3. Fungal Cave

Thragg’s jagged axe hissed downward, aiming to cleave Nindia in two. But with a sharp inhale, Nindia twisted her body, rolling swiftly to the side just as the blade smashed into the stone floor with a deafening crack. Chips of rock sprayed around her, but she didn’t stop—momentum carried her through the roll, and she came to a crouch, scimitar still clutched in her hand.

"Missed," she hissed, a sly grin playing on her lips. Thragg snarled in frustration, yanking his weapon free from the fractured ground.

---

Meanwhile, Faramos seized the fleeting moment. Gritting his teeth, he lunged at Uggoth, gripping his hand axe with both hands. With a grunt of effort, the dwarf swung upward, hoping to drive the axe into the orc's groin.

Uggoth saw the movement just in time, twisting his hips to avoid the worst of the blow and using his morningstar to parry. Because of that, Faramos's axe missed its original target—but not completely. The blade caught the edge of Uggoth’s face in its upward swing, slicing clean through his now severed nose in a spray of dark blood.

Uggoth staggered back, clutching his ruined face with both hands as blood poured freely. His eyes rolled back, and with a guttural choke, the orc collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud, broken from shock and blood loss.

Continues in my next post

As Thragg reared back, preparing another devastating blow at Nindia, a blur of movement erupted from his flank. With a roar, Brenda brought the blade in a vicious swing, slashing across Thragg’s side. The steel bit deep into the orc’s flesh, carving through muscle and sinew with brutal force.

Thragg howled in pain, staggering under the attack. Blood seeped from the deep gash along his ribs, staining his greenish skin and dripping onto the stone floor. His battleaxe wavered in his hands, heavy and sluggish now. For a moment, his rage flickered—replaced by grim acknowledgment.

Breathing heavily, Thragg took a step back, raising a hand in surrender. "Enough," he snarled, his voice rough with exhaustion. With a grudging grunt, Thragg lowered his battleaxe. "You fight like beasts, I’ll give you that." His lips curled in a bitter grin, though his eyes still burned with the desire for violence. "The fungus? Do what you will. This fight’s over, let me live."

Then, with one last sneer, he limped toward Uggoth’s unconscious form, clutching his wounded side. He paused, as if deciding whether to help his fallen comrade or leave him.

Faramos after seeing that Uggoth is no more a treat to them and approaching Thragg isn't the one obsessed about this mysterious fungi prophet relax a bit and lowers his axe that is dirty of Uggoth blood and have some small parts of his skin. But he still observes Thragg every move.

Seeing Thragg's hesitation Faramos frowns and says with calm, philosophical, almost sad tone cased by unnecessary bloodshed:
"Life. Life is priceless. As long as it's not corrupted into... something else. Those fungi chimeras are between the life and death. Truly the worst situation your soul could get into. It is NOT how Nature have designed things. This corruption will only lead to more corruption. And those forces won't stop until they swallow the whole world. We have to nip them in the bud. You have to understand that. You should have discovered it in our fight. It wasn't only us fighting. I was the forces of Natural Order that worked with us..."

Faramos moves his gaze from Thragg's wounds to beaten up silhouette of Uggoth, lying on the ground, continues his trance-like speech as if he was truly inspired by the forces of nature or some spirits of old druidic order was speaking with him: "We will spare your life. And you shouldn't hesitate with helping your friend. He will understand... with time. When we will be done with our task. BUT... you have to give us your world: to keep him out of our ways... as it was the last time when the Nature gave him a chance of waking up from his blindness. Next time... we will make sure that his body and soul will go to the other side... without possibility of getting back... in any form." - he finished almost melancholy, as if he shuddered at the thought of what this meant in practice.

Suddenly Faramos shifts his mood again, becoming a young, energetic and nothing less than stubborn dwarf that he usually is and says:
"Brenda, Nindia, Korena? Everything is well with you?" - he looks over his friends, than turns his whole body, straightens his back, push out his muscular chest and says in the direction of apparent orc's leader:
"Well... Graknok... now you see that we don't throw words to the wind. And now: I would like to see that you are able to keep yours." - he finishes his statement, genuinely curious about Graknok reaction.

She silently took her throwing axe. By the moment Faramos end his monologue and look at Brenda and Nindia he realize rogue is whispering something funny to Brenda, both laughing silently.

Faramos was looking at the orc with calm, but calculating demeanor as he would try to read from the cunning orc's face... what else are there in those caves that orcs find so valuable.

The silence was taking longer then probably most of gathered would want, when Brenda looking at Faramos from the side - as one who spend most of her childhood and a lot of time in general with Farmos, knowing him well enough - noticed this very specific kind of smile of his, that very rarely appeared on Faramos face. As he would smile with only left corner of his lips. She knew that it was appearing only when his dwarven merchant's ancestry was resurfacing from deep within of him. She know that 'Faramos the Son of Merchant' was standing before them, looking at the orc and judging him at that very moment. Replacing temporarily 'Farmos the Force of Nature' or simply: 'Farmos the Wild' who was usually so well covering the former.

Finally he answered with very calm and not revealing his true thoughts voice, although not lying:
"We came to those caves for knowledge. Seeking more information about nature of those woods... and the keep that is nearby. Whispering Woods that bothered me for so long. Even... how to say it..." - Faramos hesitated for a moment - "The woods that have imprinted some kind of seal over me..."

