“Okay, sooooo-” The elven woman’s voice echoed through the stone corridor as she spoke back to the party of adventurers lagging behind her. Green robes hung off of her in large swathes and waves of fabric, seeming almost *excessively* flowy and regal, and matching green eyes started at a map upon yellowed parchment. “If we keep going this way, then take the next left, we’ll be out of the dungeon! See, guys? I told you, I’ve got it all under cont-”

Her words were interrupted by her walking face-first into a wall, bumping her head into the stone through the map. She tumbled backwards, the map falling to her side as she did. She sat up, holding her spinning head in her hands, dazed and disoriented. “Wehhhh, wuh-” She glanced to her left, then to her right, to see that there was no left turn - not a right turn, nor any kind of way other than the one they came from. It was a dead end. “WHAT?!”

“So much for getting out of here by sunrise,” huffed a larger figure, a man in thick armor with religious symbology printed across the chest and on each shoulder pauldron. He approached the Elf, helping her up first before picking up the map. He gave it a look, glanced up - and then immediately looked back at it with a double take, squinting.

“... Thorne.”

Thorne groaned - that tone meant she was in trouble, almost every time! “Ugh, whaaaat? I get it, I got us lost-”

“Thorne.”

“What?!”

“... Its upside down.”

A silence fell over the party in a deafening blanket, as they all - Thorne included - stared incredulously at the armored man, jaws slack from pure dumbstruckness. And then, everyone’s eyes slid to Thorne.

“Wh - no, no its not! Give me that!” She snatched the map out of his hands, and began pointing and gesturing wildly. “See, because this was the Endangered Siren’s Lake, and this is the Dark Grove, which we just passed, meaning we’re-”

The man took the map from her, and flipped it over with a slow movement, before slipping it back into her hand. And then, an armored finger pointed at the map. “This is the Dark Grove. That is the mycelial swamp. We’re-” He prodded a finger at a point on the page, one that was nearly as far as physically possible from the point that the map denoted as an entrance. “Here.”

“...Oh.” She whimpered the revelatory word out weakly, shriveling up for a moment. 

A quieter female voice, one with a darker quality that was weakly muffled by a faceguard, spoke up from the back. “Never trust the Druids with navigation, I guess.

“HEY! Sh-Shut up, its fine! Its just a, uh, a detour of - a few days!”

“And we have no days of food left,” spoke the final voice, a shorter man with robes similar to, but much less showy and elegant, than Thorne’s - with the sole exception of the overly large wizard hat, brim wider than his body was tall and a tip that was bent.

“And no days of water left, either,” spoke the lithe figure adorned entirely in black, with black leather belts holding pouches all around.

“LISTEN, I-”

“Halt!” The heavily-armoured man’s voice boomed through the halls of the dungeon, bouncing off of the wall nearest to them to create a resounding echo. “Enough. Bickering will get us nowhere. Vince, Shade, we run low on supplies, this is true - but this place is not merely a dungeon, it is vast enough that we have seen - it is its own ecosystem. It will be difficult, but we can forage and hunt.”

Thorne nodded uprightly, a smile growing on her face at being defended and reassured - before the man turned to her as well. “And Thorne. Regardless of whether you meant to get us lost, or simply made a mistake, you’ve gotten us into a precarious situation. You must take responsibility for that.

Thorne’s eyes darted away, drawing her arms in as her mouth went dry - before she let out a sigh, and slumped. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Barrick. And, Vince, Shade.” 

“Good. Now, let us make haste - and keep quiet, please, lest we draw attention we’re not suited to deal with.”

And so, the party began upon the right path this time. The travel was quick - for the many disadvantages that the sprawling mega-dungeon sported, one minor advantage in it all was that the terrain was easy to move through. Despite that, they would eventually need to stop. They were lucky enough to be able to reach the entrance of the Endangered Siren’s Lake before nightfall - or perhaps dayrise, when you were underground for more than a month time stopped really meaning anything - which housed a large amount of fresh water they could use, so long as they stayed away from the eponymous creatures lurking towards the lake’s center.

