Chapter 2 : The Shroom-Mist Territory

I watched her for a moment, unable to determine if she was still asleep or if she had simply decided to ignore me.

Sitting in the moss, palms flat on the floor and head slightly tilted, she seemed to emerge from a sleep that was too deep. His long leather boots were marked by the damp earth. A coat of beige cloth enveloped her to the knees, while a black scarf encircled her neck and slightly softened her features. Two strands of her auburn hair, with coppery highlights and hastily tied, framed her face.

When she finally looked up at me, I had the distinct impression that she had noticed me for a long time.

"Do you intend to continue to watch me like this for a long time to come?"

The tone, cold and sharp, instantly broke the spell of my contemplation.

"Excuse me. I was mostly trying to understand what was happening to us. I wasn't really looking at you. »

My dodge was sorely lacking in conviction, and my lie collapsed before I had even convinced anyone. She stared at me, visibly skeptical, then stood up without asking for my help. After dusting her coat, she inspected the surroundings as if I were just part of the scenery.

I did the same. The moss covered the ground almost entirely, and the trees rose so high that their branches melted into a greenish mist. The wood seemed deserted by all forms of animal life. An eerie silence reigned, except for the slow rustling of a few leaves coming from a direction impossible to locate. Only our breathing and the slight rustling of our clothes with each movement disturbed this silence.

"I don't see anyone else," I said. "I think we're really cut off from the world."

"It would look good," she replied, methodically scanning the shadows. "Lost in an unknown place, with an unknown person as well."

I could hardly reproach him for his prudence. I didn't know any more about her than she did about me, and after what 404 had just announced, trusting anyone who came along would have been quite crazy. It was impossible to distinguish the limits of the place, or to guess what we were supposed to accomplish there. There was only this forest and its fine mist. Suddenly, a sharp sound broke the silence.

Beep.

"You heard that too, I guess?" the young woman asked, looking down at her wrist without giving me more attention than necessary.

"Yes. I did it. »

A vibration ran through my skin. The dial of a watch caught the light, revealing only a smooth black. Thin and perfectly fitted, it refused to slip when I tried to take it off.

"Why do I have this on my forearm?"

The question seemed absurd to me, but no other occurred to me. The black surface remained perfectly smooth under my fingers. The idea that this object had been attached to my arm without my knowledge displeased me.

"It's not an ordinary watch," the young woman replied, without looking up from hers. "It must come from those who brought us here. As for mine, it won't budge an inch either. »

His irritation gave way to a colder concentration. She followed the edge of the screen with her finger, pressed the sides, and tried to drag it.

"Do you know how to light it?"

"No. I can't find any buttons. »

I tried to copy it, without any more success. After a few seconds, I lost patience and brushed the surface of the tip of my index finger. The screen lit up suddenly.

"Look. I succeeded. »

She grabbed my forearm to bring the watch closer to her face. The gesture was so natural and so fast that I didn't have time to react.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"I don't know exactly. I tapped everywhere. »

She looked up at me before letting go of me. Her look summed up quite well what she thought of my method.

"The important thing is that it worked," I said with a shrug.

She then held her own watch to her face. The black surface lit up immediately.

"There was no need to hit him. All you had to do was show her face. Like facial recognition. »

I looked down to avoid his accusing look. Of course. After a disembodied voice spoke about crime and redemption, our bracelets activated facial recognition. It was obvious.

Two elements appeared. The first was a counter displaying one hundred. The second one looked like a simplified map, made up of colorful shapes and symbols whose logic I didn't yet understand.

"The counter should show how many people are in the block," I said. "As for the other party... »

"It's a map," she concludes, bringing her screen closer to mine.

The name Mushroom appeared in the center of an area that was already clear. Further on, to the southwest, a square bore the inscription Point A. Everything else remained black and opaque, so many passages that were still unknown to us.

The interface reminded me of a Metroidvania map: only the explored areas were displayed, the rest remained black, as if they didn't exist yet. It was convenient, almost familiar, and that was precisely what made me uncomfortable. Someone had designed this nightmare with rules that we could understand.

"It must be the 404 card that I was talking about," I continued. "We're in Mistmushroom, and point A is in that direction."

When I looked up, I finally looked at the forest around us. A light mist glided between the trees. Huge mushrooms with shades of red emerged from the moss. Their hats emitted a soft glow that reflected off the damp trunks and revealed, here and there, golden particles suspended in the air.

She gazed at the scene in silence. For a moment his face lit up with an almost childlike curiosity. She immediately resumed her seriousness.