He continued quickly changing the subject:
"Anyhow: you can keep the cave and its ordinary valuables for yourself. I would be even happy for my future... ally" - Faramos underscores this word visibly - "to have a proper base of operations. But: before it will become fully a domain of yours... we will investigate its older parts for last traces of fungi and any last pieces of forgotten knowledge, that shouldn't be lost."

There are humans who come to a place you live to take everything you have and kill anyone who stand in their way. I'm neither one of them nor am proud of my species behaving in such a way.
Nindia announce with a pain in her voice Nindia (Faramos and Brenda would realize she is talking about Rust Brothers).
Things that you don't have - thing that we will get access to while cleaning the place of the cursed things...
For example - should we find centuries old dwarf relic and you say it belong to Graknok... would you even feel safe saying so?

Nindia suggest to agree to postpone decision of loot ownership until we have any, there may as well be no loot whatsoever.
She would also ask to see Korena's opinion and willingness to team up with orcs.

If the maps are detailed and actual - copy them may be more than we hoped for.
There's spoiled wine in depot near the entrance. Sounds doable. Nindia is don't thing twice, turns around leaving the barracks with short Let's go invitation to her companions.

She is trying to sound convinced and assured, but she is not. Nindia knows to hold on to her worries until they have left the barracks. How to deliver the wine to the plan without getting poisoned ? No idea

Nindia’s boots echoed softly against the stone as she led the way out of the barracks, her face set in a mask of calm confidence.

Behind her, the others followed—Brenda with her sword still in hand, Faramos glancing back at the orcs, and Korena trailing at the rear, bow slung across her back. The heavy wooden door creaked shut behind them, sealing the barracks away with the scent of stale sweat and rusted iron.

Soon enough, they approached the depot near the entrance. The musty odor of old supplies, wood rot, and spilled wine greeted them as they stepped into the storage area.

Nindia stopped by a stack of barrels, tapping one thoughtfully. "There it is." She forced her voice to remain light, even throwing a glance at Faramos as if they were merely discussing ale at a tavern. "Now we just need a way to carry it... without it carrying us to our graves."

Brenda gave a short chuckle and Korena began scanning the room for anything that might help. Meanwhile, Nindia took a deep breath, stealing herself. They still had to figure this out.

Faramos, do you think you can use that axe to carve out something like trough for wine from any tree outside?
Nindia has no idea how much wine is needed, but would imagine cutting off a medium tree and carving such thing or perhaps something simpler. Unless anyone have a better idea, but without nails I can't see making a container out of planks This may work, or may as well not, but I'm ready to risk: I would pour wine on myself and carry more wine into the cave. Hoping that wine either prevent plan from attacking or provide me some temporal protection against spores, so that I can run away

"I don't think soaking yourself in wine is a good idea, Nindia, as Graknok told us that the plant has a hunger for meat and spoiled wine. I think we should hunt and soak an animal's carcass in it."

"The trough seems a good idea. It will let us give it even more spoiled wine at once. I can try to make one, but it will take me half a day and some wood. What do you think Faramos?" - said Brenda

I'm not a plant, but if I has a hunger for fresh juice, I wouldn't stab that juice with a sword. Nindia don't want to immediately admit she were wrong and provides a number of argues why she thinks feeding plant with hunted animal is no way better.
Or, do you mean I should get into the animal skin hoping that skin would protect me? We know too little to make any informed decision I'm afraid.
She takes a deep breath and turns to Faramos: Actually I don't care to risk just to prevent some weak zombies spawning by some mad orc. Your call. I can as well leave this issue to orcs.

While they were marching from barracks towards storage room, Faramos stoped for a moment near underground stream of water, took out Leather armor from his backpack, put it into the water and pressed it with big stone, so it wouldn't be taken by the water current.
"What?" - he commented seeing the surprised faces of his friends - "The cold water and the current should wash it and it should loose some of its orcish smell... to phrase it in delicate way..."

---

At the storage room.

Faramos looked over his gathered friends with serious face, feeling that now when they are at the depot, they can at least talk freely:
"Unfortunately I don't think we can leave the matter to orcs. Regardless to what Graknok think about himself, he wasn't smart enough to solve the problem earlier. So he will not solve it in the future. It will only grow... We can't allow those lands to get infested by fungi-zombies. With enough time they could even spread as far as to Willowbrook. And who knows what other villages with innocent people are nearby? Besides I think we need those maps."

"But getting back to the problem at our hands. First of all: I must admit, that unfortunately this Graknok didn't mange to convince my that we can trust him.... He is a little too much sure about how smart he is. And he also started to talk like some kind of king of this place... too soon. Plus: there was too little US and to much YOU in all this talking about fighting fungi..."
- Faramos frowned thinking about orcs leader some more, then continued:

"Providing us only with some advices is not enough. We will have to either force them to fight with us with the fungi OUTSIDE of mad orc's chambers too or... bring the fight to their quarters... so they would have no choice, but to help us. " - he concluded with a cunning smile and continued:
"I think - Nindia - that would lower our risk significantly and I count on you in this matter the most."

"But that's for later. Let's get this Purple Lotus first. Did I understood your plan correctly: first we hunt for some fresh meet," - Faramos eyes lighted up on this prospect - ", while some of us make trough to pour wine in it, we put the meat in the wine and trough, mix it well, and deliver it as a nice package to the purple fungi? Yes?"

Springrise, 11th day.
Day
"I guess that's the plan. If you lend me your axe, I can get some wood in a quarter day, while you hunt. Then, together, both of us can spend another quarter day to make the trough."