Chapter 24

Haledon felt the cold air rushing against his neck as he fell back into the darkness. Above him, the pinpoint of light from the opening disappeared, and for the briefest moment, it felt as though he was in one of his dreams. Though the pain of his injuries failed to rescue him from the nightmare, he felt safe and secure at that moment.

After a short plummet, he splashed into the frigid water, his body seizing from the impact. The icy liquid stung his flesh and constricted his lungs. He tried to cry out in surprise, but water flowed into his mouth, causing him to choke.

Haledon swung his arms as the rapids forced him forward and, in a stroke of luck, also aided his momentum. He emerged, gasping for air as the sound of rushing water became deafening around him. The turbulent undertow yanked at his feet, pulling him under once more.

Panic began to take hold as Haledon felt his heart trying to jump through his chest. The feeling passed as quickly as it had arisen, and he concentrated on his situation. Again surfacing, he inhaled and noticed a rapidly approaching boulder.

Using his functioning hand, he began to dance his fingers around Druidic runes. He chanted, reaching his damaged limb out to the anchor. As his flesh made contact, the sleeve unravelled, transforming into thick roots that stopped Haledon's drift.

Haledon hugged the rock and looked around the darkness. Calling out again for light, the faint blue spores floated away from the fixture and illuminated the crevasse. He held the edge, struggling against the force of the water while craning his neck to explore his options. What he saw was more of the same, an icy glacier mirroring the stone wall.

Following the spores, Haledon looked beyond into a dark void as they drifted with the water. Again, rolling a pea, he tossed it to the rapids and watched as the gleaming pearl disappeared over a waterfall.

"Forswyn." He cursed and looked back at the roots holding him.

With a wave of his hand, his second sleeve disappeared as it intertwined with the already present root system.

"Okay, observe." He reminded himself again and looked around.

Several spores drifted up, illuminating the darkness above. That was when Haledon noticed the shadows. Like the wolf from his dreams, he thought he saw something move and duck around a corner. In the faint glowing light, Haledon could see a small cavern where his spores had drifted. And though it was barely wide enough for him to fit, it was his best choice for rest.

He raised a hand and began to move again—his fingers swishing and cutting harshly as he closed his eyes, whispering the final words and taking aim.

The clothing around his body unravelled, forming a swelling burl over his functional hand. Beneath the bark, his fingers danced and weaved through the viscous, organic fluid. Growing harder to trace as he neared the end of the design, the pressure became unbearable. Finally, with a loud pop, the pod he had formed split open, shooting a single fist-sized seed. The projectile cleared the distance to the alcove, towing a durable vine behind.

There was an echoing crack as the seed impacted the cave wall out of sight. A blue glow began to radiate from within the cavern, signalling to Haledon that his anchor had taken root.

The plants holding to Haledon's mangled hand retreated as the last of the spores dimmed, and he found himself swept up in the current.

"Vastummm—" He cried out, holding onto the vine firmly as the current swept him out and over the falls.

Haledon gripped the tether for his life and screamed as he swung free, impacting the other side of the wall. Rolling against the stone, his now naked body splashed against the torrent of water. The liquid stung his flesh with each bounce against the waterfall, chilling his chest and face. He looked past the water at the blue-green hue radiating from the cavern above.

Haledon knew he didn't have long before the seed's glow would disappear and he would lose his hold. Placing his feet against the wall, he held the vine firmly with his still-functioning hand and looked to his other. Taking a deep breath, he flexed and bent his broken fingers. He cried out against the pained hand movements as he attempted to concentrate on the words.

What felt like an eternity of agony was done in a moment. Looking over, Haledon eyed the bark gauntlet protecting his broken wrist and fingers. Reaching the glove up, roots extended out and attached to the lifeline.

"Okay, now...to move," Haledon muttered to himself, starting to make his way up the wall.

Looking down, he noticed that the cord behind him had begun to recoil with each grasp of his hand. The knotted bramble at the end dangled behind as the remaining vines shortened. Following him closely, the vines gave him enough room to climb back down but not so much as to take him back to the waterfall's crest.

But Haledon had no interest in climbing back down the rock wall. Each stinging step of his bare feet against the cold stone brought him closer to his hope of rest. And even though the occasional jagged rock or sliver of ice pierced his skin, causing him to wince in pain, he continued to move, reciting the Druidic principles as he climbed.

"Apply self-regulation..." He said as his feet slipped out from under him, and he went face-first into the wall.

Haledon's hands slid down the vine as his body fell to the bottom bramble where he swung, looking down at the abyss beneath him. Taking a deep breath, he glanced up at the now orange glow above.

"Accept feedback." He replied and placed his feet again against the wall. Grasping the tether with the gauntlet, Haledon whispered under his breath while weaving his fingers. In an instant, he grew vines to wrap over his feet, creating a rooted walking tread.

Placing another step forward, he found moving less painful, though it had been at the expense of the bramble at the rope's end. Haledon hadn't considered what the extra plant material might do to his lifeline. But now, with the vine missing the life-saving bramble, he knew he wouldn't have a second chance at the climb.

