“Greetings sir,” Owl two said from his place inside the command tent. “Taking good care of your armor I see.” He added after giving Ronin a once over. “How do you like your new equipment?” Ronin had just entered the command tent, looking around he saw that Owl two, Owl five and Benjamin were the only people in attendance. He’d left Guts at the fire; the goblin had insisted that it was his ‘duty’ to clean up the bowls.

“It’s wonderful.” He said, finding his seat at the table. “All the new gear is of excellent quality and very durable. Only K3 was able to dent it during sparring. How did you come up with this material?” he’d been curious about that since he got the new equipment but had been too busy being tortured to ask.

“The metal came from the stone carver rats,” Owl two said. “They are fascinating creatures. They metabolize the minerals from the stone they eat. Their bodies work through a chemical process, that I still can’t replicate, to grow the armored plates. The metal is a natural wonder, I used a good chunk of it to create your gear, and most of the rest to outfit the scout teams. I’m currently experimenting with the ones you brought back. Hopefully, we can breed them and make targeted metals just by controlling what types of rocks we feed them.” Ronin blinked at the onslaught of information. Owl two must have been excited, to volunteer so much about one of his projects.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Ronin said at last. “We’ll do what we can to bring back more of them on this trip, both living and dead.” He was already picturing K1, 2 and 3 outfitted in full plate sets of the armor. They were already monsters in combat, but what would happen when their defenses drastically increased with that armor?

“Yes, your trip.” Owl two said, bringing himself back on target. “Benjamin, Owl five and I have discussed the known threats, as well as the exit you found outside the valley. We think for this trip you should take the red scout team; that’s the one with Hunter, Soft step, and Song. In addition, Sargent Karr shall accompany you with his squad. Rounding out your team will be Owl five, guts and K3.” Owl two said getting straight to the point.

Ronin thought over the team composition. Having an entire scout team would be invaluable, getting caught by surprise was deadly and they could help them avoid that situation. Sargent Karr was a good man; Ronin had enjoyed training under him. besides that, he was familiar with Karr’s men. They were a match for any troglodyte force, especially when working with the scout team. The other three were really just there to look after Ronin, but he didn’t mind, he enjoyed their company.

“Very well, should I assume you have already got all the equipment we will need to collar and capture any goblins, trogs or rats we encounter?” he asked, semi rhetorically. If he knew Owl two at all, he knew the android was always prepared. If he hadn’t been ready for Ronin to go, then ronin would still be running laps on one hour of sleep.

“Yes sir,” Owl two answered promptly. “Everything is ready to go. There are enough provisions that your team should be able to explore for two weeks without supply concerns. You can leave at any time, in fact your team is already at the mine entrance. Except for Owl five, guts and K3 of course.” It was starting to feel to Ronin that Owl two was trying to get him out of camp. he’d never been so accommodating before, and the way he almost seemed to be pushing Ronin out caused his brows to furrow.

“I see,” he said looking at the android for any obvious tells. It was a fool’s errand; Owl two didn’t have facial features, and he wouldn’t display any overt signs of deception unless he was portraying them on purpose. “Let’s get going then.” Ronin eventually gave up; he didn’t know what the android was up to, but he was just as excited to leave, as Owl two was to get him gone, so why not?

There were a few more matters they had to deal with before he could leave. While Ronin had been training, a courier had come by looking for Charles and Benjamin. With a little coaching from Benjamin, Emil was able to get rid of them. So, at least for now, they were in the clear. Then, a few goblin babies had been born from females that had been pregnant when they’d been brought back. Ronin decided to put them through schooling, at least to the extent that his people were capable of. To see if training from birth could get a higher percentage of crafter class goblins. The issues of the valley handled, Ronin left with Guts, K3, and Owl five.

Racing through the forest following Owl five’s lead, Ronin felt a rush of nostalgia. It reminded him of the first trip to Valley’s pass the newly landed Owl team had taken together. Back before he learned what adventure really meant. his team had changed since then, but so had he. No longer was he the same clueless fool who thought adventure always played out like in the stories. Now he knew the consequences of failure.

