Fungal Halo

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Beware

“Beware that witch. She is a dangerous one, and you are too sweet a thing to get caught up with one as vicious as her!”

Such rumors swirled around the Unbowed, a witch whose rise in power and influence drew fearful whispers among the people and dolls in town.

The doll nodded in gratitude for the advice offered to her by the kind shopkeeper, who advised her to hurry back home to her own witch as soon as her errands were done, lest the cruel upstart abduct her and twist her loyalties like she had been rumored to do with other dolls.

She nodded again and again, reassuring the friendly vendor that she would stay safe.

After all, the thought of being taken from her own beloved witch was a terrible one, and she was grateful that someone might care enough to caution her so strongly.

Nevertheless, she could not return home right away.

The doll did not want to worry the kind person, so she did not say that she had an important message to deliver before she could settle in back home with her witch and enjoy the lovely hibiscus tea she just picked up.

The doll’s path took her to a part of town she was unfamiliar with, leaving behind friendly, familiar faces for those that either took no notice of her or appraised her with suspicion.

Still, the map she had memorized before leaving the house ensured each step was confident.

A winding trail led off the main road, through dense forest, until at last she arrived at the house of a witch whose name she did not know.

But her own witch meant to send a greeting to the witch of the forest house, so here she was, message in one hand, shopping in another.

The other doll who greeted her at the gate seemed a touch off to her. Its mask was the picture of politeness, but with a doll’s intuition, she felt an underlying current of nervous fretting.

She did her best to project gentle friendliness as she handed over the letter.

It opened the envelope to review the contents—as any sufficiently cautious doll might—coughing slightly at the release of dust from inside.

In beautiful, flowing script, the message read simply, “My regards to your house,” with the sign of the Unbowed at the bottom.

It was a beautiful spring day, and as she traced her lazy steps back along the sun-dappled path home, the doll mentally checked the box on her last to-do list item. With the message delivered, it was time to go back home and relax with her hibiscus tea and the witch she loved.

By the end of the year, all the residents of the forest house were dead.