Marching forward, he was nearly within arm's reach of the ledge when the rooted rope began to wither faster. Haledon had been pushing his ecosystem too hard by using both the glove and boots.

He looked up at the dim red light radiating from the seed and knew his time was out. At that moment, the rope slipped through his ungloved hand, momentarily causing him to dangle from the wall. Righting himself for a final push, he threw his entire weight towards the opening.

Haledon caught the cavern's ledge, feeling the pebbles and ice sliding with his grip. Raising the gauntlet, the roots dug deep into the stone, like fingers anchoring him long enough to pull himself to safety. Finally, reaching the top, he released an exhausted laugh before using the last of his strength to crawl several feet away from the edge.

Collapsing to the cold floor in a tired heap, Haledon quieted his breath. The remaining plants retreated to his body at his silent command. Unable to protect him entirely, the organics formed a mossy mat covering his most sensitive areas.

Haledon lay there in silence, his body too cold to shiver and his mind too exhausted to act. And after what felt like an eternity, the red light of his seed gave out.

With a gradual illumination, the cavern came to life. The faintest colours of blue, purple, and pink began to glow from fungi on the wall. What Haledon had once thought were his stray spores had instead been a local fungal colony.

Slowly, reaching out his hand, Haledon began to mutter.

"Mycelia accedo." He said weakly.

The light faded as the mushrooms withered and fell from the wall, forming piles of raw organic material. In the remaining light creeping in from around the corner, Haledon watched as the fibrous goo twisted and coiled into roots that snaked over to his body.

Haledon could feel the embrace of sleep for the first time in days, forcing itself on him. But he fought against it for a moment longer as his body became constricted.

"Ignis tactus—" Haledon whispered as his hands traced against the cold stone before his vision became black.

When he awoke back into the dark cavern, he was unsure how long he had been asleep. There had been no dreams, though Haledon had never been sure if he could dream within the Shaman Tree.

Pushing himself to his knees, he realized his body had become covered in organic armour. Wasting no time, he set his hand alight with spores for a better view.

Thin, tightly coiled roots had wrapped around his body, creating a second skin that pulsed like a jellyfish moving through the water. With each compression and release of the vines, Haledon felt his body warming. Prodding at the roots, he forced them apart to look at his skin beneath. And as he removed his fingers, the gap quickly closed as the pulsating continued.

Touching his chest, Haledon noticed a large mass over his heart. It pulsed with the same rhythm as the rest of the protective layer but seemed to generate a heat source.

"Huh," Haledon fiddled with the burl. "I guess this is how it functions without sunlight." He mused as he toyed with the mass.

He used this method of catching and storing energy once before while in the Shaman Tree. Still, at that time, the armour had produced foliage to absorb sunlight. As he felt the warmth against his heart, he wondered if the suit drew energy from his heartbeat to create the compression.

Haledon would sit there, snuffing out the light of his spores and enjoying the warmth of his body for a long while as he pondered his next move.

Eventually, he whispered in Druidic and again reached out his hand to light the way. First, crawling back out of the cavern, he examined the light reflecting in the rushing water below and the darkness of the drop. Catching himself as his hand slipped off the edge, he quickly turned around and returned to safety.

Haledon inspected his damaged hand again. While the gauntlet was protecting the limb from further damage, the pain still pulsed through his body with each constriction of the suit. He winced against the stabbing as he crawled farther into the cave and around the corner.

The passage opened up into a wide tunnel, where Haledon quickly stood. There, he began to see more life-saving mushrooms that provided ambient bioluminescence. Ceasing his spores, he waited as the natural light resumed before approaching them cautiously to inspect their structure.

The mushrooms on the wall were ghostly white and spindly. A pale blue glow came from beneath their conical caps, radiating from the gills as fine pollen. At the base of these mushrooms, the dust had collected atop various large bracketed pink mushrooms. And around them, a purple lichen clung from the stone, painting the tunnel in pastel colours similar to the Shaman Tree.

For the first time since he had arrived, Haledon truly felt he was going in the right direction as he continued walking forward. Extending his arms and whispering to the fungal colony, he watched as the lights behind dimmed as the withering mushrooms were drawn into his suit.

"I hate this feeling..." He muttered, feeling wrong converting living plants into raw organic material.

"It is a mutual exchange." He could hear Sparrow's lectures in the back of his mind. "There is no waste when you consume plants in this fashion. The exchange of raw potential organic energy is near one-to-one, with payment of entropy."

He paused and allowed the vines to wrap a second layer over his limbs before returning to the dark tunnel.

"I thank you for your gift," Haledon muttered, reaching up and placing his hand on the ceiling.

Rambling off a phrase in Druidic, he removed his fingers to reveal small, flat-capped mushrooms. They quickly matured and released their fine green bioluminescent pollen.

"Those should be able to reestablish this area—obtain a yield and value renewable resources." He spoke proudly before progressing down the tunnel.