Descending I found stairs creaking with roughshod boards carved into crystal and root.

  “Do you know anything about this?” I asked.

  “No. But father said that the roots beneath Heart Hill were vast and deep, as if that made any sense. But now it might?”

  Ahead of us a plane of mist ghosted up, shifting like the tide. Or someone breathing. Wilia and I exchanged glances. We pushed through. The roots indeed became mighty until the crystals only glimmered darkly through the roots. We must have gone down hundreds of steps, vaguely curving. Wilia was panting. I had flown using [Wind Rider] of course.

  The path smoothed out. I could only see a few feet in front of me in the dark fog. I felt along, We entered a larger chamber where the mist thinned out. A huge gnarl sat at the center of the chamber like a big turnip.

  I flew up and touched it. It pulsed quietly.

  “What--?” I wondered, then the whole root structure shook. “Oh, aether!”

  [Area Boss approaches: Heartwood Tyrant]

  “Where is it!?!” Wilia shouted.

  I could see several figures moving in the dark. “There’s more here than just an area Boss!”

  I shifted Mossy into my left hand. Several began to converge on me. They were rather small, little root people, as they came out of the gloom. I threw Lancie at them, she transformed and started in with a bicycle kick on the nearest one then flipped in midair and scratched two more, her hands clawed like blades.

  A strawberry-faced biter jumped onto my back and starting biting me.

  “Ah!” I rolled, some more piling on from above, and lost hold of Mossy.

  The kitten plummeted, landing on a root man’s head and starting to scratch it. I nodded approvingly before grabbing one of the strawberry biters and throwing it into the big turnip lump in the middle of the cavern.

  They all cringed, all the little plant fighters, when the turnip took a hit.

  “Is that the boss?” I shouted over the din, peeling off another strawberry minion on a stalactite. “That big lump!?”

  I saw Wilia conjure a red-hot frying pan and scoop up a root man. He screamed, blazing away in a pillar of flame. She threw a pinch of something in the pan. [Cyclone Fry] roared to life around her and expanded rapidly into a blazing tornado. It pulled all the plantlings in. I tried to get away, but I fell into the maelstrom too.

  I ended up in the middle of a burning pile of plantlings. It smelled like strawberry pie mixed with baked potatoes. Wilia pulled me out, I was smoldering and on fire in patches. She emptied a thermos of strawberry tea over me, dousing the flames.

  “I’m pretty sure we need to kill this bulb thing,” Wilia declared as I wiped my face.

  My clothes were singed and I was burned in places. Moss kitten! I looked around worriedly.

  “Although your green friend tried to murder him, I protected him,” Lancie said proudly, carrying Mossy.

  “Thank Fate,” I said quietly then flew up and starting punching the huge bulb.

  It broke open and green sap spilled out.

  “Gross,” Lancie said.

  “Where’s the boss?” I asked.

  Wilia gestured to the far wall of the chamber, where three corridors awaited us. “This is not the end of this place I think.”

  “It said he was approaching though. I don’t understand.”

  All we could do was forge forward. The leftmost corridor yielded another bulb, and we fought more primeval minions there. The three of us covered each other well, with Lancie and Wilia wading into the fray while I darted in and smashed the turnip. Once it was broken, the plantlings scattered. We repeated this in the right corridor.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Lastly we backtracked and then entered the middle corridor. The last room had what looked like banners draped from wall to wall. But as I flew close, and Lancie and Wilia charged in, I realized we were up against something else here. The banners draped haphazardly across the room had scales, and were actually the body of a great leviathan horned snake. The [Heartwood Tyrant]?

  “Watch out!” I shouted. “It’s here!”

  But it was too late. From the darkness a maw lashed out, and Lancie vanished. She emerged seconds later from its side, screaming and clawing and covered in ichor, and the maw hissed as its wound surrounded with effusive green light with [Rite of Growth] like Reed had used to repair the Fool's Errand.

  I heard Wilia take in her breath. She used [Fry Anywhere] to conjure the red-hot pan again and whacked the serpent, which didn’t really care. It slithered now, quickly, and its many interlaced segments rearranged. It was harrowing to watch how fast it was. Then the maw shot out of the dark at Wilia.

