Chapter 201 – Floor 27: Part 1
Floor 27: The Hunt for Exotic Flora and Alchemical Components.
The god of Alchemical Concoctions was pleased with your performance and has negotiated with Unyielding Declaration for your assistance.
Venture into the murky depths of the Elderfen Marsh, where ancient trees and winding vines conceal rare plants coveted by alchemists and enchanters alike.
Armed with a weathered guidebook, you will navigate the labyrinthine wetland in search of the Exotic Flora and Components required for a unique potion.
Beware of the swamp’s treacherous terrain and its mysterious inhabitants, for only the keenest eye and the most skilled adventurer will unearth the enigmatic plants necessary for the required potion.
Reward: Potion of Celestial Knowledge.
Provides the drinker with an increased comprehension of the secret Language of the Celestials, allowing the user to combine Words of Power for increased or alternate effect.
Mathew appeared in the midst of a dense marsh. The air smelled of decay and death, heavy with humidity and a stifling heat. The trees rose toward the sky in all directions, their trunks thick and twisted, while the leaves were a mixture of greens, blues and even violet.
He felt his stick prick painfully for a moment before sweat soaked his shirt and wetted his hair. His boots, spotless after the last few Floors, sank up to the ankle in the muskeg. Dirty water flooded into them, wetting his feet.
Mathew was alone, there wasn’t a soul in sight, and there was a complete lack of civilization. The Elderfen Marsh was the type of place that people rarely ventured into, and Mathew was experiencing why.
“Gods damn it.” Mathew cursed as he slapped his hand over his neck in response to a fly bite. Pulling his hand away, he wiped the bloody remains on his shirt and looked around. There were no paths or trails, and his sense of direction was failing him.
While he was considering where he was supposed to go, a collection of motes of lights accumulated in front of him before forming an item. It was an old book, heavy and thick. Wrapped in leather, Mathew could read the words ‘The Alchemists Resource Guide’ written on the front in gold lettering.
Reaching out his hands, Mathew allowed the book to fall gently into his grasp. Inside, he found a collection of pictures and descriptions of herbs and plants that he would be required to find. The book had a magical aura about it, and Mathew could feel the mana within it.
Unbidden, burning words appeared above the open book in his hands.
The Alchemists Resource Guide: A collection of descriptions of herb and alchemy ingredients, this enchanted tome will glow in the presence of components required for the chosen potion.
“At least I won’t be fumbling around in the dark looking for plants.” Mathew muttered as he closed the book and gripped it tightly in his right hand. Selecting a direction at random, he tried to navigate a path that would avoid the deeper water and stick to dry land.
After a few minutes of walking, where each step was a struggle as his boots would sink into the muck, Mathew arrived at a relatively dry section just as the book began to glow softly. After raising the book, the pages flipped open on their own accord to a middle section of the tome where there was a picture of a flower and a description.
Moonshade Blossom: This flower, which only grows in the most remote sections of the world, is ordinarily inaccessible to humanity. Named for its ability to glow beautifully under moonlight, it is a crucial component for invisibility potions.
Although it lacks any ability to defend itself, this semi-sentient plant will seek the protection of other aggressive plant species. In return, the plants near the Moonshade Blossom will have a source of mana.
Looking around, Mathew saw a small flower tucked away in a cluster of green, thorny ferns that matched the description in the guidebook.
The flower had three purple petals with red veins on a green stalk. Mathew could almost swear it was hiding as if it were intelligent enough to understand that he was after it. It grew to be about a foot off the ground, and the guidebook mentioned that he would be required to ensure that its roots were unharmed while plucking it.
“There you are.” Mathew said.
Kneeling down in front of the bed of ferns, his knee instantly becoming wet from the damp ground, he was about to reach toward the plant when the ferns began to tremble. In moments, they had expanded.
Their thorns protected the Moonshade Blossom in a shield of spikes that dripped a clear liquid that Mathew assumed was poisonous. Swiftly retracting his hand from the aggressive ferns, Mathew stood and spoke.
