The trip to the Green Company"s hideout, by Jack"s estimation, took the better part of an hour, though he couldn"t be certain. The tree canopy got thicker and thicker the further they traveled into the forest, and before long the moon and sky were completely obscured from view. He had initially asked Urien if he could have some sort of light source to see where they were going since it was nearly pitch-black under the canopy, but the older man had just shaken his head. They wouldn"t need it, he said. He then reached into a leather pouch on his belt, and pulled out a couple small dried mushrooms, handing them to Jack."What"s this?" Jack asked, holding one of them close to his eyes and trying to make out what he was holding.
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"Nighteye Mushrooms. If you eat them, they temporarily give you night vision. Its how we"re able to navigate the forest in the dead of the night without any light sources." Urien explained, before popping one of the mushrooms into his mouth.
Jack took the couple small mushrooms and started chewing them. They had a texture similar to rubbery leather, and had a slimy, unpleasant taste that was simultaneously salty and bitter. It took every effort to not gag or spit them out. After a moment, he swallowed, and immediately took a long drink from his waterskin to wash the horrible taste out of his mouth.
Within moments, however, he began to feel something take effect. The forest seemed to get less dim, and slowly gained in resolution. The effect was strange. It was not unlike depictions Jack had seen in games of night vision goggles, where everything was cast in shades of harsh green and black, but less garish, and a bit clearer. There was no color whatsoever, but he could see almost as clearly as if it was full daylight outside, almost like he was watching his life on a black and white television.
Rose and Madeleine, however, didn"t take any, and when Jack asked why, Rose explained "most non-human races have low-light vision naturally, so while I can tell it"s dark outside, I don"t have difficulty seeing in these conditions." Jack made a mental note to add this power to his "request from Frumpkin" list. Being able to never have your vision limited by the environment would be a super helpful thing to have.
The girls seemed to take the unexpected night hike in stride, and soon the two of them were laughing at the stories Urien was telling as they walked. While Jack liked Farien well enough, he liked Urien even more. The big man was friendly and disarming, but lacked his younger siblings tendency towards bravado that tended to make him come across to Jack as awkward.
Farien, for his part, was having an absolutely miserable time on the trip, and while he said nothing openly about how he was feeling, the rolling sweat on his brow and the defeated look on his face told Jack everything he needed to know. Urien had saddled the poor kid with the two heaviest of their packs, and when it was obvious that Farien was struggling carrying both of them, Jack offered to take his pack back to have some mercy on him. Farien looked relieved, and was about to hand it over when Urien walked over and shot Farien a glance that read "don"t you dare". Farien, defeated, reshouldered the pack, and Jack said nothing of it again.
After an interminable amount of walking, Urien sidled up beside Jack, and pointed ahead.
"We"re here. Welcome to our humble abode!"