  She dropped something into the sizzling pan, and a squall of fire-wind again engulfed everything. It pushed the Heartwood Tyrant’s adderlike mouth away just in time. She looked for me in time to see me smash into the last turnip, and through it. Stained in sappy ichor I ascended again as the Tyrant screamed.

  It came at me snarling. Lancie’s screaming tiger kick knocked it off course, leaving a smoking ruin. I punched it and got a satisfying charge of [Adaptive] force. There was no more [Rite of Growth] now to heal the Tyrant. I punched again, twisting and dodging, then--slam. Its sinuous body knocked me off course into the wall, then the maw’s shadow fell on me hissing. Its mouth closed in.

  It would have swallowed me, surely. But I saw behind it, running madly upon its back, Lancie in her sandals, a growing cloud of silver behind her. She approached the neck at the same time it whipped around to bite me. Wilia pushed her hair from her face and sprinkled a bit of [Seasoning] onto the Tyrant. She then placed two hands on the sizzling pan’s handle.

  “Now!”

  The [Aether Weapon] leapt, and shimmered as she shifted back into a lance. The lance-thing twisted around with a [Silver Scream] slash, then suddenly the head was severed, ichor spewing everywhere, the jaws closed on me dully and shuddering, then fell still. I pulled myself from under the dead serpent as the messages rolled in.

  [Experience Gained: +12500 XP]

  [Loot Generated: Relic]

  [Loot Generated: Memento]

  [LEVEL UP: Daniel]

  [Driften Waker: Level 9]

  [LEVEL UP: Daniel]

  [Driften Waker: Level 10]

  [NEW Driften Waker feature: Skill]

  [LEVEL UP: Daniel]

  [Driften Waker: Level 11]

  [LEVEL UP: Wilia Ralian]

  [Red Chef: Level 13]

  [LEVEL UP: Wilia Ralian]

  [Red Chef: Level 14]

  A note writ on tree bark appeared in my hand. It listed ingredients and methods for Cooking with the Heart. Wilia turned to me, as she was clutching the other loot, the relic probably. It was a dull red stone shaped vaguely heartlike. The paper was obviously Reed’s memento.

  “Wanna trade?” she asked.

  “Sure. You know the captain is going to make us split this evenly if we bring it back. Probably sell it and split the money. So if this gem thing is important to you, just have it.”

  “I’m happy with this,” she said quietly as she read. “This is what father wanted me to have. He knew I could spread heartwood with cooking.”

  Wilia checked her menu.

  “Got it!” she announced triumphantly. “Good kill there, uh…”

  “Lancie,” Lancie said helpfully, extending a hand covered in ichor.

  “Shake hands only when clean,” I reminded her and added quickly, “and no hugging either!”

  Before we returned to the Fool’s Errand we did end up going back to the temple to pack some things for Wilia. She also packed some stuff for Reed (which I thought was useless but said nothing). While I waited I cleaned the fridge for her. I cooked some rice and ate a scarce lunch, then washed the dishes. Wilia joined me once she was ready and she had some of the rice.

  She frowned. “You are not a good chef Daniel.”

  “I’m not a chef at all!”

  “How do you know how to cook then?”

  “Back in my world,” I said through a mouthful of rice, “we don’t really have classes. You just learn and do stuff.”

  “That’s so weird,” Wilia said.

  Back at the airship Val arched an eyebrow at me as I returned with Wilia in tow and carrying one of her suitcases. After I set down the suitcase, I found Lorlux in the Navigation Room turning a sextant over several large maps spread across the table.

  “This is a relic.” I set the red heartstone down on the table. “We got this back at Heart Hill. We fought an Area Boss.”

  Lorlux croaked. “Well done, Daniel. You and the new crew member Wilia, then?”

  “Aye. She’s got some skills.”

  Lorlux’s tongue lashed out, snagging the heartstone. He dropped it into his hand and examined it.

  “A relic, you say? Interesting find Daniel. We shall split this as usual among the Fool’s Errand crew.”

  As usual, I thought, remembering that my first two finds had been handled unusually. But I said nothing. Both had ultimately worked to my benefit, as I still basically had moss kitten and Lancie.

  Lorlux pocketed the heartstone. “Unfortunately we will soon be departing Aeven with no time to get this appraised and sold. But when next we port, after the Great Abalone Sky, we shall dispense with the relic. I’ll hold onto it for now.”