Hana stopped moving as she open her eyes to curiously survey the new environment. They had just exited the thick forest canopy. The little critters surrounding her paused their steps as well. Apart from Kuro and Markisah, the other two also hadn't reach this part of the forest. Shiro's background remained a mystery, as he wasn't a local of the tropical rainforest, while Ara never left the stream due to her great grandfather's orders. Both of them were also looking around curiously.

Hana was in a trance with what she saw. In front of her was a big *ss charred tree stump. The size of the stump was as huge as a 600 sqft apartment!!! Even the land was slightly blackened and devoid of vegetation. However, from the rotten parts of the stump, she knew that the lightning must've struck the tree a long time ago. Bushes appeared tens of meters away from the blackened soil. The shattered upper part of the dead stump strewn everywhere as signs of decay were shown on the splintered tree branches. In between the rotting debris, Hana could see pristine white phallus-shaped mushrooms colony (1) budding on the slightly damp forest soil in huge numbers! It was like a mass of white tombstones in a mini graveyard (2).

Hana furrowed her brow to dispel the eerie thoughts and focused on the main problem at hand. Is this the right mushroom? Aren't these a little bit too large?! The one she saw in the social media was just a fraction of this size!!!

Yes, the mushrooms did have the same embarrassing profile she knew. However, they were as big as two bowling pins stacked together! 

"Ara, please confirm. Are these what you're looking for?"

The little fish was hesitant for a moment. "Truthfully, I'm not too sure. Can we just harvest some and try them out first? I will know once I take a bite."

While Hana was conversing with the fish, her cute little snake hopped towards Hana and slithered around her wrist habitually. She stroked his head dotingly while he purred in contentment. Once he was satisfied with the physical reward, he explained enthusiastically in the public telepathy channel where everyone was present safe for a certain chubby yellow bird. Not too far away from here is the Crystal-veined stream, but we're more towards the downstream area. He gestured with his head. However, following mommy's speed, we'll need at least the amount of time Mommy needs to soak in the water yesterday. All of them blinked and looked at each other. That was a little bit too long! Around half of the time they needed for this journey. 

Hana laughed awkwardly without commenting. Ara quickly added, "Let's just harvest a few and be done with it!"

"Wait, wait! We need to make sure it’s the right one! A termite mound mushroom colony is bound to appear near a termite mound. Check for the vicinity first while checking the mushrooms. If there were indications of insects or animal bites, it means it could be consumed." Hana suggested worriedly after she heard Ara's intention.

Hana waited with Shiro while the three animals went on three separate directions. After a while, Hana heard Ara's voice in her head. Hana, I've found a small earth mound over here. There's even an entrance! Should I go in and check?

No! Three simultaneous voices resounded at the same time. Hana made a weird expression. How can a fish the size of a football enter a termite mound? It should not be that big right? She started walking towards Ara's location out of curiosity but was stopped by Shiro. Mom, please just wait. We need to make sure it's safe.

Hana sighed and acquiesced while rubbing Shiro's head. You guys are thinking too much. I'm okay with little insects. As long as there's no cockroach around, I'll be fine. However, to appease Shiro's worry, she changed her direction towards the mushroom colony. The aunty called for the rest to help harvest as much mushrooms as they can carry happily. It'll be Hana's first time eating this type of mushroom, and she was eager to get home and stew them! Obviously, a big portion of the harvest will be hers! 

...

Kuro was vigilantly looking around while his mistress, the stinky fox, the stupid bird, and the gullible fish were working together to pull out the sixth mushroom from the ground. Each mushroom was only about half a meter to a meter tall each. However, once they unearthed it, the root even reached around two meters long! Even his mistress kept on gasping in awe. Kuro didn't feel right. Usually, even a single unripe spiritual herb would have a guardian protecting it. These were large clusters! He had a feeling the 'termites’ or whatever creatures were just keeping these herbs until they matured and will soon realize a bunch of thieves were stealing their food! 

Kuro scanned the surrounding with his spiritual sense and noticed a humongous underground hive deep within the earth crust. He detected faint movements underground and in between the bushes tens of meters away. The movements were systematic and in huge numbers! Dozens of creatures appeared within his spiritual sense simultaneously. Their heads were larger than their bodies as they crawled rapidly with six legs.

Shit! It's the Elemental Fiend's Colony! We're being surrounded!

"Everyone! The Elemental Fiends are here! We need to move now! We will be surrounded soon!" 

Shiro quickly abandoned the mushroom and forcefully pulled their dumbfounded mistress to sit on his back. She was still clutching the mushroom unwillingly with one hand while the other one was holding five other mushrooms tightly. "Leave it, Mom! Let's go!"

All of them retraced their steps backwards haphazardly at high speed. Since Hana was on Shiro's back, their movements were smoother. 

