The Hunt for the Woodland Ghost

                                                                                                                     The Hunt for the Woodland Ghost

It was Akira’s first time at the Twilight Carnival at the Capital in several years. Before that she had only celebrated back at B’Haddu with a couple of old friends or by herself. She had never seen so many lights, heard so many sounds, seen so many new people in such a long time. “If I didn’t have to do this research I’d have so brought my equipment with me from where I’m stayin and jammed out some here on the streets”, she thought. But right now researching the so-called mushroom of legend, the Woodland Ghost, was more important right now. She had heard the news of the recent outbreak from some Xeros somewhere near the Harbor, that right now during the Twilight Carnival, a rare and mysterious mushroom called the “Woodland Ghost” was starting to appear at night. Naturally since the outbreak just happened, she didn’t have any shows scheduled, and she was close by, Akira figured it would be a good idea to make the trip over near the forest to maybe catch a glimpse of the fabled mushroom. The festivities could wait for a little longer, right now she had to get to the forest!

It didn’t take Akira too long to find a small forest area near Harbor, though it was a bit of a walk. Luckily she had her pocket knife, a small brush, her bag, a map of the topography, and a notebook on local mushrooms, though she did pick up some ORB technology just in case she found a Woodland Ghost or any other invasive species of mushroom. But even though she somewhat knew the general location of where mushrooms could grow, it was still her first time actually going out somewhere besides the desert and foraging. Akira pulled out her map and started looking at the topography. “Hmmm… looks like the area over there has plenty of shrooms, might be worth a gander” she muttered to herself while walking. Sure enough, there was a wide clearing full of fallen, decaying logs and plant matter, the perfect place for mushrooms to grow at this time of year. Akira started to take a look at the nearby mushrooms and her guide as well. “Some Zing Caps, Tree Claws, Bearded Caps, and Dimple dews ‘round here, guess they’ll have to do for now, they might be worth lookin into'' thought Akira. She promptly and carefully harvested the mushrooms with her knife, dusted them off with the brush, and put them in her bag.

So far she had found nothing invasive, but these mushrooms would make for some nice meals later. As more ideas of delicious mushroom-based meals filled her head on her way back, she caught a faint glimmer of light near a distant log. She slowly yet carefully approached the area, ORB in hand, and looked at the clearing. Sure enough, there it was – a singular Woodland Ghost. Carefully, Akira safely captured the mushroom in the ORB, making extra sure no spores got on the ground or especially on themself, as the mushroom was noted as being dangerous on contact and spreading its spores even on the body of a Xero. ORB in hand, Akira quickly returned back to Harbor and back to where she was staying during the Carnival, making sure nobody caught sight of the Woodland Ghost. With this mushroom in hand she could surely research more about what it could really do once she got back to the Haddu. After all, she came here and found exactly what she was looking for. Now she could cut loose and keep the mushroom hidden…for now at least.