Only You Can Prevent Crazy Wizards

Rammy looked down at her new amphibian friend with a slight sense of unease. She wasn't entirely sure how to address the creature. The goddess said he was a familiar but what in the world did that even mean? The tree frog on the other hand, beamed up at Ramaria with those big yellow eyes and smiled. He was perfectly at ease resting in her palm and awaiting her next move.

“Ok then… Little guy…”

“Mogu! My name’s Mogu Boss!”

“Right.. Mogu. I guess I was thinking about touring the area first. If I’m gonna guard this place, I should at least be a little more familiar with it. Any ideas where to start?”

Mogu twisted around in her hand, looking in several directions. He placed his sticky little hand on his chin to contemplate the best way forward. Rammy mentally noted his cool sliminess. It wasn't all that unpleasant actually, somewhat similar to Aloe Vera gel. As the creature sat there, she could feel that same sensation of connectedness she felt with her surroundings, almost as if he was part of her. In turn, she felt as if she were part of her surroundings. It was an incredibly grounding feeling, something she hadn't experienced in her past life since she was a child. Being one with nature meant letting that artificial boundary, that idea that humans were separate from their environments, melt away. The newly formed spirit felt this was extremely easy for her to do now. Perhaps because she was no longer human.

Mogu finished surveying the area and pointed himself to the southeast.

“Let’s try over there! I think there’s a few creatures you can meet!” Mogu said cheerfully.

Ramaria used him as a compass and began to walk in that direction. The forest was still cool in the morning, tiny wisps of fog danced around her ankles. She was pleasantly aware of the crisp air. Living in the city had made her used to poor air quality. She used to spend her mornings walking to the bus stop, choking on fumes and smog. Being freed from that haze was one of the more amazing benefits of being brought to this world. Each breath of fresh air tasted delicious. Each footstep on the springy soil was like walking on a cloud. No cars, no cement, and best of all, no people.

The spirit was initially a little disappointed in her new job title but she couldn't deny her long lost wish of hermitism and how well being a forest guardian would cater to that. Her childhood dream had been to simply live alone in the woods, eating mushrooms and gardening all day just like their friend Gloria had, an old woman Rammy had known as a child. But she was long gone now, and things had changed a lot since then.

She had ended up working a dead end desk job, cooped up indoors all day without even a window to look out of. It was the exact type of place Gloria always told her to avoid.

Ramaria became slightly depressed at the thought of the woman that had once looked after her. Gloria had been there when no one else was, teaching her so much about nature. She was maybe the only person in her past life that was truly kind to her.

She would’ve loved a place like this. Ramaria thought somberly.

Her attention was suddenly brought back to Mogu as he let out a sharp chirp.

“Boss, Boss! Something’s wrong over there! I think someone’s in trouble!”

She couldn't see anything but she could smell something foul and acrid. Smoke. Definitely not a good sign.

“I guess it’s time to get to work. Let's go Mogu!”

The little frog leapt onto her shoulder and Rammy took off toward the source of the smoke. She was surprised at how swiftly she moved. Not only was she fast, but it was seemingly impossible for her to trip or lose her footing now. As she became attuned to the forest, it was like every root and rock in her path was known to her. She sped through the woods with the ease of a black footed fox, faster than a white tailed deer. As she ran, she looked up and saw a multitude of thin plumes of smoke rising into the air. Rammy ran for the nearest one and discovered a small cluster of ferns on fire. Unsure of what to do, she turned to Mogu.

“Okay little guy, how do we put this out before it spreads?” She asked.

The tree frog looked at her and blinked slowly, one eye at a time.

“Uhh, magic I guess?”

“What do you mean you guess?! I don't know how to use magic! I thought you were supposed to have all the answers?” Rammy exclaimed.

“Sorry boss, I know some basic stuff about the forest. Just use your mushroom magic!” Mogu said encouragingly.

Not that that made much difference. Rammy had no idea how to do that or even where to begin.

She tried to focus her mind for a moment, thinking of a proper solution. She knew that some mushrooms had hydraulic properties and could move water quite efficiently, but there were no such mushrooms in the area, let alone water.

Why didn’t I ask the goddess how to use magic? She lamented

She looked around to see if she was missing something, some clue to tapping into her powers. There had to be a better solution than stomping on the fire and burning her feet.

Wait a second…

Ramaria remembered another key thing about mushrooms that could be valuable.

“Mogu, would I have the traits of mushrooms if I’m a mushroom spirit?” She asked.

The frog smiled and nodded excitedly. “Yeah! You would! Any spirit has the physical qualities of their nature!”

Perfect!

Without hesitation, Rammy began to stamp out the fire. She jumped on it the way little children jump into rain puddles. In a matter of moments, the small fire had been extinguished.

“Awesome! On to the next one!”

