Mushroom Folk

This world is strange. Towering mushrooms dwarf the trees. Ancient, cylindrical structures dot the landscape. Lifeforms blend the boundaries between animal, plant, and fungus. This world is stranger than any of us could have imagined, and it grows stranger with every tale that the mushroom shaman tells us.

We met the mushroom folk the second day after the Sideslip portal took us to this world. None of us were sure what to make of them. Fungi plays a huge role in this strange ecosystem. That much we learned very quickly, and fortunately, we brought breathing masks to compensate for the spore-heavy air. The mushroom folk, however, seem to blend fungal and animal characteristics. They are obviously fungi; we have the spore samples to prove that. And yet, they seem to have an animalistic internal skeleton and muscle structure, and are capable of fine and controlled movements. A select few, remarkably, are even capable of speech!

As I said, we met the mushroom folk on the second day of our explorations. Hetfeld initially wished to capture one, but we decided that would not be ethical because, astoundingly, they showed signs of sentience. Though they lacked any visible sense organs, they were obviously aware of our presence, and showed remarkable curiosity. Astonishingly, they were able to communicate with us using pantomime, and soon made it clear that they wanted us to accompany them. Lars was hesitant, but I decided that we would go with them. The mushroom folk were small and fragile, and we were well armed. I could not imagine that we'd be in any danger.

The mushroom village consisted of a dozen or so enormous, domed mushrooms, each hollowed out and occupied. We were let to the largest one, and were beckoned to enter. The interior was only large enough for a single person, so, being the leader, I entered.

Inside was a pale, almost luminous mushroom person, seemingly wizened and wilted with age. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I was startled to see three orifices upon its face, arranged to suggest two eyes and a mouth, if one made concessions to anthropomorphism.

The words that I've used to describe the mushroom folk--startling, astounding, astonishing--none of these words came close to describing the overwhelming, shattering, surreal amazement that I felt when the old mushroom person spoke. I believe I almost went into cardiac arrest when I realized that his speech was almost understandable. I promptly left the mushroom house and sent in Roberts, our linguist.

The mushroom shaman, as we came to call him, spoke what he described as god-speak, a form of communication handed down to his ancestors by the ancient gods. Many of these gods looked like us, he said, but were apparently somewhat smaller. Roberts says that the mushroom folk revere a trio, or possibly a quartet, of major gods. There is the Goddess, a figure of virginal innocence. There is the diabolical Thieving God, who constantly kidnaps the goddess. Finally, there is the heroic Leaping God, who always thwarts the Thieving God and rescues the Goddess. Roberts thinks there may actually be two Leaping Gods; plurals in this language can be ambiguous, apparently.

Gods that resemble us? Does this mean that other humans--humans from other continua, who have also discovered Sideslip technology--have previously visited this world? Are the mysterious cylindrical structures human artifacts? Is this bizarre fungus-animal and plant-animal ecosystem the product of human biological engineering?

Clearly, we have much to study. I have a feeling we will be spending years, if not our entire lifetimes, studying the mysteries of this strange world.

I will send my next report in two weeks, as scheduled.

***

The text really outweighs the art in this one.

So, my freelance job is done, and I'm now doing some fun, low-impact doodling. Here are eight varieties of mushroom people, for your enjoyment. I may refine this more, or I may not. This may be the beginning of a new project, or it may just be a one-off. If it is the beginning of the project, the project is going to be a "remix" of an already-existing (and very well known) fictional world. Guess what it is, if you want to. If I draw anything more on it, it should become obvious fairly quickly.