko.

‘It helps to visualize the Abilities before using them.’ Ferris told him. ‘Kumiko’s a blinker. And can be rather enthusiastic when it comes to her Ability.’

Hopefully not like Miles then.

The flat forestland became rolling hills. Ferris lead them up a river which snaked through the elm covered knolls. To their left, the hill was sliced with a rocky cliff. A strange yellow web-like fungus crept up the rock face. As they walked along, little alcoves and caves dug into the rock wall.

Around a bend, they came upon a woman sitting before a fire on the pebbly bank between the river and the rock wall. She had her back to them. Smoke and steam whisped above her head. She held a wooden pole and, with a flash of panic, Caruso remembered the Urchin lady. Wooden pole skewering two Foresters. Caruso swallowed the thought—this was a different woman.

She must’ve heard their approach and spun round, looking flustered. She glanced about her little fire where a pot simmered above the flames. She was a chubby woman, and Caruso found himself oddly relieved by that fact. Something about fat women put him at ease, made him feel less intimidated. He also noticed her left ear was missing, replaced with a length of gnarly scar tissue that striped the side of her head. Caruso snapped his gaze away from it before she noticed.

‘Ferris!’ she motioned to the basket beside her, full of translucent mushrooms—the same type Niko had given him. ‘Sorry, I had just finished gathering. I should’ve come straight back, but I was tired.’

Ferris stared at her, an unwavering silent glare. Kumiko looked down at her feet, biting her lip. Caruso glanced between them. Was Ferris mad because she stopped to make tea? The silence only lasted a few seconds but that was plenty of time for it to feel like an unsettling standoff.

Ferris mercifully cut through the tension with his wide grin, ‘Smells like parasol tea. I could use a cup.’

‘Of course!’ Kumiko looked relieved and fussed about, pouring a steaming mug for Ferris. She didn’t offer Caruso any, but it appeared she left none for herself either.

‘This is Caruso, our newest apprentice.’

Caruso gave her a nod and Kumiko returned a warm smile. ‘Nice to meet you Caruso.’

‘You too.’ Don’t look at her scar. Don’t look at her scar.

‘Are you on your way to find out your Ability?’

‘We are,’ Ferris said, settling down by her fire with his tea. ‘I haven’t shown him blinking yet though. You can do the honours while I enjoy my tea?’

‘Of course!’ Kumiko turned to Caruso. ‘Have you seen blinking before?’

‘Um, I’m not sure. I saw a lot of stuff last night during the Urchin attack. What does it look like?’

‘I heard about that. Must have been rough for you.’

‘It was quite scary.’

‘Well you’re lucky you ended up with us.’ Kumiko’s face regained her animated smile. ‘Anyway, let me show you what blinking is.’ Kumiko glanced to her right, there was about ten or so paces of flat pebbly ground before the rock face.

She gripped her pole, gave Caruso a wink, then vanished—appearing instantly five paces closer to the rock face. Caruso stared dumbly at her. There had been no sound, no flash of movement, no warning whatsoever. He tried to come to grips with what he saw. It felt fake, like a trick. His mind refused to believe it.

Kumiko looked at Caruso and laughed. ‘I forgot what it’s like for people to see this for the first time.’

Caruso found his mouth hanging open, ‘What just happened?’

‘That was a blink. To put it simply, whenever you blink, you instantly move one blinking distance—about five paces—towards the Godshroom.’ She pointed in the direction of the yellow webbed cliff face.

‘The Godshroom?’

‘You know, the Centre-of-the-Zones, The Origin. Whatever you call it. No matter where you blink from you always move towards it, and always the exact same distance.’

Caruso nodded, taking it all in. He remembered last night how the Urchin suddenly appeared on the raft, pole skewering those two Foresters, blood dripping—

Kumiko kept talking. ‘It’s important to always know which direction the Godshroom is in.’ She pointed her pole towards the rock face. ’And to get a good feel for the time between blinks.’

‘How long do you have to wait between blinks?’

‘It’s about one and a half seconds.’

‘So what’s with the pole?’ Caruso asked. ‘The Urchin had one last night, I think she was a blinker too.’

