Chương 114: Chapter 351: The Caravan

Deep under the earth in the ancient tunnels beneath Shadowport, a corrupted apex predator lumbered back to its lair in the center of a large cavern dragging the corpse of a huge lizard behind it. The dead Fonasaurus was twice the Corrupted Umber Bear's mass, but had been trapped in its lair and couldn't match the bear's fury. Nor could it have killed it, as the bear was already dead, animated by the fungus replacing its brain and repairing its battered body.

The huge lizard was dismembered and its parts strewn around the cavern, mostly in the nest in the center. Cracked bones and the rotting carcasses of beasts and humanoids made up the nest and gave off a rotting stench that warned any sane creature to leave the area.

The huge Corrupted Umber Bear would hunt through the caverns and drag its kills back here to feast, eating only a few bites to fuel the fungus growing inside its once-living body Damaged hide and decayed muscle were slowly being replaced by strands of fungus that grew in its lair. The Brain Fungus directed the necessary repairs that kept it moving.

The leftover pieces of creatures were left to decay into a nutritious mulch that would support the growth of mycelium that would spread through the mulch and soil of the surrounding area. As the fungus slowly grew throughout the cavern, the area would become more dangerous to other creatures. Protective spores would poison enemies and make the area into a safe spawning ground for a new Fungal Core, grown from the brain fungus planted within the bear.

The core would burrow deep and produce a large Brain Fungus that would consume the bear and the nest, growing sentient and turning this area into a new outpost for a Mycellium Empire. But that was years in the future. The rotting predator would need to make hundreds of kills to create enough mulch to sustain even the beginnings of the colony. The fungus covering the bear's face would drop spores to cultivate the area as the mycelium spread through the mulch and dirt in the cavern.

As long as the bear could keep killing and providing sustenance to the new colony, the Brain Fungus that riddled its body would keep it alive. When it became too wounded to move, then it too would become mulch. In time, a suitable dead creature would be found by the Elder Brain Fungus, turned into a corrupted servant, and sent to continue the work. Expanding their empires took time, but fungi were patient. The bear lay in its nest, unmoving.

Such creatures didn't rest but rather went dormant to allow the growth of new fungus to replace the lost tissue from the last battle. The repairs made the creature tougher and harder to kill. Luckily for the surrounding subterranean dwellers, there were other apex predators in the area who were brave enough to oppose the bear's reign of terror. One of them had been carefully skulking through the shadows to a position where they could attack from surprise. They were never in any danger of being detected.

The bear had terrible perception and the skulker was well hidden. She sprung from hiding, a black-clad assassin, stabbing deep into the bear with a dagger and yelling 'Surprise!' The bear was completely unhurt, but the Brain Fungus became active, anxious to kill the intruder and add its mass to the nest. Most meat-things weren't so helpful as to deliver themselves and volunteer to be turned into mulch.

The bear surged to its feet, knocking the assassin to the ground as she attempted to stab it to death with a small knife. She attempted to flip in the air and land on her feet but belly-flopped into a pile of rotting meat before scrambling to her feet. The bear slashed at her, catching her in the side with enough force to kill any player under level 20. Her ribs were broken and a lung punctured as she was knocked into the cave wall. She came up to her feet and looked at her knife.

"I give up. Daggers suck! Why does anyone use the small blades skill?" As the bear lumbered towards her, she extended six-inch razor-sharp claws and prepared to charge it.

"Because we need the DEX points. Daddy says so. We have to raise as many skills as we can!" The speaker was clad head to toe in heavy plate armor, except for her feet which were covered in pink Baby Weasel Slippers. Rosie had let Buttercup attack first since it was her turn, but now that she'd taken a hit, she could charge. The eight-foot-long steel-hafted pole-axe was held horizontally and she hit the bear like a freight train, using her momentum and strength of arms to knock it off its feet.

Buttercup dove on the bear, using her Fiendish Claws to deal massive damage. Rosie brought her axe down in a strong chop that carved away ribs and in a living creature would have spread their internal organs on the ground. The bear barely grunted, ignoring the damage and regenerating as fast as the two cheese fiends it was fighting. It knocked Rosie to the ground and ignored Buttercup as it pounced on the downed foe.

Rosie got her shield between her head and the bear's jaws, but with two bites it had torn the shield nearly in two. Rosie slashed again and again, but the Brain Fungus knew to kill one foe before engaging the other. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Rosie punched the bear hard in the snout with her dainty fist, breaking a bone in the jaw and making the bear draw back, but it opened wide and began to lunge at her again.

