Chapter 148: Moral Fibre
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Chapter 148: Moral Fibre
Estal shifted as they stood outside the burning mushroom door inside the maze. The door looked to be covered in slowly blooming red flowers that attracted butterflies from the jungle above. As she and the Silver Order neared the door, the temperature had slowly begun to rise to an uncomfortable level; given they were already in a hot humid jungle, Estal wasn’t exactly ‘happy’ with this change.
“If I see one more hotspring, I’m out,” she muttered and pushed on the large stone door. The door moved effortlessly and Estal was about to praise her own strength when she saw the door was pulled back by roots and plants.
“We walk into a nexus of power; step lightly,” Silver said from behind her, his mana-speak not helping her nerves one bit. It was like buzzing on her teeth. Inside the door was a semi-large round chamber of sorts covered in a myriad of mushrooms and jungle flowers.
Vines crawled over every inch of the wall and the heat seemed to be rising from below somewhere, as if the soil itself covered a hot vent of sorts.
Estal looked around to the far end of the room where her breath caught. Spreading upwards, like a giant ancient mural, was a painstakingly crafted painting on the bare rocks; the rocky walls smoothed down so as not to distort the image.
Estal subconsciously took a step forward to see the painting lit up by glowing mushrooms and surrounded by trinkets and gifts made by the Pygmies. The black is mixed in with a deep blue dye to form a long skirt, creams and yellows for some noble buttoned up shirt... a selection of colorful hues to make some long ribbon that ran down the front of the shirt.
The woman with the gentle expression had her eyes closed, as if asleep, but still radiating warmth as she clasped her hands. This room was some hidden... beautiful shrine to the woman and the lone figure in the room sat crossed legged before it, a staff across their small lap.
“It’s the same woman as in the Memorial Room... but she isn’t crying here,” Silver said quietly. Estal still didn’t have the urge to go into some creepy memorial room for people that died in this Dungeon, so she’d take Silver’s word for it.
The Pygmy before the painting was much larger than others of its kind, covered in a soft grey robe that shifted when they made to stand and turn to face them. Estal was a wizard, but she knew the feeling of being around people of true faith. This Pygmy radiated that power clearly.
“Those from the outside world,” the Pygmy spoke, startling both Silver and Estal as it spoke in a mixture of puffing spores and mana weaving.
“Why are you here?” the priestly mushroom person asked gravely.
Estal didn’t see the point in beating around the bush. The bushes in this Dungeon were terrifying.
“We want the key that’s in this maze and I chose this door over the other one because it sounded like a metal machine was screaming inside it,” she said bluntly and Silver sucked in air at the tone.
The Priest hummed in what might... be a laugh.
“The Tinker’s room has... it’s oddities. But I see you are not one burdened by doubt,” the Priest mused as it leaned on its staff.
“I’m rude, I get it, but I don’t get why everyone gets so uppity about it. I’m not stabbing people; I’m not cursing them with magic... I just want to get on with things,” Estal said with a sigh as she pondered if this was going to be another ‘test of character’ that made Estal want to strangle her old classmates and/or her father.
“Manners can open many doors,” the priest Pygmy suggested.
“So can a well placed kick,” Estal countered but she decided to change the subject back to the key, lest she be drawn into some philosophical debate. Estal’s philosophy never seemed to make others feel better when they heard it.
“So, do we need to fight... go on a vision quest or...” she waved a hand. The priest just stood there for a moment.
“You suspect that we’re here to stall you?” it asked with amusement clear in its magical tone.
“You’re unique monsters in a maze; if you aren’t here to spin us around or confuse us then I don’t know why you’re here,” Estal said before Silver interjected.
“They might live here,” he pointed out and Estal waved him off.
His points, while valid, were distracting to her social skills. She was wearing this priest person... thing down!
“I’m afraid this room is naught but a space where I go to reflect on my nature. There is no fight here,” the priest said candidly.
“So... you can’t help me with the key?” Estal asked, deflating.
“I never said that,” the Pygmy said back just as easily.
“I was bullied in school where I was sent by my emotionally distant and disappointed father which caused me to develop into a form of magic that kept people at bay... There, I poured my heart out. Can I get the clue?” Estal asked, trying not to sound impatient.
