Chapter 29 - Will Make It Up to You

  Alex wakes up slowly. Just like before, he hadn’t dreamed. Not really. His mind had just been floating in that infinite black nothingness. Something about it seemed off though, a feeling that he wasn’t the only presence there. But as he resurfaces from the slumber, the memory of it fades like any dream would.

  Sometime during his rest, he’d rolled over and put an arm around Hara’s flank, his cheek resting against one of the smooth, flat facets of the crystals in her back. He rolls onto his back and stretches, feeling several joints pop. Taking a deep breath, Alex focuses inwards, trying to gauge how long he’d slept… Nine hours and some change. And it felt like it too. He was well rested and felt refreshed, despite having slept on the bare ground.

  He looks over, seeing Hara still sound asleep and lightly snoring. Alex eases over out from under the rock and notices Corvus resting atop the stone, his head tucked under a wing. Doing his best not to disturb either of them, Alex steps away from their makeshift camp.

  The fireflies still dance in the air, unbothered and uncaring of the guest in their habitat. The moss squishes lightly underfoot, only to spring right back up when Alex lifts his boot again. And the air is clean and crisp, carrying earthy scents. And the sounds, soft babbling of the multiple streams join with a quiet chorus of insects. It’s easily the most peaceful place Alex has seen in Hell.

  Making his way over to one of the streams, Alex squats down and reaches his hand into the water. It’s cool and clear. Cupping his palms together, Alex scoops some up to his mouth and takes a cautious drink. It’s clean and refreshing. He scoops a few more handfuls up, swallowing greedily. Next, he washes his face, scrubbing at his skin with fingertips. Despite the multiple days without bathing, Alex doesn’t particularly seem dirty. A benefit of being a physical manifestation of a soul, rather than a living body, he supposes. All the same though, he strips out of his clothes and uses his shirt as a washcloth to at least wipe himself down. Necessary or not, it makes him feel better.

  Finished with his grooming, Alex spreads the shirt out next to the stream to dry. Taking a closer look at the banks of the stream, Alex notices a few green shoots growing from the moss-beds. They look similar to the tubers, so Alex digs one up. What he finds though is a white bulb at the root base, about fist sized. “Onions?” He muses, bringing the plant to his nose and sniffing it. It certainly smells like an onion. He digs up a few more, tucking them into his knapsack. The tubers he’d eaten before were like a mix between a carrot and a potato, but alien enough to him that it hadn’t registered as either one. These, however, they’re onions for sure.

  Searching around the area a bit more, Alex finds a few more plants that trigger recognition in his mind. A patch of dandelion, something close enough to lamb’s-ear, and some sweet smelling berries. The moss-garden environment appears quite rich in edible plants. At least Alex hopes they’re edible.

  Settling next to the stream again, Alex rinses his prizes off in the cool water. He’s in the middle of rubbing the fine fuzz from the broad leaves of the one he thinks is lamb’s-ear when he hears the rustling of feathers. He turns his head, “Hey Corvus, look…” But trails off as his eyes catch a blur of red movement.

  The bird darts past Alex’s head, then angles up into a loop before swooping low again to land on the opposite side of the stream from Alex. The brilliant ruby-red plumage announces quite clearly that it isn’t corvus. It’s about the size of Alex’s head, so slightly larger than Corvus’s bird form. Then Alex notices it has extra wings. The bird spreads them open, showcasing a large wingspan with its primary wings, and a second set of smaller wings further down its torso. The critter lets out a trilling call before settling back down and looking at Alex with jerky motions of its head, cocking side to side to see him out of each eye.

  Alex had seen similar birds during his travels prior to reaching the Abyssal Grotto, but none up close. He grins, holding himself motionless for fear of startling the thing. After a moment, the bird’s call is answered by another and Alex turns his head to see a darker red one glide through the cavern’s upper reaches. The one studying him must have seen all it wanted, because it takes a couple hopping strides and launches itself upwards again to join the other one.

  Watching them fly into the distance together, Alex had nearly forgotten the food in his hand, which slips through his fingers and splashes into the stream. “Shit!” Alex grabs for the piece of Lamb’s-ear and misses, overbalancing in the process and sending him falling into the shallow stream himself. He lands with a splash, floundering for a moment before sitting up. He groans at first, wiping the water from his face, then starts to laugh. The commotion seems to have finally roused his companions, as Corvus and Hara approach while Alex is wringing the water out of his shirt.

  “Are you enjoying yourself, Alex?” Corvus asks, a touch of amusement creeping into his voice. The crow flaps over to the knapsack, perching atop it and examines the plants that Alex had gathered. “You’ve been quite productive, it seems.”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Alex shakes out his shirt, then pulls it back on. “Yeah. I think I found some food. These seem pretty familiar, and I was going to ask you before trying to eat them.” He says, sitting back down next to the pack. Alex spreads the onions, lambs’-ear, dandelions, and berries out, watching as Corvus looks them over.

