Myces Mushrooms

Giant Cavern Mushrooms

Myces are one of the most common large edible mushrooms of Aldern that are native to the sunless caverns of the Night Below under the Cutting Mountains. These mushrooms grow naturally in wet humid environment of the Night Below and are often farmed by Dwarf and other underground dwelling people. Wild myces grow to an average height of 3 feet tall, with a similar cap diameter. However, cultivated in the farms of dwarves, they can grow up to seven to eight feet tall in many cases. This is largely due to centuries of horticulture skills, as well as keeping the mushrooms well-watered in warm caverns to increase their grow cycle and size. This is often done by keeping braziers burning throughout their forests. Some of the older mushrooms can reach twelve to fifteen feet in height, though these are no longer fit for consumption.

Natural caverns with wild myces are the oasis of the Night Below with many herbivorous creatures gathering due to the food and water supply. This also attracts the carnivorous predators for the hunt. These caverns are few and far between. Which has only grown rarer over time as they are usually taken over by dwarves or Juhl'are, with a town forming up within.

The myces mushrooms have a natural dull red coloring on their outside, with a pale white body within. The mushroom's spores are toxic, though not deadly and are highly reflective of light around them, making the myces' cap underbelly sometimes seem to glow when exposed to light. The myces stock grows a crusted surface around it when the mushroom matures. This crust is often compared to the bark of trees on the surface. Its purpose, besides protecting the stock from damage is to store a thin surface of water between the flesh of the stock and the 'bark'.

While the spongy 'meat' if the myces can be eaten raw. It has a bland flavor and is often described as eating a solid form of air. Cooking the 'meat' of the mushroom causes it to absorb the smoky flavor of fire. Spices and herbs are often added to the fires, with many saying the mushroom changes the natural flavors of these additives. Chefs from across the Night Below have created whole meals out of myces that if the eater goes only by taste alone, he will think he was eating a variety of foods rather than a single fungus made meal.