Luck and the Mushroom

         Fox slipped silently between the grasses, the mushroom bag bobbing gently against his back between his wings. There was no chance of Fox flying to Lyrentha, to get the laygis mushroom home. The Kraloar would spot his glowing wings instantly if he took flight.

         Fox peeked between two milkweed stalks, trying to see the gently glowing paths. The woods had darkened considerably, the rising gloom straining even his faery eyes. The nearby grasses glowed, reflecting his own light and the faint, white light of the laygis which leaked from the gossamer-thin spidersilk bag.

         And if I don’t get to Lyrentha with this mushroom before the sun sets, then this priceless fungus will turn to stone, thought Fox.

         He slunk from one weed to the next, trying to keep his glow minimized, suppressing his inner fire. It would never do to attract the attention of the Kraloar, especially at night, and this part of the Lyrnethal Wood was infested with them. Though Fox new many tricks, his fire was no match for the poisonous malevolence of the scaly Kraloar.

         Fox thought he saw movement in the distant patch of halesia bushes and froze. Could a foe be crouched there? Fox waited. There was no more movement, but the flavor of the sun’s rays had changed and the sky blushed deeply as the sun sank in farewell toward the distant sea. Scarlet beams speared between the purple-clad boughs, high above. His heart thudding like the beat of a bee’s wings, Fox began to hurry.

         Just as he passed another scruffy halesia patch, he heard the grunt and dove for the ground, trying to hide beneath the weeds. Fox heard deep breathing, and the dread which had threatened to overwhelm him subsided a bit.

         It was a Kraloar, a giant, nearly as big as a raccoon by the sounds radiating from its muscular body. The reptile was there, but the gentle force of its rank breath which stirred the grasses spoke of slumber, not stalking. That would change once night fell upon the wood.

         Slowly, silent as a sunbeam, Fox crept past the bushes and continued down the path. When he could no longer hear the Kraloar breathing, his own breath relaxed slightly. He could go faster. Kraloar were territorial, and it was unlikely that there would be another nearby.

         As he walked, Fox began thinking of what his family could do with the laygis. That Lady Kir would set this incredible find in his path made him wonder what he could have done to earn her favor. He could have gone a lifetime without seeing the rare mushroom, which sprouted only three days out of the year, when Mya and Klesta were aligned in the sky. Only when the magic of the two moons combined could such wondrous fungi erupt from the soil. And they were worth the risk Fox was taking to bring it home. The Elder Kokur would be able to brew a cure for the consumption which afflicted his mother. And that was only the start.

         Minutes later, Fox decided it was safe enough to take wing. As he spread his translucent wings, the blue-green glow spread to illuminate the nearby trees. He stretched his wings to their fullest extent and fluttered them a bit.

         He didn’t hear the buzz until it was too late.

         The bhyrro hit him right between the shoulder blades, knocking the wind from his lungs and sending him tumbling to the earth. At the same time, the beetle’s razor-sharp forelegs severed the straps to his spider silk bag, sending it flying.

         His fire doused, Fox pulled himself to his feet and brushed off the sandy dirt. Looking around, he spotted the bhyrro by its murky orange glow. It had his pack between its feet, and seemed to be staring at Fox with its multi-faceted eyes.

         “Hey, you!” called Fox. “That’s mine!”

         The insect pulled the bag closer. Fox could still see the mushroom glowing faintly white within.

         “Return it turn me! You have no claim to it.”

         The bhyrro’s carapace shivered, and suddenly, spikes erupted from the hard surface, giving it the appearance of a monstrously deformed stag.

         Clearly, the insect disagrees, thought Fox.

         “How about we share? There’s plenty of laygis there for the both of us.”

         The bhyrro pulled the bag in closer, and kept its eyes—and largest spikes—pointed in Fox’s direction.

         Fox glowered at the bug, but there was nothing he could do.

