The Magic of Rue

Ch 8: Living Mushrooms Eat Dead People

Kian POV

I followed the strange witch as she wondered through the forest, her steps light.

She was barefoot, meaning she probably knee the terrain extremely well.

Or she was just a lunatic witch who ran around barefoot.

Coming up on the grove she insisted had all the mushrooms she needed, I was slightly surprised.

It was scattered with bones and decaying corpses of animals.

...and a human at a closer glance.

Chopped into pieces and throw into random areas. Interesting.

She followed my gaze to a discarded arm, pouting a bit, "what? He was already dead! The goblins got him. And he was to heavy to carry so I chopped him up."

Swamp witches. I thought are just as strange as the rumors say. "I don't care if you killed him of not. You were squeamish over blades earlier."

"Yeah. Pointed at me. A living thing. Not fertilizer." She grumbled out, squatting by a deer corps to pluck some mushrooms from the surrounding area, "I found an abundance of species here once and decided to improve the grove into my own personal mushroom garden." She shifted the corpses around and took a few clean bones. "Plus bones for spells, all nice and naturally cleaned."

"I see." I said, loosing interest.

Suddenly she shoved a mushroom in my face, grin exposing a small gap in her teeth, "living mushrooms eat dead people."

Woman said this like it was the most wonderful thing in the world.

She popped the mushroom in her mouth, "living people eat dead mushrooms. Its the cycle of life." Her nose scrunched a bit, "although I recommend cooking the mushrooms."

I arched a brow at her, "living Fae kill annoying creatures."

She shrank back a bit, "I am aware."

Pretty sure she mumbled something about scary faeries.

Leaning against a nearby tree I watched her pluck mushrooms and move around decomposing parts.

Suddenly she gasped, "my webcaps are finally growing!"

She seemed absolutely elated, plucking an ugly brown mushroom from the ground and sticking it in her hair.

Watching her pluck several more and stick them in her hair when her basket still had plenty of room was strange.

Suspicious actually. "And what..." I rumbled, "are webcaps?"

She turned on her heels to face me, about six of the mushrooms stuck in her hair, "uhm... poison? Thats why they aren't in the basket. One whoops and like a few weeks later..." she drew her thumb across her throat.

"You just shoved delayed poison mushrooms in your hair."

"Yes..."

"Why do you need them?"

She looked away, "huh, I wonder where that guys head went."