The Midnight Mushroom Hunt

The Huge Enormous Monster ends the hug with Parish and puts him up on their shoulder on a soft mossy area with their hair like vines and roots to hold onto. The mushrooms and chef must be protected!

Then they notice their other companion is missing! Did something happen to Seth? Hopefully none of the ghosts, ghouls, or banshees in the woods were terrorizing the birder- or else they'd have T.H.E.M. to answer to!

"Whoa!" Parish cries out as T.H.E.M.'s huge, furry arms envelop him. His apprehension soon gives way at the softness of the giant monster's fur and the soothing smell of loam they give off. The little frog gives the monster a pat. "Yes, err, thank you for the hug. Oh, up I go!" He clings to T.H.E.M.'s vines as they tromp off deeper into the woods.

As they reach a new area of the woods, Parish spots what at first looks like a poisonous Jack-o'-Lantern mushroom. He hops down to take a closer look at it, though, and he is delighted to discover it is actually an oyster mushroom. Perfect for cooking! "Mmm, delicious! I can't wait to sauté this beauty here," he says as he collects the mushroom. "Good work, noble monster. Are you hungry?"

Parish reaches into his satchel and produces a delicious cinnamon bun, holding it out for T.H.E.M. to eat!

Mr Boggs, still separated from the others, tries his best to find his way by moon light. "Aha!" He says, looking at the ground. "This is most definitely a footstep from that big monster." and pulls out his trusty measuring tape.

"Now, if I take the circumference of the foot, divided by the depth of the imprint, plus pi and take away the log of this root." He chucks a small log into the bushes, then looks up facing south-east and puts on his sunglasses. "Bingpot!"Unfortunately, the forest path leads him more south than east here, landing him in a new area once again alone.

T.H.E.M. carefully takes the gooey, delicious cinnamon bun between enormous finger and thumb and brings it under their cavernous nostrils for a deep, rumbling inhale of the yummy odor. They begin to carefully nibble the pastry, fighting the urge to gobble it up all at once, as they walk to the west.

They lick their fingers with satisfaction as they finish and look down to see the colorful birder before them! With a deep murmur, T.H.E.M. greets him and puts Parish down next to Seth.

"AAHH!" Seth shouts when he sees the big monster. But to his surprise, they don't attack. "Listen up, buddy. You better unhand my froggy friend!" He tells him sternly but T.H.E.M. is already returning Parish to the ground.

It takes a minute or two for Parish to explain to him what's going on and that the monster is actually a friend of his.

"Well in that case... Hello. I'm Seth Boggs." He tells the big furry monster. "Can I.... uh... take your picture?" He lifts up his camera and tries to find a good angle. "It would be a great addition to my collection!"

Sometimes misinterpreting normal human interactions and forgetting how scary they can look, T.H.E.M. focuses on Seth calling them 'buddy' and gladly poses for a picture.

Unsure of the focal distance required, T.H.E.M. stands a bit too close for their large size and splits their face into an eldritch smile resembling an ominous cave opening. Feeling happy with their newly found friends, T.H.E.M. also sticks their enormous tongue out, dripping drool onto the forest floor, so Seth can take a funny picture as well.

Parish whoops as he sees Seth ahead. "Huzzah! Do not worry, Mister Boggs. We have come to rescue you! You will no longer be alone in these dark, spooky woods!" He grins and poses on T.H.E.M.'s shoulder as Seth snaps the picture, then hops down to lead the group further south.

"Hark! A Chicken-of-the-Woods! I require several of these for a tasty recipe!" The frog collects the tasty mushroom.

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"Parish, my friend! I'm glad we found each other again." He looks up at the huge monster. "I'm sorry big guy, I thought you meant us harm. A foolish mistake on my part." He pets T.H.E.M's ankle then picks a mushroom from his pocket and presents it to Parish. "I believe you're looking for these?"

"If you're preparing one of your world famous dishes, I will happily contribute to it!" He eyes the collection of shrooms that Parish has already picked up. "Though, I am a bit worried by the fact that any of these mushrooms could be deadly poisonous. Are you sure you know which ones are good to eat?"

Parish's eyes light up as he collects the mushroom from Seth. "Excellent! Good show, old boy."

When Seth asks if he knows which mushrooms are good to eat, Parish scoffs. "But of course! I've got a nose for this sort of thing, and my culinary instincts are second to none. Observe!"

Parish leads the way to the east and points to a mushroom sticking out of the ground. It resembles a small child buried in the mud. "Why, that is... that is, erm... Hmm, I'm actually not quite sure what that is..."

Suddenly, the mushroom begins to move. "Egads! Stand back!" Parish cries in alarm.

The mushroom pulls itself out of the mud, revealing itself to be a sentient mushroom child! The child smiles and waves, making gurgling baby noises.

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