deercountry | [CLOSED] Hunting for a magic shroom

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[CLOSED] Hunting for a magic shroom

Who: Luz and Abby
What: You Will be A Friend of Mine Prompt
When: Later in November
Where: The Spooky Woods

Content Warnings: two cool witches flying around a forest. maybe some violence and horror? idk

While Abigail isn’t certain what to make of the sudden call for help, she does know that she is very much interested. Both to help, but also to explore and see just what sort of things she might be able to find in the wilds. Who knows, perhaps she could find something especially useful? Or at least interesting. She still hid her overall nature for now. The only thing she let slip was the keyhole in the center of her forehead and an aura of… something not being quite right with her. Beyond, you know, the bottomless, pitch-black hole in the center of her forehead. Moving on to her current. Apparent witch-in-crime, blue eyes stared wide at Luz, then at her staff.

Did she just hear her right?

“Fly on a staff. Like a… witch?”

She sounds just a little worried at the notion. Usually the stories she’s heard, and some of the means she knows of, to achieve magical flight can be kind of… sketchy. Not always, but she still has a certain form of mental framework in mind when it comes to witchcraft. It certainly doesn’t help that she knows of more than a few questionable means to achieve flight.

What does help is that Luz seems like a nice enough girl. Also, Abby is kind of excited by the prospect of flying over the wilds on a wooden staff. Who knows, maybe it could be something that she can pick up!

“Um… well if it would allow us to reach our destination quicker… I would be okay with it, Miss Luz.”

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Luz had gotten the rundown on what was happening with the Tower and knew she'd better act quickly and get herself some help. It just so happened there was another witch around! That was good, because this mission sounded pretty dangerous.

"It's not only quicker, it's safer!" Luz insisted. "There are supposed to be some monsters that are going to try and stop us from getting to that part of the forest. The last thing we want is to get their attention."

What was more, she had the necklace that Nevermind entrusted them with to hide their presence.

"But we have to have each other's back, or we'll get in some serious trouble. If the monsters attack, do you think you'll be able to handle yourself?"

It was a good thing that Abby is used to danger. It's practically her middle name! because usually she is the danger. In all seriousness she gives a nod of her head and a small smile. "Mm- I can handle myself. I think."

If push came to shove this might prove to be a good way to further explore what she was capable of in this world. She wasn't worried, not too terribly much.

"And if anything, we can't handle does happen then we can simply fly away!"

So, there was that! If anything, it should be the monsters in the forest that should be worried!

Luz got into danger so much sometimes she wondered how Luca and Ahiru didn't collectively get some chains and keep her strapped to her room. Luz had to promise them not to do anything that would get her easily killed.

Not like the last time, anyway.

"Well, hop onto the staff, and on the way you can tell me how. It'll be good so we can make a plan if we have to about how to handle the monsters while we try to find that mushroom."

Literally. How WOULD they handle it if they even got to it?

Most likely they know that Luz would somehow manage to free herself from her bindings and run loose once more. But hey, with two witches on the case there was no way anything bad would happen!

Not one single bad thing.

Well, Abby's being positive about it.

"Okay... um- how do I sit on it?" She's lifting her leg up on it but it's kind of... just a little awkward? Abigail was afraid she might just end up slipping off if she was even just a little unbalanced!

Luz was absolutely going to be as positive as she could! She's already had one of the spells she was sure was caused by what was happening with Tower, and she was not about to willingly see what would happen if the tower "fell."

So Luz would make sure that the two of them were successful! She'd do her best, anyway!

"Depends on what's comfortable for you! I'm going to straddle it since I'm steering, but you can side saddle it if you like!"

"Um... okay."

She still sounds a little hesitant, but Luz said this would work, so it must! Abby goes ahead and follows the other girl's example. Stradling the staff and kind of hanging on tightly.

"I-I'm ready then!"

To fly! To hunt mushrooms! To... hopefully not have to deal with forest monsters....!

Luz made sure that once she was on, they were going at a decent enough speed that wouldn't go so quickly that her new friend would be struggling desperately to stay on.

They would have to be fast though, and she was very aware of that.

"If there ARE monsters, I can fight them though. Will you be all right? Do you need protection?"

