Shroomtober #3 and #4: the Porcini Porter and the Morel Sage

Shroomtober keeps growing. After the Amanita Shroomfolk, who showed what the Shroomfolk are, and the Chanterelle Forager, the first one with a job, the colony now has someone to carry things and someone to remember things. More or less.

#3: Porcini Porter

The strongest back in the forest, and possibly the kindest heart.

With his broad brown cap, sturdy stem and enormous sack, the Porcini Porter keeps the colony supplied with everything it needs. From freshly gathered berries to firewood and mysterious treasures found deep in the woods, there's very little he can't carry.

He may not be the fastest Shroomfolk around, but he's dependable, endlessly patient, and always happy to lend a hand. Just don't ask him to hurry. Good things take time, especially when you're carrying half the forest on your back.

The porcini is the closest cousin to the Amanita: another domed cap, another short, solid body. So the silhouette rule needed something more than a new colour. The cap is wider and flatter, the stem much thicker, and above all there's the sack, which sits behind him and changes his outline from every angle. From the front it peeks out at his side; from the back it's nearly half of him.

On the 55 mm strip, the sack works in his favour: front or back, nobody will mistake him for the Amanita.

#4: Morel Sage

Old as the forest, wise as its roots, and just a little forgetful.

Nobody remembers when the Morel Sage first appeared in the colony. His weathered, honeycombed cap is covered in patches of moss, and his long, green beard has been growing for longer than most Shroomfolk have been alive.

Leaning on his crooked wooden staff, he wanders the forest sharing ancient wisdom, forgotten stories and occasionally rather questionable advice.

He knows every secret path, every hidden spring, and every tale the trees have ever whispered. Unfortunately, he sometimes forgets which story he was telling.

This is the first Shroomfolk whose cap is taller than his body, and the first with a beard. His smile is lost somewhere in all that moss, his back is a little stooped, and even his staff has started sprouting leaves. Same big feet, though. Some things don't change with age.

At paper-mini scale, that tall cone is the most recognisable shape in the colony so far. The staff and the beard come along on the front, the moss on both sides.

Four silhouettes

Lined up, the first four already pass the across-the-table test: a red dome, a golden funnel, a broad brown dome with a sack, and a tall honeycombed cone. Same face, same feet, four very different shapes.

Follow Along

More Shroomfolk are on their way, here on the blog and on Instagram at @lostinbrittany, under #Shroomtober.

4/13. Nine to go. 🍄