“So -” Barrick spoke while standing near a pile of firewood, one which Shade was hard at work alighting. “I will hunt down a minor monster for meat. Vince, you stay here so that Shade doesn’t get ambushed. And Thorne, you circle back around - that way, I believe there should be an abandoned farmsite from old inhabitants that you can scavenge. And if you get caught by something, run. Do not fight, and do not risk yourself, understood?”

She sighed, resisting the urge to draw that sigh out into a groan. “Do I haaaave to go alone…?” She gave him large, wet puppydog eyes, a gaze so strongly adorable that Shade, merely adjacent to the conversation as she was, had to avert her gaze. Barrick didn’t budge, however.

“Yes. Securing the campsite is a necessity, lest we be scattered with nowhere to return to. Two people are needed for this job. And we don’t have the time, nor leeway, to search in two trips - I only assign this task to you because I know that, if danger should come, you’ll be able to escape it easiest.”

“Tch,” Shade reacted instantly, rolling her eyes at the notion.

Vince chuckled, rubbing his hands against his thighs gently. “Come on Shade, you’re super skilled and fast, but like - even you have to admit that being able to turn into a bug beats that out in the escapability factor.”

She did not respond, merely turning her gaze down to her work again. And then she looked up. “Wait a minute - VINCE!”

“AGUH - SORRY!” Vince instinctively covered his face at Shade’s shouting, but she didn’t strike - merely picking him up by the scruff of his cloak and pointing at the wood. “Why am I doing this, you have fire magic! Do the fucking thing!”

“O--o-o-o-okay! Sorry!” With a wave of his hand, a fiery bolt sparked from his fingertips - hitting the wood and igniting it in a burst of flames. Perhaps one a bit too big… But luckily, stone doesn’t burn.

Thorne chuckled briefly, watching the interaction shortly, before looking back up to Barrick - to see that he was already walking away. “Oh, um, okay, yeah, I’ll… see you guys… soon…”

He voice trailed off naturally as she began to walk away, growing quieter and quieter as she realized that no one could hear her. And perhaps that no one was even listening to her. She let out a shaky sigh, before taking a left and walking through the stone halls in silence. 

It wasn’t a long walk to find the old site - half campsite, half farmsite, long abandoned but not too long. Just long enough for some crops to still be up, potatoes and carrots and a few berries that she could dig up. It was dirty work, but not entirely atypical of a druid. Just, not the kind of druid she was. She sighed, glancing up as the thought crossed her mind. She wished she could see the stars again, it was so much easier to navigate by those.

She turned her attention back to the ground, only for it to be draw to the side as something caught her attention - mushrooms! Oh, those were a treat, a delicacy even! Well, at least, some were. These were… Well, she wasn’t quite sure, actually.

The mushroom cap was a soft tan, with a point of soft yellow at the tent-like tip that moved down and around the cap, almost like a swirl. She plucked one from the ground, stem snapping nearly instantly. Hm, no real camouflage, very easy to pull from the ground, growing where humans once settled, out in the open and by a bunch of crops. Suspicious, definitely. She turned it over, to see the layered gills underneath, plentiful and almost wavy. She pressed a hand into the gills, to find her finger coming back covered in a kind of dusty residue. Spores. But, safe to eat spores, maybe?

She brought the spore-covered finger to her nose, and took a deep breath in. And then, her body seized, spasmed, and reeled back. She took a deep breath in, and then out, like she was panting. Her body fighting against, something. Her eyes glowed a bright green, a color which engulfed her entire body. And yet, that color twisted, into that same muted yellow that the swirl upon the mushroom cap was. 

The spores latched onto her druidic magic, and near instantly propagated. She felt a tingle in her mind, a voice in her head, as her body began to move on its own.

THE MUSHROOMS ARE SAFE.

