"Don't look now, miss, but there's more of them," announced Tuuka, gesturing with his bearded chin. His hands were occupied restraining Picker, the goblin writhing under him and trying to get to the mushrooms.
Briar glanced in the direction he indicated. Indeed, there were several more of the creatures. It was hard to be sure how many, as they blended in extremely well with the surrounding fungal growths. Not surprising, since that was essentially what they were--shroom-powered skeletons, more-or-less.
"Any ideas, anybody?" asked Tyni, from his position holding down Amelia, who was also under the spore's spell.
"Mushrooms generally prefer the dark. Maybe they won't want to come too close if we keep our lights on them," replied Briar. She planted her pole firmly in the dirt of the cavern floor so it would stand on its own, keeping the lantern hanging from it in a position to illuminate them all. The wolf-zombie hadn't come any closer, but it also hadn't left yet. She couldn't tell if it was looking at them, or sensing them in some unknown other fashion, but it certainly appeared to be observing them.
"Fire? Fire?" piped Fern from above, as she flew higher up to get a better view.
"That would work if we don't roast or smoke ourselves out. Good non-candy related thinking, though!" the gardener called to the sprite.
"I've got some, ah, medicinal spirits on me, miss. We could soak a rag and light it. It would burn clean, very little smoke. Might be enough to drive them back. For a short while."
Tyni winced at the suggestion. It was a difficult choice when it came to possible death versus wasted good booze.
Briar looked between the two dwarves, then over at the fungus-animated skeleton of the wolf. It was still observing them peacefully if one ignored the bared teeth. Of course, it didn't have lips, so it couldn't help but bare its fangs, come to think of it.
A thought suddenly struck her.
"You know, the last two rooms had peaceful solutions. Amelia hugged the statues, which opened the door. Then she willingly gave food to a hag, which caused it to not want to bite. I think that's a pattern here."
"Good thinking! These types of places usually follow some logic. Too bad our fool here is out of it! She'd stumble on the answer in no time." he winked at Amelia, who was slowly starting to settle down from her spore-induced thrashing.
Briar watched as Whisper drifted across the room, barely clearing the mushrooms below her, but this time at a slow, leisurely pace, unlike the breakneck dash earlier that had raised the spores. The wisp had even dimmed down her glow, to a low, soothing blue that barely illuminated the surrounding area.
The goblin smacked herself on the forehead.
"That's it! Time to think like a gardener! Mushrooms like the dark, and don't want to be disturbed. If we move slowly, don't touch anything, and dim our lights, we can make it through."
"You sure about that, miss? We're not gonna just die in the dark?" asked Tuuka.
"As certain as I can be!" she replied, reaching up to dim her lantern to its lowest setting. The dim light was now not even as bright as a candle, and barely even lit the ground at the base of the pole.
The two dwarves glanced at each other, then Tuuka pulled a flask from his pocket and took a long swig. Then passed the flask to Tyni, who drank as well.
"Sip for luck?" he said, holding the metal container towards Briar.
She smiled her thanks, then took a sip.
"Weeahh! Gah!" she spit and coughed for a moment. "You do know there's more to good booze than just how strong it is, don't you?" she asked when she could finally speak.
"Yeah, well, you can only fit so much in a flask, after all. Strong is efficient!" Tuuka said, taking another large swig as it was returned to him, before pocketing it. He smacked his lips.
"Ready! I can carry this one, but you might need to help Tyni there with the girl--she's so tall he'd have to drag her, otherwise."
Amelia wasn't very tall as humans go, but compared to her current company, she was a giant.
It took some juggling for Briar to handle both the lantern pole and Amelia's legs, but she found she could wrap her arm around the girl's knees and just keep her feet and behind from hitting the ground. Tyni was able to carry most of her weight, but he had to leave his shovel and pick behind.
Luckily, both Amelia and Picker had fallen into some sort of doze, so they didn't have to fight them the whole way. Tuuka was able to get the goblin in a fireman's carry while carrying both of their tools somewhat awkwardly.
"Okay, slow and steady. And try not to touch anything!"
With the miners' and Amelia's lights all extinguished, the glow of Briar's lantern wasn't enough for them all to see. So Fern flew down to about Tuuka's knee height and started emitting a very slight shine, enough so he could see where he was going.
"Thanks, you wee spriggan. If we get out of this, I'll brew you up something special!" he said appreciatively.
They started forwards across the gigantic room, moving as slowly as possible and taking great care to avoid brushing any of the myriad fungus. The wolf creature followed them, always keeping about the same distance, but not blocking them or closing with them. They could hear the rustling of other things moving in the darkness, but with all the lights dimmed, they couldn't see much further than their own feet.
The crossing felt like it took hours, but in reality, it was only a few minutes later when they made it to the far wall. It looked much the same as the wall they had come in by--cragged, natural-looking stone, but also with an open doorway. They were very happy to see that there was no door blocking their way and were able to pass through into the hallway beyond.
