Chapter 24

Fungistul Vaults, year 506

Fragh quickly lifted an iron bar and brought it down in an arc on the boy's head. The human was completely senseless in an instant. So the humans wanted the Pearl of Darkness? Well, they wouldn't get it. Fragh had personally overseen the pearl's experiments; he wasn't about to let years of work escape. Besides, King Mushi would undoubtedly have severe punishments waiting if he let the pearl get away.

"Think he's out?" Kantei nudged the body with his foot.

"Nah. Let's give him another for good measure," Fragh snickered. He brought the rod down on the human's skull again, this time sending a resounding crack through the air. The two Fungistuls burst into laughter and Kantei patted Fragh on the back.

"I'll go lock him up. We can wait for the pearl to come out the natural way. Anyway, we can use him as a lesson for the other humans," Kantei said, winking.

"All right. I'll go report to the king. I suppose I'll tell him the attack will have to wait. Let me know when the pearl shows up," Fragh said. The two Fungistuls laughed again and then went their separate ways.

Down the hall, another human rested his sore body from being electrocuted. Recently his tortures had been getting steadily worse. First the mushroom creatures had just twisted his arms backwards harder and harder until it felt like they would break. When that didn't work, they had tried forcing sharp metal shards under his fingernails, tearing skin apart and causing an awful burning sensation.

Now they were trying electrocution. Every once in a while, he felt a strange tingling throughout his body, and the crystal around him seemed to flicker. A voice echoed through the crystal, asking him various questions about the human army. If he didn't reply, the tingling grew into an itching, burning, startling feeling. Every day it got worse; he could actually feel the strange energy zapping through him and sapping his energy.

Little did he know that his son was being dragged by just a few yards below his aching back. He was too busy trying to sleep to pay any attention to footsteps anymore. It may have been a good thing that he didn't notice Gary's presence; he would never see his son again.

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As Link's eyes finally adjusted to the dark atmosphere, he soaked in his surroundings. While the crowd was waiting for Freid to be brought into the courtroom, the only thing Link could do was analyze the room to see if there were any possible escape exits. So far, he could only see two ways in and out. The room was a long oval shape with double doors at each end. The audience sat against one long side while the king sat on a high mushroom seat in the middle of the other side.

The room was made completely out of dark blue mushrooms, glowing with a blackish light. Although the floor was mostly sealed by the caps of the fungus, the walls and ceiling had many open spaces, behind which nothing could be seen except blackness. If he could slip through one of the openings, he might be able to escape somewhere. He examined the floor around him. One crack nearby looked like it could be wedged open a little more.

If he waited for the right time, he might be able to slide through. He would have to do it when everyone's attention was on Freid. Speaking of Freid, Link thought he could hear something on the other side of one of the doors. He could tell it was someone yelling, but he couldn't understand the language. The doors swung open and several strong Fungistuls dragged the struggling, cursing Freid into the room.

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"You promised me you would take away the swamp! What have I done wrong? I brought you the boy who stole your pearl!" Freid yelled in the Fungistul language.

"You may have brought him, but you didn't bring the pearl with him. When I asked for the boy, I expected him to have the pearl. He didn't," said King Mushi calmly.

"And you're blaming me? I never stole it from him! He probably buried it somewhere!"

"That's quite possible. But it's not definite. You're as big a suspect as he is now," Mushi replied.

"What made you suddenly change your mind like that?" Freid shouted.

"He told us you took it from him," Mushi answered, motioning to the floor on the other side of the room. Freid stared for a few seconds.

"Who?"

The boy had disappeared. There was a low murmur throughout the audience, and King Mushi had to silence them yet again.

"Guards? Scour this place! I want the boy brought back immediately! And keep watching the Moblin too! If you let either of them go you will be punished severely!"

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Link clutched the cold, rubbery stalk of the mushroom he was hiding under. Beneath him he could see nothing; the stalks disappeared into blackness. Spores wafted down on top of him as the Fungistuls walked all over the floor, searching for him. He struggled not to sneeze, though it probably wouldn't give him away with all the commotion the audience was making.