Hana was going to argue with them when she saw the 'elemental fiends' with her own eyes as they flanked their retreat! She was so shocked and scared, she nearly let go the precious mushrooms! They were glossy pristine white and as large as a motorcycle each! Their two antennae harbored blue colored electricity! Their mandibles were curved, long and sharp! As they flexed them, the sounds of knives grinding were heard. What's scary was they were in the hundreds!

"Aiyooo! What termite?! Those are monsters! Wikipedia lied to me, goddamn it! Faster, faster, Ku-chan! Go this way!" 

The group changed direction and moved to left immediately. They were then hounded by a group of black colored elemental fiends with green fire coalescing on their antennae. 

The spiritual insects were already waiting for them at that corner! 

The black elemental fiends attacked them with flamethrowers blasting out from their mandibles in synchronization. Meanwhile, the very front row pounced towards Hana's group, directly attacking them head-on! It was a strategic attack! They didn't even have time to evade!

Kuro immediately jumped off his mistress' wrist and enlarged his body into the size of a full-grown man. Right now, the little snake looked like a ten-meter-long anaconda with sharp protruding black scales. He slammed his tail and crushed the incoming fiends easily. At the same time, Ara floated higher and blasted the incoming flamethrowers with high pressure water gun from her mouth. Once the fire was extinguished, Kuro followed through by jumping into the fray and twisted his body on top of the elemental fiend army before they managed to rearrange themselves. The spiritual insects' exoskeletons were crushed from the immense weight and razor-sharp scales. Kuro immediately morphed into his adorable form and slithered through the still-shuddering dead bodies rapidly. Behind the black elemental fiend army were reinforcement from a red colored fiends!

"Guys! We're nearly surrounded! Not far behind us, a group of purple colored elemental fiends are also coming!" The little bird nearly cried as she shouted at the rest to alert them. Knowing Hana for a few days had place her life in jeopardy multiple times in a row. 

"We need to break through this encirclement before anything else! When they swarm over us, it'll be over right away!" Hana tried to calm herself. She clutched the mushrooms tightly and instructed Kuro, "Ku-chan, since we have engaged with this group, we will follow through from here. Clean up our way straight at rapid speed!”

Kuro's eyes lit up with delight, "Yes, Mommy!" It's the first time Hana had shown a semblance of rationality during dangerous moments. Additionally, their mistress was a natural leader!

"This way, everyone!" The group jumped through the spiritual insects' corpses and broke through the encirclement.

...

While they were on the run, the elemental fiend army kept on pursuing them relentlessly. Hana instructed Ara to encase the mushrooms inside a double layered water bubble; in the middle was air, outer layer was water. She suspected that they were following them from the scent of the mushroom. She then took out her clawknife and cut one of the longer roots into three pieces and instructed Markisah to fly in a different direction with Kuro tagging along on her feet as protection. They then separated into two groups.

True to Hana's speculation, the monstrous 'termites' did follow the scent of the stolen spiritual herb. Although the smell had reduced a lot, a wisp still lingered as they followed the trail with determination. Markisah had brought the elemental fiends towards the river's direction. She then tossed the final piece across the river and washed her feet before doubling back. Kuro silently praised the quick-witted bird as he saw her way of doing things. With this, the danger to Hana's group would be minimized.

...

Hana, Ara and Shiro was moving in a straight line further in. The problem was, all three of them didn't know the way!

However, the good news was, no more scurrying sounds were heard behind their backs after some time. They then kept on moving forward for an hour or two in the same direction before Kuro and Markisah finally caught up with them. They never felt so glad! Ara washed all them well with a gentle water gun as per Hana's request. The aunty was still a little paranoid. Just in case, some spores still lingered on them. When they were finally nearing their cave dwelling, the sun was already on their heads. Even their bodies had dried on their own. 

From this experience, Hana quickly realized she needed a mount more than anything. She made a mental note to properly ask how to tame more mount-worthy animals from Kuro in the future! There's no way she's going to ride on her beloved Shiro everywhere! He had officially become Hana’s sleeping pillow. Making him her mount would be unfair to him.

"What a roller coaster ride! Let's snatch some more together tomorrow!" Hana exclaimed enthusiastically.

Everyone looked at each other and laughed together.

….....

Author’s Note:

(1) white phallus-shaped mushrooms colony = these are the ones usually eaten in Malaysia. Check out the link to see pictures and article about the mushrooms although it’s in M’sian language (http://myagri.com.my/2018/01/cendawan-busut/) (google: cendawan busut)

(2) white tombstones in a mini graveyard = The tombstones in a Malaysian Muslim community looks like long rectangular white stone with a diamond/triangle/dome-shaped head on top, if you’ve never seen one. Just check out the link for a look. It’s a picture from one of the blogs we’ve come across.

(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UAIDd3Mcrm8/VZpy_-Gwf9I/AAAAAAABccY/6CLlGX7BSQc/s1600/Copy%2Bof%2BDSC01219.JPG) (google: kubur islam)