Missteps
Chapter 65 – Fungus Date
The six members of M.A. spent the next eight hours in the stone room. The apprehension of what was coming up next weighed heavily on them, allowing a collective tenseness to fall upon them. In the oppressive silence of the room, various dark thoughts were allowed to roam in all their minds. Not even games of chess, warm baths, or literature could provide any distractions. That night, it wasn't just Elaine who missed the lyrical distractions of Kerri's profession.
Near the end of their rest, the wall opened and the same purple-haired youth from before once again approached the group. The tray behind them was filled with a large platter of fluffy buttered biscuits, a bowl of hard-boiled eggs, several plates of bacon and sausages, and a small assortment of fruit. Decanters of milk and orange juice accompanied the food alongside a stack of bowls, cups, and utensils.
The youth stopped a few feet from the cots and began the process of lowering the tray. "Good morning, you all look like shit."
Iados rolled his eyes as he got to his feet. "Thank you for that. Is it really morning? You should really tell your aunts to put in some windows." Around him everyone else rolled off their cots as well.
The youth shrugged. "Wouldn't do any good seeing as this is all underground." They replaced the rod in their pocket and stood up straight. "You've got about another two hours before my aunts open the door to the final room."
Jun snatched a biscuit and took a big bite. "Can we get a clue as to what we'll be facing?"
"Nothing you can negotiate with." The youth crossed their arms as they smirked. "My aunts weren't very happy that you left Natasia alive. They were hoping that you'd kill her."
Elaine frowned. "If they wanted her dead, then why didn't they do it themselves?"
"It goes against their business model." They reached down and plucked a piece of fruit off the tray. "My aunts don't see a reason for them to kill her themselves, when they can sell the opportunity to someone else for a profit."
Ander's eyes narrowed. "So Bymer paid to have us come and kill her? And the other creatures?"
The youth shrugged again. "I don't know the particulars, I just know that Bymer paid for an 'experience'. Anyway, have fun and just leave the bowls and cutlery on the tray when you're done." They turned on their heel and walked back towards the wall. "My advice for the final room, kill anything that moves. Good luck." The wall closed up with a heavy thud.
"For the record, I think the six of us can be excluded from the 'anything that moves' part of the advice." Carric speared a sausage on the end of his fork as he settled back on a cot with a full plate.
"What if the creature on the other side can do something like mind-control?" Iados asked as he pulled apart a still-warm biscuit. "No offense, but if you start to attack me I will smack you across the face."
Lia sighed heavily before she took a large gulp of juice. "Without more information, there's not a whole lot we can plan for before going in."
Jun shook his head. "If we go by the previous rooms, minus the first one, there's a good chance the encounter will be confined to a single room. If we can't negotiate with whatever it is, then it'll either be a low intelligence creature, or maybe a construct."
"Or something that just really wants to kill us." Iados added with dark grin.
"He's right," Carric added. "Going by what Beebe said, we can also expect it to be extremely dangerous. Since Beebe seemed to respect strength more than brains, whatever the creature, it'll probably lean more towards brawn."
Ander lifted a skeptical eyebrow. "So what's the plan then? To just wail on whatever creature is inside?"
Jun shrugged as he bit into an egg.
Iados raised a hand. "What if it's not just one creature? I can't imagine that the Sisters would arrange a finale as weak as that."
"Natasia wasn't that weak, and it was just her." Elaine pointed out.
Iados shook his head. "You crippled her with that silence. Trust me, I've had a taste of what her real powers are, and we all totally lucked out in that last encounter." He gave an involuntary shiver as he thought back to that voice in his head on the ship as they'd passed the island. "I'm just saying we should be prepared."
Lia clapped her hands together and drew everyone's attention. "How about this then, we divide and conquer. Jun and I will go after the biggest target in the room. I'll use my animal forms to take as many hits for Jun as I can, and let him wail on it. In the meantime, Iados and Carric will do their best to keep any other smaller targets out of Jun's way. Carric can post up somewhere with his bow, and Iados can run around with his sword."
