Chương 33: A Town and Sky Made of Mushrooms

The tunnel opened up after just a few more minutes. The cold and mineral-smelling stone disappeared, replaced by giant fields of vegetation, the ceiling vaulting upward and away until it was completely covered by a slow-drifting haze of bioluminescent spores that hung up like an artificial sky. The light they produced was a deep amber and gold, and was surprisingly bright.

It was the closest thing to actual sunlight that existed this deep underground, and most people found it so oddly realistic that many scholars wondered if the spores were actually mimicking sunlight. Behind Lio, William had stopped, standing at the tunnel's mouth with his head tipped way back, staring upward at the spore light with an expression of astonishment. Ophila stood beside him, and after shoving her hands into her coat pockets, watched the light as well, albeit with a much milder expression.

"It's just like being outside," William said, awe in his voice.

"Sure," Lio agreed. Then he started walking, finding the dirt path, and they followed. The ground beneath their boots was truly one of a kind. While Floor 2 had been stone and submerged tile, and Floor 1 had been choked with fungus, this was real soil underneath them, warm and black, holding in a rich moisture. It smelled strongly of growth and decomposement, with a light sprinkling of green vegetation showing through. This was the reason Trestfall had been located in Floor 3. The self-sustainability.

Because of how nutrient-dense the soil was, things grew here at rates that put surface farming to shame. The agricultural plots were already visible at the path's edges, sprawling and dense. Amberpulp subspecies like Ironpulp plants sagged under the weight of their own fruit, Deepgold Amberpulp vines curled around iron rods, their fermented clusters hanging heavy and fragrant.

Even ordinary surface vegetables, like cabbages, root crops and things Lio couldn't immediately name, grew to proportions that seemed almost impossible. A single cabbage was the size of a small child. Carrots thick as forearms. A tomato plant had escaped its frame by several meters. Lio could even spot the occasional Ghostpulp cluster near the path's edge, so white and translucent that he had to concentrate to spot them all. William pointed at the Ghostpulp.

"What's that? I've never seen that before."

"Don't eat it," Lio said.

"Is it poisonous?"

"No."

"Then why—""If you eat it raw you'll glow for six hours," Lio said.

"It's rather inconvenient." William stared at the clusters as they passed.

"You'll glow?"

"Yes."

"That's... actually that sounds kind of interesting. I wanna try it." William frowned.

"But why do they plant it then?" Lio sighed.

"It also makes good burn and healing medicine if processed." Ophila glanced at him sideways, a small smile curving her lips. The dirt path widened as they approached the settlement of Trestfall, the cultivated plots giving way to the outer buildings. Well, calling them buildings was technically accurate but also dead wrong. After all, they had been grown, not constructed. Over decades, Delvers had trained the thick natural-growing fungi of Floor 3 into the shapes that a settlement required.

Their caps served as roofs, while their insides had been emptied out to make room for human habitation. The oldest ones were some of the most enormous structures. A century of growth had produced structures whose caps spread forty feet across and whose stalks had undergone such petrification that it appeared as if the building had been built by stone. Newer buildings were smaller and more obviously fungal, their forms much less settled.

As they came closer, the sounds of a bustling civilization reached them, loud voices coming from every direction. Already the sign of life was visible. Two people were arguing and bartering for prices, while a giggling child ran across the packed earth street chasing after a small rubber ball. Unlike Crater City, there were no gates or checkpoints. There were no guards demanding to know who the newcomers were either.

In fact, the only place that truly required identification in this place was the Union outpost that existed somewhere toward the northern edge of the settlement, but in the end, it was just a small building staffed by two clerks who were largely unbothered by the comings and goings of individual Delvers. People simply arrived at Trestfal, illegally or legally, and nobody minded.

A woman sitting outside the nearest building on an upturned crate glanced at them as they passed, then went back to mending a large hoe that had been broken in half. A man carrying a sack of Ironpulp over one shoulder stepped around them without comment, nodding once at all three of them before heading on his way. A Capling skittered past, paused briefly to look up at Ophila with enormous dark eyes, and signed something rapidly before bounding away.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Ophila watched it go.

"What did it say?"

"It's mad because your boots are muddy and you're tracking it in," Lio said. Ophila looked down at her boots, which were still wet from Floor 2. Then at the trail of dark soil she had been leaving in her wake.

"Whoops," she said. They soon arrived at the main street of Trestfall. Of course, it wasn't a main street that had been planned in any planned sense, instead, it had simply become one over several generations. It ran roughly east to west through the settlement's center, wide enough for three people to be on opposite sides.

It was lined on both sides with storefronts that had been carved directly into the fungi buildings, their open-faced counters displaying everything from dried meat to second-hand climbing equipment to small vials of medicine. Then, as they passed a more broader fungi-building, a delicious smell hit them. Lio glanced at the source. The squat building had smoke drifting lazily from a hole cut into the top of it, carrying with it a fatty and impossibly delicious smell.