“Child... I’m a Priest, but I don’t take confessions off the sleeve,” the mushroom creature said with an awkward pause. Estal threw her hands up.
“What do you want from me?” she demanded.
The Pygmy gestures to the ground before the painting.
“I just want you to pick out the gift that best represents the great mother,” it said bluntly.
There was another pause as Estal eyed the hundreds of trinkets and gifts.
“What if I choose the wrong gift?” she asked as Silver stared at the piles.
“Then you chose... poorly,” the Priest said with an ominous tone.
Estal and Silver shared a look.
“I hope the boys are having a worse time than us,” she muttered as she looked over wooden swords, clay birds, pots decorated with fish, a bowl of berries, some carriage on four wheels, a plate decorated with the sun and moon, tons of books with covers that Estal wanted to take with her, and on it went.
What sort of gift represented their Dungeon Core?
What was the weirdest and most dysfunctional thing Estal could find?
---
“I bet Estal... is having... fun,” Hazhur wheezed as he and Karn looked around the chamber as green vapors slowly pumped themselves into the room through tiny vents. Above them, on an alcove, a Pygmy covered in smaller boil-like mushrooms watched them search around the room.
“Ten minutes until your lungs make the Mushroom Grove look tame in comparison,” the raspy voice warned. Hazhur looked around the room for the ‘antidote’ the Pygmy promised existed. Bottles upon bottles of liquids lined every space that could hold a bottle. Some bottles were thin and red, others round and blue... some were spiral shaped and slightly off-brown.
“We are looking for something that is more than mushrooms, cooperation, and trusting. We are looking for something that embodies all of that and more,” he finally said.
“That’s a lot of things for one object to convey,” Estal responded with a heavy sigh. She looked past him and saw something she hadn’t noticed before.
Hanging on the wall by a nail was a key. It was surrounded by pots and pans hanging on similar nails along with vines and roots, making it blend in for a moment. She slowly walked over to it, noticing how it seemed to be of a pale-green stone and had a red gem slotted into its round handle.
“You give someone a key to your home when you trust them, to show they’re always invited... this Dungeon has been nothing but weird and inviting,” she said and paused to think.
“Well, the Catfish was rude, but whatever,” she dismissed and reached out for the key.
“Keys symbolize trust, something to keep safe, and other people!” Estal said, picking up steam as she plucked the key and presented it to the Priest with a triumphant pose.
“Is this your final choice?” the Priest asked softly. Estal’s confidence faltered for a single moment before it raged back with the force of an inferno.
“It is,” she declared.
“Your choice was-” the Priest began before dozens of vines and roots sprang up, forming a thorny cage around Estal that trapped her.
“-poor,” the Pygmy declared.
---
Silver stared in slight fascantion at the scene.
“I’ll strangle you! You sanctimonious little d-” Estal screeched before the cage was fully enclosed, cutting her voice off and fully obscuring her from view.
“You may still choose something in the room that best represents the Great Mother,” the Priest said calmly to Silver, deciding not to take offense to Estal’s muffled screams and curses.
Silver was about to say something when something Estal said came back to him. He slowly nodded, letting his robe shift as he walked forward. He had seen things in the room that came close to Delta.
A collection of dolls that could have been children,a map of the nearby town; Durence, a painting of three large mushroom creatures... and more.
But Silver should have known the answer from the start.
He gently put a finger on the Priest’s head.
“I choose you,” he said and the Priest looked right up at him.
“I am no gift,” it warned.
“You are. All monsters are creations and gifts to the world from their core, Your existence is a gift and you are the embodiment of all her concepts. Fairness, peace, composure, strangeness, and a little bit of misdirection and chaos rolled into one,” he said and the Priest didn’t answer for a few seconds.
“You choose... wisely,” the Priest finally announced and the thorns receded from around Estal where she looked breathless from a long string of curses and perhaps some spellwork to try to set herself free.
The painting of Delta rose up to reveal a hidden corridor.
“This Dungeon will test your limits, like many others, but its goal is not to break you. It is to help you until you can no longer be helped,” the Priest explained as it turned to walk back to its small prayer mat.
“What happens when we can no longer ‘be helped’?” Silver asked as Estal stood at his side, puffing and glaring at the Priest. The little creature sat on its mat with its back turned to them.