"What about Ander and me?" Elaine asked. "Should we focus on just staying out of the way?" A grumpy look crossed the halfling's face at the suggestion.
Lia shook her head. "You guys are support. Cleanup whatever the guys can't, and be ready to jump in if any of us falls." She sent a calm smile towards the halfling. "You two are the brains behind all this brawn, we'll need you to direct us to any new developments. Can you do that?"
Ander nodded as he took a large bite of fruit. The rest of the time was spent polishing off the food tray, and further refining their attack plans as best they could. If this was the grand finale of the 'experience' that Bymer had paid for, they wanted to make sure they passed with flying colors. Finally a large door materialized on a far wall, and it opened without a sound. Unlike the other doors, this one led directly into the next room.
It was hard to make out just how large the room was because of how densely packed it was. Luminous moss climbed the walls and ceilings, bathing the whole area in a light green glow. The floor was peppered with large patches of five-foot tall fungi clusters in muted browns, greens, yellows, oranges, and blues. There was a smell of damp earth and stale air that permeated the room. Narrow rocky walkways wound their way around the various patches. In a far corner was a small copse of thick-trunked gnarled trees with gray wilted leaves, while a short hill dominated the opposite corner.
Elaine reached out and laid a hand on Jun's chest. She said a quick prayer to Vowil, and a shimmering yellow cloak draped itself over the berserker before it faded from view. "Hopefully that makes it harder for whatever's hiding out there to hit you."
"Hope you can see it first." Ander grumbled as he stood on his tiptoes and tried vainly to see through the thick patches.
"Maybe he should go on your shoulders." Carric whispered to the cleric.
Elaine grimaced. "Why not yours?"
The half-elf raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever tried to operate a bow like that?"
"It's probably just as hard as a crossbow." The human snapped.
Carric rolled his eyes and made a quick show of showing how evenly in height the fungus was with Elaine. "You can barely see over this mess too, so why not help the small one who can throw magic bolts of fire?" He didn't wait for a response before he picked up a protesting Ander and plunked him on Elaine's shoulders.
As the three of them worked out the sudden balance issues, Jun approached the doorway and poked his head in. While the light from the glowing fungi wasn't bright, it wasn't dim either so he was able to get a good look at the surroundings. Movement from on top of the hill caught his attention. Warhammer in hand, he ran out.
The rest of the group watched as thin tendrils of vine shot out of the fungi patches towards the berserker. The vines hit the veil instead as Jun headed up the hill's incline. On his heels was a large dire wolf. Bitey gave a small whimper of pain as the vines smacked the fur-covered torso with a stinging pain. That didn't stop the dire wolf as it crested the hill before the human.
As the wolf's paws hit a dense patch of foliage at the top, a cold sweat formed all over her as a sense of something unnatural settled in her gut. She didn't have long to ponder the feeling however, as a sudden column of vines and foliage vaulted from underneath out of the patch and knocked the breath out of Bitey.
A second column shot out and slammed into the dire wolf's side. Vines reached out of the columns and attempted to wrap themselves around the large dire wolf form, but Bitey managed to thrash them aside. She winced as she felt pain radiate from her side, certain that a rib had at least cracked from the sudden attacks.
Jun reached the top just in time to see another column of foliage erupt from underneath and slam into the wolf. As the wolf was thrown to the ground, it shifted back into Lia, who hit the ground with a hard thud. The elf barely managed to roll out of the way of a second attack.
The berserker didn't waste any time as he allowed the verta-kochen to override his senses. With a red-tinged fury, he stepped closer to the large patch of dark green foliage that dominated a majority of the hill, and swung his hammer towards any part of it that moved.
Lia barely allowed herself a moment of rest before she'd shifted back into Bitey and dug into the mossy earth with her claws.
Back below, Carric and Iados had ran out in opposite directions. Iados headed straight for the patch that the first vines had sneaked out of, and Carric went looking for some elevation.
Close to the walkway, Iados found a large deep-green capped mushroom with a yellow stalk. The cap went down about halfway down the five-foot stalk. The four offending vines each protruded out of one of the four large holes in the fungi's cap.
