Chapter two

As the reds and purples of the sunset diminished Into the blues of night, Mara found herself stumbling to the middle of the mud hole. The stories of the people still racing in her mind as she ate up all the new Information about these strange folk.

So much beautiful culture, talks of large cities filled with uncountable people. An agricultural staple for this world as cultivators and engineers of food and textile. Maura truly couldn't wait to experience it. Even the devastating war talks in the city of Kiracaut, which roughly translated to ‘the awakening birth,’ gave strength and morale to the soldiers. Auset regaled her of how their flourishing city would give them the strength of triple their numbers. And they would run down their enemies as if they were paper dolls.

“What a city it must be.” She had said and both Auset and Laneth smiled brighter.

Then Auset’s face turned grim in the firelight, “I worry,” She said slowly as her brow furrowed and her mouth turned down into a deep frown. “When we go back, how fair will our lovely Kiracaut be?”

Mara had watched the fire smolder into coals before Auset finally talked again, softly saying her goodnights and joining her partner who had long since gone to rest. She stared after her, watching the haggard stagger of a person with heavy shoulders finally take a well needed rest. Then she too went to sleep on the cold, wet ground.

Mara didn't necessarily need to be in the middle of the mudhole for what she wanted to do next, it just made everything a little easier. It hadn't taken long for her curiosity to bubble over their strange living space. How she ended up in a perfect mushroom ring in this sea of purple.

"What will I find in my dreams tonight?" She muttered then lay her head to rest.

It didn't take long for her consciousness to slip away and the near constant deluge of spores she had been releasing bloomed and started to grow as she fell into sleep. Then her conscience flowed threw them. White, milky veins shot out to connect with each other, building the network for Maras fungi allowing her senses to connect. In this state Mara was able to use smell and feeling to build an understanding, a map really, of where her tendrils were.

As the fungi grew so did her sight and slowly she began filling the circle around her. The area itself was easy to maneuver through considering it had previously been a mushroom bed. However as she reaches the beginning of the grass, her spores butt up against a wall.

The feeling wasn't magical, no it was a mineral deposit in the full shape of a ring around them. This must have been where the flowers had stopped instead of consuming the bodies. The mineral must be a deterrent to their growth.

It was strange how familiar this was to her, and yet while Mara's gentle touch kept probing, her wonder started leading her down. How far did this wall go down? Was there a mineral deposit further down? What is this made of? For the last one she could get a general sense of gold and bone. But she had never heard of anything fusing like that before.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Slowly her mycelium went walking down the wall. Fifty feet, 100 feet, 300 feet. Veins, upon microscopic veins, moved through and around the dirt and clay, stone and wet of this deep tunnel. Until she felt a crack in the dirt.

Almost imperceptibly at first, then as the veins consumed the minerals did the crack grow in size. Freeing enough space to fuel the growth of a beautiful cobalt blue mushroom. No larger than the size of Mara's palm.

For a moment the space felt frozen with its new occupant growing to full size in a moment, until a crack seemingly from nowhere split open the blue surface. The mushroom gushed out an enormous amount of viscous blue.

Slowly landing on the ground, it flowed and sank into a powdery dirt. The powder Immediately began drinking in the blue. Filling everything in between the spaces of dry, nourishing the ground.

Mara could now feel it, the dusty earth in this cavern now turning into rich, loamy soil. Even with no eyes, she could see the drastic change as small fissures were filled with blue. Sinking in and now slowly filling up.

After the earth had drunk its fill the feeling became that of a humid rainforest. Her spores fully encased the area and Mara could see a full three hundred foot circular room hidden underneath their location. Though now it only amounted to a barren cave.

However the minerals and dirt spoke to her as if life once resided in here. She could taste the reminisce of plants and even – water? All the way down here. This had to be the place.

Her mycelium quivered in delight at her anticipation and with great fever released more cobalt blue caps that split over and over again. Turning into a small waterfalls filling the room with a shallow pond of blue.

Satisfied with her work Mara waited to see if her hunch would play out. Where there were plants, there should be seeds. Even in the driest of places there would always be some defiance if the place hadn't been disturbed. Considering this cave was half a mile deep, there should be a very good chance of success.

Grow. She thought, as if trying to command the space. Oram, damn you, grow!

Silence was the only thing that met her as she waited, her mushroom caps slowly dying back into the ceiling of the cave. Had she been wrong about this place? The protection that surrounded them had so clearly been left by Oram, Mara had surely thought this would lead her to him.

And once she found the cavern everything had felt like it had fallen into place, it had only needed moisture. Her mushroom milk should have been enough for any lingering traces to grow instantly. Yet here she was with nothing.

Slowly new smaller mushrooms started growing, this time they were little larger than a thumb, their gnome hat shaped caps making up most of the length while their tiny stump necks held tight to the ceiling. As they came to full size the white flesh started populating with glowing, yellow spores.

In a matter of moments pitch black became a starry night. The glow wasn't truly powerful but in mass the light left an ethereal shine that beckoned plants and animals to it. A last ditch effort, in what now felt like a tomb.

A gentle shiver went through the mycelium, dislodging the glowing spores. As they fell, they hit the blue and brought the pond to life. Like piranhas plants shot out from the depths of the pond to consume the lights.

Vines and stalks, branches and leaves shot throughout the room. Within moments an abundant, lush forest burst into being surrounding a now clear blue spring. Lily pads and Lotus grow and lay open beautiful flowers.

And in the very center one golden Lotus unfolds. As it unfurls the air stirs and the first fresh breath is taken in by a living being. When from the very center unfolds a small blue head of pollen. Catching on the subtle, unknown breeze, it wafts up into the glow mushrooms and is absorbed.

A sigh fills the room as a feeling of satisfaction and relief is felt. And Mara retreats her consciousness back into her body.