Look at those wide eyes as they zip through the air all whoosh! A hand flies up to grasp her hat as the other one gripped the staff tight enough to make her knuckles white. They're flying... they're actually flying on a staff!

And it's kind of fun????

"Wh-What-?" Oh, right, monsters and mushrooms. "Um, yes, I think I will be fine. I'm sure things won't get to that point?"

Right? And if they did... well, Abigail does have more than a few tricks up her frumpy sleeves. "But just in case something does happen what are you able to do?"

Luz was hoping that she'd get a little of a happy reaction to the flying! It had been something Luz had been super happy about when she first learned it herself! They were going pretty fast at this point though: they had no time to waste.

It was honestly a lot like a rollercoaster right now.

"I think they will. The forest we're going into are not the safe ones we know. They're darker, more dangerous. I've astral traveled before, I've felt presences that are very unfriendly in there."

Might as well be upfront about THAT.

"I can cast glyphs. They do some cool elemental stuff, but most important? I can cast an invisibility glyph that will make us unseen as long as we hold our breaths. That way we don't have to keep fighting them at every single turn.

What about you?"

The faster and more erratic they travel, the tighter she hangs on. Fun kind of giving way to worry. Does Luz actually know how to fly this thing!? Where did she get her magic-flying-stick license from!?

It was a little difficult to hear her beyond the wind whipping through her ears.

"Oh- I see. That makes sense, I guess. Nothing worth finding is without its challenges."

Abby would be lying if she said she didn't have at least a little bit of fear regarding the woods. Even back home they were thick and foreboding. Filled with the unknown and stories of wolves, witches, and other things.... But they are also bountiful places. She knows that.

Perhaps they could find some goodies along the way?

"Um, glyphs?" They must be like symbols or something. She wondered how alike they are to the witchcraft she's familiar with. "I can... summon things? Through ritual and other means. I also know how to make things really scared."

And go insane. To twist and play with them as she liked. But she's a good girl right now and doesn't really want to scare her new friend too much.

"I'm also really strong, can turn into an invisible spirit and I'm super-fast?"

Like a superhero! Only just... maybe the opposite.

She didn't need to worry about Luz's flying. Even before coming to Deerington she was pretty good, but that one month where it was nothing but avoiding monsters and things crushing her had made Luz a bit of an expert now. She could go very fast and not worry, because she had implicit trust in Owlbert and was able to steer them pretty well.

"That's true, but I think it's also the nature of Trench that there are things that are guarded by monsters who have lived here much longer than we ever have. I feel like they're staking their claim on the uncivilized parts of the world Sleepers and natives stay away from."

With good reason, much like the ocean.

Luz had gone and done some sight seeing with Scorpia. She knew full well there were things in the woods she had to be aware of.

"Symbols," Luz replied, and smiled at the mention of summoning. "I can do that, but not as good as some other witches. I still need some work there. Maybe we can help each other out after this?"

She grinned. "Cool! So you're actually pretty strong! I guess it's the monsters who should be worried about us!"

Once Luz said that though, she noted how the woods was suddenly starting to get pretty deathly quiet. Maybe she'd spoken too soon.

"Really? Mm, I guess that makes sense. Everything has somewhere they prefer living."

Or haunting, like one of those "boss monsters" from games. Or the many other horrors that inhabit the Dreamlands.

"Any help would be appreciated." Like forming their own, little club! But with witches, so more like a coven! Or, maybe not. That sounds a bit too scary to her. Maybe something more friendly?

Her thoughts are pulled away as the world goes quiet and the feeling of wrongness fills the air. Ah- they must be here. And there was most likely something already nearby.

"Right... worried about us."

This place sisnt feel worried about them at all. It reminded her of the woods she was familiar with back home. Large, imposing, dark. Bountiful if you know where to look, but also hiding dangers.

"Right, and they probably don't take kindly to anyone coming into their space. So we want to be here as little as possible, and we want to be fast. The other hard thing will be getting that mushroom."

Luz was already counting on a boss battle. That type of thing just seemed to happen on the regular.

"Great! We can totally talk more about it after all of this! It'd be nice to finally have our own little coven!"

Luz had NO bad connections with the word coven.

Luz nodded, narrowing her eyes. She motioned Abby to come closer, and had her hands up her shirt already.

