Chapter 22

Fungistul City, year 506

"I say, it's a revolutionary power! The king will be very pleased!"

Gary sidled up against the rubbery wall, holding his shirt over his mouth to filter the heavily fungal air. There was a conversation going on between some small but important-looking mushroom-people around the corner. He wasn't sure what they were talking about, so he kept still and listened carefully. They might say something about Dad.

"With the discovery of this mirrored world, we'll be able to go anywhere! The Fungistuls will be invincible! And the power of this world is all contained in this tiny pearl; you can carry it anywhere," the same mushroom creature said.

"I'm not so sure he'll approve," said a second Fungistul. "He's always been peaceful. He will find no use for this so-called pearl of darkness."

Another one spoke up: "Trust us. He's thirstier for power than you know. You forget th' time, four hundr'd years ago, when 'e drove th' Moblins from our woods by floodin' ther village with swampy poison. Ol' King Mushi plans to attack th' humans' castle. Don'tcha understand? That's why we got that human locked in the vaults fer. Questionin'."

"I don't believe you."

"You don't, eh? Well, 'ear this. I caught a piece of 'is conversation. Th' king's askin' 'im questions all about their army. That guy's a soldier. He ain't sayin' nothing, though. I'm not too sure about how it'll all turn out, but I know one thing: Mushi's gonna attack."

Gary flinched. They were talking about his dad; he knew it. He knew it was probably best for Dad to keep quiet about Myrennia's army, but Gary sure hoped they weren't doing anything to him.

"He has no reason to attack them; your argument isn't convincing," said Fungistul number two.

The first Fungistul spoke again. "I say, have you been paying attention? He flooded the Moblins out for the very same reason he's doing this. He wants the humans out so we can expand past these woods. He wants power over all Myrennia. And I say we back him up! It's about time we left this musty old place."

"Aye."

"I think you're all crazy. Why do we need to drive people from their homes in order to be content? I don't care if you all go to war with the humans, I'm not supporting you."

"Then we'll 'ave to report you to th' king, eh?"

"I do say...looks like somebody will be thinking things over in the vaults."

"Get off me! You're all crazy!"

There was a muffled thump and then a light scraping against the stone floor. Soon all sound had faded away. Gary stood still, horrified. He had to get to King Laurence and warn him about the attack. But first, he had to find a way to free his dad. No way was he leaving without him.

Gary peeked around the corner; the feet of one of the Fungistuls were disappearing around the corner. He silently pushed away from the wall and followed them. They would lead him right to his father.

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Horacio quietly watched the human-sized mushroom guards pace back and forth in the decrepit, overgrown courtyard. There was a pattern to how they walked; he knew it. If he could nail the pattern, he might be able to sneak across, given he timed it right. Maybe it was just their oversized heads, but they looked pretty smart to Horacio. He would have to be extra silent.

Whatever the strange creatures were, he was positive they weren't friendly. Why else would they trap him in such a deathly room? Hadn't Freid mentioned something about mushrooms when he was talking about the Fungistuls? He couldn't remember; he had been shaken up from the whole situation. Fungistuls were the only creatures he could think of, though.

There were two guards in the courtyard. They seemed to be walking in triangular paths, splitting the yard in half. Whenever one had his back turned, the other was facing in Horacio's direction. Several times Horacio flinched as the guard came close, but the tangle of vines draped over the wall had helped to conceal him.

There were a few possible exits. One was to climb up the vines and clamber over the top of the wall in hopes that nobody was there. There were also two doors in the courtyard, not counting the one he had come from. One door was on the opposite side; he quickly disposed of that option. The other door was set in the wall he was standing against. It was at about the same distance as the one he had come out of.

Now that he knew the guards' patterns, he realized how foolish he had been to dash from the door to the vines. He had been extremely lucky to make it without being seen. Somehow he was leaning toward climbing the vines, probably because there might be a solid roof he could run across and make it to the outside of this place.

But then he remembered. He was supposed to get the medallion. Was he in old Moblin temple? There was no way to know. Now that he knew that it was full of these creatures, he wasn't so sure he wanted to risk it for Link. There had to be some other way; maybe he could plan a surprise attack on Freid. That was just assuming he hadn't already gone off somewhere with Link.

That was it. Horacio decided he had to act fast; it was now or never. The vines proved to be strong and held fast when he tugged at them. When one guard passed by, Horacio gave him a whack over the head with his hands clasped. The soft cap gave way under his fists and the Fungistul collapsed to the floor. Horacio shot a glance through the vines at the other guard; he was still facing the other way.

There would be just enough time for him to pull himself over the wall. He climbed through the curtain and then leaped for a high handhold. The wound on his right hand stung fiercely; he bit his lip and struggled to pull himself to the ledge. The soft footsteps of the other guard suddenly quickened. He had been seen...it was too late. There was an explosive cacophony of noise and Horacio lost his grip. His head hit the stone floor with a smack, and everything went black instantly.

