Published at 16th of February 2024 2:23 pm

Chapter 2.3 Fungal Cream

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Nox woke after Annabelle the following morning. If it weren’t for Lillin poking him in the side, he would’ve probably slept for even longer. She had a cup of hot tea for him. The steam rising from the container carried the local citrus’ aroma. Baron Edelweiss supplied their camp and, specifically, the Wedge’s crew with the best supplies from his orchards. Kris advised the man to ration and preserve his produce in case the myconid threat got out of hand. The baron ignored her counsel.

“What time is it?” Nox asked. He sat up, groaning. His back and shoulders hurt from spending the past weeks hunched over sick beds or alchemy apparatus. Nox wanted to stay in bed, but he had far too much work to do.

“Just after the seventh or eighth bell.” Lillin shrugged. “I heard the clocktower go off a while ago but can’t be sure which. My manameter broke.”

“How? They’re so hardy and idiot-proof.”

“Don’t underestimate my idiocy,” Lillin said, flashing him a cheeky smile. “I’ve been pushing Gravity Armor’s limits. Fighting at close to mid-range is a whole lot of fun.”

“Are you doing mimic things too?” Nox’s eyes narrowed. Since Kris and most of the party knew her secret, Lillin had grown more liberal with the use of her nonhuman magic.

“Just a light subdermal armor and some protection around the organs. Don’t worry. None of it is externally visible. It's just to protect me from Gravity Armor while I experiment. It won’t be necessary once I’ve mastered the spell.”

“Do you think you’ll take the armor magic course? Caitlin told me good things about it.”

“I’ve been thinking about it. I’m currently only signed up for four. If there is room in the class, enrolling won’t hurt.”

“I’ve been considering it as well.”

Lillin raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t an essence glass spell be too dangerous?”

“I don’t want a physical suit of armor,” Nox replied. “I’m imagining shaped fields that hover a couple of inches off my skin. It wouldn’t need to be super powerful, just something reactive or cheap enough to run passively. Slow to help me against melee attacks and Crystallize Essence to reduce the impact of spells. I’m not sure if it's a good idea. Just something I thought of while watching you in action.”

“Feels redundant with your defensive spells, but perhaps it's worth exploring,” Lillin said. “Anyway. I was sent to summon you. Michelle says your brew looks ready, and Kris called a meeting.”

Nox jumped out of bed, forgetting all the aches and pains plaguing his body. Annabelle had left a tub with scented water for him to freshen up. The ice-cold temperature suggested she had risen hours before him. Nox didn’t mind. A frigid splash washed away all drowsiness and left his teeth chattering. The recent rains had made the air colder. It had the left ground muddy and damp, perfect for the myconids but unsuitable for Baron Edelweiss’ infantry. Yet Nox preferred it to the stuffy heat from a couple of weeks ago.

After dressing, he pulled on the Artisan’s Arm. It was much easier to carry and wear compared to his old contraption. The two shoulder straps met at the base of his sternum, linking with a belt that went across his rib cage. Another thick leather band went across his waist. The pack containing the arm was no longer or wider than his head. It was also significantly lighter than his old tool. The multiple straps and brace existed to ease the load, reduce stress on the back and shoulders, and also came with balance-adjustment enchantments.

When he took too long, Lillin assisted him. Then, the pair rushed to the mobile laboratory. Kris and the party were already present. The cook’s fire was just next door, and everyone insisted he grab a bowl of oatmeal before entering the lab.

“You’ll forget to eat if we let you near the cauldrons first,” Kris said.

The Professor of Detection and Stealth Magic was right. Nox had heard the term workaholic thrown around a lot. He saw no problem with the classification. He loved what he did. Alchemy took Nox's mind to a tranquil space where nothing bothered him. He still had to occasionally deal with stress or frustration, but that only made successes even more gratifying. He refused to see anything wrong with the pursuit of profit either.

Growing up in the Trade Empire had taught him that money was power. Enough money would buy him resources to grow swifter as a mage. It would equip him and his party for delves. Deep pockets would help him take down Sundarshahar sooner. The archon dungeon ruined more lives every day, and he wasn't satisfied with the local powers' solution of containment.

Nox grabbed a bowl of diluted oatmeal. Baron Edelweiss' lands were rich in fruit, vegetables, and livestock. However, terrastalia's passing and the myconids had made grains and pulses scarce. Ruined fields meant it was one resource the spendthrift baron rationed.

The chopped stonefruit barely made it palatable, but Nox didn't complain as he wolfed it down. A tumbler of citrus juice chased the breakfast, and then no one complained when he entered the laboratory.

Before joining Kris and the party, he checked on his brew. Michelle hovered around it, but Nox didn't mind. She didn't know the details of the creation, and he trusted her not to steal research. Enough of her unpatented products littered the laboratory for him to do the same to her. So if Nox misjudged her trustworthiness, he had the means to make greater profits since her creations had broader appeal with healing and war magic uses.

Stolen novel; please report.

"I think you cracked it," Michelle said as she peered into the cauldron.

He poked the mixture with a stirrer, and the tool failed to penetrate the gelatinous mixture. It wobbled like a dessert with far too much gelatin. Then, a luminous gelatinous tentacle rose like a thick, heavy slug and gripped the stirrer. Nox struggled to get it free.