"Think we should go invisible. If you have the ring, they might not even see us."

A nod of her head follows! Right, be careful not to upset the strange monsters in the woods. It would just make things all the more difficult as they searched around. Maybe she can still find some time to keep an eye out for actual mushrooms?

So long as dogs weren't involved, Abigail would be fine.

"Mm- I still have the ring." Which she takes out of the little pouch she brough with her. Taking out the object in question and showing it to Luz. "Maybe with any luck we can find something for ourselves out here too."

Luz stuck close to Abigail. She may have had glyphs, but at most all she could do was make them invisible. Combined with the ring, it would make it so monsters would give them wide enough berth that maybe their mission might not be so hard after all!

In any case, no point in taking chances. Luz gave them both an invisibility glyph and instructed Abigail to hold her breath. This part was annoying since neither of them could talk, but it was better than getting taken by any monsters.

Though once they were clear, Luz would want to ask what Abigail meant by finding "something for themselves."

She kept rather close to Luz, she wasn't really certain why it would be important for them to hold their breath. But figured that must be how the spell worked. Idle thoughts aside, she swept her eyes around the area they were in. Every so often she swore she could hear rustling in the brush nearby but couldn't see anything.

It was always the unseen that was the most unnerving of everything.

But hey, they're invisible right now, plus they also have that magic ring-thing. So they should be fine, right?

It actually WAS how the glyph worked. Luz wished she knew a way for it to work without having to hold your breath, but she hadn't quite figured that out yet. What she had been able to do instead was learn to hold her breath for a prolonged amount of time.

She was at least glad that Abigail was listening for anything coming after them. The longer they stayed concealed, the better chances they had!

Luz did hear some growls, but obviously they only able to be felt for the time being.

"See any mushrooms yet?"

Whoops. No invisibility for Luz now. Drat.

She was looking around closely! Keeping in mind all the places where mushrooms would be at this point in time. In spite of the whole... everything. Thus far it was like a regular mushroom hunt!

Is what she told herself.

She stopped for a moment and dug through some leaves ah-! Right here are...! Just regular, edible shrooms.

Perfect! And there was more nearby too! They hit the jackpot.

Oh, wait, Luz just spoke. And Abby could see her now. Whelp!

"Um, I found some...."

Just not the ones they wanted. No.more invisibility for them!

They would just have to be really quiet then!

"That can't be what we're looking for, though save some, winter is coming after all. But that can't be ours. That one is supposed to be secluded in a tree, and super hard to gather up. We have the satchel, but we'll have to be careful when we get it."

Luz had her ear out for any rustling, then motioned for Abby to come.

"Let's just use my light glyph. That way we don't let any monsters know we're here."

Quiet and really sneaky! They can do that! Surely.

"It's not, and they will make for some wonderful soup."

Or a snack, or dinner, or most of anything else that involves mushrooms! Behold, the forests bounty~!

Abigail at least seems rather happy at her little finds. She grabs a more... special, sort of mushroom, and throws that in its own bag. Before stepping closer to Luz.

And stopping every so often to pick more mushrooms. Heck yeah!

"Um, okay... let's do that." A pause in thought. "But wouldn't a light make us more obvious?"

"That was the plan! Soup. Maybe even something to flavor some other stuff. You can use them in a variety of ways!"

Though if she knew her friend Rose, one more mushroom would be enough to have her screaming into the night.

Luz noticed you grabbing that mushroom! But that was, of course, her own business, right? She just hoped she kept them dried and didn't, well, have a bad experience?

Luz was going for the more edible kind, but had her light glyph working to see if there were any in a hollow tree.

"Nuts! Nothing yet. Looks like we're going to have to keep going. When we see it, I'm going to have Owlbert pick it for us. We don't want to damage it."

Luz paused. "I can keep the light low. We won't give away our position."

Edited 2022-12-11 20:17 (UTC)

"Mm, mushrooms can be used for all sorts of things. And are usually really plentiful, if you know where to look."

And are super careful, she wants to add. She can think of all sorts of stories about those that hadn't been. Also, Luz, shh... because Abby doesn't really know what she's going to do with it quite yet. But she did feel like it might come in handy later.