Without a word, every root and vine in the room simultaneously produced a thorn that looked to be close to Silver’s hand in length. It was potently clear the floor had not done the same by the will of the Priest.
“You get the point,” the Priest said simply.
“Crystal clear, let’s go,” Estal muttered, quickly moving down the hall. Silver bowed to the Priest before leaving.
The door closed behind them with an ominous thud.
---
The Priest waited until they were gone before shaking its head in disbelief.
“If he wasn’t so sincere, I’d have failed him too,” it muttered, trying not to blush at Silver’s words. It was a gift?
The cheek! It was almost like Silver was flirting! It was a Pygmy of the spores and cloth! It had taken oaths to the great Mother!
50% of the items in the room would be a ‘pass’. Any object that could be linked to the Great Mother’s ideals would be acceptable, it wasn’t the Priest’s fault they had over-thought it and that the girl had picked something that had a flimsy reasoning at best!
The Tinker had warned both the Priest and Fungalmancer people might overthink their tests, but to think it might be right was galling to the Priest...
Not everyone’s room could be a ‘bullet hell’. Whatever that was.
The Priest patted its cheeks at the thought of Silver again. Around her, the dark sensual voice of one of her primal elders let out a romantic jazz tune and the Priest squeaked in embarrassment.
“Lord Maestro! No!” it begged.
It ran into the hidden tunnels to escape the music and to meet up with the others; the entire village had turned out to see the outsiders take on the final ‘test’.
That and more than a few wanted to take part in the last obstacle.
The Hallway of Hornets.Ñøv€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Chapter 148: Moral Fibre
Estal shifted as they stood outside the burning mushroom door inside the maze. The door looked to be covered in slowly blooming red flowers that attracted butterflies from the jungle above. As she and the Silver Order neared the door, the temperature had slowly begun to rise to an uncomfortable level; given they were already in a hot humid jungle, Estal wasn’t exactly ‘happy’ with this change.
“If I see one more hotspring, I’m out,” she muttered and pushed on the large stone door. The door moved effortlessly and Estal was about to praise her own strength when she saw the door was pulled back by roots and plants.
“We walk into a nexus of power; step lightly,” Silver said from behind her, his mana-speak not helping her nerves one bit. It was like buzzing on her teeth. Inside the door was a semi-large round chamber of sorts covered in a myriad of mushrooms and jungle flowers.
Vines crawled over every inch of the wall and the heat seemed to be rising from below somewhere, as if the soil itself covered a hot vent of sorts.
Estal looked around to the far end of the room where her breath caught. Spreading upwards, like a giant ancient mural, was a painstakingly crafted painting on the bare rocks; the rocky walls smoothed down so as not to distort the image.
Estal subconsciously took a step forward to see the painting lit up by glowing mushrooms and surrounded by trinkets and gifts made by the Pygmies. The black is mixed in with a deep blue dye to form a long skirt, creams and yellows for some noble buttoned up shirt... a selection of colorful hues to make some long ribbon that ran down the front of the shirt.
The woman with the gentle expression had her eyes closed, as if asleep, but still radiating warmth as she clasped her hands. This room was some hidden... beautiful shrine to the woman and the lone figure in the room sat crossed legged before it, a staff across their small lap.
“It’s the same woman as in the Memorial Room... but she isn’t crying here,” Silver said quietly. Estal still didn’t have the urge to go into some creepy memorial room for people that died in this Dungeon, so she’d take Silver’s word for it.
The Pygmy before the painting was much larger than others of its kind, covered in a soft grey robe that shifted when they made to stand and turn to face them. Estal was a wizard, but she knew the feeling of being around people of true faith. This Pygmy radiated that power clearly.
“Those from the outside world,” the Pygmy spoke, startling both Silver and Estal as it spoke in a mixture of puffing spores and mana weaving.
“Why are you here?” the priestly mushroom person asked gravely.
Estal didn’t see the point in beating around the bush. The bushes in this Dungeon were terrifying.
“We want the key that’s in this maze and I chose this door over the other one because it sounded like a metal machine was screaming inside it,” she said bluntly and Silver sucked in air at the tone.