“Shield.” The Celestial Energy of the Universe descended onto him, coating his skin in a layer of mana that quickly sank deeply within his body. Curious about how powerful it was, Mathew withdrew a small knife from his inventory, a mundane tool he had collected over his years of travel.
Prodding his skin, he found that no matter how hard he pressed, he couldn’t puncture the barrier protecting him.
Satisfied, he returned the small knife to his inventory and reach down to the ferns. The thorns tried to rip into him; the plants even swayed and moved to latch onto his hand and arm, but they were ineffective aside from causing a few scratches on his jacket.
Digging his hand into the soft soil, Mathew removed the Moonshade Blossom from the earth while keeping its roots intact. Standing once more, Mathew placed the flower safely in his inventory.
“There, that wasn’t all bad.”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
The next plant took him several hours to trek through the wilderness to find. By the time the book glowed, Mathew was hot, sweaty and exhausted. He missed his enhanced Attributes. If he still had his Body stat where it had been, he could have walked through this Marshland without a care in the world.
Now, every step was a struggle, and his leg didn’t help.
The dull ache had turned into a burning, fiery agony that threatened to move past his knee and up his hip. The potions did little to relieve the pain, merely making it tolerable at the expense of the Aether he used to buy them.
Cursing Unyielding Declaration, the Tower of Avarice and every god he had ever heard of, Mathew lifted the book and read the plant description that appeared.
The Dragon’s Breath Bloom: A rare plant that is said to only appear where the breath of a dragon once burned the ground to ashes. This fiery red flower can drive away even the coldness of winter, and it is perfect for enhancing fire-based potions.
Be wary of searching for this flower; it is highly favoured by beasts that possess traces of the draconic bloodline. Dragons are lascivious by nature, and their bloodlines have spread far and wide. The Dragon’s Breath Bloom can stir the bloodline within these beasts to greater potency.
“Good to know.” Mathew whispered after reading the description and closing the guidebook. He couldn’t see any red flowers in the area, but there was a dense cluster of trees just to his right that was blocking his view.
As carefully and quietly as he could, Mathew snuck through the trees. Parting a few thick, broad leaves, he immediately spotted what he was looking for.
The Dragon’s Breath Bloom was the most vivid red Mathew had ever seen. It was like a ruby, shimmering in the light. There was a heat haze around it, and the ground was dry as the Flower evaporated the dampness from the earth.
Nothing grew near it; the intense heat of the flower prevented anything from taking root in the dry soil. But the guidebook was correct; something had found the flower and was enjoying the heat it was emitting.
A giant snake coiled around it; its scales were black and shimmered in a kaleidoscope of colours like an oil slick. It was absolutely massive, large enough that Mathew estimated it could wrap around and crush a car if it wanted to.
The Buzz exploded in Mathew’s head, and his body immediately trembled from the sense of danger that enveloped him. The snake was clearly more powerful than him, something the Buzz was warning him of.
He didn’t know what kind of snake this was, but he wasn’t a physical match for it. The guidebook made it clear that any creature protecting the Dragon’s Breath Bloom wouldn’t allow him to snatch it easily.
But Mathew had an advantage. The snake didn’t know he was here and it was currently asleep. It’s eyes were closed, and aside from its tongue occasionally flicking out of its mouth to taste the air, it was unmoving.
“Hide.” Mathew whispered his newly obtained Word of Power. The Celestial Language forced the world to bend and distort around him. Mathew’s body blended in with the trees and shadows, hiding him from sight. It warped reality to conceal the noise he made and mask his scent.
In moments, Mathew slowly walked toward the Dragon’s Breath Bloom while carefully watching the snake's reaction. If it showed signs of waking, he would immediately go all out to destroy it.
But he had nothing to worry about. Even when he was stepping over its body, his boots striking the hard, dry ground of the flower bed, the snake showed no signs of awakening. The book made it clear that Mathew only needed to collect the petals; the rest of the flower could be left behind.
With each petal plucked, the temperature began to lower as the power of the Bloom decreased. When the last one was safely tucked inside his inventory, the clearing air matched the Marsh's rest, and Mathew flew as fast as his bad leg could carry him.