  Corvus nods. “Yes, these are edible. Good eye, Alex. That should-” He’s cut off as Hara goes splashing into the stream, rooting around with her head under the water. When she lifts her head, she’s holding a large glittering chunk of rock in her muzzle. “Make a fine meal.” He finishes, barely containing a laugh at the hound’s antics.

  “Hara eat too!” The wet hellhound announces, trotting back out of the water. “Found shiny rock!” And with no more hesitation, she plops down on the mossy ground and starts licking the stone. To Alex’s shock, even her licking at the rock seems to wear parts of it smooth, as if she were eating icecream.

  After watching Hara for a few moments, Alex pulls out his knife and starts to chop up the items he’d found. With a few minutes’ work, he has the makings of a simple wild salad, complete with a dressing of berry juice and dandelion milk. “Would you like some?” He asks Corvus, but the crow just shakes his head.

  “I have no need for it, and you would benefit far more.” Corvus answers. “Besides, my prime-self will be having a fine dinner quite soon. I am looking forward to that.” He continues, not missing the envious look on Alex’s face. “When you no longer need my guidance, and our deal is satisfied, I will make it up to you.”

  Alex chuckles. “Fine, fine. But it better not be birdseed.” He retorts with a snicker.

  The meal, while simple, has an immediate revitalizing effect on Alex. Before he’s even half-way finished eating, he can feel his energy picking up. The crisp and bitter salad was just what he needed, apparently. He finishes it off with a few more handfuls of water from the stream.

  “Feel ready to head out?” Corvus asks the pair as they clean up after their food. Hara wags and looks to Alex, who grabs his pack and slings it back over his shoulder.

  Alex isn’t quite ready to leave just yet. “I want to gather some more supplies from here, since this place seems to be good for gathering food.” Corvus agrees, and Alex starts collecting more of the onion-like plants and the lamb’s-ear leaves. Once he’s got a good bundle of both, he packs them away in his knapsack.

  “OK, now I’m ready.” Alex says, and closes his eyes, focusing on that subtle pull on his sense of direction. “That way.” He points, indicating a direction that would take them up one side of the cavern’s expansive walls.

  On the move again, Alex mentions the birds to Corvus. He explains what he saw, describing them both and how one had landed to get a look at him. “Then they both took off, flying deeper into the cavern. They were really pretty.” He says, grinning at the memory of them.

  Corvus listens to Alex recount the experience with rapt attention. “That type of bird does not usually come near people. It may have been judging if it could steal some of your berries.” He says with a cawwing chuckle.

  Alex smirks. “If I’d thought about it, I’d have tried to feed it.” He says, then looks at Hara. “You two ready to start really moving again?” He asks, mentally preparing himself to start using the intent-movement again.

  Both give their agreement, and Alex readies himself. When he feels the bolstering presence of their power, he steps off, able to cover far more distance in this environment. The moss cavern doesn’t have much in the way of larger growths, or tall stone formations, so the sightlines are long and unbroken. Alex takes full advantage of it as he stretches his capacity for the intent-movement, picking more and more distant points to jump to. With the other two providing an assist, Alex doesn’t feel the same drain that had plagued his early uses of the skill.

  All too soon though, Alex reaches the point his sense of direction had been pulling. Arriving at the spot, it isn’t immediately apparent where he’s meant to go. The tug on his senses seems to point straight down.

  Taking the moment to catch his breath, Alex paces around the area. He can’t discern anything special about it, the same mosses cover everything, the same streams trace lines through little troughs in the ground, and even the fireflies still blink in the air. But his sense-of-direction still points him right here. And then with one step, Alex’s boot crashes through the ground. His leg sinks in up to his knee before the moss collapses under his weight, sending Alex tumbling into an opening hidden by the growths.

  “Alex!” Hara bolts over, putting her head through the open hole. “Alex ok?” She asks with a whine. But her heavier mass collapses more of the surface. At least for her, the fall is more controlled, the moss sagging, then breaking apart in clumps as she sinks into the opening of the tunnel.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” Alex says, getting up and dusting himself off. “I’ve really gotta stop falling down these things, it’s turning into a habit.” He says with a smirk. Luckily the gravity had shifted just inside the opening, so Alex hadn’t fallen far, just a few feet. The tunnel appears caked in even more moss, the blue-green patchwork stretching off into the distance. The passage is barely tall enough for Alex to stand up in.

  Corvus flaps through the opening and lands on Hara’s back. “Ah, I was wondering what happened to this route. It seems the infrequent use has started to take its toll.” He comments. “If memory serves, there should be one more large cavern between us and New Europa.”

  Alex looks over his shoulder to nod at the crow. “Then let’s go.”