They stopped and put the sleeping miner and caretaker down, then relit their lights. Their fungal escort could be seen a dozen meters away, sitting on its bony haunches and watching that they didn't come back in.
Briar removed her makeshift mask and tucked it into her pocket, looking forlornly at her mangled boiler suit leg. It could be repaired, but maybe she should turn it into shorts?
"How long these two gonna be out, you think?" asked Tyni. He had just checked that they were both still breathing, and seemed to be fine, if deep asleep.
"Those spores aren't natural. Now that we are away from the shrooms, the magic should wear off soon. Why don't we just have a rest here for a while and see if they wake up before too long? I don't fancy having to carry them too much further." Briar replied. The caretaker wasn't exactly heavy, but it was awkward manhandling someone nearly twice your height. Arms and legs seemed to just dangle every which way no matter what you did.
The dwarves nodded their agreement, and they all settled down against the walls of the hallway and rested for a bit. No one had thought their expedition would take anywhere near this long, so they hadn't packed along any food or other supplies. Other than the candy Amelia usually kept on herself. And that all gone, now.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"You see those flecks on the wall?" Tyni asked Tuuka.
"Aye, I did. There's some fine mining to be done down here if it weren't for the fungus!"
"With the right equipment, though ..."
"Aye, with the right equipment. Which we don't have." Tuuka replied bitterly.
Briar looked questioningly at the two dwarves, but neither seemed in the mood to talk further, so she let them be.
About a half-hour had passed when Amelia finally stirred and opened her eyes.
"What happened?" she said, still groggy.
Tyni explained what had happened, then had to repeat himself as Picker finally woke.
The two seemed fine once they were awake, and there didn't appear to be any long-lasting ill-effect from the spores they had inhaled. Although Amelia did request that Tyni not make anything with mushrooms in it for the immediate future. Picker silently bobbed his head in agreement.
"How long've we been down here?"
"Not much more than an hour, missy. Seems longer, but that's what adrenaline does for you. Hard to keep track of time when your life's passing in front of your eyes!" said Tuuka.
----------------------------------------
The final room came as an anti-climax after the previous ones. It was a bare stone room, ten feet on a side. There was a stone pedestal in the middle, with the seed on top. On the far wall across from the entrance was a shimmering view of Alder's glade, and they could faintly hear sounds filtering through it--bird song, wind in the branches, the chirrup of insects.
"A portal!" declared Tyni, ignoring the pedestal and its contents. "Now that's a sight for sore eyes! I was getting a bit worried we'd be stuck down here forever!"
Amelia only had eyes for the seed. It was the size and shape of a deck of cards--much smaller than she had anticipated. Its edges and corners were all smoothly rounded. Dull grey in colour, it wasn't obvious what it was made of. She felt a strange attraction to the object like it was calling to her. She stepped up and picked up the thing while her companions were distracted with the portal.
It was oddly heavy but comfortable in her hand. As she lifted it up to look at it, it gave off a flash of red light, then she heard words in her head.
[Recommended bonding candidate detected. Processing.]
She glanced around, but her friends hadn't heard the words--they were for her brain alone, apparently. The communication was like how the cottage spoke with her, but the 'voice' was subtly different, somehow.
[Processing complete. Candidate suitable. Accept bond (Y/n)?]
The question surprised her. Up until this point, the only goal had been to retrieve the seed and move it away from Alder, in case it ever reactivated. She had no intention of bonding with the foul thing.
Just as she pursed her lips to whistle the negative response to the question, she was interrupted by the words.
[Input overridden. Bonding initiated. Processing. Bonding complete. Placement mode not available. Mobile mode engaged. Storing unit.]
As the final words passed through her head, the item in her hand started fading, becoming lighter and more transparent, until seconds later it was gone.
"Uh, guys!" she called, staring at her now empty hands.
They all turned to look at her, only just then noticing the pedestal was now empty. Fern flew over and sniffed at Amelia's empty, cupped hands, then chirped quizzically at her.
"It was talking to me, then it just disappeared! What the heck?"
"It spoke?" Tuuka asked, glancing at the others to see if they heard anything. "You sure, missy? Maybe those spores have left you a bit addled. Let's get you through the portal and rest, okay?"
"No! It really spoke! Like the cottage does! It said something about storing, then it just faded away!"
"Right, right. Haven't heard the cottage speak either, but I suppose I shouldn't doubt you. I've seen what that place can do."
"Have you tried asking it where it went?" asked Briar.
"Oh. I didn't think of that!"
She whistled a query, not sure how to address this core versus the cottage. Hopefully, they would understand from context. They didn't.
[Status: active]
[Status: active (mobile)]
The double reply was clear, even though both responses overlapped. The minor differences in tone let her distinguish the cottage's 'active' response from the new core's.
"Huh. I guess it's still here. It responded. Weird. So did the cottage, but I guess that's normal."
Again, her companions exchanged glances. Briar shrugged as if to say, "you get used to it".