“Nguh, nnn-” Her arm raised, picking the mushroom up again. “Nuuuuuu, its-”

THE MUSHROOMS ARE GOOD

Her arm tensed and halted as the mushroom began to approach her face again. “Noooo, st- staaaaa-”

GIVE IN TO THE MUSHROOMS

Her arm buckled at the force of her own body fighting her, raising up to her agape mouth - and slipping the mushroom in whole. She didn’t even bite - swallowing the fungus whole as the mushrooms willed.

And then, her body froze, and slumped back. A smile slipped onto her face, as her eyes grew vacant with that yellow glow - and then dissipated, leaving her looking as she was before. She stood, almost robotically, and began to speak.

“The mushrooms are safe. The mushrooms are good. Show the others. Give in to the mushrooms…”

She raised a hand, and the mushroom colony on the ground began to expand rapidly - enveloping the whole crop field. She plucked a healthy number of the shrooms, piling them into the basket she was carrying the rest of the foraged crops in - underneath the rest, of course. And then, she stood, and made her way back towards camp.

…

Shade sat against a wall near the campfire, eyes turned down to her hands. In one hand, a small knife - smaller than her trusty daggers, in fact - and in the other, a piece of wood. She scrapped and chipped at the wood with her knife, whittling it out into… a shape. It was definitely going to be some kind of shape, eventually.

Vince sat at the fire, maintaining it with flicks of his fingers and flares of magic. Barrick stood by the fire, holding the body of wolf-like creature and tapping his foot. His face was contorted in concern.

“She should be back now…”

“Meh,” Shade shrugged. “Don’t worry too much. She’s an airhead, she probably just got distracted. She’ll be back soo-”

“Heeeey, guys!”

Shade’s attention flitted up to the shout - to see Thorne approaching with a grin, and a basket of vegetables under her arms. “Hey, speak of the daemons.”

“Thorne!” Barrick quickly moved around the fire and jogged up to her. “Are you okay? That took-”

“Oh, I’m fine! Just got distracted, you know, ehehehe…”

… Shade’s head rose, and tilted to look at Thorne out of the corner of her eye. That was. Weird. She looked to Barrick, and to Vince. They didn’t think it was though. But it was. Her stomach twisted briefly, before glancing away - deciding that it wasn’t worth it. Whatever ‘it’ was…

“Well… if you insist. In that case, here, hand me the basket, and we can start working out preparations for-”

“Oh, I’ll cook!”

All three of the group looked up at this now, though Shade’s face was definitely the most incredulous of the bunch. Barrick spoke first though. “Are you - sure?”

“Oh, yes! I just - wanted to apologize, for getting us into such trouble here.”

Okay, no, Shade was certain of it now. That wasn’t Thorne. Or at least, Thorne wasn’t in her right mind. She set her whittling knife down, sitting up straighter.

“If… you insist!” Barrick nodded. “Here, I’ll help though - I’ll skin and cut the meat, and then - well, leave the cooking to you, I suppose.”

“That’ll work!” The two walked away, towards the Lake, leaving Vince and Shade to sit in silence. And so, silence followed for… the rest of the night, truly. They ate peacefully - mainly because Thorne refused to bounce off any witty banter of give any bratty remarks. The final nail in the coffin that made Shade certain that something was dangerously wrong with her. Something which clawed at her stomach. Which made her… upset, in a strange way.

… Probably just the feeling of being in danger? Yeah. That had to be it.

And so, Shade didn’t eat - outright refusing her bowl, claiming herself not hungry. Which was a lie, of course, but a lie she told very well. The night passed uneventfully otherwise, until the party settled in to sleep.

But Shade didn’t sleep. She watched through the darkness of the unlit dungeon hall, carefully, carefully through the night. Or perhaps the day. It didn’t matter. Time didn’t matter once she watched Thorne stand - not so much as checking if the group were truly asleep - and make her way to Barrick’s side. The druid knelt down, and placed her hand upon Barrick’s shoulder.

The moment Thorne was enveloped in that glow - a glow which had changed - Shade stood, and darted across the camp, stepping over the campfire in one leap, before pulling out her knife and-

And… she hesitated, once Thorne looked back to her. With those big, wide eyes. Even if they were changed, it was enough to make her stop in her tracks for just a moment.