Rammy kept this up, stomping on the fires unscathed as she went, they seemed to lead in a straight line but she wasn't sure yet what was causing them. Either way, the moisture in the ground was keeping them from spreading too much and she was able to deal with them pretty easily.

However, she became shocked when she saw a huge wall of flame appear up ahead in the distance. She rushed over quickly to find a most unwelcome sight. A very dirty and disheveled old man in a stained robe was crouched over a small green rabbit, about to snatch it up. Based on his clothing and long wispy beard, Ramaria got the feeling he must be some kind of wizard and must also be responsible for all the fire. She cleared her throat to get his attention. The old man paused and looked around but didn't look behind himself where she was standing.

“Hey! Could you please stop harassing that guy?”

The wizard spun around towards her, a shocked expression on his face. At first he seemed terrified of her but his expression quickly changed to a very creepy smile. Ramaria winced slightly, seeing the man’s nasty rotten teeth. He reminded her of one of her old bosses who used to get too close and spew his halitosis breath at her.

Ramaria crossed her arms and puffed out her chest to give off an heir of authority. She was the guardian of the forest after all and this man was trespassing.

He turned away from the rabbit and bowed down to her dramatically.

“My deepest apologies, O spirit of the forest. I beg your forgiveness for my transgression.”

His whole demeanor read to her as slimy and deceitful. Working in the corporate world, she was all too familiar with guys like this back home. They would say a lot of pretty words but their intentions were ugly. A wolf in sheep’s clothing.

She knew the most important thing was to get the rabbit to safety. She stepped a bit closer and called it to her side. She was surprised that the crystalline creature listened to her. It hurried over and cowered behind her.

Aww, poor thing.

She thought. Ramaria became enraged as she saw just how stressed the little creature was.

“You can’t just go around throwin fireballs at cute little guys like this, you know? You could’ve hurt somebody!” She scolded.

The wizard nodded solemnly, bowing again and again.

“I will strive to be more careful in the future. If I may be so bold, can I ask what kind of spirit you are?” He said.

That was definitely not something she was going to tell this strange and poorly washed man. She told him that it was none of his business. She could see the annoyance and aggression cross his face so she wasnt all that surprised when he popped to his feet and cast a huge wave of fire at her.

There was a blinding flash as he made the whole area explode with flames.

When the dust settled, the wizard had a smug grin plastered on his face, fully convinced that he’d dealt with the spirit.

“Oops. I might’ve overdone it. I hope the creature is still alive. She’ll fetch a nice price.” He waved away the smoke from in front of his face. His eyes bulged slightly at the sight before him.

Ramaria stood there, holding the rabbit protectively under one arm with the other hand held out in front of her. She had blocked his spell!

The wizard couldnt believe it. Nature spirits are weak against fire! Every mage worth their salt knew as much. Yet, somehow, this spirit was completely unscathed!

Rammy smirked slightly. She felt very powerful and cool in that moment, nullifying the huge fire spell. What the disgusting old man didnt know was that his fire would be completely ineffective against her. Due to their chitinous cell walls, mushrooms are extremely heat resistant. That’s why it often takes so long to properly cook them. Because of this, Ramaria was virtually fireproof.

Not yet grasping the situation fully, the wizard thought it best to try again with another fireball. This time, Ramaria caught the flaming sphere and smashed it in her hands like a molten orange.

“Knock it off already! Do you want to burn the whole fores-”

“Fireball!” The wizard shouted over her, desperately casting another one. This flaming projectile caught Ramaria right in the forehead. Her patience had officially worn out.

“That’s it! You’re done bucko!”

The wizard trembled in fear and confusion as the spirit marched up to him.

“Oh nooo! I’m so sorry! I wont do it again!” He cowered, covering his face. Unfortunately he was just hiding his dastardly grin. He moved to cast the spell once again, thrusting his flaming hand directly into Ramaria’s face.

“AHAH! You’re tricks wont work at such close range! I’ll burn you to a-”

WHAM!!

The wizard let out a piteous wheeze as all the air was forced from his lungs. He looked down, bug eyed, to see that Ramaria had just punched him in the gut. Her fist was sunk deep into his robes still.

The old man fell backwards, groaning and holding his stomach. He writhed around until he was finally able to breathe again.

“Why would you do that?! You’re an evil spirit!” He whimpered through his tears.

“ME?! You tried to light me on fire like three times dude!” Ramaria retorted

The wizard slowly stumbled to his feet and began to retreat southward.

“Stay away from me you demon! Fiend!” He shouted. Clearly, all the fight had left him now.

The spirit made a move as though she were going to strike him again and the wizard shrieked, taking off faster.

“Stay out of my woods punk or I’ll slug ya again!” She yelled after him.

Ramaria gave a satisfied “hmph!” as she stroked the little green rabbit’s ears. It nuzzled her, thanking her for saving its life.

She felt she had handled her first forest guardian task quite well.