"The territory is represented by a mushroom on the map," she noted.

"There is 'mushroom' in the name. As in mushroom. It's quite logical. »

"I understood, thank you," she retorted.

Her gaze returned to the screen when she noticed that point A was written in a perfect square. I refrain from commenting. Putting words to the obvious was probably better than speculating on what could be hidden in the fog. I needed it as much as she did.

"Very well," she continued. "How do we get out of here, and in what direction should we go?"

"We could start by going back to point A. Maybe we'll find something there that we didn't see the first time. »

She watched me silently, as if she were weighing the pros and cons of the suggestion as much as the man who had just made it, and then she nodded.

"Okay."

She didn't hold out her hand to me right away. She looked at me first, then at my wrist and at the forest around us. I understood that she was still looking for a reason to refuse. Finally, she held out her hand to me, without warmth.

"Aria," she said simply. "We stay together until we understand where we are."

"Casimir," I replied, shaking him.

The contact was brief, but our agreement was clear from then on.

We set out without knowing precisely where the southwest was. The map indicated a general direction without specifying any path. In our situation, venturing into the right area of the forest was already a start. Soon, mushrooms lined our road. Some disappeared into the mist, while spores settled on our shoulders like silent snow. The damp earth sank under our feet.

The minutes stretched out. Aria would check her watch whenever the ground forced us to go around a trunk or a tangle of roots. I walked slightly forward, without knowing if it was of any use. The silence was heavy, but it did not yet require to be broken.

She stopped abruptly.

"What is it over there?"

I followed his gaze. A dark mass stood out at the bottom of a natural gap between the trees, too regular to belong to the forest.

"It's not a fungus."

As my eyes got used to the mist, straight lines and angles emerged.

"It looks more like a village."

"So maybe we're not alone."

A brief hope crossed his face. I didn't share it. Everything seemed too quiet, too well established, like a set built before our arrival and left as it was until the moment we were supposed to discover it.

"Let us approach with caution. It may not be what we think. »

"We don't really have a choice," she replied. "We have no provisions or shelter. If there's anything useful there, we need to find it before nightfall. »

I looked up at what looked like a sky, not sure it existed, and then nodded. She was right. We didn't know if there was a day-night cycle in the Block, and my stomach was a stark reminder that the little comforts of my old life were gone.

We got back on track, more slowly. Wooden houses were revealed among the trees. Lamps hung from the branches, their flames flickering in the absence of wind, and the dirt floor bore the marks of years of use. The smell of wood smoke mingled with that of sap and damp earth.

The place evoked those forgotten fables where travelers discover a small village that should never have been on their way. In general, this was not a good sign.

Silhouettes were drawn in the distance. Men.

Aria saw them at the same moment as me. All traces of relief have disappeared from his face.

"More men... she whispered.

The bitterness in his voice surprised me, but I didn't have time to ask myself questions. The figures were already approaching. I stepped forward slightly and greeted them, taking care not to appear threatening.

"Hello. We apologize for inconveniencing you. We would like to know where we are."

Four men approached, bare-chested, with thick beards, their skin scarred by work. Craftsmen of the forest, at first glance. I looked at their hands and shoulders. I also looked for a metal reflection, a wire mesh, something familiar. Nothing. Their clothes and equipment seemed to belong to another era.

"You are on our land, aren't you?" one of them asked in a deep voice, without the slightest apparent suspicion.

"I believe so. We woke up a little further away, in that direction. »

I made a vague gesture towards the forest. The men exchanged a look, and then the tallest of them took a step towards us.

"Fallen from the sky..." We have been waiting for you. »

I let these words settle in my mind. So they were expecting lost souls like us, without even knowing who would show up. The idea doesn't make me happy after a few seconds.

"My name is Casimir, and this is Aria. We were torn from our lives and brought here against our will, along with many other strangers. You, on the other hand, seem to have always lived in these woods. Could you tell us who you are? »

"Excuse our rudeness," the giant replied, bowing his head slightly. "We are Brad, Ben, Bobby and Born. And yes, we were born here. »

Their reception was too easy. None of them seemed really surprised to see us emerge from the fog.

"You said you expected people to fall from the sky. What does this mean exactly? »

Brad exchanged a glance with the others before explaining that their leader had been corrupted three years ago. He had disappeared into the forest, and those who had gone in search of him had never returned. Their friend Bikao had tried his luck a little over a month earlier. He too had disappeared.

