Shadowcroft Year 3 - Chapter Twenty-Two

Logan didn’t exactly smell in the human sense of the word, but all of his senses reeled after being on Sucrosia for five minutes. They walked through a candy forest where birds like Easter peeps chirped from chocolate trees covered with green frosting leaves.

A colorful candy path led through the trees to the cliffs made of red rock candy. Strawberry. Or cherry maybe. The steps leading into the dungeon had been gouged in that strange candy stone. The air was dry, which wasn’t surprising because it probably rained Coca-Cola, which was a diuretic. The whole place gave Logan a digestion pit ache and made his teeth want to rot out just by breathing in the air.

Inga’s body lit up thanks to her Lunar Aura power, though she also used Reflective Sight, which allowed her see in the dark. And Logan had his fungal vision, though the spores leaking out of his gills weren’t finding any kind of home in the myriad of overly sweet, candied surfaces. He had a bad feeling in his belly.

Inga saw the concern etched into the lines of his face. “Let us not worry, Logan,” she said, patting him on the shoulder. “You just gave me a rousing speech not twenty minutes ago. Remember, we’ve been through far worse than this. Taking on Rockheart. Assassination attempts by Chadrigoth. Defeating Billy Scales. We’re better than this—you said so yourself. Besides, its distinctly possible that the dungeoneers might not find us for several days.”

Logan let out a breath, releasing the tension he was holding in his shoulders. “Yeah, you’re right. This place is just a bit overwhelming. Let’s go see what the dungeon core left us. What was her name again?”

“Dia Betty,” Inga said. “She was an Arcanus Confectionary Mage, which is why she was hand selected for this node. Not many of her kind around, as you can imagine.”

Logan recalled the handful of pictures and the brief they’d received during their prep class. Dia Betty was a jolly, cherry-cheeked elderly woman with a big belly and a bigger laugh. She could cast all sort of candy spells, had minions fashioned from gumdrops, could hurl bubble gum grenades. Pretty standard candy themed death traps.

They followed the rock steps down and a warren of cobbled, candy stone corridors and confectionary rooms. Without a Dungeon Core in residence, however, all the traps, frills, and minions were gone. The place was barren of life and completely unnatural. The pit in his stomach grew as they wandered into a large, natural cavern covered with stalactites and stalagmites. But these weren’t made from rock; they had rounded points and were stripped like Christmas candy canes.

In one corner of the cavern was a jawbreaker cave-in—huge candy boulders were strewn about in a pile.

Everything about this world was off. Strange. There was nothing even remotely natural about this environment. Sucrosia was a magical, candy world, pure and simple, and the Apothos here was all over the place. There were several chambers where light from the sky above glowed through blue rock the color of Blue Raspberry Jolly Ranchers. There was definite Luminosus Apothos, as well as Vita and some Aer. There was zero Morta and zero Toxicus and only trace amounts of Corrosivus—and that likely came from the soda pop river that meandered through the dungeon.

In a way, that all made sense. Candy was all about light, air, and life! It was a terrible turn of events for Logan and Inga. Especially since it seemed like every inch of the dungeon was packed with preservatives, that seemed specifically designed to prevent the growth of mold spores. They literally couldn’t have picked a worse dungeon.

It wasn’t long before they were standing in the circular inner sanctum where a chocolate fountain bubbled contentedly.

The pedestal of the dungeon itself was like the Game of Thronesthrone, except this one was made out of giant lollipops.

Logan kind of liked the look of it.

He noticed a note stuck to the front of the throne.

Hi friends!

Good luck in the tournament! I emptied out everything to give you a blank slate! This is a very special place as you’ll soon see. I just know you’ll do great with lures and traps and minions!

Keep it sweet!

Love, Betty

Logan inhaled and all he smelled was the cloying scent of sugar. And even with the chocolate pond, there was so little moisture in the air.

He breathed out spores, to create a lure—his Opal Truffles mushrooms, the very first lure, and the ones he was best at making. His spores swirled around the floor, across the floor, and even reached the chocolate pond… And promptly fizzled and died in a most anticlimactic fashion. Just as he’d initially feared, he couldn’t grow a thing here.

