Alden shifted on his feet, staring at the mushroom around him. The darkness welcomed him, embracing him like an old friend. “You are early. Good. Follow my avatar, young mage.” The skin of the mushroom deformed as something pushed out of it. A tearing sound came as the skin broke, a pale mushroom arm breaking through. Another arm joined it. Then a leg. Then another leg. Slowly a small mushroom-man stood before Alden. It stood proudly, staring Alden dead in his eyes-at least he thought it was eyeing him- as it flicked its hands in a ‘come here’ gesture. Alden struggled not to laugh as the knee-high creature led him to the opposite end of the cavern. There the fungal growth shifted, unveiling a path deeper inward. The avatar wasted no time in moving forward, Alden pacing slowly behind. They spiraled downward, passing branching corridors and rooms. Each one was intricately made from different mushrooms, intertwined precisely. Each room’s design suggested something more, something greater. One reminded him of a mathematical formula for distance. Another the temperature of the sky. Alden memorized their twisting and convoluted path, the layers building themselves withing his mind. He itched with the urge to draw it down on a piece of paper, fingers fidgeting as they walked. Finally, they came to a stop in front of intertwined golden mushrooms. They formed something that resembled a massive cauldron, thin fungus emulating smoke. The mushroom twitched and the wall behind it shuddered, massive roots slowly pulling backwards. Alden entered, gaping slightly at the massive expanse. He looked down, seeing nothing but bare dirt. The avatar gestured impatiently at him, waving those small, child-like arms. Alden quickly acquiesced, following the avatar through the labyrinthine room. He passed stone tables of differing heights, large cauldrons, and various test tubes, before eventually coming to another doorway. This one was made of simple stone, swinging open to reveal a massive garden. Hundreds upon hundreds of different mushrooms grew, spiraling out of every crevice and crack in the room. A huge smile split his face as he took it in.

A little while later he stood at one of the tables, slowly alphabetizing the different species of mushroom he had found. He appreciated all the different varieties, but it made it rather difficult to quickly write them down and order them. His hands quickly flew over the page, a blur of constant motion as his eyes focused on reading the list. Meanwhile, his left hand flipped open pages in a second book, feeling the rough tabs that denoted each section. Soon he had managed to sort out what sorts of mushrooms were in the garden and what few ingredients he had brought with him. Looking at his formula book he traced the instructions with a finger. He was hoping to help Ol’Finch solve his problems simply and quickly so that he could get a move on. His next destination was quite far from here. Pulling out another sheet of paper he began making notations on what he needed to do.

Alchemy was unlike anything else that Alden had ever done. Wards, enchantments, smithing, carpentry, cultivation. Alden had done it all and was at least decently skilled in all of it. All those crafts shared similarities, commonalities that could be applied to each. But Alchemy was a different beast entirely. It was both an art and a science, methodical and irrational. Sure, there were specific reactions to different combinations. But rarely did those reactions stay consistent in their intensity and design. No matter how much he measured, analyzed, computed, or experimented, each batch turned out just a bit differently than the other. Not enough to cause issues, but enough to drive him insane. It was almost artistic, feeling what the items needed. Knowing in your gut what herb or ingredient was next, or how to combine it. The recipes helped but only by so much. They were designed to produce one average product consistently. Alden refused to be average. He smiled as he stirred the cauldron. Some days it drove him mad, but even still, he loved it.

Sometime later Alden climbed out the trapdoors, bouncing up onto the wooden floor. On his back, racks upon racks of glass bottles clinked together. He closed the trapdoor, pulling the rug over it before heading towards Ol’Finch. It was still daylight, before midday. Streams of light beamed in through the cloudy windows, lighting up the rooms. Ol’Finch was a creature of habit- he kept to his schedule religiously. Sure enough, Alden rounded a corner to find Finch working in his library. Books upon books of notes lay around him filled to the brim with different notes and highlights. He looked up when he heard Alden clanking down the hallway, quirking an eyebrow. “What’s that?” Alden gently slung the pack off his shoulders, laying it down on a side table before responding. “Just a few potions I thought might solve our problems. I can’t stay here too much longer; I need to get moving before winter starts to move in.” Finch nodded, his smile slowly fading. “I can understand that, although I must say I’m not sure how much those bottles can help. No offence, but I don’t think some fancy magical liquid will make the Swamp People stay away from my territory or dissuade any ghosts I might have.” Alden chuckled. “You might be right about that, if it were only the potions I’m giving you. But it’s what I’m going to make with the potions that will help you. Follow me.” Alden gestured as he moved out towards the side of the wall. There he pulled a specific book, a click resounding through the air. Tugging on the shelving, the door swung inwards revealing a narrow hallway. Grabbing his potions and slinging him on his back Alden gestured and began moving down the hallway. Ol’Finch just stared at his departing form before scrambling to catch up.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“What in the blazes is all this!!? How did you know this was here when I didn’t even know?” Alden didn’t pause, talking over his shoulder as he moved. “It’s pretty common really. Most mansions such as this have them for servants and the like. I’m not surprised you didn’t find them- they were made to be unobtrusive. It took a little bit to find where yours were, but it wasn’t too hard when I went room by room. Ah, here we are.” Alden swung to the right entering a smaller corridor. He pushed at the end of it, the door swinging open to reveal a large stone room. Rotting wooden chairs and boxes lay scattered, the strong scent of urine and crap wafting from them. Tilted shelves hung loosely on the walls while numerous small tunnels were punched into the mossy stone. A single torch hung in the middle of the room, giving a flickering light. Finch pinched his nose as he stared out into the room while Alden stepped to the side and slung his backpack off. Very carefully he began to pull them out and lay them out in rows, neatly arranging them.

