1.06

The planet of Merrin was the last major creation by the gods before they left. It was made to be a nexus of all the magic and life forms of the different dimensions. For these elements to come together in one cohesive place.

The other dimensions that were tied into the creation of Merrin, were almost completely cut off from the rest of the cosmos, and so if they wanted to expand through into the universe beyond, they had to get onto Merrin first.

One of the other dimensions was The Fey. A wonderfully, colourful, and chaotic place that was chock-full of strange magic and beings.

Some believed that this unpredictable nature came from boredom, as the dimension was only about half the size of Merrin.

Full of bountiful and dangerous creativity, artists of all types would often pay a visit to, or permanently move to The Fey.

On the other side of the coin, a sister dimension to The Fey, was Twilight. A place of constant law, control, and order. A realm of quiet contentment and rigorous routine.

It was believed by many this was another way that a realm dealt with boredom, as Twilight was smaller again, just less than a third of Merrin.

Forests all over Merrin were quite often where the barrier between the realms was thin, and The Fey would bleed into Merrin. Beings and creatures would run rampant and cause chaotic mayhem on anyone and anything coming through.

The presence of such essence did not mean that anyone could cross between realms, as the power and influence was localised to just that area. One still needed to officially travel through a portal to do so.

“We stay close to each other; we keep our eyes peeled. If anyone sees anything strange, don’t approach it. If you can, stop looking at it. There are dangerous things in forests, I want everyone to come out of it alive.” Fenrick faced the forest as he spoke.

“I’ve never been in a forest before, it looks so beautiful.” Sharampf stood next to Fenrick.

“Looks can be deceiving.” They entered the forest as one.

An immediate change was felt as they crossed the threshold. The temperature dropped and a strange energy crackled through the air.

“Stay close,” ordered Fenrick.

Fenrick marched through the forest with mechanical determination. He only looked at the map and straight ahead. Tad followed his lead, knowing what needed to be done.

Bodwyn and Mamzo brought up the rear, and apart from the occasional cheating glance by Bodwyn, they copied Fenrick’s arrow-like path.

Sharampf however, took everything in with feverish excitement. Like a patchwork of earthen paradise, luscious greens and broad browns and vein-like oranges intertwined in a tangled mess of unbridled artistry.

Pulsing fungi encased ancient, oaken sentinels. Nature felt alive and the party felt as though they were somewhere else entirely.

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For a long while, nothing happened. They progressed without issue and followed Ellie’s map with ease.

“What’s that?” Sharampf pointed at a shape that ducked away in the shadows. She made to walk off after it, but Fenrick caught her by the arm.

“What did I say, Sharampf?”

“To stay close and be careful. Paying attention to almost nothing. Its hard, everything here is so beautiful.”

“It’s often deadly to boot, we need to keep going.”

“Oh look, it’s a little mushroom person.” The excitement in Sharampf’s voice hit a pitch that made Bodwyn wince.

A small, mushroom creature stepped precariously out from behind a tree. Including the tip of the cap, it stood four feet in height. The brown body was caked in dirt, and the cap was red with yellow polka dots. Two tiny, black eyes were set in the elongated, ovoid body and no mouth could be seen. Stubby arms and legs finished the cutesy look.

The creature waved at them. Sharampf waved back.

“Amanitas,” said Fenrick.

“They’re almost as common as flies back in The Fey. Harmless little things.” Mamzo waved back at the amanita.

“Let’s get going,” grumbled Fenrick.

“But it’s cute,” replied Bodwyn.

“Bodwyn, take care of it. We need to get going.” Fenrick’s voice broke whatever hold the cute creature seemed to have over his companions.

“Er, yeah. Sure.” A bolt flew from his weapon before anyone could react. The amanita stood rigid for a moment before it ran back into the forest.

“Why did you have to shoot it?” Sharampf asked.

“Fenrick said to take care of it,” Bodwyn argued.

“Yeah, to scare it off.” Bewilderment clear in Fenrick’s voice.

“I admit I may have misread the situation.” Bodwyn’s ears dropped behind his head.

“May have?” asked Sharampf.

“Did. I did.”

“Look, let’s leave the amanita slayer be. They aren’t anything to worry about, press on,” chuckled Mamzo.

“Come on then.” Fenrick slipped a cheeky grin at the situation.

“I didn’t mean to…” Bodwyn’s voice trailed off and he fell into step behind everyone else.

Suddenly, an explosive roar rocked through the forest. Birds scattered and then there was nothing but silence.

“What was that?” Sharampf asked.

“A dragon,” said Bodwyn.

“No, that was a wyrm,” both Fenrick and Mamzo corrected.

“Same thing, aren’t they?” Bodwyn scoffed.

“Wyrms are powerful, but have no wings. Sometimes they have two or four legs, sometimes none. Wyrms are natural on Merrin, dragons aren’t,” said Mamzo.

“Dragons originated from out there is the cosmos. The Elder Dragon, a powerful entity as old as time itself, died. Its scales spread throughout the universe, and from those scales, dragons were born. Extremely powerful,” Fenrick lectured.

“Oh, okay. Has anyone seen one?” Bodwyn asked.

“Not since the war. Nobody really knows how many are left,” said Mamzo.

“I’ve never seen a dragon,” said Sharampf.

Fenrick held his hand up, signalling them all to be quiet.

“Wha-” Sharampf started.

“Shh, I hear it too.” Mamzo unsheathed his daggers and slowed his breathing.

Fenrick hadn’t noticed the thick, white vines wrapped around the trees.

“We need to get out of here,” whispered Fenrick. He started to back up the way they came.

“Why?” Sharampf asked.

A piercing hiss was her reply and as they watched as a giant spider slowly reached its legs around a tree and crept into view.

Each mushroom covered leg looked to be six feet in length.

As the creature came out of its hiding spot, it was covered in countless mushrooms of all colours. It was hard to see where the mushrooms stopped, and the spider started.

Green ooze dripped from the mandibles of the spider; half of its face was blended into a mushroom. More slime seeped out of the mushrooms.

“By the Wandering Lady,” whispered Mamzo.

From beneath the spider came about a dozen amanitas, and Bodwyn noticed the one that had the crossbow bolt sticking out of its body.

“Is it too late to apologise?” Bodwyn asked. He slowly loaded another bolt as he tiptoed backward.

“You may as well try. Mamzo, aren’t they harmless,” Sharampf also started to back away. She brought the mechanical arm out of its pack. It snaked up and over her body, the fingers stretched wide.

“I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“I’m sorry little guy,” Bodwyn called. If a mushroom could frown, Bodwyn was sure the amanita did.

“Run or fight?” asked Mamzo.