When he reached the edge of the trees, the snake began to stir. Sensing something wasn’t right, it opened its eyes and looked for danger. Mathew’s last sight of the beast was of it hissing angrily and thrashing as it realized its prize had been damaged.
“That’s two.” Mathew whispered as he fled, his concealment by the Word of Power leaving as he made it to safety.
The third ingredient in the potion he was collecting was a Frostleaf Herb, a pale blue plant with a layer of hoarfrost coating its leaves that was locked behind a wall of ice in a depression in the marsh. A key ingredient for Ice-related potions, it didn’t require a guardian as it was completely sealed by ice.
Using ‘Burn’ Mathew melted the ice and plucked the herb from its barrier.
The fourth ingredient was the strangest one that Mathew had seen. By the time he found it, the sun had set, and darkness covered the marsh. He had just considered setting camp when the book began to glow, and Mathew stumbled upon a vein of neon green light that stretched into the distance.
Glimmer Root: Highly sought after for the bioluminescent liquid contained within it. It is vital for potions to improve one's vision at night or in the creation of light.
Be incredibly wary of attempting to harvest Glimmer Root. It is sacred to the Moonlit Dryads, creatures of moonlight and shadow that feed on the root.
Moonlit Dryads: Captivating and ethereal guardians of the forest, intricately connected to the mystical Glimmer Root it protects. The Moonlit Dryads radiate an aura of serene beauty and gentle power. They will aggressively defend the Glimmer Root by using their magic to ensnare those who would take it from them.
Mathew let out a huff of air as he put the book in his inventory and set off in the direction of the neon green light. In a few minutes, he was staring at paradise.
The Glimmer Root's glade was bathed in moonlight, with large crystals reflecting its radiance. Trees sheltered the glade, their branches forming a canopy with an opening at the top to let in the moonlight before it was redirected to the multiple crystals in the glade.
The Glimmer Root itself was a bright, neon green root that burst from the ground and formed an arch under which a dozen Moonlit Dryads had congregated. They were singing; their voices joined in harmony as they all looked up at the moon above and raised their hands.
Before Mathew could do anything more than walk into the glad and briefly look around, the singing stopped, and the group of Dryads turned toward him.
They were all women, young and beautiful. Their skin was a light grey, their eyes as white as the moon and just as bright. They were dressed in leaves, branches and things found in the marsh. But there was an inhumanness about them; they seemed slightly wrong to Mathew’s eyes.
They had disproportionately long limbs when compared to their torsos, and their faces were more elongated than a human. They weren’t ugly, far from it, but their features were different enough from a person that some primal sense inside Mathew screamed at him not to mistake them for people.
“Human, you trespass in our domain.” One of the Dryads said. She was different from the others, with a crown of flowers on her head and a staff in her hands topped with a crystal filled with white moonlight.
“Uh, yeah. I’m here to obtain some of the Glimmer Root. I just need a bit, and I’ll be out of your lovely hair.” Mathew replied, flashing them a grin that he hoped they took as friendliness. Instead, the Dryad's faces twisted into anger and hatred.
“No human may defile the sacred Glimmer Root!” She screamed, her voice joined by the others. The atmosphere turned oppressive, and the light from the moon began to darken into red. Despite the danger, Mathew was impressed with the display.
It wasn’t often you saw a power like this. Before they could attack, he raised his hand and spoke.
“Haze.” The Word of Power shattered the power of the moon the Dryads were using, and he could see their eyes lose focus. They were distracted by their own thoughts, too disoriented to make use of their magic.
Mathew quickly moved toward the Glimmer Root. Pulling a knife from his inventory, he sawed off a small section of the root that leaked neon green liquid and stuffed both into his inventory.
When the Word of Power began to fail, and the Dryads were regaining their awareness, Mathew was already disappearing in a flash of white light.
He had completed the Floor, and in his hands was a small vial. The promised reward. A Potion of Celestial Knowledge that would improve his use of the Word of Powers and, eventually, allow him to combine them in useful and interesting ways.