Carefully he reached out for another stalk. With a quick push, he launched himself away and squeezed the new mushroom, sliding down a couple inches. He shinnied back up a little and then repeated his motions, trying to find his way out of the endless forest-like room. Finally he thought he saw a wall through the darkness. After a few more jumps, he could see it around the stalks. A stone cliff ran up to the ceiling and disappeared into the blackness below.

The sound of the audience had quieted, so he hoped that he had passed underneath the wall of that room. If he came up through the floor underneath somebody, it would be disastrous. Finally he came close enough to touch the wall. It was relatively rough, but not quite natural-feeling. There were no places to grab or step, so he relied on the mushroom stalks to get him back up. Hopefully he would be able to climb around the edge of the cap.

After craning his neck to see through the small cracks, he decided to try it. If any Fungistuls were there, he couldn't see them. He put his back against the stone wall with his feet pressed hard against the nearest mushroom stalk. By carefully moving his legs and sliding his back upwards, he was able to get his hands around the edge of the cap of the mushroom.

Now what? Link thought. He shifted his position a few times, trying to figure out what action he should take next. He shuffled upwards a little more until his head was against the underside of the mushroom. Suddenly his feet slipped off the stalk and he gripped the mushroom cap as if his life depended on it...because it did.

Luckily he was able to reposition his feet. One rested on the stalk again, and the other one rested on the wall. There was enough friction to hold him in place, but he didn't trust it with his whole weight. Helping himself up with his arms and legs, he wedged himself between the cap and the rock. As he rolled onto the solid stone floor panting, he realized that it was quiet. Link looked around to find that he was now in a stone hallway. Wooden double doors rested behind him. Ahead the tunnel curved out of view.

Link crept toward the corner cautiously, but nobody was there. He would have to get out of there before someone came through those doors. If he were caught again, it probably wouldn't be a pleasant stay.

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Fungistul Vaults, year 506

Gary awoke to a harsh, throbbing pain on the left side of his head. He opened his eyes to a blinding light, which only made the pain worse. Clenching his teeth and eyes shut, he reached up to feel his head. Some of his hair was stuck together with crusted blood. What had happened?

I swallowed the pearl...what happened next? There was a flash of black...I think I was knocked out. But was it really that hard? I wonder how long it's been. Do I still have the pearl?

As he felt around his surroundings, his confusion was just replaced with hatred. He was completely enclosed in freezing, diamond-hard rock.

They've locked me up. Did they do the same thing to my father? How could they be so heartless? I'm going to suffocate in here!

"Let me out, sporeheads!" Gary yelled at the top of his lungs, pounding against the crystal ceiling. "You can have your precious bead back!" He knew, however, that it was just a waste of what oxygen he had left, and it hurt his head even more. Suddenly, as if in response to his cry, there was a strange, wavering static noise in his ears. He opened his eyes to see that the light was slowly fading away. His fingers started turning transparent.

Before he knew what was happening, he had fallen hard on the floor of a stone hallway, illuminated by torches burning with a green flame. It was unnaturally dark, and there was an eerie cloudy film over his eyes. Then he realized that he couldn't even see himself. His body was completely invisible but for the shadow cast across the floor by the green fire.

What's happening to me? Is this some kind of trick? I couldn't just escape like this!

But the longer he lay there, the situation felt more realistic than ever. His head throbbed all the more, and now he was feeling pain everywhere else from the fall. Carefully he stood up, wary of any traps. Maybe he could find his dad and both of them could escape and warn King Laurence. Then again, without the pearl, the Fungistuls might not be as much of a threat.

That's it! The pearl is helping me! One of the sporeheads said something about a mirrored world. Maybe I'm in it right now! I'll sneak out of here and give the pearl to King Laurence. Before I do anything, though, I need to find where they're keeping my dad.

Gary crept down the hallway, pleased with his new discovery.

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Tael and Horacio found Freid's cabin still unoccupied. However, there had certainly been a struggle in there since the two had left. Furniture was strewn across the floor, and most of it was broken. Horacio found several blood stains on the floor and on the ruined furniture.

"They're still relatively fresh. What do you think, Tael?" Horacio asked, looking over the scene.