<Uh, Inga>” Logan sent. <I can’t grow my mushrooms in this place. Not at all. That means I can’t make my normal lures and traps.>

Since they had the Symbiotic Bond, they could communicate telepathically. Inga had the telltale fungal growths across her shoulders and also some growths that melded in with her natural skin color. Those that did stick out were covered by Melvin’s fedora.

<That’s terrible news, but we knew this was a possibility. Sugar is a natural preservative, after all. What about minions? Any luck with those?>

<Let me try.>

Logan concentrated, circulating a surge of Apothos out from his core, channeling it through his body as he willed it to take shape. But it was like trying to dig through bedrock with his nubby, fungaloid fingers. A nimbus of Morta energy formed around his guardian form in a cloud and slowly but surely it took shape, resolving into Mariah. The Skullcap floor boss looked more than a little bit sheepish, since Logan was having significant trouble generating her Crimson Coral armor and her shepherd’s hook. It wasn’t like she was anatomically correct, but still, she looked at him uncertainly.

“Naked, boss!” she squeaked. “I have primitive feelings of shame and embarrassment.”

Logan breathed a sigh of relief, which allowed more spores to pour down, though they didn’t go anywhere helpful. However, that relief was short-lived. Creating Mariah had a drained a lot of his Apothos. He’d have to start making digestion pits as soon as possible.

Inga titled her head. <Well, that is an unfortunate turn of events. But, thankfully you are not alone in this endeavor, my friend,> she sent. <There is no doubt that this place is strange, but there is a significant amount of Luminosus and Vita Apothos here to work with. Worst case scenario, we can use my lures and traps.”

Logan had to smile. <That’s right! Since you ranked up to B-Class, you have so many cool things! Let me take a peek at your Guardian Core Matrix, then we’ll come up with a plan!>

A second later, Inga’s stats filled his vision.

<<< ۝>>>

Inga Thosa Therian

Guardian Core Matrix

Base Race: Astral Moth

Current Evolution: Lunar Mothress

Cultivator Class: Iron Trunk Cultivator; B Class, Rank 10

Primary Elemental Affinities: Vita/Luminosus

Racial Abilities:

- Flight, Astral Migration, Dust Dodge (NEW!)

Racial Skill:

- Breed

- Golden Centipedes

- Spike Flies

- Tsuki Ants

- Generate Arachnid (NEW!)

Mothal Abilities:

- Reflective Sight

- Chrysalis Swords

- Metamorphosis

Mothal Propagation:

- Insect Infection

- Lepidoteral Reflex

- Chrysalis Jewels and Gemstone Butterflies (NEW!)

Lunarmancy

- Moonlance

- Lunar Aura

- Lunar Horror Creations

- Moonsand Manipulations (NEW!)

- Lunar Phase Augmentations (NEW!)

o Crescent Moon Mayhem

§ 50% resistance against earth-based and water-based magic

§ Protection against Apothos types: Terra, Mallus, Magma, Aqua

§ Attackers take damage for any successful strikes

o Full Moon Fever (LOCKED!)

o New Moon Madness (LOCKED!)

<<< ۝>>>

Logan noticed the new and updated notices, which came as something of a surprised. It had been months since Inga had levelled up.

Thanks to their Symbiotic Bond, Inga could feel sense his curiosity. <I know you’ve had a lot on your mind, so I wanted to remind you of how things have changed since I became an Azure Branch cultivator. Yes, I am now a Lunar Mothress. It’s like mistress. But decidedly… not…”

Logan winced. <Sorry. I feel like a bad friend, but I do remember a few things. Your Dust Dodge, for example, makes it harder for dungeoneers to hit you. You literally fill the air with dust.>

<And light them up with my Lunar Aura,> Inga explained. <I am excited to generate some spiders, which was a skill I was ambivalent about at first. Spiders aren’t true insects you know, and there are already so many arachnid dungeon cores. But, Professor Arketa pointed out that there are so many of them because they work. Why reinvent the wheel, especially if the wheel works and survival is on the line? Besides, having a more diverse skill set is wise for situations just such as this. With that said, I am still very pleased about my new Lunar Phase Augmentations. Those abilities will pay off in time.>

Logan then saw how Inga was going to save them. <Remind me again what Chrysalis Jewels and the Gemstone Butterflies are? I think all this sugar is literally rotting my brain in real time.>

Inga sent him a vision of a dozen diamond-studded cocoons opening to reveal butterflies made of emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. The butterflies fluttered their wings and went flying around above their chrysalis, which could still be gathered for their diamonds.