As one of the vines shot towards the former pirate, Iados swatted it with his shortsword and cut it cleanly in half. The mushroom gave what seemed to be a small squeal of pain as the now-shortened vine quickly retreated back into the cap. Not to let it go so easily, the akudaem kicked out at the stalk. It was surprisingly squishier than he had expected, as his foot penetrated the stalk, and it easily folded in half and sank slowly to the ground.
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The loss of its stalk didn't seem to diminish the bloodthirstiness of the cap vines however. The remaining three vines still danced around and attempted to hit the akudaem, who could do nothing but slash and slap them away.
Across the way, Carric found himself in a similar position against the same kind of mushroom. He'd managed to find a fallen log that provided a perfect vantage point for the battle happening on top of the hill. However, the log was next to the large mushroom, and it didn't want to share space.
"A little help Elaine!" The half-elf called out after he felt his arm go numb for a few tense minutes after a hit from one of the vines.
Still by the door, Elaine found it extremely hard to maneuver with the halfling on her shoulders. For one, her chain mail armor was already heavy enough without the extra weight. Secondly, Ander kept squirming as he tried to get comfortable enough to cast his own spells.
It took a few seconds, but Elaine was able free up a single hand to cast a spell. A spectral mace formed in the air next to Carric and went to work attempting to swat at the vines that assailed him.
"Will you quit moving!?" Ander's shrill voice hissed as he grasped Elaine's head with both hands. He ignored the muttered remarks from the cleric as she returned her hand to its former position on his leg.
The small wizard strained his neck up to look deeper into the foliage, doing his best to keep an eye out for threats. Besides the two mushrooms currently embroiled with Iados and Carric, there was one other he could make out. This one was behind Jun, and it attempted to swat at the large berserker. Jun didn't even seem to notice that the mushroom was behind him, as the divine veil of protection that Elaine had given him kept any of the vines from hitting their mark. It certainly didn't help that three of the mushroom's four tendrils were otherwise occupied in keeping the fungus anchored to the side of the hill.
He was about to turn his attention, and magic, to the closer mushrooms, when movement caught his eye by the copse of trees. He pushed himself up (again ignoring Elaine's cries) and squinted his eyes. To him, it looked like one of the fungi patches was moving.
Deciding not to take a chance, he fired off a few bolts of magic towards the mass. A new squeal of pain echoed throughout the chamber, and four more vines flew up in the air.
And so the battle raged on like a stalemate for several minutes.
Bitey and Jun traded blows with the large plant creature, unsure if they were actually damaging the creature at all. So far the plant had only attacked her, but Lia was beginning to struggle with keeping her animal form intact as the heavy blows hit one-by-one.
Carric and Iados wrestled with their respective vines, methodically cutting them down one-by-one in a race to drop the mushrooms before it dropped them. With every hit the vines landed on them, their strength waned more and more, as if it was being sucked right out of them.
Elaine split her time between directing her spectral mace to strike, and trying not to drop the halfling as he threw spell after spell at the lone mushroom that slowly but surely made its way closer towards Iados.
Finally Carric cut down the final tendril. "I'm pulling my bow!" He yelled down at Elaine as he clambered up on top of the fallen log. As he pulled his bow out and notched an arrow, he noticed small patches of black along his sleeves and down to his skin, in the same areas where the vine tips had hit. He shook his head. That was an issue for Elaine to address later.
As he aimed his arrow at the large plant creature on the hill, he watched as it swung an enormous arm of foliage at the berserker. The force of the blow forced Jun back a few steps, where the mushroom creature behind him snapped a vine to the back of his neck. The ranger winced in sympathy, and sent an arrow into the green-cap in retribution.
With an angry curse, Iados finally finished off the final vine tendril of his opponent. He looked up at Ander. "How many are left?"
"Two mushrooms and one big plant." The halfling reported. He pointed out to a spot not too far from the akudaem. "You've got one dead-ahead, and then the second is up by Jun. I've managed to damage the one up ahead, but it's still got at least three of those vines running around."