"Think we could head out of here, missy? Only one can only rent alcohol if you know what I mean." grinned Tyni.
"Yeah, I guess. Let's go!"
One by one, they stepped through the shimmering image, appearing instantly in the glade with Alder.
"Ahoom hoom! Now, how did you sneak in without me seeing you?" boomed the old oak.
"Hi, Alder! It's a long story, but we're back!" Amelia said, running up and giving the tree a big hug.
"Hoom! Thank you, Caretaker! Did you find what you were looking for?"
"We did! But someone closed the door on us! Did you see who did that?"
The question got everyone's attention. They had forgotten that detail in the pleasure of escaping from the dungeon.
"Hoom hom! Only the birds have been around, eating all the worms from that big hole you dug. I doubt they could have done it. Did it close itself, ahoom?"
Thinking about the effect that Beige had had in the Night Market, and the same with Blue at Sandy's market, she wasn't so sure. But both of them had been nothing but friendly to her, so she dismissed her suspicions.
"I guess. It did move pretty easily once we got the dirt out of the way. Maybe it was just an accident." she wasn't convinced, but if Alder hadn't seen anything, who knew what had really happened?
"What's with the 'hoom'ing and 'hom'ing? You didn't used to do that?" She asked the old tree.
"Ahoom! Didn't I? I might be a little addled from that ordeal, I suppose. My throat, hom, seems dry. Tickly, even. Ahoom-hoom."
"Huh. Okay. Just sounds a bit odd. But as long as you're okay, I don't care how you talk!"
She looked around at the massive crater they'd dug out while trying to locate the seed. They had made a mess of the clearing, and it was going to take quite a bit of work to clean it up. The thought, coupled with the stress of the morning, made her suddenly feel exhausted.
Noticing her slumping shoulders, Tuuka patted her on the back.
"Don't worry, missy! Filling in is always easier than digging out. Why don't you and Briar head back? I'm sure you have things you need to do. The boys and I take care of this, no problem!"
"Thanks, Tuuka!" impulsively, she hugged the surprised dwarf. "Thank you guys for everything! Especially for saving me in that shroom room! That was scary!"
"All in a day's work! Now run along and let us get to it, it's not gonna fill itself now, will it!"
"Maybe leave the lid uncovered? I don't ever want to go back in, but just in case? For now." she asked.
"Sure, sure. Go! We got it!"
----------------------------------------
Amelia settled down in the armchair when she got back. Briar had seen her to the door, then headed off to tend to her lovelies in the garden. The fire surged up a bit, driving the residual cold from her bones as she rested.
She was surprised at how tired she was. They had only been underground for a few hours and hadn't done much. But it felt like much more time had passed, and that they'd done much more.
Just to be sure, she checked again, whistling quietly.
[Status: active]
[Status: active (mobile)]
The double response came again instantly. She had worried that perhaps the seed had 'stored' itself in the dungeon, but if so, she still had access to it. Not that she intended to use it, but that was good to know.
"Some day, huh Whisper?" she asked, reaching up to pat the wisp on her head. Who wasn't there?
Amelia leaned around the back of the chair to look into the kitchen, assuming her glowing companion would have taken the usual spot on the top of the oven. But there was no brick red, satisfied glow from there.
"Whisper? You here?" she called, starting to get worried. The little wisp wandered around on occasion but seemed to prefer either Amelia's head or the oven when not actively eating. Or frolicking with her sprite friend.
Fern had waved goodbye as they emerged into the glade, and headed off to wherever she hung out when not up to mischief. Amelia didn't remember Whisper going with her, but it was certainly possible.
Well, no matter, she thought. The wisp could take care of herself, and who knew how long she had been alone around the cottage before Amelia had arrived. So it probably wasn't a problem.
She fretted anyways, staring into the dancing flames of the fireplace.
[WARNING! Mana low. Increase supply or decrease draw.]
The message woke her from her reverie. The voice was that of the cottage. She wasn't sure what the message meant, but it sounded important.
It took a few moments to form a reply. She really needed more vocabulary to speak with these things! Good thing they spoke in English to her brain, because she could only speak to them about as well as a toddler.
The double response was a bit troubling to parse, but if she understood the gist of it, the culprit was the suppression of the seed. She had never told the cottage to stop that, and that activity was drawing a considerable amount of power.
It should be okay to stop that, she hoped.
[Command acknowledged. Foreign core suppression terminated.]
She held her breath for a moment.
[Notice. Placement mode now available.]
Okay. That was from the seed, but that seemed to be the only change she could detect. But maybe back at the clearing?
Amelia levered herself out of the armchair (hard to get out of, no matter the rush!) and hurried back to the glade. No shadowy tendrils were in evidence. Just the crunch of shovel into dirt as the three miners worked to fill in the big hole. She backed away quietly, not wanting to worry anybody without reason, and headed back to the cottage. Mentally crossing her fingers that she had done the right thing.