The Priest hummed in what might... be a laugh.
“The Tinker’s room has... it’s oddities. But I see you are not one burdened by doubt,” the Priest mused as it leaned on its staff.
“I’m rude, I get it, but I don’t get why everyone gets so uppity about it. I’m not stabbing people; I’m not cursing them with magic... I just want to get on with things,” Estal said with a sigh as she pondered if this was going to be another ‘test of character’ that made Estal want to strangle her old classmates and/or her father.
“Manners can open many doors,” the priest Pygmy suggested.
“So can a well placed kick,” Estal countered but she decided to change the subject back to the key, lest she be drawn into some philosophical debate. Estal’s philosophy never seemed to make others feel better when they heard it.
“So, do we need to fight... go on a vision quest or...” she waved a hand. The priest just stood there for a moment.
“You suspect that we’re here to stall you?” it asked with amusement clear in its magical tone.
“You’re unique monsters in a maze; if you aren’t here to spin us around or confuse us then I don’t know why you’re here,” Estal said before Silver interjected.
“They might live here,” he pointed out and Estal waved him off.
His points, while valid, were distracting to her social skills. She was wearing this priest person... thing down!
“I’m afraid this room is naught but a space where I go to reflect on my nature. There is no fight here,” the priest said candidly.
“So... you can’t help me with the key?” Estal asked, deflating.
“I never said that,” the Pygmy said back just as easily.
“I was bullied in school where I was sent by my emotionally distant and disappointed father which caused me to develop into a form of magic that kept people at bay... There, I poured my heart out. Can I get the clue?” Estal asked, trying not to sound impatient.
“Child... I’m a Priest, but I don’t take confessions off the sleeve,” the mushroom creature said with an awkward pause. Estal threw her hands up.
“What do you want from me?” she demanded.
The Pygmy gestures to the ground before the painting.
“I just want you to pick out the gift that best represents the great mother,” it said bluntly.
There was another pause as Estal eyed the hundreds of trinkets and gifts.
“What if I choose the wrong gift?” she asked as Silver stared at the piles.
“Then you chose... poorly,” the Priest said with an ominous tone.
Estal and Silver shared a look.
“I hope the boys are having a worse time than us,” she muttered as she looked over wooden swords, clay birds, pots decorated with fish, a bowl of berries, some carriage on four wheels, a plate decorated with the sun and moon, tons of books with covers that Estal wanted to take with her, and on it went.
What sort of gift represented their Dungeon Core?
What was the weirdest and most dysfunctional thing Estal could find?
---
“I bet Estal... is having... fun,” Hazhur wheezed as he and Karn looked around the chamber as green vapors slowly pumped themselves into the room through tiny vents. Above them, on an alcove, a Pygmy covered in smaller boil-like mushrooms watched them search around the room.
“Ten minutes until your lungs make the Mushroom Grove look tame in comparison,” the raspy voice warned. Hazhur looked around the room for the ‘antidote’ the Pygmy promised existed. Bottles upon bottles of liquids lined every space that could hold a bottle. Some bottles were thin and red, others round and blue... some were spiral shaped and slightly off-brown.
“We are looking for something that is more than mushrooms, cooperation, and trusting. We are looking for something that embodies all of that and more,” he finally said.
“That’s a lot of things for one object to convey,” Estal responded with a heavy sigh. She looked past him and saw something she hadn’t noticed before.
Hanging on the wall by a nail was a key. It was surrounded by pots and pans hanging on similar nails along with vines and roots, making it blend in for a moment. She slowly walked over to it, noticing how it seemed to be of a pale-green stone and had a red gem slotted into its round handle.
“You give someone a key to your home when you trust them, to show they’re always invited... this Dungeon has been nothing but weird and inviting,” she said and paused to think.
“Well, the Catfish was rude, but whatever,” she dismissed and reached out for the key.
“Keys symbolize trust, something to keep safe, and other people!” Estal said, picking up steam as she plucked the key and presented it to the Priest with a triumphant pose.
“Is this your final choice?” the Priest asked softly. Estal’s confidence faltered for a single moment before it raged back with the force of an inferno.
“It is,” she declared.
“Your choice was-” the Priest began before dozens of vines and roots sprang up, forming a thorny cage around Estal that trapped her.