Coming out of the woods at the mine’s opening, the group slowed to a walk. Already waiting at the entrance, were a group of sixteen people. Karr’s ten-man squad and the six members of the red scout team. Karr’s men were all armored in carbon fiber impregnated leather armor with metal plates covering the vitals, and each held a spear and round shield, with a short sword sheathed at their waist. Red team was armored the same as before, but they now carried an Owl two designed and built crossbow. A quiver of bolts and two long daggers, very reminiscent of Owl five’s, at their hips.

Arriving at the mine, he checked over the people he brought with him. Owl five was dressed in the same armor they had dropped in. her two long daggers were belted at her waist along with her non-lethal II, and her mark V railgun was cradled in her arms. She hadn’t changed her kit at all since they’d landed. Guts was still armored in his own carbon fiber impregnated leathers but had changed out his belt knife for a short sword and buckler. He also had a non-lethal II at his waist.

That left Ronin himself and K3, the odd men out of the group. K3 was wearing a medieval looking full plate steel armor, that covered him from head to toe. Despite outward appearances it was nearly as well made as Ronin’s, and he wore a nanite under armor to help slow down anything that did get through the armor’s plates. He carried a tower shield that was nearly as tall as he was along with a hammer of similar dimensions. A mark V railgun rounded out his kit. Ronin had asked Owl two why they weren’t using the Kaldarr weapons they’d recovered. he’d said he wanted to analyze the tech first. Also, it wasn’t a good idea to make gear they didn’t have replacements for yet, their standard equipment loadout.

Ronin and K3 would be the front men in any melee confrontation. Their heavier armor and shields would allow them to soak up enemy attacks while Karr’s squad stabbed them with spears and red team shot them with bolts. Ronin wasn’t quite sure how he’d ended up with the role of front man. being the leader, it didn’t seem like the best place for him, but that’s what his physical abilities and his own natural inclination led him towards. Owl two didn’t seem to think it was a problem either, so Ronin figured he was safe enough.

“Thank you all for joining me for this trip,” he said. “We will be gone for up to two weeks. If we come across a group, we’ll return them to the mine where people will be ready to take them from us.” He’d discussed this at length with Owl two. They hadn’t been using the long-distance telepathic features of the drone parasites at all. they did, however, let him communicate and give orders up to a range of fifty miles. Ronin just needed to Let Benjamin know to send a team, when they had acquired who they were after.

“Everyone should have been briefed on what to expect in the caves, yes?” He paused to ask, getting affirming nods he continued. “Last time, we lost three people due to my inexperience. This time I don’t want to lose anyone, so keep your heads about you and don’t take any risks. Understood?”

“Yes sir,” echoed back to him along with the sound of nineteen fists crashing into nineteen chest plates.

“Good, then red team lead the way. We will be following the same route as before.” Having finished his speech, Ronin watched as three members of red team entered the caves along with Owl five. Ronin, Guts and K3 entered after a minute, followed by Karr and his men. The final three members of red team came in last to cover their rear.

The mine section of the caves system hadn’t changed at all. they would eventually start mining it again; but they had so much scrap metal from the destroyed Kaldarrian drop ships, along with the stone carver rats plates that it wasn’t going to be necessary for a long time. They moved through it quickly, Ronin once again averting his eyes at the beam where he killed that first goblin. He knew he should stop letting that affect him, he just didn’t want to think about it, so he looked away.

Owl two had taken a copy of Ronin’s map and printed it out on the drop pod’s fabrication unit. it now decorated a wall inside the command tent. Before they’d left, the leadership group had looked it over carefully. There had been another passage near the crack into the outside world. they just hadn’t had the ability to go any deeper at that time. This time, Ronin wanted to explore as far as he could go, hopefully finding where the goblins were getting into the cave system.

