Chapter 12

As Haledon stepped into the room, he was hit by a cloud of pungent odours. He briefly coughed in protest of the smell, waving his hand in front of his face.

"What is that smell?" He asked, anxiously approaching the trunk at the center of the Hypogeal Nexus.

Haledon stared through the dissipating cloud of vapour at Witch-Hazel. They stood with their bramble arms to their hips and a leafy smirk beginning to reveal itself. With the shake of their head and a slight laugh, they raised the goblet again to their lips.

"Don't look at me." Witch-Hazel chuckled before taking a drink.

Shifting his gaze, Haledon noticed a figure behind the trunk. The wooden armour knelt over a knotted root growing at the base of the tree. Arms moved quickly as the head perked up, looking directly at Haledon.

The Druid’s long black hair was tied back into a bun atop her head, and dark brown eyes stared back at him. She had a curious look as she investigated him up and down.

Standing, she moved around the tree with the silent grace of a leaf drifting from the canopy. And with the quickness of a viper's strike, she was in Haledon's face, where he was able to see the detailing of her SOIL. Finely cracked bark of irregular plating covered the body entirely, with golden needles densely filling the space between each plate.

"Hello." Her quiet voice spoke before he could react.

"Hello?" Haledon flinched in reply and looked to Witch-Hazel and back to her.

"I am Seral Druid Spark."

"Seral Druid Haledon." He replied and nodded. "Can I help you?"

"Well, this is the Hypogeal Nexus, right?"

"Yes."

"See!" She turned back to the tree. "We’re in the right place."

"Who are you talking to?" Haledon asked as he inspected the bark.

"Me." A squeaky voice answered as a grey-furred body scurried around the side of the tree’s radiating moss.

No bigger than Haledon's forearm, the creature jumped to the ground and propped itself up on its hind legs. The white-fur of their stomach had brown stripes on either side that matched the streaks beside each eye.

A helmet made of roots rested atop the furry face and twitching nose. The vines snaked and weaved their way down the grey back into a rucksack firmly affixed with woven straps.

"Who are you?" Haledon asked as he leaned down to get a better look.

"Mek-Tek."

"I don't want to assume..." Haledon looked over to Witch-Hazel for approval. Witch-Hazel shrugged before taking a drink. "Are you a squirrel?"

Mek-Tek blinked and looked to Spark.

"Is this Druid for real?"

"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong. I didn't mean to–"

"Yes, he is a Sciurus." Spark replied to Haledon as she looked at Mek-Tek.

Reaching into his backpack, Mek-Tek blindly fumbled his hands around before, eventually, removing a small sphere. He played with it in his hands before a short straw emerged from one end. He again fumbled around his pack before withdrawing a small piece of metal with a blue crystal fused on top.

Pressing the crystal into the ball, Mek-Tek inhaled deeply through the straw before looking up with a puffed chest and pursed lips.

"The first uplifted Sciurus to sail the stellar sea." He said, before coughing out a vaporous cloud that shrouded him from view.

Haledon’s senses were again assaulted by the pungent odour he had experienced entering the room.

"Wow," Witch-Hazel laughed as they waved a hand through the cloud. "That's quite an accomplishment."

"Yeah," He replied slowly before he raced up Spark's armour. Standing on her shoulder, he used an arm to brace himself against her head with the sphere still held firmly in the other hand. "But I'm not out here to work with plants. I'm here for the mek-tek."

"Mek-Tek? Aren't you Mek-Tek?" Haledon asked.

"No. Yes. My name is short for Mecharrion Technology." The squirrel corrected with an extended hand. Sliding the sphere into his pack, he pushed the small piece of coloured glass and metal out towards Haledon. "This is a Mecharrion weapon shard. It has enough explosive power to detonate this entire Astra. Here catch–"

Mek-Tek threw the crystal over to Haledon, who stumbled forward. He tried to grab onto the smooth surface, only to have it fall between his hands and impact the ground.

Haledon fell to the ground as the crystal collided beside him. He flinched in anticipation of it exploding. Curling himself into a ball, he waited silently on the cold floor for a moment.

"It...that's not how it works, Haledon." Mek-Tek squeaked a response and raced down Spark's leg to pick the crystal back up while Witch-Hazel chuckled into their drink.