“-poor,” the Pygmy declared.
---
Silver stared in slight fascantion at the scene.
“I’ll strangle you! You sanctimonious little d-” Estal screeched before the cage was fully enclosed, cutting her voice off and fully obscuring her from view.
“You may still choose something in the room that best represents the Great Mother,” the Priest said calmly to Silver, deciding not to take offense to Estal’s muffled screams and curses.
Silver was about to say something when something Estal said came back to him. He slowly nodded, letting his robe shift as he walked forward. He had seen things in the room that came close to Delta.
A collection of dolls that could have been children,a map of the nearby town; Durence, a painting of three large mushroom creatures... and more.
But Silver should have known the answer from the start.
He gently put a finger on the Priest’s head.
“I choose you,” he said and the Priest looked right up at him.
“I am no gift,” it warned.
“You are. All monsters are creations and gifts to the world from their core, Your existence is a gift and you are the embodiment of all her concepts. Fairness, peace, composure, strangeness, and a little bit of misdirection and chaos rolled into one,” he said and the Priest didn’t answer for a few seconds.
“You choose... wisely,” the Priest finally announced and the thorns receded from around Estal where she looked breathless from a long string of curses and perhaps some spellwork to try to set herself free.
The painting of Delta rose up to reveal a hidden corridor.
“This Dungeon will test your limits, like many others, but its goal is not to break you. It is to help you until you can no longer be helped,” the Priest explained as it turned to walk back to its small prayer mat.
“What happens when we can no longer ‘be helped’?” Silver asked as Estal stood at his side, puffing and glaring at the Priest. The little creature sat on its mat with its back turned to them.
Without a word, every root and vine in the room simultaneously produced a thorn that looked to be close to Silver’s hand in length. It was potently clear the floor had not done the same by the will of the Priest.
“You get the point,” the Priest said simply.
“Crystal clear, let’s go,” Estal muttered, quickly moving down the hall. Silver bowed to the Priest before leaving.
The door closed behind them with an ominous thud.
---
The Priest waited until they were gone before shaking its head in disbelief.
“If he wasn’t so sincere, I’d have failed him too,” it muttered, trying not to blush at Silver’s words. It was a gift?
The cheek! It was almost like Silver was flirting! It was a Pygmy of the spores and cloth! It had taken oaths to the great Mother!
50% of the items in the room would be a ‘pass’. Any object that could be linked to the Great Mother’s ideals would be acceptable, it wasn’t the Priest’s fault they had over-thought it and that the girl had picked something that had a flimsy reasoning at best!
The Tinker had warned both the Priest and Fungalmancer people might overthink their tests, but to think it might be right was galling to the Priest...
Not everyone’s room could be a ‘bullet hell’. Whatever that was.
The Priest patted its cheeks at the thought of Silver again. Around her, the dark sensual voice of one of her primal elders let out a romantic jazz tune and the Priest squeaked in embarrassment.
“Lord Maestro! No!” it begged.
It ran into the hidden tunnels to escape the music and to meet up with the others; the entire village had turned out to see the outsiders take on the final ‘test’.
That and more than a few wanted to take part in the last obstacle.
The Hallway of Hornets.Ñøv€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.