Having a known route made the trip go much faster, but the double handful of humans in the group made things awkward. They couldn’t see in the dark, so were forced to use outside lights. Owl two had accommodated for that and given them each a head mounted flashlight, but the light messed with Ronin’s night vision. He couldn’t see as well as before, and the bright light in the tunnels made him nervous. There just wasn’t anyway to hide the fact that there were people here who shouldn’t be.

Nevertheless, they made it all the way down to where they found the goblins and fought the trogs in just over a day. This section of the caves seemed to be deserted. Ronin could understand why from his own experience, as it was dry and lifeless. There was no moss or mold growing, no water puddles, nothing to support life here at all. after a rest, they continued to where the crack in the cave let in the air and sun of the outside world.

“I really want to bust this open and go explore that forest.” Ronin said quietly to Owl five, as they once again looked into the forest outside the cave.

“Me too,” Owl five said. she was crouching below him as they both looked outside. “But all the reasons Owl two gave for not opening this wall are sound. Goblins clearly aren’t getting in this way anyway so at least for now, we should stick to the mission.” He didn’t want to admit it, but she had a point.

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“Fine,” he said stepping back. “Let’s find out where we’re going then.” They had been killing time while red team checked out the tunnels ahead. They had just returned and were waiting for Ronin to hear their report.

“Sir,” Hunter said. she had been made the leader of red team. A decision Ronin approved; she was definitely qualified. “The tunnels change going forward. they are damper and mushrooms and moss are growing on the walls. I smelled the leavings of several animals as well.” Feeling excited, Ronin gathered the team to move forward.

Entering the tunnels himself, he started to feel concern instead of excitement. The walls were covered with moss and mushrooms, but what Hunter had failed to mention was that they were glowing. The moss glowed a faint green, and the mushrooms glow depended on their species. A few were glowing blue while another patch had a red tint. Blinking in surprise, he turned to hunter.

“You didn’t say they were glowing.” He said, a frown in his voice.

“No sir,” she said taking a step back and lowering her head. “I didn’t realize it mattered, sir.” That threw Ronin for a loop. Didn’t think it mattered? Moss didn’t glow… but then he remembered, this was earth from ninety million years ago, and he’d mixed in a ton of fantasy and sci-fi elements at random. So, why shouldn’t the plants glow?

“Never mind Hunter,” he said patting her on the shoulder. “It didn’t matter really; I was just surprised is all. carry on.” She saluted, before returning to her team. They conversed in low tones for a moment before moving deeper into the tunnels. Ronin watched them go, hoping he hadn’t just caused a problem with red team.

“She told them to pay more attention to the details.” Owl five said from his side. “She reminded them that they owe their lives to their lord, and any oversight that could cause him harm couldn’t be tolerated.” She continued, giving Ronin a pat of his own.

“That wasn’t…” he tried to say that he hadn’t meant that, but Owl five cut him off.

“I know sir,” she said. her voice was soft, and reassuring. “Owl team was briefed at our… formation,” she lingered a little on the word, but carried on before he could inquire. “On what our team would likely be doing, based on our leader’s preferences. So, I know you didn’t want to be a lord. But regardless of your intentions, they have a chance at life they never would have had without you.” taking her hand back, she punched him lightly on the shoulder. “So, straighten up, we have glowing caves to raid.”

Ronin watched her figure disappear into the tunnels after red team. He just stood there for a bit, exchanging looks with Guts and K3. Both of them just shrugged with a ‘don’t ask me’ motion. He sighed, wondering how he’d gotten so far astray from the life of a wandering adventurer, that he’d planned on living.

As they ventured further into the living tunnel, Ronin checked his map and realized they were heading deeper down into the mountain. As they traveled, the tunnels grew larger and larger. They saw their first signs of life within a day of entering the new section of tunnel. a palm sized spider had woven a web across the top of the tunnels passage. A moth with a wingspan the size of a dinner plate had flown into the web and was struggling wildly as the spider slowly spun it up in silk threads. Ronin was fascinated by the display. He’d read about spiders and moths, but the only bugs he’d ever seen were on the crystal trees.