Below was a hand-painted sign that simply read FOOD in large, crimson letters, then a short set of steps that led down into the entrance. William's stomach growled. It wasn't discreet either. It was loud enough that several people glanced over, a few chuckles arising from the crowd around them. William immediately pressed both hands flat against his abdomen, his face going red.

"I'm fine," he announced, to nobody who had asked. Ophila looked at him, an awkward smile on her face.

"... That was you?" she said.

"No," William shook his head fervently. She continued looking at him, the uncomfortable smile still on her face.

"Really?" William tried again.

"It came from the floor…?"

"The floor?"

"Yes." A small Capling trotted past and signed something.

"What did it say?" Ophila asked, looking at Lio.

"It said it heard that from across the street," Lio said. William nervously chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as he flushed even more red.

"I may be a little bit hungry," he admitted. ◈◈◈◈ The inside of the tavern was warm, almost steaming, packed with the dense heat of bodies and continuous cooking. The walls curved inward due to the fungal nature, giving the room a gentle, rounded feel to it that made it feel smaller than it was. Long tables of rough-cut timber occupied most of the space, the majority of them settled by Delvers and workers. A elderly woman behind the counter looked up when they entered.

She was perhaps sixty, with thinning grey hair pinned tightly back.

"Three?" she said.

"Three," Lio confirmed. She silently pointed at an empty table near the far wall and went back to whatever she was doing. Heading over, they quickly settled in. William collapsed onto a chair with clear relief, sighing loudly. Ophila gently pulled off her coat and draped it over the back of her chair, then set her pack carefully against the wall, checking the buckle on the side pocket once before she sat down as well.

A young boy appeared with a board that had the day's offerings scratched into it in chalk, handed it to Lio without eye contact, then quickly disappeared. Lio looked at it briefly and passed it to Ophila. She studied it with interest, her mouth in an O-shape, tilting the board toward the light to see the fading chalk better.

"Oh, they have Ironpulp soup," she said.

"I've never had that."

"It's good," Lio said. She looked at him.

"You've had it?"

"Yeah." She looked back at the board.

"And the braised Stoneback?" She glanced at him over the top of the board.

"Didn't you say that it smells terrible?"

"They marinate it for three days," Lio said.

"It smells much better after that."

"Hmm." She handed the board to William. William refused, shaking his head.

"I'll just have whatever smells like that," he said, gesturing toward the kitchen.

"That's the braised Stoneback," Lio informed him. The other boy grinned toothily.

"Perfect." After they ordered, the food arrived faster than any of them expected, in just a few minutes. The woman brought it herself, setting the bowls down and followed with filling each of them a glass of water. Ironpulp soup for Ophila. Braised Stoneback for William and Lio. For the appetizer, the woman brought a small basket of dense, dark bread along with butter made from cashews, placed it on the center of the table, and said it was on the house. Gingerly, William took his first bite.

Then smacking his lips together, let out a satisfied moan.

"Wow," he said.

"Okay, that's—" He stopped talking and took another bite, letting out another sound of pleasure. Ophila tried her soup, lifting her spoon and taking a small sip. Then her lips curved into a small smile, though she hid it behind a hand.

"My mother would want this recipe," she said quietly.

"You could ask," Lio said. Ophila hummed.

"That might be a bit disrespectful though…" She took another sip of soup, contemplating. William had already finished a third of his bowl, only surfacing briefly to tear off a piece of bread, dunking it into the meat sauce, and shoving it whole into his mouth.

"This is the best thing I've eaten in weeks," he said, exaggeratingly wiping fake tears from his eyes.

"All we ate were ration kits," Ophila pointed out.

"Anything else would be the best thing you ate."

"That's what I said," William replied, grinning. He was clearly in a good mood from the delicious food. Lio ate quietly, watching the room out of habit. Usually, this tavern was a useful place to gather information. But that was mainly during nighttime, when the darker part of Trestfall came to life. So right now, there was nothing immediately useful. He looked back at the table, tearing out a thin piece of the braised Stoneback and eating it.

Across from him, Ophila had set her spoon down and after taking a piece of the bread, mopped up the remainder of her soup. Then she glanced at William, who had finished his bowl and was now leaning back in his chair, looking at the ceiling with a content expression.

"Better?" she asked.

"So much better," he said. She smiled, and ate her soggy bread. Now finished as well, Ophila propped her chin on her hand, looking at Lio continuing to eat with a drowsy, pleasant expression. Next to him, William had closed his eyes entirely, still leaning back in his chair. Lio looked at his bowl. Then, without much thought, he tore off a piece of bread and ate it. The light from the spores outside entered through the low window in beautiful golden waves, casting long shadows across the table between them.

As Lio nibbled on the piece of bread, he felt strangely peaceful. I wonder why…?