Wystwood Roots

Imagine, reader, in your mind the smell of dates. The richness, the fullness. Next add the smell of wet earth after rain, a touch of grass behind that full and homey smell with a touch of mud. Layer atop this the sharp nose feel of cinnamon or chilli - but in the umami sphere of the nose. This is what foliads smell when they encounter the Wystwood roots. This is not even half of what troll noses smell.     The Wystwood, despite its name is actually a symbiotic fungus, growing in and merging with roots of the trees that enjoy the clay and limestone areas of the forests of northern Levis but especially the Forbidden forest. It grows into the weakened soil around its host tree, wrapping its fungal net across the root based, absorbing the water from the host while feeding it nutrients from the soil and protecting it from the dry seasons.   It spreads by growing from parts of the tubers it grows, the aforementioned Wystwood roots, spongey but dense, the scent of them drawing the digging rat to expose them with sharp claws and shred them recklessly. Scraps of this pungent tuber fall into the aerated soil, growing again into trees nearby that have been attacked by the rat. The tubers can grow up to 8cm and are used in many foods.