Chapter 148: Moral FibreEstal shifted as they stood outside the burning mushroom door inside the maze. The door looked to be covered in slowly blooming red flowers that attracted butterflies from the jungle above. As she and the Silver Order neared the door, the temperature had slowly begun to rise to an uncomfortable level; given they were already in a hot humid jungle, Estal wasn't exactly happy' with this change.If I see one more hotspring, I'm out, she muttered and pushed on the large stone door. The door moved effortlessly and Estal was about to praise her own strength when she saw the door was pulled back by roots and plants.We walk into a nexus of power; step lightly, Silver said from behind her, his mana-speak not helping her nerves one bit. It was like buzzing on her teeth. Inside the door was a semi-large round chamber of sorts covered in a myriad of mushrooms and jungle flowers.Vines crawled over every inch of the wall and the heat seemed to be rising from below somewhere, as if the soil itself covered a hot vent of sorts.Estal looked around to the far end of the room where her breath caught. Spreading upwards, like a giant ancient mural, was a painstakingly crafted painting on the bare rocks; the rocky walls smoothed down so as not to distort the image.Estal subconsciously took a step forward to see the painting lit up by glowing mushrooms and surrounded by trinkets and gifts made by the Pygmies. The black is mixed in with a deep blue dye to form a long skirt, creams and yellows for some noble buttoned up shirt... a selection of colorful hues to make some long ribbon that ran down the front of the shirt.The woman with the gentle expression had her eyes closed, as if asleep, but still radiating warmth as she clasped her hands. This room was some hidden... beautiful shrine to the woman and the lone figure in the room sat crossed legged before it, a staff across their small lap.It's the same woman as in the Memorial Room... but she isn't crying here, Silver said quietly. Estal still didn't have the urge to go into some creepy memorial room for people that died in this Dungeon, so she'd take Silver's word for it.The Pygmy before the painting was much larger than others of its kind, covered in a soft grey robe that shifted when they made to stand and turn to face them. Estal was a wizard, but she knew the feeling of being around people of true faith. This Pygmy radiated that power clearly.Those from the outside world, the Pygmy spoke, startling both Silver and Estal as it spoke in a mixture of puffing spores and mana weaving.Why are you here? the priestly mushroom person asked gravely.Estal didn't see the point in beating around the bush. The bushes in this Dungeon were terrifying.We want the key that's in this maze and I chose this door over the other one because it sounded like a metal machine was screaming inside it, she said bluntly and Silver sucked in air at the tone.The Priest hummed in what might... be a laugh.The Tinker's room has... it's oddities. But I see you are not one burdened by doubt, the Priest mused as it leaned on its staff.I'm rude, I get it, but I don't get why everyone gets so uppity about it. I'm not stabbing people; I'm not cursing them with magic... I just want to get on with things, Estal said with a sigh as she pondered if this was going to be another test of character' that made Estal want to strangle her old classmates and/or her father.Manners can open many doors, the priest Pygmy suggested.So can a well placed kick, Estal countered but she decided to change the subject back to the key, lest she be drawn into some philosophical debate. Estal's philosophy never seemed to make others feel better when they heard it.So, do we need to fight... go on a vision quest or... she waved a hand. The priest just stood there for a moment.You suspect that we're here to stall you? it asked with amusement clear in its magical tone.You're unique monsters in a maze; if you aren't here to spin us around or confuse us then I don't know why you're here, Estal said before Silver interjected.They might live here, he pointed out and Estal waved him off.His points, while valid, were distracting to her social skills. She was wearing this priest person... thing down!I'm afraid this room is naught but a space where I go to reflect on my nature. There is no fight here, the priest said candidly.So... you can't help me with the key? Estal asked, deflating.I never said that, the Pygmy said back just as easily.I was bullied in school where I was sent by my emotionally distant and disappointed father which caused me to develop into a form of magic that kept people at bay... There, I poured my heart out. Can I get the clue? Estal asked, trying not to sound impatient.Child... I'm a Priest, but I don't take confessions off the sleeve, the mushroom creature said with an awkward pause. Estal threw her hands up.What do you want from me? she demanded.The Pygmy gestures to the ground before the painting.I just want you to pick out the gift that best represents the great mother, it said bluntly.There was another pause as Estal eyed the hundreds of trinkets and gifts.What if I choose the wrong gift? she asked as Silver stared at the piles.Then you chose... poorly, the Priest said with an ominous tone.Estal and Silver shared a look.I hope the boys are having a worse time than us, she muttered as she looked over wooden swords, clay birds, pots decorated with fish, a bowl of berries, some carriage on four wheels, a plate decorated with the sun and moon, tons of books with covers that Estal wanted to take with her, and on it went.What sort of gift represented their Dungeon Core?What was the weirdest and most dysfunctional thing Estal could find?