Corrupt. Disappeared. Men who never came back. The place was becoming more and more welcoming.

I silently repeated the names: Brad, Ben, Bobby, Born, and Bikao. The question escaped me before I could even decide if it really deserved to be asked.

"If you allow me to ask you... Does your boss's name also start with a B? »

Aria shoved me with her shoulder.

"Casimir, this is not the time," she whispered.

The man in front of us didn't seem to understand what was bothering her.

"No," Brad replied. "His name is Albert."

Of course.

I met Aria's eyes. Their history seemed incomplete to me. Perhaps they were hiding part of the problem from us; perhaps they did not know it themselves.

"Your distress affects us," I replied cautiously, "but we have absolutely no jurisdiction to deal with a threat of this magnitude."

"Please," Brad continued. "We can only rely on strangers who have fallen from the sky."

This time, his words sounded differently. The voice of 404 reached me: the Territories contain quests, resources, and people of the Bloc. They also shelter enemies who have taken possession of each sector. You will have to eliminate them to progress and reopen the passages. There was no evidence that Albert was the only threat to Mushroom, but Brad's narrative felt almost too much like a role-playing quest, placed there to guide us.

I didn't know this land or its people, and I didn't know if these men were telling the whole truth. However, standing still would teach us nothing, and returning to point A without understanding the Bloc would get us nowhere.

I looked at Aria. She was on her guard, but her attention kept coming back to the four men. A compassion that she would probably have preferred to hide was nevertheless apparent in the way she listened to them.

"If you give us the tools and time to prepare, we'll try to help you," I said to the giant.

Aria immediately turned to me.

"Do you already accept? Are you serious? We have only just arrived, we know nothing about them, nothing about their history, nothing about what they really want... And you give them our word as if I were supposed to follow you without question? »

She was absolutely right. I had spoken too quickly and, above all, I had spoken for both of us. We knew almost nothing about these men, let alone about this corruption. I didn't know how to defend myself. I didn't even know if their story was true.

But standing still would get us nowhere. In the Bloc, inaction was already tantamount to condemnation. If we wanted to understand this place, sooner or later we would have to accept to take a risk.

I held his gaze, without trying to deny his anger.

"You're right. I should have asked you. But if our survival depends on a choice, then I prefer to move forward rather than stay here waiting for the Bloc to decide for us," I concluded.

Brad's relief was immediate. He pointed to Briana's house at the end of the road, and said that she made the tools of the village. I did not mention the fact that I had answered for both of us. Aria forgot nothing; His gaze showed me clearly before we had even begun to walk.

We followed the four men through the village. The ground was drying out and the mist was dissipating. The mushrooms gave way to houses closer together, almost ordinary, if one forgot the strange glow above the roofs.

On top of a small hill stood a lonely house, surrounded by stacked trunks and worn planks. The light filtered through the half-open shutters. Inside, a figure regularly passed in front of the opening. Brad knocked on the door with measured knocks.

"Open your mouth, Briana. We found two strangers. They agreed to help us against Albert and they will need your equipment. »

A brief silence preceded the voice of a woman, firm and assured.

"Foreigners here... It hasn't fallen from the sky here for ages. »

A chair scraped the floor, then footsteps approached. The door of the house opened.

"Very good. But I warn you: the tools I lend you are only for this expedition. You will return them to me once it is finished. »

Aria and I exchanged a glance before answering almost at the same time:

"Very well, ma'am."

Hearing Briana's voice, Aria relaxed slightly. I noticed it without saying anything.

The interior looked less like a house than a workshop. Arches were lined up against the wall like books on a shelf. A large workbench housed gears, braided ropes and pieces of polished wood. The tools were arranged with almost obsessive care; nothing was lying around.

Briana was a towering woman whose arms and hands bore the marks of long years of toil. A thick braid descended down her back, while her gaze examined us with an attention that was difficult to deceive. She scrutinized our faces, our posture and the watches on our wrists, without asking the slightest question.

"Sit down."

We obeyed. Briana leaned against her workbench with her arms crossed, and then told us what had happened to Albert.

He had ruled the village for decades and knew every path in Mistmushroom. One morning, he had left and never returned. When he was found, he had become blind to his own people, his skin swollen and eaten away by the rot of the giant fungus. His body continued to walk, but his disordered movements obeyed only the will of the scourge.

