Over the Hill

Ariana was the first to wake the following day. She understood perfectly well why they needed a good rest. They spent god knows how many days trying to keep her alive, and the Demon Lord's castle was surely close by. She knew that she would need to pick up the slack from all the time she'd been out. 

She pushed herself to a seated position and checked on her status display again. Nothing had changed since the last time. She observed her name there in the corner. 

"Witch of the Wood... Ariana."

She had tried to take on that role, and it just about killed her. 

No... that wasn't it. There was no way she could have prepared for what happened. 

She grumbled. She was also frustrated at the state of her bare body, but her clothes were probably ruined by now, given the condition she was in until last night. As she observed herself again, she noticed that the tips of her fingers were whiter and had a strange lace-like texture. She tried to wipe it away... but it seemed like it was part of her skin. It had an odd, silky feeling to it. 

She carefully inspected her fingers. She could sense some... energy in the lace. It was like the mycelium. 

Odd...

Toying with an idea, she reached to the side where one of the bopping mushrooms was. From her fingertips crept thread-like mycelium strands to connect to the mushroom. She could sense the network immediately. She pulled her hand back and checked it over. She was still intact. These threads could connect her to the flow from anywhere. 

Threads...

Connect...

Another idea played across her mind. Twisting her wrist, she summoned several myco-strands down her arm. They weaved together steadily as she shaped them to a vision. When at last they were settled, she was adorned with one elegant, shoulder-length glove. 

A little smile escaped. If she used this... she might be able to look the part of a Witch of the Wood, too. 

She slipped free of the blanket bundle and stepped into the cold morning. As she stepped, she cast out a great array of strands. They weaved themselves up her arms, across her shoulders, down her chest and back, and down her legs. When they finished, she had created a white, silken replica of her traveling outfit. She inspected herself, but it didn't feel witchy enough. 

She gave her tunic a little extra length to look somewhat more like a dress or a skirt, and she gave herself a little bit more heel to her boot. She felt like that helped a bit, but it was still missing something. Of course! A witch hat! Though just a pointy hat didn't feel right. She twirled her finger, and some of the strands climbed up the back of her neck to her head. They flowed outwards like a ring. 

She remembered some fashion magazines she saw. She always thought that the big sun hats were so elegant and cute. Perhaps that would be witchy enough without looking like a cartoon character. She decided to go for a look like that. Oh, would a cloak be too far? She smirked a bit to herself. It should be fine. It's winter, after all. With that thought and a cape flicking motion, several strands swept down from her shoulders and waved into a knee-length cloak with a fur-like accent around the neck and shoulders. 

She did a little twirl in place. She felt so confident. She definitely looked the part of the Witch of the Wood now. She stepped about. playing little scenes in her mind. 

Oh my goodness, she thought to herself, where did you get that top? She giggled mischievously. A witch needs her secrets, doesn't she? She rested a hand on her head dramatically. It's hard being this elegant, but beauty is pain, after all. She put a hand out into the air as if presenting it to be kissed. Oh, my, she mused, how flattering, am I really so lovely? She crossed her legs most elegantly and settled a hand to the opposite side of her lips. Ohoho, to be adored so!

"...Ariana?"

She gasped and doubled over in shock. Her head darted to the source of the voice. 

It was Ellie, still seemingly half asleep. 

Ariana blushed profusely.

Ellie tilted her head. "I'm... glad you're okay, but... where did you get those clothes?" 

Ariana tried to cover her reddening face with the new hat. 

Maybe she still wasn't ready to be the Witch yet. 

After dispelling the hat, Ariana went about making a quick round of mushroom kebabs for everyone. 

When they woke, they were glad to see she was well again. She was met with many hugs and tears. For that, she was thankful. Before they departed, Ariana had taken the liberty of forming a flow line along the road. With this, she cast a Witch's Garden the day prior. They ate their fill, and soon after, they set upon the road to the Demon Lord's Castle with all haste. 

Since Ariana wasn't out of commission, Hayden drove the horse at breakneck speeds. They flew across the snow, and she was harvesting the ripened magical energy along the way, stowing it into her pumpkin seeds. She couldn't grow pumpkins as effectively in this climate, but the seeds still made for perfect magic batteries. All it took to release the magic was to crack the shell. 

Everyone was prepared in their own ways. Sophie was writing out long-winded chants and incantations to cast them on the fly. Ellie was skimming through her skill list to see what she could grab. Ariana prepared two dozen bullet acorns for Hayden to Smite with. She even made a bandoleer out of mycelium for him. She gave it to him with a kiss on the cheek. Ellie seemed flustered and covered her eyes, but Sophie looked positively stoked about it. 

By nightfall, the Demon Lord's Castle was in view. 

The moment of truth was in reach.