---I bet Estal... is having... fun, Hazhur wheezed as he and Karn looked around the chamber as green vapors slowly pumped themselves into the room through tiny vents. Above them, on an alcove, a Pygmy covered in smaller boil-like mushrooms watched them search around the room.Ten minutes until your lungs make the Mushroom Grove look tame in comparison, the raspy voice warned. Hazhur looked around the room for the antidote' the Pygmy promised existed. Bottles upon bottles of liquids lined every space that could hold a bottle. Some bottles were thin and red, others round and blue... some were spiral shaped and slightly off-brown.We are looking for something that is more than mushrooms, cooperation, and trusting. We are looking for something that embodies all of that and more, he finally said.That's a lot of things for one object to convey, Estal responded with a heavy sigh. She looked past him and saw something she hadn't noticed before.Hanging on the wall by a nail was a key. It was surrounded by pots and pans hanging on similar nails along with vines and roots, making it blend in for a moment. She slowly walked over to it, noticing how it seemed to be of a pale-green stone and had a red gem slotted into its round handle.You give someone a key to your home when you trust them, to show they're always invited... this Dungeon has been nothing but weird and inviting, she said and paused to think.Well, the Catfish was rude, but whatever, she dismissed and reached out for the key.Keys symbolize trust, something to keep safe, and other people! Estal said, picking up steam as she plucked the key and presented it to the Priest with a triumphant pose.Is this your final choice? the Priest asked softly. Estal's confidence faltered for a single moment before it raged back with the force of an inferno.It is, she declared.Your choice was- the Priest began before dozens of vines and roots sprang up, forming a thorny cage around Estal that trapped her.-poor, the Pygmy declared.---Silver stared in slight fascantion at the scene.I'll strangle you! You sanctimonious little d- Estal screeched before the cage was fully enclosed, cutting her voice off and fully obscuring her from view.You may still choose something in the room that best represents the Great Mother, the Priest said calmly to Silver, deciding not to take offense to Estal's muffled screams and curses.Silver was about to say something when something Estal said came back to him. He slowly nodded, letting his robe shift as he walked forward. He had seen things in the room that came close to Delta.A collection of dolls that could have been children,a map of the nearby town; Durence, a painting of three large mushroom creatures... and more.But Silver should have known the answer from the start.He gently put a finger on the Priest's head.I choose you, he said and the Priest looked right up at him.I am no gift, it warned.You are. All monsters are creations and gifts to the world from their core, Your existence is a gift and you are the embodiment of all her concepts. Fairness, peace, composure, strangeness, and a little bit of misdirection and chaos rolled into one, he said and the Priest didn't answer for a few seconds.You choose... wisely, the Priest finally announced and the thorns receded from around Estal where she looked breathless from a long string of curses and perhaps some spellwork to try to set herself free.The painting of Delta rose up to reveal a hidden corridor.This Dungeon will test your limits, like many others, but its goal is not to break you. It is to help you until you can no longer be helped, the Priest explained as it turned to walk back to its small prayer mat.What happens when we can no longer be helped'? Silver asked as Estal stood at his side, puffing and glaring at the Priest. The little creature sat on its mat with its back turned to them.Without a word, every root and vine in the room simultaneously produced a thorn that looked to be close to Silver's hand in length. It was potently clear the floor had not done the same by the will of the Priest.You get the point, the Priest said simply.Crystal clear, let's go, Estal muttered, quickly moving down the hall. Silver bowed to the Priest before leaving.The door closed behind them with an ominous thud.---The Priest waited until they were gone before shaking its head in disbelief.If he wasn't so sincere, I'd have failed him too, it muttered, trying not to blush at Silver's words. It was a gift?The cheek! It was almost like Silver was flirting! It was a Pygmy of the spores and cloth! It had taken oaths to the great Mother!50% of the items in the room would be a pass'. Any object that could be linked to the Great Mother's ideals would be acceptable, it wasn't the Priest's fault they had over-thought it and that the girl had picked something that had a flimsy reasoning at best!The Tinker had warned both the Priest and Fungalmancer people might overthink their tests, but to think it might be right was galling to the Priest...Not everyone's room could be a bullet hell'. Whatever that was.The Priest patted its cheeks at the thought of Silver again. Around her, the dark sensual voice of one of her primal elders let out a romantic jazz tune and the Priest squeaked in embarrassment.Lord Maestro! No! it begged.It ran into the hidden tunnels to escape the music and to meet up with the others; the entire village had turned out to see the outsiders take on the final test'.That and more than a few wanted to take part in the last obstacle.The Hallway of Hornets.Nvl--1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.