"Seral Druid Haledon?" Gazeas's familiar voice announced as she entered the room.

"Seral Druid Gazeas?" Haledon replied.

Pushing himself up, Haledon looked in the direction of the grass veil. Gazeas had already stepped through the threshold and was making her way towards him. With each step, the frail foliage of her exhausted armour dropped leaves in her wake.

"Are you okay? Is everything okay?" She walked forward with her hand outstretched.

"I'm fine," He replied to Gazeas with a confused smile. Taking her hand, Haledon pulled himself to his feet and continued, "What are you doing here?"

"I was instructed to come." She tapped at the back of her head. "I thought something might have happened."

"Not that I know of–I just got here too."

Looking around the room, Gazeas eyed the motley crew of Earth Druids.

"Hello," She said with a smile. "I'm Seral Druid Gazeas."

"Pleasure to meet you," Witch-Hazel spoke as their face grew into a smile. "Officially."

Gazeas looked at him confusedly before turning to Haledon.

"He spied on us in the watering hole." He informed her.

"Oh! You were the bramble in the blueberries."

Fibrous fingers snapped with a twiggy crack as Witch-Hazel extended a finger to Gazeas.

"Clever girl." They laughed.

Spark moved towards Gazeas with a compassionate smile. Tracing from wrists to fingertips, she weaved a small orb of roots. Haledon watched as a faint red glow pulsed from the nodule's core. Similar to what Sparrow had done for the sick Druid, she reached out and attached it to Gazeas' SOIL.

"You look exhausted." She said as she held the root nodule in place. "This isn't much, but it should help."

Gazeas inhaled a sharp gasp as her body briefly flexed.

"Whoa, what was that?"

"Nutrient concentrate with an adrenal substitute. You'll be good for about five hours."

"Can you teach me how to do that?"

"Sure." Spark released a laugh. "I'm Spark, by the way, and that is Mek-Tek."

Haledon looked over at Mek-Tek as he crawled up Witch-Hazel's leg and perched on their shoulder.

"Oh my–you are so cute!" Gazeas chirped excitedly.

Mek-Tek released a squeaky laugh, "Thanks."

"You talk?"

"Yes, I talk."

Gazeas turned her attention to Haledon with a wild look of amazement.

"Haledon, you have made the most amazing and strangest friends."

"Good, you're all here." Sparrow barked as she entered through the grass.

"Is that Primeval Druid Sparrow?" Gazeas whispered to Haledon

"Yes." He replied before approaching Sparrow. "Sparrow, I was wondering if–"

She held up a finger as she walked past him. Sparrow inspected the five faces with brief intensity before turning to address the group.

"Good...good." She mumbled to herself as she waved towards the tree at the center of the room. "Alright, everyone, circle up. Equidistant from each other around the tree."

Haledon and Gazeas stood motionless as they watched the other three begin to move. They looked towards each other for a moment with an awkward smile.

"I think I should go..." Gazeas whispered to Haledon.

"She wanted you here. There's a purpose. There's always a purpose with Sparrow."

"Great, there are two of you now." Sparrow snipped as she peeked her head around the tree. "Come on, get in position. Everyone, sit down."

"Excuse me, Primeval Druid Sparrow, I think I'm in the wrong place. People need me out–"

Sparrow paced around the tree and approached Gazeas quickly. She stared down into her eyes intensely in a way Haledon had often seen done to himself. It felt strange to him to be able to experience Sparrow's intensity from afar. He could feel his gut churn uncomfortably, knowing the feeling of her gaze.

"Seral Druid Gazeas, do you know why I chose you?"

"N-no?" She stammered.

"I didn't. I chose those three–" Sparrow pointed back to the trio sitting around the tree. She adjusted and pointed to Haledon. "I chose him. But I always leave it up to Nature to decide one beneficial addition for every guild. Nature chose you."

A look of panic crossed Gazeas' face. Sparrow leaned in, scrutinizing her reactions.

"Are you saying no to Nature?"

"N-never," Gazeas stumbled over the word. "I just–I am supposed to be there for the Druids of the Astralaceae."

"There are Earth Druids with a greater understanding of herbalism on the ship to assist your people. You can dedicate–"

"Your Druids, no matter how advanced their herbalism, have not existed beside the Druids of this ship their entire lives. People care matters, Primeval Druid Sparrow." She snapped in reply.