She put up an arm, something that was easier to regenerate than her head but needn't have worried. A huge armored shape raced forward and leaped high in the air, bringing its pole-axe down in a massive two-handed chop.

"For the Hollow!" The blow decapitated the bear, and without the Brain Fungus to control the body, it slumped on top of a disgusted Rosie.

"Ugh, rotting bear smells icky!" Her sister helped heave the carcass off of her before they confronted their savior.

"No fair, Daddy!"

"That one was ours to play!"

"And you kill-stealed!"

"We had it worried and everything was fine!" Brutus laughed.

"We'll discuss the finer points of the battle later. Right now, you two need to clean up, and then write a 500-word essay explaining how you're going to spend your Enhancement points."

"Aw! Homework!"

"How much did we get?" Sorry, you two are just so cute I didn't want to interfere... For defeating a Corrupted Umber Bear in a mighty battle, and thwarting the expansion of the Myconian Empire, the System awards junior guards Buttercup and Rosie, along with their Kill Stealing father, Brutus, 20 Enhancement Points and 1000 Boss experience. Enjoy that homework and remember that penmanship is a DEX skill. Leaving the bear where it was, the family retreated to a nearby cavern where their small caravan was waiting.

The draft lizards had gotten a whiff of the bear and refused to come any closer. Brutus had sent Buttercup ahead to scout and see what lay ahead on their route. Anything that scared draft lizards was bad news. Harry was waiting with the wagons, collecting some of the interesting fungus from the cave, and making notes in his journal.

"Ah, I hope your early return means a victorious battle?"

"We won!"

"But stinky bear was so stinky!"

"I want a bath, and my doll is dirty."

"Daddy, I need a new bow, I lost my last one in the fight." Brutus sighed.

"OK, OK, let's clean up first. Go careful on the water and use the special soap Uncle Harry made. It will kill any stink from the bear. But after that, homework!"

"What about dinner?"

"Puffcakes, mama says puffcakes are good to eat because they get rid of any harmful fungal infections like Black Mold!"

"That bear was full of nasty stuff."

"I'm feeling a little icky, maybe I'm turning into a Corrupted critter! Need puffcakes."

"Fine. Wash up, then we have puffcakes, and then dessert."

"Desert?"

"We like dessert, what is it?" Brutus smiled evilly, "Your favorite. You each get to drink one of Uncle Harry's special potions that protect you from disease and fungal infections. You're feeling sick, after all, time for some medicine. And then homework." Grumbling, the girls went to wash while Brutus informed the cook of the dinner plans. He needn't have bothered, the smell of fresh puffcakes was already coming from the chuck wagon. Bleusnout smiled and started filling up plates.

"The girls love them and are always hungry after a battle. How did things go?" Brutus stuffed one into his mouth.

"Great, really great. I was worried some, that was a nasty critter, after all. But even when Rosie was in a bad spot, neither of them went into a rage or lost control. It's amazing how much better they are getting." The chef was happy to hear that, "They have a loving family, good diet, and a good example in Larry. I'm happy to help out with their rehabilitation, and it's been wonderful worrying about just a few people, and not a whole Hollow. Smiley taking over needed to happen someday, and this has been perfect.

With what we are learning, not just the girls will benefit. I'll be publishing my notes and sending them to every hollow that I can contact." Harry picked up a plate, slid the stack into his mouth, and swallowed.

"Ah, delicious as always. And now I'm going to deal with the mess ahead of us. I can eradicate the toxic and predatory fungus from the area and we can leave the nutritious and medicinal varieties to grow. It will be a perfect campsite in the future. I estimate we are only a few hours' travel to Shadowport from here. Things are starting to look familiar from my youthful explorations." Brutus added up the time.

"So four days travel altogether. Not a bad little run. Tallsqueak said it was two days to travel down the tunnel made by the World Boss, but that has a lot of cliffs and areas where we can't take the wagons. A safe caravan route will mean more trade, and after that, we need to add a way to get over to the dwarven enclave." He looked back at the six wagons with their colorful awnings and painted sides.

"Funny, I always dreamed of running away with a caravan, and now I'm the Master of one. A little one, but it will grow." Bleusnout smiled, "Indeed, and headed where no caravan has gone before: The exotic and mysterious uptop city of Shadowport. I must say, I'm excited."

"And Larry said that Tallsqueak was back. Won't he be surprised to see us?"