Chapter 122 - The Nest (Patreon)

Pudge tackled a humanoid myconid into the tunnel’s wall, his momentum enough to shake loose enough spores to infect an entire village’s population. In an instant, his claws arced out, slicing through the monster’s fungal flesh. There was no blood; it was too far gone for that. However, with every subsequent attack, more spores filled the air. If Zeke had had a little more time or space, he might’ve felt a deep sense of gratitude toward Tucker, who’d given them all a potion that would inoculate them against the spores’ assault. However, he was too occupied by the trio of myconids currently trying to rip him limb from limb.

One – an insectoid variant whose shape reminded Zeke of a praying mantis – aimed an attack with its blade-like appendages. The sharp claws raked against Zeke’s shield before he rushed forward, slamming the monster against the wall with a sickening crunch. More spores filled the air, but Zeke didn’t have time to stop. Instead, he whipped around, his mace leading the way in a backhanded strike that took a short, humanoid myconid that might’ve once been a caprid in its screeching face. It exploded from the force, sending yet more spores into the air and leaving Zeke to face off against the most dangerous of the trio.

While he eyed the monster, which resembled a grasshopper, if said grasshopper was entirely made of sprouting mushrooms and ropy vines, Talia shot past him to rake her claws against the monster’s thick, fungus-sprouting hide. Immediately, tendrils of green-black poison spread from the resulting wounds. However, Talia wasn’t finished, because she followed up the attack with a pulse of her [Circle of Death], which, in an instant, sent the mushroom covered monster to crumbling where it stood.

“Fire in the hole!” Tucker shouted, and Zeke felt more than saw one of the alchemist’s grenades sail past him and down the tunnel, where it impacted the surging mass of myconids that were coming their way. It exploded, sending a wave of green, fiery destruction sweeping through the closely bunched monsters. The flames rolled over Zeke and Talia, but they were unaffected by the angry, green fire. According to Tucker, it would only affect the myconids, though Zeke hadn’t really trusted that assessment. Now, after seeing the alchemist’s decimation of the creatures, Zeke very much did.

“Well, that makes me feel useless,” he muttered. Pudge felt the same way, even complaining via their mental connection that he was having fun.

“It wouldn’t have worked on the ones in the lead,” Tucker stated, rolling one of the grenades around in his hand. “They were too strong. Two or three probably would’ve done it, but by that point, I would’ve been mincemeat.”

That was Tucker in a nutshell, as he’d proven among the giants and undead as well as the first bit of the myconid nest. The man packed an incredibly punch, so long as he had time to prepare. However, that came with a bit of a cost; he’d focused so much on his alchemical abilities that his survivability was incredibly low. He often imbibed various potions that would shore up some of those weaknesses, but without them, he was little more durable than a person whose level hovered in the single digits.

But when Zeke had decided to don heavy armor and carry a shield, he supposed that he’d signed up for standing between the monsters and his less-durable companions. Even if he’d been thinking of Abby, and not a giant alchemist, when he’d made that choice. Not for the first time, he hoped she was keeping safe, though he knew that was a futile hope. She’d charged into a dangerous situation, and he could only pray that she was strong enough to see her way through to the other side.

A part of him still wished he’d insisted on going with her. After all, her supposition that she had to go along was based on nothing but hearsay. Rumors that said she had to complete the quest alone. The only reason anyone knew about it at all was that a lone adventurer had failed and made it back to Beacon alive before selling the information. That it hadn’t been acted upon was a testament to how out-of-the-way and dangerous the quest was. But for all they knew, the adventurer had lied. Or exaggerated. There was every chance that Zeke could’ve been there to help Abby.

That wasn’t the point, though, and Zeke knew it. She’d tried to explain it to him, and he understood it well enough, but that didn’t mean he liked leaving her alone. But he also wasn’t so clueless that he was willing to fight her on it. So, he’d allowed himself to be guided to the myconid nest, if for no other reason than that he wanted to distract himself from how much danger Abby was likely in. It was all he could do not to turn right around and charge in to her rescue, even if he wanted to believe she could handle anything thrown at her.

“We should keep moving,” Tucker said. “There will be a lot more where they came from.”

Zeke sighed, breathing in the gritty air. “I hate being underground,” he said. “Have I said that yet?”

“You have,” was Talia’s reply. She’d seemed to loosen up a little lately, though she still had a habit of fading into the background, likely because of her propensity to stand completely still. It took a lot of getting used to, but Zeke was slowly acclimating to her demeanor. Her heart was in the right place, even if she seemed a little more monstrous every time he looked at her.

“A hundred times, at least,” Tucker said. “Maybe even more.”