Anyway, she was going for edible and edible. And of course, the special shroom they came here for. But who could blame a girl for doing a bit of side hustling?

"Alright, that sounds fine with me." No need to waste their trip here. On the light... she was still kind of hesitant about it. But if Luz was certain, then Abby was okay with it as well.

"Okay... if you're certain."

"Really? I always thought you needed the right kind of conditions for mushrooms. Then again, there are a lot of them here, aren't there?"

Luz was a bit of a reader: she was pretty aware that mushrooms (certain kinds anyway) could be used recreationally, though they were also part of rituals to open the mind for shamens. As Luz had been the unwitting participant of that though, she did her best to avoid that kind of situation.

Luz certainly didn't blame Abbey there. There was bound to be a market for that, and since people didn't use money, you traded what you could.

"I won't go too crazy, but we need something, or we'll just be wandering around, groping blindly. I can give us little dots of light, and that'll be just enough."

Luz did just that, and as promised, they had small glimpses of illumination. More mushrooms of several kind, but so far, no hollow tree yet. What was more, the forest was getting denser, and Luz was beginning to hear the shuffling of things in the dark.

"Ooh, we better do this quick. I think once we get it, we'll be in for it."

"I guess they do. And honestly, we're kind of nearing the end of mushroom season. Though sometimes they do grow in the winter."

It was more that she was interested in seeing if she could use the more special mushrooms for anything useful. There was bound to be some spells that make use of them. That and they could be fun to toy with, twist and change into something more. But she won't mention anything like that.

Besides, who knows what the future might bring.

"Little dots of light should be fine."

She hopes, but Abigail also has a feeling that they're already being watched. Perhaps they should start getting ready for whatever was shuffling around? The amount of foliage around them could be useful if she wanted to alter any of it.

"Hm... anyway, with all of the vegetation and trees around us we should be close to finding it. Or where it would be."

"It's usually rain that brings them out in my world," Lzu observed, "but maybe rules change in Trench. Maybe different seasons bring different mushrooms?"

Luz wasn't sure she'd be able to mess around with fungus like that, since she knew even in science, they were something of an oddity. It seemed like no one really knew all of what they could do.

"All right, small dots then. When we do find the mushroom, we can combine our powers and make more flora if we need to."

Luz certainly could, anyway. She was assuming Abigail likely had that same power.

"See anything yet?"

"Maybe?"

She hummed in thought, quite a few things were far more than just a little alien for her here. But there was also a sense of familiarity in other things. That could be focused on later, however.

She used the small dots as best she could. Getting up on her tip toes to peek inside the trees.

"Mm... no, not yet. How about you?"

"Give me a moment."

Luz wanted to cast light, but knew better than to make a bright light for monsters to immediately notice them. Instead, she opted for a smattering of dots in front of her and followed them so it was more like a concentrated bit of flashlight she could cover.

And strangely enough, when Luz squinted, she SAW it: it was a bit ahead, and it was very small, but there was the hollow, and she could make out the outline of the mushroom.

"Do you see what I'm seeing?"

"Um...."

She stands up on her tip toes to get a peak. Squinting and peering into the hollow. She could see it, The Mushroom! It is the mushroom right? It sure looked like it based on the descriptions. It's still horribly dark out. Then there was the rustling of the brush and the occasional flash of a shape in the dark.

It has to be the mushroom.

"Mm! That's it."

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

Things were starting to move around behind them, and Luz sure didn't like that. On the other hand, that likely meant it was exactly what they were looking for, so it was all a matter of getting the item.

"We're going to have to get closer, and here's the kicker: Owlbert's going to have to not be a staff. I think HE needs to pick it for us, since regular people's hands could damage it. That means the moment it's in the satchel, we'll have to make a break for it. I'm going to do my best to fly us out of the forest, so I'll need some offense."

Luz swallowed. "Think you can handle that?"

"I can."

She nods her head. It might be kind of scary, but it wouldn't be all that hard! Probably, she's only had some limited experience in dealing with these land's creatures so far. But Abigail was more than certain she could bulldoze through them!

Serious face is serious!

Luz gazed at her a moment, then nodded. Ok. Maybe they'd get lucky, and they'd be able to get out nice and easy!