"The infection is spread through direct contact," Briana explained. "A simple scratch is enough. That is why those who went in search of him without preparation never returned. »

Aria and I remained silent. Briana continued, explaining how to follow her trail: we had to look for blanched mushrooms, discolored as if burned from the inside. These marks remained almost invisible to anyone unaware of their existence and quickly faded over such a vast territory.

She then left the workbench and led us to the wall where the weapons were hung.

"Choose what works for you. Only take what you think you can handle. »

Aria leaps to grab a recurve bow. The weapon was short and responsive, with a rope as black as ink. She cautiously tested the strength of the wood, as if to get to know him.

"Good choice," Briana agreed simply.

I took a look at the workshop. There were axes, pickaxes, rudimentary spears, and a stone-headed mace, but nothing that I knew. A solitary blade, stored near the bellows, caught my attention. I approached it and my fingers closed on the leather of the neck.

"This one will do."

"Are you going to pick that bastard sword?" asked Briana, looking at the weapon and my posture in turn. "I hope you know how to use it properly."

"Absolutely not," I admitted bluntly. "But if Aria is going to harass him from a distance, she needs a bulwark. Someone has to put themselves on the front line to get their attention and serve as a target. »

Aria turned back to me, her eyes wide.

"She just said not to approach her. And you plan to throw yourself in front of him? Seriously? »

Briana intervened before her outrage grew louder.

"It's not a bad idea," Briana says. "I have a suit that could protect him. If he manages to keep the creature at bay while you shoot, it can work. But only if you are well prepared and coordinated. »

"Don't get carried away," Aria interjected, crossing her arms. "Saying it's possible doesn't mean you'll get out of it safely."

"I know that," I said, looking down at the sword.

Briana then explained that Brad and Born would pick us up the next morning to start our training. She would also be present. His gaze passed from one to the other with the seriousness of someone who had already seen well-intentioned people embark on such an adventure and who knew what it could cost them.

"You must be exhausted," she concludes. "I'll show you where you can sleep."

We followed her outside. Night had fallen on Mushroom, but it had not completely obscured it. The mushroom colony was bathed in a soft golden half-light, while their spores floated in the air like thin snowflakes. The wind carried the smell of burnt wood and fresh sap. In other circumstances, I might have found the place pleasant.

Fatigue invaded me in waves. Aria was walking by my side, and her silence no longer had the tension of the beginning, but I felt that she was holding something back. After a few steps, she finally spoke without looking at me.

"You could have asked my opinion before agreeing for both of us."

"I know. I should have thought about it more. »

"Yes. You should have. »

His voice remained dry, but it was not as harsh as before. She seemed tired of having to remind me of the obvious.

"I'm sorry," I added. "I spoke too fast."

"I had noticed that."

With all this absurd story, I had to pretend to be the main character for a few seconds: the one who accepts a quest without thinking, convinced that everything will eventually turn in his favor.

I was probably going to regret it very soon.

A brief laugh escaped him. She took it back almost immediately, as if she refused to let me believe that I had amused her.

"You're really an idiot, Casimir."

She turned her head away, but I saw that she was smiling.

Despite the modest size of her house, Briana found a way to accommodate the three of us. She only had one bedroom and a large sofa in the living room. She offered Aria to sleep in her bed, while we settled elsewhere.

"I'm not going to take your room for myself while you sleep in the living room," Aria replied immediately. "The sofa will suit me perfectly."

Briana opened her mouth, but Aria had already turned her head away, with the assurance of someone who considered the discussion closed. Our host thought it useless to insist.

So I found myself lying on the couch next to Aria. It was wide enough for both of us, but not wide enough for us to forget each other. His shoulder brushed against mine from time to time, and I tried to stay still, feigning a calm I didn't have. I had always been an only child and I knew little about this kind of intimacy, let alone with someone I had met a few hours earlier. The situation disturbed me more than I wanted to admit.

The fire crackled faintly in the hearth. Outside, the village was plunged into silence. This silence had nothing to do with that of the forest: behind each wall slept people who had been waiting for three years for the return of a chief who had become a creature. This thought should have prevented me from closing my eyes. Fatigue almost got the better of her, however, when Aria's voice rose in the half-light.

"Casimir?"

"Yes?" I replied, turning my head slightly towards her.

She was staring at the ceiling beams when she requested:

"Do you believe that all this really exists?"

I took the time to think about it without finding a satisfactory answer. Aria kept going before I could make one up.

"We're going to have to hunt a monster. In an absurd world. Just thinking about it... Knowing that this anomaly exists makes me sick. »

"Me too. Crossing territories knowing that you could come across one at any time... it fills me with dread. »

I looked up at the ceiling as well, where the light of the fire was moving the shadows.

