"What do you mean by Chosen One?" Lucius asked as the shroom inspected the poison gland it had just extracted.
"You don't remember? The story of the Shri'kilian," the shroom replied, using the blade to cut off any excess flesh from the gland.
"I thought the Shri'kilian was the name of the fruit."
"Shri'kilian is the name of the Chosen Elder. The elder that will take our kind to the higher tiers. We just call the fruit Shri'kilian because it is the means by which such an elder will be chosen," the shroom replied. "Can you get me a leaf," it said after, holding out its hand in wait.
"But I'm not of your kind. This doesn't sound like it will work," Lucius replied, ripping a leaf from a nearby shrub, before handing it over to the shroom.
"The legend never said the Chosen One would be of our kind, only that they will get us to the higher tiers," the shroom said before placing the gland on the leaf and beginning work on the brain.
"So you want to lie to them?" Lucius asked, trying to understand what exactly the shroom was getting at.
"I'm not really lying. You do have the ability to get us to the higher tiers, or are you going to act like the creatures that have been watching me aren't becoming bigger with every passing day," the shroom replied, stopping his blade mid-way through work to stare at Lucius with a knowing gaze.
"Even if that was true, what makes you think it will work on your kind?" Lucius asked.
"Hmm," the shroom mumbled, getting back to work. "A hunch. I can tell I'll go far following you," it whispered.
"But that's obvious. Any blind creature would be able to see that you're not like the rest of us lower tiers. Even if they don't believe that you're the Chosen One, the smart ones will follow us regardless," the shroom continued.
"And those that won't? It's better they don't join this clan anyway," the shroom added, putting the brain it had cut off onto the leaf.
"Captain!" a voice shouted from behind them.
"What's the matter?" Lucius said, recognizing the voice as Alpha's right-hand woman.
"Oh, there it is," she replied coming into view.
"Ahh, I hadn't told you guys that I took the mushroom with me, huh? But what happened to the guard? When I came for it there was anyone on duty," Lucius replied.
"There was some confusion with who was supposed to be on duty. With the gap Alpha left, everyone is still confused on the new schedule," she replied with an awkward smile.
"Make sure everything is sorted out. We can't have this happening again," Lucius said after a moment of thought. "Anyway, go get Pagan and ghost. And tell Pagan to get all the leaflings on the tree base," he said after.
"You got it, Captain," she nodded, before leaving to carry out her assignment.
"Let's talk about all the materials you need. You said you need a few herbs, a dark place to store the organs, and something to contain them in," Lucius said, running over all the things he could remember.
"I know where to find the herbs, as for containment..." the shroom whispered, pausing for a moment. "We can use the long one's skin," it continued after some thought.
"You mean the worms?" Lucius whispered, to which the shroom nodded in reply.
~I can build a small cottage over here to store the organs while they ferment. And I guess I should also make some sort of living space for it, putting it back in a cage would be... unsuitable,~ he thought to himself.
"And what about the purification process?" he asked after.
"It uses the same herbs, as well as some water. And the process itself will only take a few hours," the shroom answered.
"Hmm, we'll get everything we need within the next hour, I need the flesh before the sun sets," Lucius said after thinking for a moment.
"Why before the sun sets? Does it have something to do with your growth?" the shroom asked almost immediately.
"You're getting ahead of yourself. I'm just hungry, that's all," Lucius replied calmly. "We'll wait for my children to arrive, I want to take them along on our journey," he continued.
"Your children?" the shroom asked suspiciously.
"My commune members," he corrected.
After a few minutes had passed, Pagan and Ghost came into view, chatting to each other about Ghost's upcoming evolution.
"Lighted One, what is that creature?' Pagan asked as soon as he got there, looking at the shroom with a wary gaze.
"Ahh, you were going through... you weren't awake when I captured it huh?" Lucius replied, remembering how Pagan wasn't around.
"This will be a creature we'll be working with to strengthen the commune," he explained after.
"Ghost, you knew about this... thing?" Pagan asked, turning to Ghost. To which Ghost nodded in reply.
"Thing? I never thought I'd hear that from a mere prey creature," the shroom said, taking a few steps forward.
"Lighted One, how important is this thing? I don't like the way it speaks," Pagan said, walking to stand in front of the shroom. At this point he was a little bigger than it, however, his lack of natural weapons made him look considerably less dangerous.
"Don't get too cocky, if your ,������� ���, wasn't protecting you, I would devour you in a second. Do not forget your place in the natural order, I am a hunter and you are food," the shroom replied.
Lucius let it happen. He was nearly certain that the shroom was bluffing. And if they didn't get this out of their system in front of him, it could prove to be dangerous in his absence.
Pagan began chuckling at the shroom's provocation, before calling out his crux.
"If anything, you should now you place. You are that much below me that I could erase you in an instant," Pagan said, making his crux float right in front of the shroom's face.
"For something that can't even wield magic to talk to me like this. You are a brave one... little thing," he continued, now using his body to nudge the shroom backward.
"So you really can give others the ability to use magic?" the shroom asked, turning to look at Lucius.
"Only those that go through evolution. And it might be impossible for someone not born of our kind," Pagan replied instead.
"Idiot," Ghost whispered under her breath, walking to stand beside Lucius who was now holding his head in disbelief.
~I should've known that his big mouth would leak all our secrets,~ Lucius thought to himself.
"Did I say something wrong?" Pagan asked, turning to look at Ghost and Lucius in confusion.
"So you're saying there is a possibility?" the shroom asked.