The former pirate grimaced. "Great." He muttered as he headed forward.
Up on the hill, Jun took in a shaky breath. He saw Iados hedge forward cautiously and yelled down. "What happened to keeping things off my back?" He jerked his head back at the mushroom that whipped its vine towards him again.
"We're working on it!" Iados barked back through cupped hands. He would have said something else, but was stopped by the tendril that suddenly wrapped itself around his ankle and tried to pull him under. He swept out with his sword and sliced right through it.
With his former target now under new management, Ander jerked Elaine's head to the left.
The cleric dug her fingernails into his calves.
"What the hell?" Ander yelled as he jerked his legs free, the sudden motion almost causing him to fall.
"Just making sure you still had use of your vocal cords." Elaine muttered as she moved a few steps to the left. "I'm not some damn horse you know."
Once again the wizard pretended not to hear the comments as he concentrated on his magic instead. He sent a fiery ray out towards the mushroom that accosted Jun. The ray charred its only free tendril. When the mushroom attempted to attack with one of its other tendrils, it instead became unbalanced and rolled down the hill towards Iados.
"Incoming!" Ander yelled out towards the former pirate, who'd just finished cleaning up his second mushroom.
The ranger chuckled at the tirade of curses Iados unleashed towards the new patch of vines. He released another arrow out towards the large plant creature. With this arrow, the ranger attached a mystic tag, which transferred to the creature once the arrow hit. Through the mystic connection, Carric felt the same sense of wrong that Lia still felt in the pit of her stomach. He could also feel a pulse of magic through the creature that radiated out from a central source.
"Aim for the center!" He screamed out towards Bitey and Jun.
Jun nodded, though with all the thrashing of the foliage between him and Bitey, he wasn't exactly sure where the center was. He grunted as another hit landed on the side of his torso. Right before the attack had landed, he'd felt the power of the verta-kochen pulse and strengthen his body, fending off some of the force of the blow. He vaguely wondered how worse off he'd be if he didn't have the ability.
He looked over at the battered and swaying form of the dire wolf. It looked like it'd be a race to see which one of them would drop first, and the finish line was drawing dangerously near. As he dodged another blow from the plant creature, he wasn't even sure if their attacks were making any kind of difference to it.
From her place near the door, Elaine could see the toll the battle was beginning to take on everyone. At least Carric and Iados had been making visible progress with their foes, but the same could not be said for those on the hill. With a grimace, she tightened her grip on the halfling and began the slow process of trying to move forward and not drop him.
Ander began to protest the sudden move. Carric opened his mouth to say something to him, but was cut off by a sudden stinging sensation on the back of his legs. He looked over his shoulder, and saw a brand-new tendril from the still standing stalk.
The half-elf groaned and yelled out. "Make sure you destroy the stalks! They can grow more tendrils!" He briefly made eye contact with Elaine, and gestured back at the annoyance behind him.
She nodded and her spectral mace began to attack the stalk with renewed force. Ander also threw a few bolts of magic in the general direction of the stalk, but not all of them hit as his aim was interrupted by Elaine's continued attempts to push forward.
Iados didn't even bother to acknowledge Carric's warning as he stomped down hard on the wilted cap of both mushrooms near him. A couple of tendrils still swayed around him as his breaths came in hard gasps. The constant exertion had started to catch up to him, but he'd be damned if he went down now. He flicked his eyes up to the hill.
Bitey had positioned themselves directly on top of the center mass of the plant creature, in a bid to attract more of the creature's attention. Moss, leaves, and other bits of foliage were tangled up in her fur, but she didn't care. She allowed herself only the smallest of grins as she watched a patch of foliage actually recoil away from one of Jun's swings.
That little bit of exhilaration didn't last long as another current of foliage swarmed out and hit her under the chin. As the force drove the wolf backwards, she shifted back into her elf form. The plant creature, not caring about the sudden change, sent a second wave of foliage cascading down onto her prone figure.
In less than a second, Lia the elf was swamped by moss and twigs, and was being pulled into the center of the creature.