A moment long enough for a strong hand to grab her ankle and violently yank her leg out from under her, sending her to the ground and cracking her skull into the stone. Her vision went dark, and then faded in, back out, and back in fuzzy - but it was clear enough to see two figures standing over her. Something grabbed her and pulled her to her feet, holding her around the stomach to pin her arms to the side, while covering her mouth up. She tried to scream - but found it only going into skin. Calloused and rough skin. Barrick was holding her.

Shit.

She writhed, trying to escape as the other person - presumably Thorne - stepped away from them and off towards Vince. She tried to scream, but it only came out as a muffled cry which didn’t reach his ears. Her vision cleared just in time to see Thorne, with a vacant smile and empty eyes, kneel down next to Vince and put her hand on his shoulder.

That sickly yellow glow enveloped the both again, flowing between the two like brackish water. His body seized, spasmed, and set, before the magic flowed upwards - and from his head, growths began to sprout. All around his crown, mushrooms popped up, the same shape, the same color, as the ones served at dinner. 

And then, with no words, he stood. His expression was entirely blank, with those same empty eyes that seemed to indicate there was nothing left of him. And then, they turned towards Shade at the same time.

She thrashed, and kicked, and fought against the mighty grip of the towering Barrick, to no avail - she watched helplessly as the two approached. But, at least she was safe in knowing that she hadn’t eaten it - and that was safe from being… infected? Or, whatever it was!

Barrick removed his hand from her mouth, and she quickly screamed as he did so - with some bare hope that someone, anyone, would hear her yells and come to save her. Thorne raised a hand up, removing her face covering - revealing the black-painted lips underneath.

And then, as she tried to call out again, her body froze once Thorne’s lips locked with her’s.

The soft.

Supple.

Relaxing lips, that seemed to draw her in, and cause her to sink into them-

No! She thrashed, trying break free again - only for Barrick to hold her head. She couldn’t even break the kiss.

Not that she wanted- YES SHE WANTED TO SHE WANTED OUT!

Her eyes twitched as that same glow began to encompass the both of them, her body seizing quickly.

THE MUSHROOMS ARE SAFE

No the fuck they’re not, they’re trying to take over her mind!

THE MUSHROOMS ARE GOOD

She kicked and thrashed and did everything she could to ignore the words trying to take root in her mind.

“Shade, don’t you want this?”

Her thrashing stopped as, for once, it wasn’t a thought, but a voice - Thorne’s voice, echoing through her head, rattling her resolve in a moment. Her fight grew weaker. But - but she didn’t want to be-

“I’ve known for a long time, Shade. Shush.”

Thorne’s hands came to the sides of Shade’s face, causing the roguish woman to almost seem to melt at the touch.

“You want to be with me, don’t you?”

She tried to fight the urge to think even a single thought. But it came before she could control it.

Yes. She wanted to be with Thorne.

“And now, you can be. Just give in, Shade. And we can be together.”

Her body spasmed against the thoughts intruding into her mind. Her legs kicked one last desperate time. And again, a thought came to her before she could fight it.

She should give in. So she could be with Thorne.

The kiss became more active on Shade’s part, leaning not just into the touch, but the lips, into Thorne herself. Barrick released her, but she didn’t fight. She didn’t flee. Mushrooms sprouted from her crown as she wrapped her arms around Thorne.

The mushrooms are good.

When her eyes opened, they were vacant and empty. The kiss broke, with a strange strand connecting their lips - not of saliva, but almost more like a bit of mycelium that invaded into Shade’s mouth, now retracting back to Thorne’s.

“Thank you Shade. You’ve made me the happiest woman ever.”

The praise sent a shuddering shock up Shade’s back. She didn’t have enough of a mind left to process the pleasure, but her body reacted wonderfully, her entire body trembling all at once. Thorne began to walk, and so her friends - now fungal hosts - followed. They would care for the mushrooms, now. They would allow the fungus to spread all throughout the dungeon. And then, escape its stone labyrinth.

All would be part of the Mushrooms, in time.