Soul Merger

Labyrinth Materials

Sleepcap / Wakeshroom

Rarity - Common

Danger - Moderate

Two of the most commonly used mushrooms in the labyrinths, sleepcaps are light blue mushrooms that grow in bunches. They have thin tall stalks about four inches, and are topped with modest caps. Wakeshrooms have similar formations, but come in pink tones. Both grow anywhere there's enough damp water and dead material to feed on, and so groups are frequently found together.

Whether by happy accident or magic reaction these mushrooms have a strong effect on the human body. Sleepcaps will quickly send someone into a deep sleep, allowing them to recover from insomnia or avoid painful procedures that don't require the mind active. Wakeshrooms give a boost of adrenaline that quickly fades, but drives away the need for sleep for several hours.

While these mushrooms are common, usually only dedicated mycologists harvest the plants. Sleepcaps need to be before fruiting, while the spores are gestating, otherwise the concentrated effects will keep the person asleep for days. Meanwhile wakecaps must be gathered during spore release, otherwise the lingering effects won't last.

The other reason to leave this up to trained mycologists is because there's several deadly mushrooms that look similar. Heartburster for example is a slightly more red mushroom that does exactly what you would expect from the name.

Uses - Medicines, Food, Drugs

Fakes - Common for recreational drugs

We probably don't need to list all the medicines that induce or prevent sleep here. What we can say is that all of these medicines do have limits. No matter what drug you take three days without sleep is the limit of the average human. And even then issues like short term memory loss over the second and third days are quite common. The issues with sleeping multiple days is hopefully obvious to the reader.

Less common but still popular are foods made from the mushrooms or extracts. Sleepshroom is sweet and sour, while wakecaps are mildly spicy. Immature wakecaps are often used in specialty coffees and teas, or 'energy supplements.' Meanwhile small doses of sleepshroom are added to fruit juices and medicines to induce better rest or as a nightcap.

Finally we would be remiss in not mentioning the number of recreational drugs that have these mushrooms in them. Sleepshroom is often added to hallucinogens to produce psychedelic dreams, while it would be easier to find a list of 'uppers' that wakecap hasn't been added to in some form for a stronger initial hit. The authors caution their readers that back alley pharmacists are not trustworthy, and chances of adulterated or improperly mixed drugs are very high. We strongly advise against it.

Most medicines have secondary ingredients as well. 'Sleepaway' for example includes some coffee, blue ginko extract, and sageroots to produce its effects. Which is why the entire concoction fails when alcohol is consumed. Similarly high levels of capsaicin can prevent 'Easyrest' from functioning.