"It's serviceable but not quite there," Nox stated. "It's far too thick and slow. Unless we get it directly to the myconids' brain stem, they can shed afflicted body parts before the slime reaches its destination."

"I'm afraid serviceable will have to do unless you want Baron Edelweiss to scorch the land," Kris said. "The vessel with ignis blooms arrived this morning. His alchemists are turning them into incendiary bombs, and advisors are pushing him to use them as soon as they're ready."

"How much time do we have?"

"A day at most."

"That's not enough." Nox sighed. "Preparing a new base alone will take a whole day. I don't have enough to deal with an entire army."

The sound of the first myconid projectiles crashing around the camp reached Nox's ears. He expected the fungal beasts to be more active at night. Instead, they used the time to repair their bodies, raise infected corpses to serve as their frontline, and focus on feasting on unusable remains. The creatures displayed an odd societal structure and oddly human behavior.

"What if I tell you that won't be necessary?" Kris asked. "I might be wrong, but there are several fungus-animated corpses in the myconid army marked with my light tracer. I get limited information from them, but I keep seeing flashes of this one, especially large myconid. You might've seen flashes of bioluminescence among the fungal masses. It doesn't move like the others. Instead, the beast gets pulled around on a sled."

"You think that's the boss?" Annabelle asked.

Kris nodded. "We've studied the myconids' brain stem. It appears to control their giant body and organs mostly. I theorize their individual thinking power is low."

"The big one must be the brain mushroom," Nox finished his mentor's thought. "We take it down, and the rest will become too stupid and disorganized."

"Precisely. The regenerative power and infecting spores aren't what makes the myconids dangerous. It's their bulk and organization."

"What does Baron Edelweiss think of this plan?"

"He has agreed not to scorch landscape and his subjects' homes if my theory proves true," Kris said. "And we destroy the brain mushroom, of course." She turned to Nox. "We'll only proceed if you feel your creation can do the job. This will be a risky operation, using the baron's men to open a path for us. There will be casualties."

"And if we don't do it, the thousands trapped behind the myconid lines will die to the incendiary bombs," Annabelle stated. "I think we should give it a shot. There will be fewer losses."

"Where is Wilson?" Lillin asked. "I bet he'll be against this idea."

"I ordered him to prepare the Wedge," Annabelle answered. Since neither Michelle nor Nox trusted Annabelle’s bodyguard, he lacked permission to enter the laboratory. However, there was always the risk of him eavesdropping from the outside. "The ship won't fit in the castle town. We'll need to leave if the baron uses Sparks of Indra."

"In that case, we don't have much choice in the matter." Nox sighed. "Either we try the impossible, risking our lives and a few dozen more. Or we flee, thousands die, and lands essential for feeding a hundred times that are ruined.'

"The latter isn't a permanent problem," Kris said. "I've been speaking to the baron, and he treasures his family's lands. He is willing to empty his treasury, shipping in dungeon soil to fertilize the land. He is more concerned about bringing population numbers back up. He doesn't want to be the Lord that incinerated his people. No one will come here to work the fields and replenish the population."

"No one will want to work for someone even considering the option," Lillin added.

“Admit it, Lillin,” Ernest finally joined the conversation. The giant golem of a man had several pipes connected to his spine and limbs as the vats fed him. “You’re more concerned about feeding on a possible boss monster than the people.”

“That’s only a part of it,” Lillin admitted. “I’ve grown to like your lot after twenty years.”

“And thirty-seven feedings,” Annabelle added.

Now, he wasn’t happy about it, but everyone at the party knew about Lillin’s secret and most details of their contract. Annabelle and Kris had witnessed her mimic-born abilities, and the Beaufort siblings knew monster physiology far too well. Ernest had a dozen different monster parts in his body, after all. Kris claimed the Department of Dungeon Studies’ dean knew about it, too. Her druidic abilities made her arcane senses more acute than those of ordinary mages.

It wasn’t the worst thing. Hiding Lillin’s secret from people who spent all of their time with him was far too difficult. They had also participated in arranging the circumstances of Lillin’s last feeding.

The cultists captured in the City of Ygg had shared the identity of high-ranking members who fled the meeting instead of assisting. The party identified one in Baron Edelweiss’ court. She had adopted a new identity using her mother’s maiden name and was working as a lieutenant in the castle guard. The party lacked the means to prove the woman’s identity but knew her history and appearance.

Kris’s investigative powers helped uncover the woman’s love of throwing innocent refugees in prison for fabricated crimes and then torturing them. There were no clear links, but the professor also suspected the target had something to do with Terrastalia’s unusual condition and the possibility of more cultist activity. However, two weeks of searching didn’t get them anything more.

The party agreed on the target. They let the woman slip away for her usual trawling of the new refugee camps within the walls and then let Lillin loose. Kris and the Beauforts didn’t participate, but they didn’t stop Nox and Annabelle from ensuring there were no witnesses. Since the myconids were regularly assaulting the walls, her death and disappearance raised only a handful of questions.

“How long do you need to prepare everything?” Kris asked.

“Give me a couple of hours,” Nox replied. “I suppose the field is the best place for testing my creation.”

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