‘Ah. Skinny, short hair, attractive?’

‘Maybe. I didn’t get a good look. Too dark.’ Too busy cowering in the tree.

‘Well anyway, anything a blinker is carrying is blinked with them. So, a pole, your clothes, whatever you are carrying—provided it is lighter than you.’

‘OK, but why would you want to take a pole with you?’

Kumiko smiled wider, it looked like she was enjoying this. ‘Allow me to demonstrate.’

She stacked several small boulders at the base of the cliff in a waist-high pile. Ferris glanced over his mug, ‘Play safely, Kumiko. Don’t get carried away.’

‘I won’t.’ She walked back, further than the five paces this time. ‘Watch that top rock,’ she said to Caruso. She took a moment to adjust her position, and held her pole out before her, similar height to that top boulder.

She blinked.

This time there was a crack. Kumiko stood before the stack, her wooden pole skewering the top rock.

Caruso cautiously went to investigate. The pole had stabbed right through the middle. The rock had several deep fissures, enough for Kumiko to split it apart and retrieve her pole.It was hard to believe it was a solid boulder just a few seconds ago.

‘How could a piece of wood cut through rock?’

Kumiko had the energy of an excited child showing off a new toy. ‘That’s how blinking works! Anything that blinks, moves one blinking distance towards the Godshroom. There are no exceptions. Don’t think of it as cutting into the rock, think of it as suddenly appearing inside the rock.’

Caruso’s mind buzzed with questions, luckily he had the impression Kumiko would be happy to indulge him.

‘So why did the rock break? Why wouldn’t the pole just appear perfectly in the middle?’

‘Well, that bit of rock in the middle doesn’t disappear. It has to move out of the way.’

Caruso thought about that. His gaze wandered to her missing ear but he quickly caught himself. ‘So what if you stood next to that rock face and blinked into it?’

‘That’s one thing I will not be demonstrating.’

‘You would die?’

‘I wouldn’t be able to breathe. So, yeah. I’d most likely die.’

‘But you could just blink out again?’

‘You can only blink towards the Godshroom. In this case it would take me further into the cliff.’

‘Oh, right.’

‘I’ve seen people blink into large trees before, it can be a fun way to surprise people.’

‘You can breathe in a tree?’

‘It’s easier to. The trick is to get a piece of hollowgrass in your mouth before you blink, make sure it pokes out from the tree, then breathe through that. But I’ll have to show you that another time, there’s nothing but rocks and cliffs here.’ She glanced at the remaining rock pile with a mischievous grin. ‘Want to see me punch a hole through that rock with my fist?’

Caruso grinned, ‘Yes.’

She positioned herself five paces back from the remaining rock stack. This time she crouched down, positioning her bare arm before her. Another crack, this one louder. Kumiko was crouched before the boulder stack, arm straight through the top rock. Several stone chips showered down, one landed near Ferris.

‘I told you to be safe!’ Ferris snapped.

Kumiko’s smile vanished, ‘I’m sorry, Caruso wanted to know so I—’

‘So you’re blaming him?’

‘No! It’s my fault. I should’ve been more careful. I’m sorry.’

Ferris returned to his tea. Kumiko’s face looked a little whiter than before. It seemed like an overreaction from Ferris, but he did say before how dangerous blinking was. Caruso examined the rock. It appeared that Kumiko had punched through it, the rock had fractured enough for her to pull her arm out.

‘Wow,’ Caruso said. ‘That is awesome. I thought walling was cool, but now I think I’d rather be a blinker.’

‘I doubt you do,’ she said, casting a quick eye at Ferris. ‘Takes a lot of practice to internalise the blinking distance and direction. Besides, usually I wouldn’t use my body parts as blink-weapons. Last thing you want is to have your arm stuck inside some Urchin’s ribcage during a fight.’

The gruesome image shocked Caruso from his run of questions. Imagining Kumiko attacking or killing seemed completely at odds with her bubbly personality. At that moment Ferris got up from the fire, set down his empty mug and picked up his crossbow, ‘Let’s move on.’

‘I’ll get these back to Niko immediately,’ Kumiko said, moving towards her basket. ‘Good luck, Caruso.’