Tael was speechless. Whose blood was that? It wasn't much, but the victim's death was a possibility. What if it had been Link? What if Freid brought him back to finish him off for some reason? Was he lying in wait somewhere for the two to come out? The thought made him all jumpy but frozen in horror at the same time.

"Tael! Snap out of it! Do you remember which way Freid went?" Horacio asked urgently.

"What? No. He knocked me out before he left."

"Well, that makes sense. Too bad he didn't knock you out after he left."

Tael forced a smile. Horacio grinned at him. He then turned and exited through the crooked door. Tael quickly followed him. If Link was still alive, they needed to find him. He probably needed help.

"So, which way do you think he probably went?" Tael asked Horacio, who was examining the porch and the area around it. There were wooden stairs leading up into the treetops nearby, and Horacio decided on climbing them to have a look around.

"The catwalk would be the best place to start; either he used it or he went below. We should be able to see a good portion of the land below, and if we need to, we can drop down there. Come on, we should hurry. I won't be able to forgive myself if we don't find him," Horacio said, dashing up the steps three at a time. Tael flew after him, panting.

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Fungistul Vaults, year 506

Gary found the dark stone passageway to be quite long and uninterrupted. If there were any doorways or other openings in the real world, there sure weren't any here. Hopefully this wasn't some kind of experiment in which the sporeheads would see how long he would walk in a circle.

Then again, it actually looks slightly curved, he thought. Quickly he took a loose fragment of stone from the ground and scratched a diamond shape at eye level on the right wall. If he were going in circles, maybe this would help him know for sure. He took another look at the strange green torches all around him and then started walking down the hallway again. Suddenly he stopped.

There was someone coming around the corner. Before he could run, he was in full view. It was then that he recognized the person.

"Palter!" Gary shouted, running to embrace his older brother. Palter froze in place, searching the hallway frantically. His face went into shock as Gary grabbed him. Palter struggled out of his grip and stood at a distance.

"Who's there?" Palter called quietly. Gary stared at him for a few seconds and then remembered. He was invisible.

"It's Gary! I think I'm stuck in this tunnel but I don't know for sure. I have a shadow, but I can't even see myself. What's it look like where you are?" Gary asked. He could tell Palter recognized his voice.

"You don't even have a shadow. I'm surrounded by light, so I don't think there are any shadows. It's some kind of crystal place. Why? Are you somewhere different?" Palter said.

"Then I was right. I'm stuck in this crazy dark tunnel with green fire, and I think it goes around in a circle but I can't get out. I'm pretty sure it's the work of this pearl I ate."

"You ate a pearl?" Palter asked in confusion.

"I'll explain later. Right now I need to get out of this tunnel and save Dad."

"Gary...that's what I came in here for. You're not going to find him. Please, come back with me. You'll just get caught," Palter pleaded.

"No! I got caught already and I escaped! The pearl helped me! Now I can help Dad get out! You can't stop me!" Gary yelled, trying to get around Palter.

Palter must have sensed that Gary's voice was moving. He quickly moved and grabbed Gary's shoulder and then slid his hand down to keep hold of his elbow. Being stronger than Gary, he was able to keep him pinned against the wall.

"Let me go!" Gary shouted angrily, trying to break out of his enclosure. His brother was way too strong; he couldn't budge the muscular arms.

"Quiet! We're not the only ones down here! Now calm down and listen! Even if Dad were still alive, which is really unlikely, how do you expect to search this whole place for him?" Palter whispered.

"You did it to find me," Gary argued.

"That's different. I knew you were here. We don't know he's in here anywhere, and we don't know he's still alive. We're going back."

"You just don't like Dad," Gary mumbled quietly.

"What are you talking about? I loved Dad! Stop blaming everyone else! He would want you to go back home and be safe. There's no point in killing yourself just to find him when he's already gone."

Gary was silent. Luckily Palter couldn't see his face. He had nothing to say, but he didn't want Palter to know he was actually thinking about his brother's words. Maybe Palter was right. Maybe he was being foolish. If he went with Palter, though, he would look weak.

Palter waited patiently for Gary to respond.

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