As the passage got too wide for Ronin’s mapping feature to cover the tunnel, Owl five moved to the other side. They connected their mini maps and used both their suits to expand the map together. Expanding out, Ronin saw that a large chunk of the valley that had been previously dark to him had lit up. he would have to look into this, if others could expand his maps than their planning sessions would get a lot easier.

The mushrooms got taller as they went down too, and the glow intensified. Eventually, Karr and his men turned their lights off to save the batteries since they didn’t need them anymore. Ronin wanted to stop and study every new plant or bug they came across, but he knew that time was against him. if he managed to save Markus and placate Leo, then he could have all the time he wanted to explore this underground maze.

“Sir,” Hunter said slipping back into view from further in the tunnel. they had been getting ready to camp for the night since they had found a defensible alcove.

“What is it, Hunter?” he asked, reaching for his mace at the look on her face.

“Sir, I think you are going to want to see this.” she said, all but dragging him down the tunnel. he shared a look with Owl five, who already had her rifle in hand. She slipped forward ahead of them, ready to cover him should the need arise. K3 got up and followed, motioning Guts and Karr to remain at the partially set up camp.

“What is it?” ronin tried to ask again, but Hunter was too distracted to answer. Still pulling him along, she only slowed when she reached a sharp bend in the tunnel. the remaining members of her team clustered around the bend, looking around the corner but not going out. they didn’t have their weapons aimed, so Ronin didn’t get the feeling that danger lay around the corner, but he just didn’t understand what would make them act like this.

Reaching the corner, Hunter shoved ronin forward. he stumbled a little, but it was mostly for effect. Hunter was far too weak to actually move him if he didn’t want to be moved. Still, he preferred to act like he wasn’t a biomechanically enhanced super human whenever possible. Righting himself with a hand on the wall, he looked around the bend. His own brain seemed to seize up at what he saw.

They were standing at an entrance to an underground, glowing, mushroom forest. The ceiling was far, far above them. spanning the gap between ceiling and floor were huge columns of connected stalagmites and stalactites. Each covered in glowing ivy, that reached up to spread across the ceiling. Not only the ivy glowed. There were tree sized mushrooms whose caps spread out dozens of feet that also glowed a variety of colors.

Somewhere in the distance, Ronin could just make out the roaring splash from a water fall. There must be a lake in this underground biosphere. Not only a lake, but large stalagmites that weren’t connected to the ceiling, looked like giant hills rising up from the mist that covered the floor like a silver blanket, a faint green glow lighting it up and giving the place an eerie vibe.

“How big is it?” He breathed out in wonder.

“Looks to be at least twenty miles across sir.” Owl five answered him, “I count at least five tunnels leading from this place from here. this is likely a highly trafficked area, we should proceed carefully sir.” Her calm tone brought him back to his senses. She was right, this could be hostile territory.

“Ok. Hunter, leave a look out here. everyone else head back to camp. We need to regroup and get some rest before we even think about exploring out there.” Getting nods of agreement, he turned and went back to the camp, where Guts was already setting a pot on a small stove. Unlike the goblin, Karr and his men had been on full alert. Only relaxing when Ronin returned and signaled that it was safe.

There was life down there, at least plant and bug life. If the goblins had come up from somewhere deeper in the caves, they would have had to at least pass through the biosphere. Ronin got excited at the idea of some of the goblins having stayed behind in that huge place. Tonight, the group would rest. Then, tomorrow, they would search the mushroom forest for goblin sign.

“What do you think we will find out there?” Brie asked him after dinner. The pair were sitting side by side against the tunnel wall, separated by a few feet. Everyone else was already sleeping, except for Guts and K3 who had the watch. Karr’s squad and red team were tough, but without the nanites that sped recovery rates, they couldn’t keep up with all day marches indefinitely.