         The find of a lifetime! And taken from him by a blasted bhyrro! It was true that Kir kept the books of fortune balanced. Fox was about to accept defeat, when inspiration sparked his fire, which he had to tamp down lest it brighten his glow. He was off in a flash, leaving the bhyrro to fiddle with the bag.

         Fox flitted about, no longer trying to be careful, looking until he found it—the patch of halesia. From the smell, he knew it was the right one. He could still hear the gentle breathing from beneath the leaves. Fox took a deep breath, and channeled his fire into his wings. The blue light erupted from them, and turned the dusk into day in that little patch of woods.

         Snorting erupted from the bushes. Fox barely got a warning shiver of the branches before a streak of brownish-green shot from the foliage like lightning, headed straight for him. Fox dodged the Kraloar, which alighted on a tree, and turned its squat ugly head at him, licking its lips. Needing no further encouragement, Fox flew like an arrow from a bow, the wind roaring in his ears. He heard the whisper of wind through scales, and dodged another pounce.

         There was not another moment to waste. Fox dove for the forest floor, just as the kraloar was winding up for another pounce.

         There!

         An orange glow. He headed straight for it and buzzed just above the startled bhyrro. Fox splayed his wings and shot straight into the air. At that moment the kraloar pounced. The bhyrro saw the reptile and in panic, dropped the mushroom to take flight, but it was too late. The kraloar snatched the bhyrro right out of the air, and brought it roughly to the ground a few yards away.

         Fox slowly lowered himself to the ground near his pack. He heard crunching noises as the kraloar began feasting on the beetle, no longer interested in the faery.

         Too bad you had to meet your end this way, thought Fox. But, I did offer to share.

         Taking the bag in his arms, Fox flew away toward Lyrentha.

         The sentries, invisible in the trees, challenged him as he approached the glowing forest village.

         “It is I, Fox!” he called out.

         The sentry sniffed as she unknocked the arrow she had readied.

         “Why do you smell like bhyrro?” she asked. “I almost shot you.”

         “It’s been a long day,” said Fox. “I bring treasure from the marshlands!”

         “Kir truly smiles upon un today,” replied the sentry. “The Elder Kokur received visitors. They too brought treasures.”

         “Visitors? From where?”

         “Another faery dominion, somewhere to the south.”

         The sentry turned her attention back to the darkening woods.

         Fox passed the border and entered Lyrentha, the laygis now weighing heavily in his arms. As he passed the sapling-houses and neared the village square, he saw the bright blue glow which could only mean that the whole town had gather there. A single glowing light detached from the glow and rose to meet him. Startled, Fox nearly dropped his mushroom.

         “Hello, my little sapling!”

         It was his mother, Sira, her vitality glowed in bright turquois rather than the sickly green that had fouled the house that morning. She smiled and did a pirouette in the air.

         “My fire returns!” she said. “The kokurs cured my consumption with the gifts the Fahlwood faeries brought.”

         Fox’s blue glow of joy in response was mottled with a bit of purple in confusion.

         “But… how?”

         “Laygis! They brought us laygis mushrooms, at least a dozen. And something else…”

         Sira approached fox and took his face in her hands.

         “They brought the spores as well! They will teach our gardeners how to grow them. We will never be without again! It couldn’t have happened at a better time. I would have died, tonight.”

         “But…”

         “Why? You’ve forgotten your history. We came to the Fjallwood’s aid years ago, when the Jarniker wasps overran their domain. I was only a child, but I remember. This is their repayment. So, what is it you have here?”

         Fox looked down at the battered spidersilk bag with its severed straps, the laygis glowing faintly within.

         “Just… some supplies.”

         “Well, you must join the festivities. We are honoring our guests, whom we haven’t seen in ages. Come, join the fun!”

         Almost on cue, a burst of sparkling light erupted from the square and sent sparks jumping among the leaves, high overhead. Fox, mushroom still in his hands, followed Sira toward the square and the festivities, thinking about Lady Kir and what a fickle mistress the goddess of luck was.