"But I refuse to die until I understand why the 404 code has labeled us as criminals."

Silence returned. There was nothing tense; It was simply the space that remained between two people thinking about the same thing without knowing what to do with it.

"I know I'm not easy to approach," she continued after a while. "But to find myself here with a stranger... Let's just say that's not really what makes me comfortable. »

I didn't answer right away. We were lying side by side, our eyes riveted on the same rays of the sun. For the first time since we woke up, the silence between us was not heavy. I thought back to her face in front of the men in the village, and then to how she had relaxed when she heard Briana's voice.

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable," I said at last, "but I noticed something. With the lumberjacks, you were on the defensive. With Briana, it was different. »

His fingers clenched on the edge of the blanket.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" I asked.

"I find it hard to admit it, but... No," she replied without looking at me. "Not you."

It was interrupted for so long that I thought it would go no further. Her voice was lower when she resumed.

"You understand me well. I've had bad experiences with most men. »

I remained silent for a few moments, fearing that a too quick answer would make him regret his confession.

"I'm sorry. If I ever do or say something that makes you uncomfortable, promise to tell me. »

"They often looked down on me," she whispered. "They talked to me as if I was worth less than them. As if my place was already decided. I would like to believe that everything is different here, that the Bloc is really resetting the counters... But it's not that simple. When I meet certain looks, the same reflexes come back. I close myself off. I remember that we are surrounded by strangers. And that some of them may be real criminals. »

His last words were lost in the darkness. I have refrained from asking indiscreet questions; she had already told me a great deal. I had no reason to insist.

After a while, his tone changed. He remained hesitant, but a new curiosity mingled with it.

"With you, it's different," she continued. "I don't know if you realize it, but I've been watching you since we woke up. At first, it was out of mistrust. Then... out of habit. And the more I looked at you, the more you seemed to me... docile. »

"Docile?" I repeated, turning my head towards her.

"Yes. It's strange, because you've made almost all the decisions today. You take the lead, you make suggestions, you accept absurd quests on behalf of other people... and yet, I have the impression that if I gave you an order, you would carry it out. »

A little laugh escaped me. It wasn't the word I would have chosen, but it didn't offend me.

"It's the first time anyone has said that to me. Usually, I always end up deciding for others, even when no one asks me to. So if someone takes that weight off my shoulders from time to time... I don't think it will hurt me. »

A muffled movement indicated that she had turned towards me. In the half-light, she didn't even try to hide her curiosity.

"And when I took your arm this morning... Did it really not bother you? »

"No."

My answer came out too quickly. I immediately looked away.

"Quite the opposite," I admitted. "I found this... reassuring. Enjoyable, too, actually. It's strange. Forget what I just said. »

"Why?" she asked softly. "Because you were just honest and it bothers you?"

I didn't answer.

"Casimir," she continued, "I am not going to pretend not to have heard anything to please you. If it bothers you, we can stop there. But if you need to talk... I can listen to you. We promised to stay together, didn't we? It might as well be useful. »

His gaze no longer expressed the fierce distrust of the beginning. He remained cautious, but was no longer closed.

"You're right," I said, smiling in spite of myself. "But what you wear comes first. I really wish I could help you get through this. I'm going to train. I want you to feel safe by my side. »

"It's touching, Casimir. Really. But don't decide for me what I need. I'm stronger than you think. On the other hand, we can train together. Protecting each other. It suits me perfectly. »

"Very good. Sorry. I wanted to do well. »

"Exactly," she replied with a slight smile. "That's usually how you end up doing something stupid."

She got a little closer, so close that her shoulder almost grazed mine.

"And then... When I said that you seemed docile, I don't think I was mistaken. Maybe I'll be the one who will lead the dance between us. »

She looked away, but her smile remained discreet.

"That should be fine with you, right? You said that you wanted to have a little less responsibility. »

I couldn't find anything to answer. Aria noticed him, and her smile lost its provocation. She seemed mostly relieved.

We talked for a while. There were no big confessions, only a few details about our lives, questions that neither of us could answer, and silences that were less heavy than at the beginning of the day.

I never knew when Aria fell asleep. In the middle of the night, sleep has carried her away; His shoulder rested against mine to the peaceful rhythm of his breathing. I forbade myself the slightest movement. I didn't want to wake her up and, deep down, I absolutely didn't want her to move away.

Sleep came later. Much later.