"What are humans doing in my forest?" boomed the giant being, looking at them with a giant black eye. Two horns protruded from his brow, and as he moved, Gia could see what must be ears sticking up out of the ground, or his head, now that she was starting to see just how big he was.
"Forgive us, great King," hollered Vonn, setting down the cart. "We are only passing through. A small forest trolling guided us to come down this path in order to escape soldiers from a human army."
"I don't care why you've come down here, but you need to leave! This is no place for a human, unless…" he turned his other giant black eye on them. "Do you want to become mushroom men?"
"No!" squeaked Carla, quickly covering her mouth.
"Well," started Tom, but he shook his head with a chuckle. "No, while the offer is tempting, I think we will turn you down, Your Majesty."
"You are peculiar creatures," his voice rumbled through the forest.
"Do those mushrooms really grow out of your back?" asked Mikey, climbing up onto the cart and pointing at the glowing mushroom trees that protruded from the Mushroom King's back.
"Eh?" The king went to turn and look behind him before he paused and then turned back.
"Mikey!" gasped Gia, trying to snatch the boy's arm quickly. She didn't want to test the magic of the necklaces already!
"Those are my back hairs!" laughed the king with great gusts of damp-earth smelling breaths.
"Mushrooms for back hairs!" exclaimed Tom. "How I wish I could see that!"
"Hush!" begged Carla, barely able to contain herself. Gia hoped she didn't pee herself. There wasn't any way she was going to get her mother's clothes washed down here!
"Truffle!" boomed the king.
A cute little green mushroom man popped his head out of a nearby pile of dirt. Rubbing his black eyes with his tiny little hand, he gave a yawn before climbing out of the ground. "Yes, da?" he piped.
Gia couldn't help but grab her hands tightly. He was soooo cute! Glancing over at the others, she saw Mikey's mouth drop open and Vonn shaking his head in disbelief.
"Guide these humans to the dwarves. They need to get out of here before they get spored."
"What does that mean?" gulped Carla, holding onto Tom's arm with a death grip as she stared at the adorable little mushroom man.
"Probably something along the lines of growing mushrooms out of our backs," guessed Tom, patting her hands.
"Make sure you avoid the purple-blue section. They are getting ready to spore. If any of the funglings touch them, they'll have to stay, and we can barely keep up with our population as it is," said the king, his voice making the ground rumble.
"Okay, da!" chorused the little Truffle, as he turned back to the spot where he had been buried, apparently sleeping, and dug up a little staff. A glowing blue snail shell was lodged in the end. As he gave himself a final shake, to get the last of the dirt off the tiny little leaves that made up his outfit, he waved for them to follow him.
"Thank you, great King," called Vonn, giving a short bow, before he grabbed the handles of the cart and hurried to keep up with the mushroom man.
"Thank you!" called Gia and Mikey, as Carla nodded to the giant being, too terrified to speak.
"Such fascinating creatures; humans," mumbled the king as he settled himself back into the ground.
"So, what are funglings?" asked Mikey, rushing forward to speak with Truffle.
"Well, they're kind of like babies. Except they float around, and if they touch you, then you'll become their host. I hear it hurts a lot when they grow their roots into you to eat, but I've never experienced it myself. I was born a Fun-Guy."
"A fun guy?" laughed Mikey, slapping his knee.
"Funglings sound terrifying," choked Carla, holding onto Tom's arm even harder.
"Oh, dear, I'm sure it will be fine. This Truffle fellow seems like he knows what he's doing. I'm sure he will guide us along a safe path. We'll be at these dwarves' home in no time flat."
"Well, it will actually take about a week to get through the entire Mushroom Forest, sir," admitted Truffle, scratching the edge of his mushroom cap with an embarrassed laugh.
"A whole week?" fretted Carla. "But, what will we eat while we're down here?"
"Oh! I know!" gushed Mikey, dashing off the path towards one of the mushroom trees.
"Wait!" cried Truffle, darting after him.
Gia watched in horror, as they both slid in a pile only a few inches from a huge green plant. Rushing over, she grabbed Mikey's arm, hauling him to his feet. Before she could say anything, the green plant shook and the top began to unroll right towards them. Truffle squeaked in terror and jumped to his feet to run back to the path.
