In missives by fringe ethnobotanists (often the type to actively partake in their fungal subjects), the premise had been offered that certain mushrooms had, in fact, been brought to the world on the back of a meteor as a communication device on behalf of alien life forms.

This is generally understood to be druggy trivia.

Thumb-sized mushrooms growing from a bed of toad shit, Toad Stool has a long, cylindrical white stem and a large black cap, flaked with grey, and white, brightening as it moves toward the center. Sometimes, it’s likened to a mountain peak.

Typically the southern boglands where Eretejva toads like to hang out, but the fungus can grow literally anywhere the toads can get a decent bite to eat.

When ingested, “Toad Stool” produces an accelerated pulse rate, dulled nerves/enhanced pain threshold, a quickened reaction time, and really, everything one would expect with an exaggerated adrenaline caused from a psychoactive poison. It comes with two major drawbacks, however:

1. It leaves the user EXHAUSTED upon digestion
2. While under the influence, the user develops a bit of an empathy disorder. Really, they are incredibly interested in what your insides look like and how they feel as they are pulled from your body.

You have to take the good with the bad.

Upon consumption, Toad Stool takes about ten minutes to activate, with the potential to trigger as early as three minutes with intense physical activity. The psychoactive effects remain for approximately 6 hours, depending on the tolerance of the tripper. A heroic dose for a novice is about 2 of the mushrooms, whereas a veteran would require as many 6.

Upon use, the tripper has an increased tolerance for 24 hours where the same dose would fail to draw an effect and require a 50% increase in quantity. Naturally, the after effects would be doubly exhausting. Also, diarrhea.

Long-term effects have been reported as Increased Visual Acuity, Decreased Empathy, and the unlocking of personality and psychological disorder. Fortunately, as it is a world of magic-users and murderers, personality disorder rarely goes reported.

There are no known deaths due directly to the ingestion of the fungus – primarily because the user gets killed by some other means.

Sometimes taken for recreation, though, because of its generally unpleasant high, typically not, “Toad Stool” is usually ignored when found, despite its rarity.

Most people do not know where it comes from, as the conditions leading to its growth are incredibly unusual.

It is called “Toad Stool” as a joke on it coming from toad shit.

The Witches of the Tundra are secretive about how to farm “Toad Stool,” though they have know for some time. The secret is to feed the toads mammal flesh that has yet to begin to succumb to rigor mortis, as the spores will not bind to already dead flesh. To ensure this, the Witches engage in a habit sometimes referred to as “clipping,” where they will tranquilize a living animal and cut pieces from it, feeding it directly to the toads.

When the toad passes the meal, the mushrooms will grow from its shit. Hence, “toad stool.”

These mushrooms are rare, as they require a toad to stray from its traditional position in the ecosystem.

As many of the sentient humanoids that occupy the Tundra can already turn into bears or are giant mammoth people already, the application of this mushroom for berserkers is few. As such, this knowledge resides exclusively with the witches.

*He is No King of Mine