“The issue is we have a whole lot of problems, and very little time. That leaves us with a bit of a conundrum. Luckily, there were some very smart people who invented ways to deal with these kinds of conundrums.” As Alden finished unpacking the potions he began to take out small clay pots. These pots were then arranged similarly to the potions. “I present to you Heighphilliaas Coridantias, otherwise known as Swamp Devils. These little shrooms grow to about the size of your knee and attract bugs, small mammals and even small snakes or frogs. They trap them with a unique excretion called extrocaine which causes them to pass out. The passed-out critters are then dissolved, the Swamp Demons’ acid melting them down into a gooey slurry. The nasty fungi then feast on said slurry as a nutritious little drink.” As Alden completely unpacked the pots, he began to put rotted wood and organic matter in the bottom, compacting it with his fists. That was followed by pouring rich, black soil into each one. “Luckily for us these plants have long been bred harmless to humans. Interestingly enough, they were originally created by a mushroom mage to deal with all the little critters that kept getting into his alchemy garden. We are simply going to expand on his work. These pots will make sure the mushrooms grow and stay hearty, along with directing a beneficial amount of Aether to them. Those potions will make them large enough that their acid will threaten even the swamp people, which should dissuade them from coming here. The pheromones won’t affect you or me, so as long as you don’t touch one, you’ll be fine. Best of all they are incredibly rare and reproduce slowly so they won’t get out of control.” Alden took several small seeds and began to push them into the pots. “We plant these little things all along your property line and your issues go away. I’ll set up some wards to enhance the effect and we have a natural barrier against the Swamp people.” He stood up and smiled at Finch. “So. Whaddya think?” Finch stared at him, eyes slowly wandering across the numerous pots. “I think that this plan is probably gonna end in some disastrous way we couldn’t have expected. But I can’t think of anything better. But it still doesn’t tell me what to do with the ghosts that may be here.” Alden just smiled at the man. “That required some… special attention. But don’t, worry its taken care of.” The old man just grunted. “How do we plant these magical shrooms?” Alden smiled and picked up one of the pots. “I’ll show you.”

It didn’t take long to set up the shrooms, planting them around a quarter of the property. They focused on the western side that abutted the swamp and subsequently the Swamp People. Alden absently swept some sweat from his head as he stared down at the planted mushrooms. On his left Finch finished up, standing up and leaning backwards. Alden heard a crack followed by a sigh. Ol’Finch wandered over to Alden, hands on his hips. They stood there silently for a moment, staring out into the wilderness. The sound of the wind blowing and water lapping at the shore filled the air. Finally, Alden spoke, breaking their silence. “I’ll be heading out within the week. Tunk’lan is at least 2 weeks of hard hiking, probably closer to 3 weeks.” Finch hummed, pressing his lips together. He nodded. “Alright. You have any idea when you’ll be back?” Alden shook his head. “No clue. If everything goes according to plan it should only take a month or two before I’m back on the path again. I’m not sure what I’m going to find, and things seem to be heating up again with the Khanstulate.” Finch nodded again before his brow pinched downwards and he began glancing around. “Where’s Bob gone? I haven’t seen him since the day we met.” Alden smiled as he thought about that. It was somewhat hard to believe that they had only met three days ago. “I set him up with his own mission. He’ll be back soon.” Finch stared at him with that quirked brow of his. Alden just smiled and swept his gaze back over the swamp. “You’ll see.”