Keisei looked at Olgar with suspicion, "Why does my gut tell me that is a horrible idea?"
Olgar looked offended as he shouted, "What!? Setting things on fire seems the best idea unless you want to risk becoming THAT." He indicated while pointing to the pile of ashes that had once been the fungus zombie thing.
Keisei sighed and as a precaution she cast the polymorph spell to turn herself into a darkling that would allow her the bonus of a little extra spell resistance just in case things did not go well. Stepping up to the she shouted behind her, "Take cover just incase!" They did not argue with her which made her feel very disheartened. After
Casting a shielding spell she took out the spell components for the fireball spell and began the chanting the spell and a steady pace as the components themselves disappeared one by one as she hit each segment of the spell which to non-mages it was like listening to an infants gibberish. She had a small bit of cold sweat dripping down her spine as her heart was beating frantically as all the red flags and alarms were waving about telling her just how bad of an idea this was and getting louder and near screeching when the spell finally triggered. There really was something graceful in watching the the spell fly as if in slow motion... almost as if it was spelling certain doom. Once the spell left her hand and slammed into the first mushroom Keisei's eyes widened as she saw the spores release and catch on fire causing an epic chain reaction that had her panicking and shouting, "Take cover!" Just before she got knocked on her back from the sheer force from the explosion. Keisei was not certain how long she was out but what she did know was that her head was throbbing like someone used it for a drum and her ears were ringing horribly. Looking around the cave in a daze she noticed the ashes of the spore zombies they had dealt with were gone like the wind. Her group of companions was actually standing around her when she saw a flash of light and suddenly the ringing and pain vanished causing her brain to kick into gear and realized Taurek healed her. Looking at her companions she frowned and sighed in frustration, "I told you it was a bad idea!"
Olgar was scratching the back of his head as he look towards the cave entrance, "Well it's to late to have regrets."
Keisei gave him a suspicious look as she asked, "And what exactly does that mean....?"
Olgar sighed and pointed outside, "See for yourself."
Keisei looked at him for a long moment before she got to her feet and walked to the cave mouth. What she saw was a scene out of her worst nightmares and as she took a step out of the cave tears started to drip down her cheeks as she sank to the ground, "Oh gods.... I'm a monster." She would never forget the sight before her eyes. It was not long before tears streaked down her cheeks and she sank down to the ground. As a high elf she had a deep connection to nature and seeing the harm she had done made her chest ache like someone was trying to tear her still beating heart from her chest.
Keisei fell into a trance like state for a time and Fae went to look at the nearby trees hoping to get a clue as to what was going on and as she snapped off a branch and looked at the meat of the now charcoal she made a low humming noise as she said, "The trees were already pretty much dead if anything I think you did this forest a favor by cleansing it of this unnatural fungus.... I mean look at what those spores did to the darklings! The trees are just as twisted looking."
Keisei still had a look of anguish on her face, "What about the villages and other settlements that were in the forest?!"
Fae looked at Keisei calmly and gave her a sad smile, "You most likely paid them a mercy because they most likely were already infected with that fungus and were either already a ghoul or on their way to being one...." Fae trailed off and made Keisei look at her as she said in a firm voice, "We would have had to kill them regardless to keep the epidemic under control, you were royalty you know I am right."
Keisei had a bitter expression on her face when Fae played the royalty card and sighed heavily after she looked away and started to pull out and set up their tent, "We might as well get a good meal and rest in before we venture out, we have no idea what he shall be faced with once we go out." To this none of her companions could argue and obediently went into the test once the tent was set up and the defensive spells were in place. Keisei grabbed food and disappeared into her workshop to work out magical items that would allow the darklings to either look like Elves or humans. It took her several hours and she even made a charm for the half-ogre as she figured his appearance would lead to a bit of trepidation for whomever they might come across. When finished she placed the new charms
into a velvet drawstring bag she dropped it off in her room before she went for more food to get her energy back up enough to take a bath and then collapsed in bed in a fresh set of pajamas.
The following day she still felt drained so she ended up eating enough food for at least three people for breakfast and once everyone was present she smiled briefly before she handed two white gold bands that sparkled with the diamond dust she used to enchant them to Fae and Berric and a pendant on a leather thong for Olgar. Each recipient looked at their respective charm and then looked to explain how to use them, "They have shifter magic in them, all you have to do is hold onto the item and picture firmly in your mind what form you wish to take so long as it is humanoid in nature, so you can't change yourself into an animal or anything like that. As to why I made those charms I figured I did enough damage and it would be easier to get information if they don't crap themselves in fear or try to you know... kill us on site."
With that reasoning they knew she had a point and could only complain in their hearts. Olgar was the first to question though, "Why did you make charms when you could just cast the magic yourself?"
Keisei blinked and scratched the back of her head, "Cloaking or adjusting more than one person's appearance takes a a lot of mana and had a duration, those charms have infinite duration and charges so it can be used as often or as little as you need so if we get separated to get supplies we don't have to worry about the spell suddenly wearing off and you being exposed and causing mass hysteria and or panic." With that explanation she got a chorus of 'Oooooh's that made her chuckle, "We should get ready to head out now." And with that they went to their respective rooms to dress for the coming trek through the wasteland she had accidentally created.