Cipher's eyebrows lifted and his eyes widened think to himself [This must be a Mushmush] as he watched the Mushmush use its tiny arms to push its body upright. Turning around the Mushmush stared at the Cipher with its beady eyes, giving a deadpan expression as it looked at him.
Prior to Cipher knocking it over the Mushmush had been minding its own business searching for water to drink. After walking into a clearing and finding a small puddle it was about to get a drink, then out of nowhere, this creature knocked it over. The Mushmush hated falling, its head always hurt afterward, and it was extremely difficult to right itself and stand again.
Pausing for a moment Cipher quickly collected himself. Axel had taught him that when apologizing it was polite to give a slight bow. Looking at the Mushmush struggle to get up he couldn't help feeling awful for having caused the situation. Bowing Cipher apologized to the Mushmush "Excuse me I am so sorry, I should have more careful and watching where I was going. Please forgive me." The Mushmush gave a slight nod, since that was the only way the Mushmush communicated there was no way to actually tell what it was thinking though. After a brief moment of staring at Cipher, the Mushmush then pivoted on one leg completing a half-turn that ended with it facing away from Cipher and started walking away. The Mushmush then continued its search for water, only breaking every once in a while to blow out a puff of spores that looked like a cloud of smoke from its dome-like cap.
Intrigued by the little mushroom-shaped creature Cipher decided to follow the Mushmush, since it was going in the same direction he figured it was safe if he gave in to his curiosity. He wanted to see what the Musmush was doing and if there were more of them. DEM had informed him that the Mushmush while called a tribe they didn't actually live together. They were called a tribe because of how they are born, once the spores landed in a suitable place to thrive they would grow in the spot creating upwards of ten to fifteen Mushmush at a time. Cipher had asked DEM if he should expect to see a lot of the red and white caped Mushmush while traveling, but DEM informed him that they only live for about a week collapsing and producing their final "Tribe of Mushmush". Cipher felt the life of a Mushmush was sad, its life was so short and lacked any meaningful connections.
As they walked the Mushmush eventually turned, traveling in a different direction than the one set out for Cipher. Cipher was happy to have seen the creature but a little sad to see it go, he knew this would be the last time he ever met that particular Mushmush. It wasn't that he was close to it, Cipher just felt empathy for anything that he felt had its life cut short. This feeling however did not extend to the Nightmares that would attack, kill, and destroy. Cipher knew how dangerous it would be if he tried to sympathize with the Nightmares, if he hesitated there was a good chance he would be killed. Cipher knew of course he was immortal, but he was not immune to pain, and testing his immortality was extremely low on the list of things he wanted to try. Honestly, Cipher felt that it would be great if he could forgo every testing it, but knew that was probably a pipe dream.
As cipher continued to walk his surrounding would continually change, the mushroom stalks in the forest would glow different colors. In addition, the caps of the mushrooms were releasing spores periodically that caused the fog to descend to the ground, making the area looked like an EDM concert but without the music. Actually, now that CIpher thought about it...he could only hear the sounds of his own footsteps. DEM was listening to Ciphers chain of thoughts and chimed in, {The forest isn't dead, there are many creatures that live here but most are plant-based. Due to the constant production of spores that the mushrooms produce, most creatures can't survive in the forest for more than a few hours. The only reason you are surviving at the moment is due to the generosity shown by the townspeople of Sol, if you weren't wearing the mask as you are now then it wouldn't have been possible to transverse the Laughing Forest at all.}
Cipher then had an idea, [DEM are there any plants or items here that we could find on our way to Future City?]Cipher had seen all the plants and shrubs while traveling and thought that maybe some could be worth money in one of the lands or possibly have medicinal purposes. Looking through the compiled information at a speed that would put a supercomputer to shame DEM replied, {Yes there are three that could be useful, Dragaroom, White Vail, and Wizards Eye.} DEM explained to Cipher the purpose for each of them, their effects, and what they looked like.
Dragaroom: Red Scaled caped Mushroom with a short stalk, found only in the Laughing Forest.
Effects: This mushroom is also known as "Dragon Bane", its name derives from the fact that the sickly sweet aroma that it gives off drives C-Class and lower dragon type creatures aways.
White Vail: A pure white mushroom with a long stalk, found only in the Laughing Forest.
Effects: This mushroom is known to provide those that eat it with invisibility for about one hour. Note - Invisiabilty means others will not be able to see you, they can however hear and smell you. This mushroom also does not have the ability to mask your presence.
Wizard Eyes: A mushroom that glows green with an eye-like pattern on its cap, found only in the Laughing Forest.
Effects: This mushroom has the ability to increase the potency of any potion by double. It is highly sought after by apothecaries, wizards, and witches due to its effect.
After learning about each and knowing what to look for Cipher kept an eye out for any mushrooms that fit those descriptions. Before Cipher had realized it he had collected quite a few of each, six Dragaroom, five White Vail, and whooping ten Wizards Eye it helped that he had the appraiser ability enabling him to scan the area and find specific mushrooms. Needless to say, Cipher was very pleased with the amount he found only stopping when DEM called out to him, {DEM ~ Cipher stop...we are about to enter Nightmare Valley!}