“I’m really not sure,” Ronin answered honestly. He was too busy taking comfort from her closeness to worry about the mushroom forest, but as they sat there his mind worked over her question. “There is water in there, and really big living plants. There should be something that feeds off those mushrooms. Also, since all the mushrooms haven’t been eaten, that means there should be something that feeds off those creatures. I’m hoping for goblins, but troglodytes are also a likely possibility.” He said eventually, turning his head back towards her. “What do you think we’ll find?”

“Ohhh…” she said drawing out the word. “I think we’ll find a long-lost goblin city, with an entire civilization of goblins living like humans do above ground.” she waved her hands around as she talked, exaggerating the motions, and giggled when she was finished speaking.

“Really?” Ronin asked, enjoying the sound of her giggle. “That would be lovely.” He said with a smile. They talked a little bit longer, but eventually they went to bed. After four hours of sleep, they relieved Guts and K3 on watch, but they didn’t talk anymore. they were on duty now, and Owl five took her duty very seriously.

The next ‘morning’ the group got up and ate their morning rations. Guts was already experimenting with the glowing fungus on the walls. He was tasting them and waiting for any reaction. Thankfully, his body was a lot tougher than it used to be at fighting off infection. Besides, goblins had iron stomachs anyway. Ronin looked forward to his discoveries, he enjoyed meat and bread, but he’d been eating mushrooms and algae his whole life. The thought of mixing old and new flavors secretly excited him a little.

“Form up,” Karr called out to his men. They were already in line, but the words let them know it was almost time to go. Red team was already out scouting, and so far, all they’d found were bugs. Really big bugs, but still just bugs. Owl five had suggested that he wait until she and red team found something for him worth looking at, but he didn’t want to wait. After all, they had discovered a glowing underground mushroom forest. It was just like a fairy tale, he needed to be in there exploring.

The tunnel they exited into the biosphere was high up on the wall, giving them a clear view for a way into the mushroom forest. It also gave anyone watching a clear view of them climbing down the steep incline towards the cave floor. Thankfully for their safety, the whole cavern was filled with giant columns, and a faint glowing mist that hampered visibility. Unfortunately, it also made it so they couldn’t see details from their high vantage point.

Sliding down the slope, Ronin and his team entered the mist. It got thicker as they descended, and it soon became clear the cave was a lot deeper than they’d thought. Reaching the ground, Ronin’s feet came to rest in a bed of calf deep moss. The area was strewn with large rocks and rubble. It looked like part of the wall had collapsed in recent years, perhaps uncovering the tunnel they’d entered through.

Squatting down, he scraped moss away as he dug down to the cave floor. Only the top layer of moss was alive and growing, the rest was dead and decaying, filled with small insects that scurried around as he disturbed their home. The rock floor was also broken up slightly, years and years of tiny roots burrowing into the stone had begun breaking it down. When the decaying plant matter was added on top, it created a layer of soil that was over a hand’s span deep. at least in this one spot near the rockslide. He guessed it might be deeper farther in.

Standing back up, he walked over to one of the giant mushrooms. Placing his gloved hand upon it’s surface he felt a slight give. The surface was rough and hard like bark, but the give made him wonder if it was softer inside. he couldn’t wait to cut into one and find out. As he explored, the remainder of the team slid down to join him. the mist not hampering their ability to see one another, but they couldn’t see the cave they’d entered from, even standing right below it.

“Owl one, this is Owl five.” His thoughts were interrupted by Owl five’s excited voice. “Owl one this is… damn it Ronin, come to my position, now. you have to see this!” Ronin’s gaze snapped away from the mushroom and onto his mini map. Owl five was at least a mile ahead. She had taken a long zig zag route to get to where she was, but Ronin didn’t have time for that.

“Sargent Karr,” He yelled. “Get your men ready, now. Owl five has called for assistance, and we are taking the straight path to her. Keep up and don’t get lost in the fog.” Drawing his rifle, Ronin waited just long enough to be sure that everyone was following and sprinted into the mists.