"Hurry! It's hungry!" he called, as his little feet left puffs of dirt in his wake.
Gia grabbed up Mikey, and ran as best she could. Mikey didn't even struggle, only watched as the bright pink of the maw opened and a human skeleton became apparent inside the thing's tooth lined mouth.
"Mikey!" chided Vonn, taking him from her and setting the boy in the cart. Taking her in his arms, he held her until Gia's shaking calmed down.
"I almost lost you," she cried, glaring at Mikey. At least he looked a little ashamed, but then she realized that she was doing it again, and buried her face in Vonn's muscular chest.
"If we're going to get you out of here before the funglings fill the air, we really need to keep going," said Truffle.
"I'm sorry, Gia," mumbled Mikey miserably.
"Oh, sweety. Your sister cares about you very much. She overreacted when she thought you were in danger. If only my legs were better," moaned Carla, slapping her legs in frustration.
"Don't, Carla," said Tom, finding her hands and holding them. Bringing them to his lips, he kissed each hand. "That tea will start working, and you'll be able to walk beside the cart, like Gia. We should travel much faster, then."
Carla laid her head on Tom's shoulder, pulling Mikey into a group hug. Gia watched from Vonn's arms, and felt left out. Her heart hurt that they were in this position, and there was nothing she could do but move forward.
"Okay," she sniffed. "I'm better. Let's get going."
Nodding, Vonn let her go, reluctantly, and picked up the handles to the cart. Truffle danced in front, urging him on. The scare seemed to finish waking up the little mushroom, as he skipped ahead and paused to look around while he waited for them to catch up. After the third time, he darted off the path, and returned with his arms full of little grey mushrooms.
"You should be able to eat these," he said with a wide grin, holding them out for Gia to take.
Cradling them in her hands, she studied them.
"They're oyster mushrooms," he added, watching as she handed them out. There was barely a mouth full for each of them.
"Not very filling, are they?" laughed Tom, after chewing for a moment. "It's going to take way more than that to fill me up."
Truffle frowned as he thought about that, glancing back the way he had come with them. Nodding to himself, he headed off down the path again. It wasn't too much longer when he paused at a fork in the path. After thinking for a moment, they continued down the right path. A couple of steps later, the little guy darted off the path again. Pausing, Vonn took the time to stretch out his shoulders.
"Are you alright?" asked Gia, worried.
"I'll be fine," he said with a smile. "My shoulders are just starting to get a little tight, is all. They'll loosen up in a bit, and I should be all right."
"Let me try for a bit," offered Gia, eyeing the handles of the cart. It couldn't be that heavy, could it? "Just for a short while, to give your shoulders a little rest."
"Are you sure?" he asked, unconvinced.
"Might as well," she said with a grin.
He showed her how to stand and then helped her pick up the handles. It was much heavier than she thought. Her hands immediately complained, but she ignored them. Vonn had been hauling her parents every since they left the city. His shoulders had to be killing her. Even if she could only pull the cart for a few minutes, it was a few minutes he could rest.
"I found a whole bunch of morels!" reported Truffle, hauling a huge mushroom behind him. "If one of you could help…"
It wasn't long before Mikey, Gia and Vonn were all busy hauling mushrooms back to the cart. Each mushroom was plenty big enough to make a meal, so Gia tried to gather as many as could fit in the cart. Truffle didn't seem to mind at all. Getting back to the cart, she went to pick it up, and Vonn laughed as she struggled.
"I've had a good rest. My shoulders don't hurt any longer. Let me take that."
Gia didn't believe him, but was still relieved to step out of the way. Grabbing one of the mushrooms, she took a bite of it, and marveled at the wonderful nutty flavor.
"I've had these mushrooms before," said Tom, taking another bite of his. "There were some nobles talking about how expensive they were. I never told a soul I had eaten three while I helped unload the wagon of them. I'm sure I would have lost everything then, without losing my eyes."
"If those really were morels," said Carla, "then you probably would have lost your life, instead. I prefer you alive and blind, thank you."
He laughed and made a kissing sound at her.