Luz looked at Owlbert and gave him a peck on the head before letting him fly off. He was gone for at least a minute, and while that was happening, Luz seemed to be scribbling on pieces of paper quickly. She's been practicing for this exact situation but was hoping she would not have to rely on it at all. It would be hard enough flying.

And then Owlbert was back, and she opened the satchel. He carefully deposited the fungus into the bag. Luz closed it and he became immobile in an instant.

Just in time too.

The whole forest seemed to burst to life seconds later. The monsters were now louder and were coming at them fast. Luz hopped onto the staff and made room for Alice. If anything, this seemed to madden them more, and they somehow were approaching with more urgency.

Which was why Luz was trying to get a little higher before bursting into speed. This outpaced some monsters and avoided others, but some were rather large or could fly, and Luz wasn't stopping to see which.

While Luz busied herself with getting the mushroom, Abby busied herself with look around her surroundings. She looked from the trees to the brush, then idly fingered the mushrooms in her pouch. Well, the woods were always a witch's friend. She didn't have anything to be afraid of here!

Abigail readied herself.

A pair of keyblades that weren't present before now materializing in her hands. Darkened tendrils seemed to slowly writhe from beneath her dress. The air grew more oppressive around her. Right, she had nothing to fear at all.

As Owlbert snagged the mushroom and came fluttering down, Abby inserted one of the keys into a nearby tree. And turned it. The familiar sound of a lock clicking open could be faintly heard as the plant began to slowly writhe. She altered it, turned it into something else, used it to summon something else.

Probably helpful to them.

The bark was no longer bark, but darker, it seemed to breath and move and sway under its own control. The branches were the same. Reaching out, waving, and wriggling in a sickening fashion. The woods are a witch's friend.

And this former tree would certainly be helpful in keeping the immediate threat back as they take off. Speaking of, Abigail very quickly hops onto the broom as it began to rise!

Just in time too, as the former tree went to work, snatching the hidden beasts that threatened to pounce on them. Grabbing them, twisting them, and doing... something to them. Probably better not to look what that something was.

"Quickly."

Ok, Luz was expecting magic, sure. What she was not expecting was a summoning, and that had her eyes bugging out. Was that going to stop Luz?

Absolutely not.

She had traveled with Eda long enough to know that when a gift was handed to you, you took it without hesitation. Tree monsters wrangling with the monsters in the dark was more than enough for her to continue on, faster. Abigail absolutely had this covered, which meant she could concentrate on getting them out.

And here Luz absolutely did not disappoint. She bobbed and weaved through the trees and leaves without fail, avoiding anything that might knock them off and kept to where there was room to go faster. There were more coming, though at least they were trailing behind now.

"Eep!"

She squeaked as they picked up speed and began to weave and bob through the trees quickly. One surprisingly strong arm moved to wrap itself around Luz's torso, while the other one held onto the staff for dear life!

This was still kind of fun, though, and she couldn't help but grin a little. Hopefully they don't crash though!

Luz was a little strangled, but otherwise was doing her best not to look back. The sooner they got away from all the slobbering hungry voices, the better!

She'd be fine with Abby hanging on too-she did the same thing the first time she rode a staff. She wasn't even riding for her life back then either!

"You doing ok?"

Luz says this without stopping once.

Huff, and the slobbering, hungry voices are also rude, no doubt! Abby sort of wants to give them a piece of her mind! Sort of. But she does give Luz a nod and continues to cling on tightly as they run away like the wind!

"I-I think I am!"

She calls out above the rushing winds. They're already in the homestretch by now, so things were going far smoother than she'd think!

Luz gave a tight smile but didn't so much as turn her head. She'd be happy to catch a breath the moment that the two of them were literally out of the woods.

It actually took ten more minutes before Luz was sure that they weren't being followed, and at that point she landed them on the nearest soft grass and Luz fell upon it, seemingly hugging the ground.

"Oh my sweet baby I missed you," Luz said, letting out a sigh. "Those were some pretty helpful powers! Can you actually learn them?"

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[CLOSED] Hunting for a magic shroom

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I'm thinking no monsters getting TO the mushroom, but they appear after they get it?

That works for me!

Re: That works for me!

Re: That works for me!

Re: That works for me!

Re: That works for me!

Re: That works for me!

Re: That works for me!

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