“Well, I do,” Zeke reiterated. “You would too if you’d had to deal with what I’ve dealt with in caves. Did I tell you about the wall-crawling, spider-chimp monsters? Because those were pure nightmare fuel.”

“Yes,” Tucker said. “And the flying fish. The trolls, too.”

“And the lizards,” Talia added.

“Oh, and the shit monster,” Tucker contributed.

Zeke sighed. “Guess I’m an open book,” he mumbled to himself. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

With that, he set off down the cramped tunnel. Everywhere he looked, there were smaller versions of the myconids crawling along the walls. According to Tucker, they weren’t dangerous, at least so long as they kept moving. It was only if they stopped to rest would the tiny monsters swarm all over them, chewing on whatever they could get their greedy mouths on. In addition to that, if threatened, they would explode into spores that would usually infect anything stupid enough to go traipsing through a myconid nest. It was a good thing that they were protected from that, then. Otherwise, setting one foot into the nest would’ve been something akin to suicide. As it was, the potion they’d taken before entering the nest rendered the spores inert, the only side effect being that it was like breathing in a sandstorm. Luckily, Zeke still wore his helmet, which filtered the worst of it. Talia didn’t breathe, and Tucker had improvised a facemask from a spare bit of cloth he’d fashioned from the remains of one of his shirts. The only one who had to suffer through it unimpeded was Pudge, and he made not secret of his irritation.

“You know, you don’t have to suffer in silence,” Tucker said, stepping up beside Zeke. “We all know you’re worried about her.”

“Wasn’t hiding it,” Zeke stated, striding forward. Tucker hurried to keep up.

“She’s a capable woman,” Tucker added. “She’ll probably be waiting for us when we get out of here.”

Zeke didn’t respond. The plan was pretty simple. Once either task was completed, they were to return to a previously specified valley and wait for the other to join them. And if it took more than a week, Zeke had already decided to go after Abby, quest be damned. He’d never even considered failing in his own task; the myconids were scary, but they weren’t really all that dangerous. Not so long as they had the potion. But Abby was wading into a gnoll encampment before confronting a thunder bird; if anyone was going to fail, it was going to be her.

“I wish she could’ve taken Talia,” he said. “Or Pudge.”

“Believe it or not, me too,” Tucker said. Talia ghosted along behind them, silent as a wraith. “Gnolls are dangerous creatures. I’ve never dealt with them personally, but I’ve heard plenty of people’s accounts. And I know all about that quest she’s trying to complete. Almost everyone who’s evolved has heard about it in one way or another.”

“And still, no one has completed it,” Zeke said, the conversation not making him feel any better.

“It’s not really that surprising though, is it?” Tucker asked, stepping over a particularly thick vine. “Most people do the bare minimum to get what they want. And even among elites, the level is enough to get them all the respect and wealth they need. So, why put yourself in harm’s way, just to get some unspecified skill? There are few people driven enough to take the risk, especially when it involves a thunderbird.”

“Everyone talks about them like they’re special,” Zeke stated, trailing his hand along the mushroom-and-vine covered wall. The texture was rubbery, and the air hung heavy with moisture. “Have you seen one?”

“From afar,” Tucker admitted. “Imagine a giant eagle, then replace its wings with lightning, and you’ve got some idea what you’re dealing with. I saw one in the middle of a huge storm, but even from a distance, I felt its presence. It probably had a forty-foot wingspan. Maybe more.”

“And Abby’s supposed to kill one of those…”

“They’re not invulnerable,” Tucker said. “Not like wurms. In fact, they’re kind of like me, if I’m honest. Glass cannons of a sort. Incredibly powerful, with devastating attacks, but if you can withstand them, they’re no more difficult to kill than a typical level twenty-five. Unless it’s a matriarch.”

“I’m guessing that’s worse,” Zeke said.

“Much,” Tucker answered. “So much worse. They’re bigger, for one. More firepower. And an entire tier more difficult to kill. Most thunderbirds are elite-tier monsters, but matriarchs, they’re almost all boss-tier. I’ve even heard that there are a few monarch-tier thunderbirds running around. And if you ever see an ‘M’ next to a monster’s name, you run the other way. They’re forces of nature on par with the strongest elementals. You don’t mess with them.”

“And if Abby finds one?” Zeke asked.

“She’d probably be dead before she even knew what hit her,” Tucker stated. “Same as me. Talia, too. You could probably survive a few seconds, but…well, it wouldn’t be pretty. Maybe somebody like Boris the Butcher or Kayla Kendrick would be able to withstand it for a couple of minutes, but neither of them could do much damage to a monster like that.”

Zeke asked, “Who are they?”