"Hmm," Sparrow leaned back with a smirk. "I see why Nature selected you,"

Walking away, Sparrow pointed towards the two remaining spots around the tree.

"Come, sit, Haledon. Gazeas, you may stay or leave, but I believe you will be interested in what I can teach. That little spud of energy dangling from your chest is but a single leaf in an endless forest."

Haledon looked at Gazeas with a sad smile as he obeyed Sparrow and began to take a seat. She returned it with a confused glance of her own, eying the remaining spot.

"Haledon...?" Gazeas asked as he lowered himself to the ground and sat with his legs crossed.

He looked up at her and down at the spot beside him. She rested her arms on her hips before releasing a disapproving huff. Walking to the tree, she sat down and stared forward.

Gazeas eventually turned her head to Haledon and gave him two expressive blinks. He knew that meant she was frustrated with the situation, and potentially him. Returning with a communicative flash of his own, he told her he was sorry.

Approaching from behind, Sparrow dropped a fist-sized orb first into Haledon’s lap and then Gazeas. Haledon inspected the thick, lobed leaves of the outside and the faint purple florets revealing themselves on top.

"What's this?" He asked and looked at Mek-Tek as he tried to adjust the ball that sat in front of him. The dense bud was nearly equal in size to the squirrel’s body.

"It will help you focus," Sparrow replied as she walked out of sight.

Looking across, Haledon could barely see Witch-Hazel as they adjusted themselves. Their hands open with no orb.

"Why doesn't Witch-Hazel need one?"

"Because Witch-Hazel has done this before. Concentrate, Haledon."

"What are we doing?" Gazeas asked as she inspected one of the leaves.

"Too many questions." Sparrow chirped and clapped her hands. "Okay, we're ready."

Continuing to walk around the tree, Sparrow cleared her throat.

"Focus on the totem. Be mindful of this moment. Feel the roughness of the leaves—the weight of it in your hands." Her voice began to softly trail off.

Haledon allowed his mind to focus on the object as he had done with his suit. He could sense the distractions of the world around him slowly fading away as his vision narrowed. With a gentle nod, his eyes closed before opening with a start. Raising his head, his eyes were heavy as he tried to wake his mind.

Looking around, he was quick to realize the tree was gone. Quickly glancing to his side, he could see Spark and Witch-Hazel starting to stand. Gazeas and Mek-Tek still sat with their eyes closed and heads limply looking down.

There was a sudden gasp of air from Gazeas as she looked up and around quickly.

"What the forswyn?" She panicked and fell back to the floor.

"Hey, Gazeas, it's okay..." Haledon rolled to his side and quickly crawled to her. "It's okay–it's okay."

"What happened? Where are we?" Her eyes darted around the darkroom. A faint red light hung high above and failed to illuminate more than the five shuffling figures.

"I don't know, but it feels like a Megacolides."

"A’what?" She looked at him with wild eyes. "Seral Druid Haledon, we were in the Hypogeal Nexus. I nodded off, and I woke up here. What is going on? Why are you not panicking?"

"I don't–" He paused and thought. "I guess...I'm learning to expect it now?"

Gazeas looked into his eyes with confusion. "Expect what? What did I agree to?"

"Nothing yet," Sparrow announced, emerging from the darkness. "Seral Druid Gazeas, through Nature's selection, you were chosen to fill a niche in this guild. Are you going to follow it?"

Gazeas looked towards Haledon with a worried expression. He met her gaze with a compassionate smile. Giving a small nod in an attempt to alleviate some of her anxieties, he did his best to reassure her of Sparrow’s intentions. Her face softened as she turned back to Sparrow.

"Will I be able to help the Druids of this fleet?"

"You could help the Druids of this galaxy with the right ecosystem."

"I will help." She said after a long pause.

"Good." Sparrow smiled and waved her hands.

The room's dim red light began to brighten, revealing the largest room Haledon had ever seen. With a ceiling climbing over a hundred feet and the floor twice its length, Haledon couldn't help but feel small. Above their heads, jellyfish the size of Druids drifted lazily in the center of the room, radiating the bioluminescence that allowed everyone to see.

"Druids, welcome to my workshop. Don't touch anything." Sparrow smiled as she turned to look over the room and the expressions of amazement that filled everyone's faces.