Beyond the Gates

Plant

Character

Muna

Sneezer Shroom

Common

I apply a wet cloth to the little girl's forehead, then put the back of my hand on her cheek. The fever has gone down enough for us to try and treat her. Like many others, she was affected by the minor Tumult singularity that appeared in the village. Blessedly, the damage didn't extend to lost lives. I nod to her father before channeling my Mana. Through the prism of my mind, I call on the little creature that can help us here. The mush appears and falls backward, before getting back up with difficulty, its nose running. It stares at me before turning toward the young patient, its eyes narrowed and face tensed up, as if it were stifling a sneeze. I know it'll help me to purify her Mana, which was destabilized by the Tumult.

The sneezy fungus moves purposefully toward the child, looking focused and serious. It climbs onto the bed and the covers, sniffling several times along the way. Then, looking at me one last time, it extends its mycelial network from its little feet and spreads it to the girl's skin. Its filaments absorb the tumultuous Mana, continuously gulping it up. The young girl stirs in her sleep, and her father tightens his grip on her hand. The treatment will tire her out a great deal, but I already feel the mush doing its work, filtering her Mana through its body. Without warning, I start to tickle the creature's nose, and it immediately sneezes. That sneeze releases countless droplets of healthy Mana into the air, which I begin to collect despite its irate expression. Feeding this energy to my patient should quickly restore some of her color.