Tucker sighed. “What’ve you been living under a rock or something?” he asked. “No, scratch that. You’ve been living in a cave. Fine. Boris is the nominal leader of Jariq – a ruthless thug who doesn’t make any bones about believing in the whole ‘might is right’ mantra. Kayla’s a lovely girl who runs Salvation’s navy. Both have been level twenty-five for ages, and neither of them would even consider doing what you’re planning.”

“Are we talking about the wurm again?” Zeke asked, a little irritated as he stepped through the claustrophobic tunnel, idly swatting the tiny myconids from his hair after brushing against the ceiling. “Because I thought we were talking about Abby and the thunderbirds.”

“Sounds like a bad band name,” the man muttered. “But yes – I’m talking about the wurm. Trying to fight one is…well, it’s madness. That’s the only way to put it.”

“Nothing says we’re going to fight it straight up,” Zeke stated. “That’s why you’re here, right? What was it you keep saying? So long as you’ve got time and materials, a decent alchemist can accomplish anything he wants to accomplish, right? Well, you’ve got time. And we’ll get you the materials. I don’t see why we can’t make that work.”

“Because you’ve never seen –”

“Shh,” Talia hissed. “There’s something up ahead.”

“Finally,” whispered Zeke. “I hope it’s what we came for.”

Then, they rounded a corner and, after peeking over a rise, saw that they had, indeed, reached their destination at the center of the nest. On a hill of bones in a sizable cavern sat the largest mushroom Zeke had ever seen. However, unlike any other fungi he’d ever encountered, the giant, red-capped mushroom vibrated so quickly that Zeke could hear the hum from more than a hundred yards away.

“That’s kind of ominous,” Zeke mumbled, using [Inspection].

Myconid Patriarch – Level 25 (E)

“That’s what we came for,” Tucker said. “What’s the plan?”

“Uh…I run at it, hit it with my mace, and it falls down?” Zeke suggested. “Maybe Talia attacks it from behind? I mean, I’m not huge on plans.”

Tucker sighed. “Clearly,” he said. “Fine. It’s worked so far, so I guess there’s no reason to fix what isn’t broken.”

“Come on, man,” Zeke said, looking at Tucker. “Just say it how you know you want to say it. You don’t have to talk like that around us.”

Tucker looked a bit surprised, but then grinned. “Fine,” he said, his voice shifting back into his southern accent. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. There. Happy?”

Zeke eyed the giant, vibrating mushroom. “Not especially,” he said. “It’s going to fight back, isn’t it?”

“Oh, definitely,” Tucker stated, laying the accent on even thicker than before. “But that’s why you’re wearing that armor, ain’t it? Now go on, now. Git.”

“Ugh,” Zeke said, rolling his eyes. “Maybe reel it in a little. Somewhere in between.”

At the same time, he summoned his shield and mace, rolled his shoulders, then set off into the cavern to face off against a giant mushroom.

“Okay, Talia – circle around,” he said. As he strode forward, he made sure to refresh his skills, casting [Mark of the Bear] on all three of his companions and [Mark of Companionship] on Tucker and Talia. Then, he activated [Leech Strike], enveloping his hands and mace in a red glow. With so many skills draining his mana, Zeke’s wisdom was only just capable of keeping him the strain from overwhelming his reserves. Soon, he’d have to start making some choices about what he kept active. That, or invest some points into his wisdom, which he really didn’t want to have to do. “Tucker, wait until I engage before throwing your bombs. Pudge, attack it from the side once I’ve got its attention.”

After getting affirmations from his companions, Zeke’s stride quickened into a run, and he barreled toward the mushroom, hoping that it would oblige him by sitting still. However, just before he reached the hill of bones, Zeke saw that the monster had been sitting cross-legged, with its legs folded underneath it. On top of that, a pair of arms were crossed across its stalk.

Then it opened its eyes, and Zeke knew he’d made a big mistake. Immediately, a stream of spores so thick that it seemed practically solid, erupted from the wall, crashing into Zeke and sending him off course. He kept his feet, but only barely. More than that, though, the attack had sent splintering cracks across his drachnid breastplate.

“So, that’s how it’s going to be,” he muttered, picking up his pace. He dodged another stream of spores before crashing into the giant mushroom man, the entirety of his momentum and all of his strength behind the attack. The blow clipped the monster’s trunk, sending rubbery flesh flying off into the distance, but the myconid seemed otherwise unaffected.

That was what cemented it for Zeke – it was going to be a long, difficult fight, which if he was honest, was probably just the distraction the doctor ordered. So, he threw himself into battle, hoping against hope that the fight would prove an adequate distraction.