<Each chrysalis is priceless on its own,> Inga explained, < so raiders can sell them on the open market. However, the husks are also an ingredient in a potion that can help with cultivation. The butterflies themselves can be utilized to improve light- and fire-based magic, namely, Ignis and Luminosus Apothos.>

<Those are some excellent lures,> Logan sent, nodding along in appreciation. <I have no idea what I’d do without you—I couldn’t imagine trying to do this alone.> The chocolate pond reminded him of something, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Inga nodded, her antennae bouncing below the fedora. <Think nothing of it, Logan. None of us are as strong alone as we are with the power of friendship. You have done the same for me more times than I can count. Also, we have that esprit de corps that you enjoy so much. We shall get through this together. As for traps, since we can’t employ your fungi, we can use my Moonsand Manipulations. That and the dungeon itself. We will also have to rely heavily on our minions, but we’ve faced that challenge more than a few times. We just need to be smart about how we use them.>

Inga was right on the mark about that and Logan’s mind was already whirling with possibilities. <Tell me more about your Astral Migration and your Insect Infection,> he said slowly, using the pedestal interface to observe the sprawl of rooms and corridors. This competition wasn’t just about defeating the raiders, it was about doing so efficiently. Having Inga create the bulk of the lures, traps, and minions, would allow them to conserve a large amount of Apothos.

<The two go hand in hand,> Inga said excitedly. <Insect Infection allows me to draw a swarm of biting insects from out of the astral plane that I can use to swarm, upset, confuse, or even kill raiders. So too, I draw upon Astral Migration for my Lunar Horror creations, which gives me a great deal of flexibility when it comes to fashioning my minions. Lastly, as I unlock my Lunar Phase Augmentations, I’ll draw upon Astral Migration to allow my guardian form to teleport anywhere within a dungeon, and eventually, anywhere in the multiverse.>

Logan was impressed. <I see, so Astral Migration is more of a base ability that you can layer other skills onto.>

<Precisely,> Inga sent. <Hence, there might be more abilities I might be able to unlock over time.>

Logan plucked his core gem out of his belly. <Let’s link up to the dungeon to see how we can alter the base design. Dia Betty sure didn’t’ t leave us much to work with.> He lifted a hand to forestall Inga’s objection. <I know, I know, tournament rules say that for the Semi-Finals, existing guardians should leave the Celestial Node exactly how they found it. Exactly.>

<Betty was just following the rules.> Inga tossed her gem over the Game of Lollipops throne, where it circled around the top.

Logan flipped his gem into the air, where it joined Inga’s in a lazy dance, like a pair of planets orbiting a candy-coated sun. He immediately felt every inch of the existing structure, from the entrance steps, down through the natural cavern, to the inner sanctum, and to the chocolate pond. Yes, this Celestial Node was full of Luminosus and Vita, but there were other flavors Apothos as well as a surprising flexibility in what they could shape.

Logan then realized two things. One, on this magic world, they could create some very cool and very powerful structures, and it wouldn’t require him to summon virtually anything. And second, this Celestial Node was practically begging for a Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory makeover.

Inga caught a few of his thoughts.

She had a dozen questions. What was this Chocolate Factory story? Who was Willy Wonka? Why was the name of the movie different from the book? Why would anyone think to attempt a remake?

All good questions.

Logan spent forty-five minutes trying to explain it. Was it a waste of precious time? Maybe. Was it worth it? Definitely. It allowed them to create their masterpiece.