Fungi Gems
Why had he allowed the alluring Alucard, his rival, to talk him into this mad dare? Why trespass on the Earl’s private estate looking for treasures? On Allhallows Eve of all nights! After all, he was a mycologist, a studier of fungi, not a thief!
Shaggy ink cap, bleeding oyster, death cap, puffball and other mushrooms led him further on as he mumbled, “Highly poisonous….. Excruciating pains……Low survival rate….Yowllllll!” He tripped over tangled brambles.
After a string of mild expletives, bruised, damp, and covered in wet leaves, he found himself facing a rotten tree stump. Gasping, he cried, “D’accord!”
Cradled lovingly by deep roots was the rarest fungi, the Perigord Black Truffle! Glittering, smelling like the honeyed rose, and fabled to be romance inducing. Pierre stretched his tarantula-like hand out.
Earth shuddered; its maw opened and Pierre tumbled like an insane Alice down, down.
Thump and then obscurity!
Groaning pains escalated; the impact jarred his whole essence. The troubled sky, eons above him, sputtered stars. How long had he been unconscious, hours or days?
More importantly, had he broken any bones? A dusty old fashioned lantern, pick axes and a broken wooden beam suggested he lay in an ancient coal mine.
Darkness again.
“Pierre! Wake up while I steal your magnificent find!” Alucard, shaking her chough locks, screamed triumphantly while furiously kicking dirt over him. Her hair was as dark as her heart.
Fearful, Pierre croaked as earth tumbled around him. “Alucard, you win the truffles through cunning. Just give your rival his dying wish. Taste the Perigord and describe their sweetness to me.”
Alucard reluctantly nibbled on a broken piece of truffle. Sighing, “The Perigord is as sweet as your breath. It is as delicious as you are. My love, I will help you out of the shaft and you will take all the accolades for finding this rare truffle.”
Pierre smiled the devilish grin of a carved turnip, knowing his superior knowledge of the romantic inducing qualities of the Perigord had outwitted Alucard.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleMargarida, you sound very knowledgeable (or well researched) re your fungi. I like the touches of ‘insane Alice’ and the seasonal one of the ‘carved turnip’ grin.
Miss Susan, I know little about fungi, but they intrigue me by their insane colours and bizarre shapes. My research led me to discover some exotic and chilling fungi names. I am always wondering if I can fry the more mundane ones or just leave them be.
Many thanks for responding to my story. This really has been a fun assignment.
Margarida, I love this. Such a fun read and another that had me riveted from the very first sentence. Brilliant!
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleAs the French say, “Merci beaucoup”, thanks a lot Carrie. I was taught to hook the reader in the first sentence. Goodness, I have misspelt Alucard’s name several times in the story! Shame on me! It was actually a semi-palindrome on the word “Dracula”, but then I completely changed my mind concerning any vampire element. Oh, I am so embarrassed!
Hello Margarida – We are also embarrassed. We pride ourselves on our thorough editing, but we also missed the different spellings of the name. If you tell us which one you want, we will change the published version to have name agreement throughout. It’s supposed to be Alucard (Dracula backwards), right?
Yes, I would appreciate if you could change the name to Alucard. The odd name threw everyone by its bizarre spelling, so the two versions of the name were not spotted. Goodness, I am usually so careful in my editing! Thank you!
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThe changes have been made! Alucard is now an official Halloween name! ?
Thank you so much Voice Team! ?
Thank you Miss Carrie, but I am embarrassed to say that I misspelt Alucard’s name! It was supposed to be a semi-palindrome of Dracula. Some times my characters run away with the story line, and a completely new fast fiction is born!
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleVery well done, Margarida! I love the way Pierre turned the tables on Alucard – a very satisfying conclusion. Great research too, and, of course, I did some googling! I love the Truffle Legend from Perigord Region.
In reality both Pierre and Alucard are reprehensible characters. Both are trespassers, thieves, greedy for money and fame. Thank you Miss Sandra, for pointing out the fable, “The Truffle Legend from Perigord Region”, which teaches us that the good are rewarded and the bad are turned into piggies!
I like the idea of using bizarre names of the brightly coloured fruiting bodies for characterisation and creating the creepy atmosphere. Good work!
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThank you Dipayan, for pinpointing exactly what you like in “Fungi Gems”. Fungi names like “bleeding oyster” and “death cap” certainly are spooky and set a Halloween scene. Cheers to Voice.Club for encouraging other writers to give us valid and useful feedback!
Here you go again, Margarida. It was another brilliant story and well researched. I love it.
Thank you Miss Lotchie for giving your praise. Admittedly, I may have stretched the aphrodisiac properties of the Perigord Black Truffle; I certainly am no expert on truffles. I am not even sure if Voice.Club will censure the word “aphrodisiac”?
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleYou’re welcome, Margarida.