"Lia!" Jun cried as he watched the petite elf be engulfed. He reached out to try to grab her, but was too late as the foliage closed up around her. The berserker threw his warhammer to the side and knelt down onto the creature. With the veins in his neck and biceps popping, he strained to peel apart the foliage.
Below them, Elaine froze in her tracks as she watched the scene unfold with wide eyes. Ander used the moment to take down the stalk behind Carric as he too focused on the hill.
Through the mystical tag, Carric could feel the shift of the center of power within the creature as it made room for the elf. He bit the inside of his cheek, and readied his arrow for the opportune moment to send it.
The only one not watching the scene was Iados as he wrestled with a final vine that had wrapped itself around his leg and refused to let go.
Jun's teeth were gritted as he focused all of his strength on opening up the earth itself. Zhonnic, watch this. The berserker nudged the last of his verta-kochen down his arms and into his hands. Inch by inch the foliage parted.
A pale hand reached out and grasped onto the berserker's forearm.
Jun sent a grin down at the scared face below him. "'Fraid you've gotta pull yourself out of this one."
For a split second, Lia considered letting go. She saw the strain on Jun's face, the effort it was taking for him to hold open this portal. But, if he let go right now, there was a chance that the plant creature would be too focused on digesting her to continue attacking her. He could regroup with Elaine and the others. He could heal, and then attack the creature again. All it would take is for her to sacrifice herself, and pray that she was strong enough to endure for them to come back.
The nightmare scene of her forced wedding flashed into her mind.
Her uncle's smile.
M.A. bound in chains.
The vows of obedience and servitude.
The groom's triumphant smile.
The sound of gurgled blood.
She squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again, a new light within them. She wouldn't take the easy way out this time. Not this time, or ever again. With strength she didn't know she had, she pulled herself out inch by inch, crawling up into Jun's waiting arms.
The moment she was free of the creature, Carric sent a final arrow sailing into the gaping hole. With a thud it landed in the center of a small clay tablet that broke cleanly in half. With a final shudder, the foliage that made up the plant creature went still.
With the sudden loss of the opposing force, Jun tumbled backwards, Lia in his arms. Together the two of them rolled down the hill, coming to a stop not far from Iados.
Within moments, the rest of M.A. had swarmed the two prone bodies. Iados pulled his girlfriend free from Jun's protective embrace, and cradled her in his lap.
"You ok?" The former pirate asked as he looked her over. Aside from small scratches and a few bruises, she looked physically fine.
Lia nodded tiredly. The druid was exhausted, and sore. The magic of the transformations could only heal so much of the residual injuries. She turned her head to look over at Jun.
Elaine had his head in her lap as she concentrated on a healing spell that sent a wave of divine magic down the length of his body.
Next to him, Ander had a waterskin out and ready for the berserker.
Carric crouched down next to Iados and held out one for the elf. "Gotta say, I'm a little impressed that it all went down more or less to plan."
She grinned and slowly sat up. She winced as she deduced that the rib Bitey had broken was still tender. Iados helped her take a few large gulps of the cool water. "Let's put being swallowed by plant creatures in the column of 'never again'."
The half-elf laughed. "I don't know, from where I was standing you seemed to make out alright."
Jun sat up with a groan. "I think the next time we go up against one, we just let Ander light it on fire and be done with it." He slowly stretched out his shoulder, wincing as something clicked back into place. He looked around. "Where's my warhammer?"
"Up here." A new voice called from atop the hill. They all looked up.
Standing on the edge, were two identical female gnomes with salt-and-pepper hair that was braided and hung down over opposite shoulders. The one on the left wore large brass gloves, and held up Jun's large warhammer with no issue. The one on the right sat in a small wooden wheelchair that hovered a few inches off the ground.
The one in the wheelchair made a 'come hither' motion with her finger, before she turned and headed towards a new opening in the wall that hadn't been there before. With Elaine and Carric supporting Jun, and Iados practically carrying Lia, Mellow Andromeda followed the Star Sisters out of the room, and up into their workshop.