The Mini Map showed my destination. I was on my way to Utica. The Quest description did say the Mycelium Sample was in an underground area.
I guess I am going into the subway. I also guess that it would not be the normal subway tunnel.
I got there without incident. The quest did not say that the Kobolds would not attack me, so kept being cautious.
I was very proud of myself for remembering my Directional Light Crystal aka my flashlight. In the dungeon there was torches, but I was not going to take a chance,
Navigating the stairs down, I again thanked my foresight. It would be ironic if I died from breaking my neck as fell down some stairs in a world where we fight Kobolds.
The place was eerie—empty and dark. Sometimes I stopped and tried to remember what it had looked like before—commuters squeezing past each other, tourists dragging suitcases, the constant noise of movement. Standing there alone made it feel like all of that had belonged to someone else’s life.
I shook the thoughts away and walked deeper into station. A faint blue light at the very end of the platform drew my attention.
As I got closer, I saw the normal blue screen and a table. There were a map and a compass on it.
It seemed easy enough, but I knew the System would not make it that easy. I picked up the map and studied it. It was cryptic. I had no idea what anything meant… but I was sure I would figure it out.
Eventually.
I leaned down and picked up the compass. As soon as it touched my hand, it began to glow and the needle jittered a bit.
Okay then.
I studied the map. According to it, there should have been a door somewhere nearby. After a few minutes of searching, I found a completely nondescript door set into one of the walls.
It wasn’t locked. It opened into a narrow service corridor. Pipes ran overhead, and the walls were damp from dripping water. The air smelled earthy, even though I was walking on bare concrete.
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The passage slowly began to change. The pipes disappeared first. Then the corridor widened, and I noticed the floor had shifted from concrete to hard-packed dirt. The transition was seamless, almost unsettling.
After a while, the passage forked. Both corridors looked identical, and the map showed them winding toward the same destination. The compass was no help at all—it didn’t seem to point north.
When I turned to face north according to the map, the compass still pointed down the left passage, which wasn’t north.
At least, not according to the map.
After some debate with myself, I decided to follow the compass. There had to be a reason for it—hopefully a good one.
I walked for a while, only to reach a section of the passage that had completely caved in. To my utter disappointment, the compass still pointed straight ahead, but there was no way I was getting past the rubble.
I checked the map again and noticed a symbol I hadn’t paid attention to before—a broken root icon along that route.
Broken root equals blocked passage. Got it.
I retraced my steps and took the other corridor instead. The compass stubbornly continued pointing toward the collapsed passage, indicating a direction that would have been beyond the cave-in.
The passage split again. This time, two side corridors branched off from the main tunnel, which continued into the distance. The left one had a leaf symbol on the map, and the right one was marked with a circle.
The main passage had no markings at all. I let my finger trace it on the map, but it eventually dissolved into a confusing web of branching tunnels.
So, right it was—following the compass yet again.
I kept walking until the corridor opened into a slightly wider chamber. A small chest sat on the ground, completely alone.
I stared at it for a moment.
Is there a catch?
Cautiously I moved closer and lifted the lit. Inside was a shovel. A small shovel.
I took it out and looked it over, Part one done and next a vessel. So, a bag or… Something to put the Mycelium in.
The Compass needle jittered again and pointed back the way I came from. I tried to trace where the passage I was in was going and it appeared to end.
I backtracked and arrived back at the main passage.
Now What?
The compass pointed down the main passage, so… I followed it.
I kept walking for what felt like forever, until the passage suddenly went completely crazy. It split into a multitude of paths. The original tunnel snaked onward, but it grew narrower and eventually split into three more branches.
Now the compass started pulling me toward the left. I checked the map and saw that it was forcing me down the path marked with a circle.
Okay. So just go down the passage and see.
I walked for a long while, and then the passage simply ended. It wasn’t blocked. It didn’t collapse. It just… stopped.
And just like that, I discovered what the circle meant.
Okay. Backtrack. Again.
Walking back felt even longer than the original trek, and I was back to square one. The compass still wanted to go left. I continued walking and kept my eye on the compass. At another passage going left, I decided to take that passage.
It didn’t have a leaf symbol on it, but neither did the map. Instead, the lines marking that passage were dotted. I had no idea what that meant, but what choice did I have but to continue?
Very soon, I realized why the passage had been marked that way.
It became extremely narrow and tight.
I wasn’t a big guy, but I still had to turn sideways and squeeze through. Thankfully, it opened up into a larger chamber. I was even more relieved to see another passage leading out of it.
Only after making sure the passage was bigger than the one I squeezed through to get there, did I notice the pedestal in the middle of the room.
It looked like a sleek metal case, rectangular and solid, with fresh leather straps and polished hinges. The surface was smooth and unblemished, like it had just been manufactured. It didn’t look like a weapon case or a chest—more like a specialized toolbox, or something a professional traveller might carry for work.
I shrugged and picked it up. It even had a space I could attached the little shovel to.
Nice. Two down and two to go…
I took the bigger passage and looked at my compass to find a route. It appeared to want me to go straight ahead and a bit to the right.
Unfortunately, the passage was going straight, but it was the only option I had. The passage just continued on and on, with no side passages.
I finally got to a side passage but in the wrong direction, but the passage I had been on now showed a broken root, so it was blocked. I had no choice but to move in the complete opposite direction from where I needed to go.
Okay then…