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A blinding light penetrated Link's eyelids. He groaned and rolled on his side groggily, then suddenly shot upright in surprise, banging his head on the low ceiling. His pupils contracted and he squinted, trying to keep out the enormous amount of light. After several minutes of waiting, he gave up and closed his eyes from the intense glow. Instead, he felt around his surroundings with his hands.

Freezing, extremely hard, smooth rock was the only substance he could feel. The floor beneath him, the walls all around him, the ceiling a foot above his head...they were all the same. He shivered against the ice-like stone. It was quite a small chamber; it would be very uncomfortable had he been stuck with someone else. There was just enough room to adjust his position.

There was absolutely no sound other than the light sound of his tunic and skin rubbing against the stone. Even the mildewy scent of the Fungistuls was not present; there was such a freshness to the air that it made him slightly nauseous.

What worried Link was the lack of holes anywhere. Every inch of the flat, smooth rock was completely solid. Was I buried alive? How long do I have left before my oxygen runs out? Why does it seem like I have so much air? Why is it so bright? Am I dead? Questions raced through his mind. He attempted to open his eyes, but with the same result as before. He might as well be dead.

Link rested for several minutes, allowing the light to seep through his eyelids, watching the bright orange display of veins twitch every now and then. There were several times he tried opening his eyes again, only to find that they had still not adjusted to the light. Then suddenly he was aware of something. A straight line, slightly bluish, across his vision. He hoped it wasn't something wrong with his eyes.

But then another one appeared, and another. Soon he could make out the edges of his prison. And before long, he could see most of his surroundings. He was so shocked that he was unable to gasp.

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Fungistul Vaults, year 506

Gary peered around the corner, eager to get out of the cold, dripping tunnel. The two Fungistuls he had followed were still talking with the vault guard, trying to talk him into letting them pass. He glanced back down the bright tunnel, terrified at each drop of water that hit the ground. Somebody could come along at any time and all his efforts would be for naught.

It had been a long walk. The tunnel had been straight for a while and then branched into several hallways. Flat, shelf-like mushrooms jutted from the walls, and the floor was made up of hard mushroom caps that had been forced together. Freezing drops of water rained down every once in a while. If Gary's estimations were correct, the tunnel had actually taken them underneath the very lake in front of the castle. Now that the tunnels were getting higher, the dripping was less frequent, and the air was getting colder and colder, he assumed they were underneath the small snowy island in the middle.

The tunnel had been quite bright, since the very mushrooms making it up glowed. Up ahead, though, he could see there was a brighter source of light. At the rate those Fungistuls were talking, he would never find out where it was coming from.

"Aye, Bronce, we's come on behalfs of the king. Don't you try an' block me and Yale, or we'll report you, too!"

"Shut yer trap, Dale. You two ain't goin' nowhere but back where you came from," replied Bronce, the guard. "An' I recommend seein' a doc about both yur 'eads."

"I say, I've never seen so many of our own kind act so stupidly! Neither of us are crazy. King Mushi will have YOUR head for keeping us from doing his work. We're reporting you immediately!" Yale shouted at the top of his lungs.

"You do that, eh? See where that gets you, idiots!" Bronce said, raising his voice slightly.

Gary panicked as Yale and Dale whirled around and strutted back toward the tunnel, dragging the limp Fungistul from earlier. There was nowhere to go but back down the tunnel, and fast. He dashed around the corner and dodged into a side passageway; no looking back.

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Link marveled at how long he had been in the crystal chamber without suffocating. Either there was some hidden air hole or he hadn't been in there as long as it seemed. There was clear pale blue as far as the eye could see. Somehow he was in a perfectly carved rectangular space surrounded by endless glowing crystal, or so it seemed. It still felt like subzero temperatures.

He pounded on the glassy ceiling and yelled, but the sound only rang back into his ears, louder. He lay still. It was like being suspended in empty space. Nobody was there to see or hear him. Nobody was there to get him out.

What had happened to Horacio and Tael? Maybe the whole thing about the temple deep in the swamp was a lie. Maybe there was no temple, no medallion. Horacio was probably wandering around in the swamp right now, or worse. As for Tael, there was no saying where the fairy had gotten to.

Link rolled on his side, pressing his cheek against the cold floor. He felt numb all over, but he was still breathing fine. Suddenly he held his breath. There was a faint pulsating sound vibrating through the crystal, slightly slower than his thumping heart. It got louder and louder until he was sure he wasn't just hearing things.

Then something moved across his vision. Directly below him, a blurred, faded Fungistul passed. He was but two yards from the mushroom's head. The creature stopped on the other side of Link's chamber and then his thin mouth parted to say something.

Link's feet started to sink, and then the rest of his body followed. It felt like being sucked into a pool of quicksand that was thawing from just having been frozen. Before he knew what was going on, he dropped the rest of the way to the Fungistul's feet, giving himself a small cut on his lower lip and a bruise on his chin as he whacked his jaw against the hard floor.

Above him, the ceiling seemed to reform into a smooth, perfectly straight surface. Link stared in wonder down the literally crystal-clear hallway, then up at the slightly purplish Fungistul.

"Come with me. You're goin' before King Mushi."

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