Chapter Five: A cave to rest your head. A dream to wear it out.

 

After they had gotten over their shock at the tricky Bread being their guide, it lead them into a cave in the great snowy forest, they went deep into the underground of Elcon.

 

The underground of Elcon is were the greatest amount of things grow, while Elcon’s surface is covered by an ever present blanket of snow, the underground is home to fungal forests, tree root woods, crystal mazes, all manner of settlements and other odd things. It teems with warmth and life.

 

Indeed the deeper you go down underground in Elcon, the hotter it gets. Eventually it gets too hot for many denizens and after that too hot for any being not fiery in nature. Another thing that happens is that monsters appear, nameless beings in all kinds of unspeakable shapes filled with hunger. Some say there is no monsters, just fearful denizens with minds addled from heat, gases or going deep.

 

There is in fact, no sand on the surface of elcon, all the sand is deep underground, hence all the sand spirits are also in the deep dark.

 

Lupix and her band had been following Bread for sometime, the cone people were resting on top of Koul, having long since worn themselves out. They had gone down a great many winding tunnels. Bread had taken particular delight in pointing out which tunnels were actually giant wurms waiting for unsuspecting souls to walk into them. He also loved to describe the horrors and beasts that potentially lurked down each place they did to go to.

 

Finally, Bread stopped in a great cavern with quite a bit of candlewort in it. The waxy white candle shaped plants glowed brightly at their tips, as they greedily ate darkness. Candlewort was like many underground plants in Elcon darksorbing. It fed on darkness to grow rather than light. Now, not all darksorbing plants gave of light, but many did, Candlewort in particular gave a fierce light from its tip and as it aged the waxy white stalk would wilt down.

 

“This isn’t it is it?” Specker questioned blearily

“Not at all fine cone” Bread said, “We’ll stop here for now, get some rest it is night time after all”

Lupix and the band decided not to question why Bread could tell the time of day underground.

They settled down to camp. Koul foraged a bit and found some edible fungus, Lupix for her part bludgeoned some lizardneck plants into submission, then picked the reptilian heads to eat them. It was almost like real meat.

 

The three conepeople worked together to lift up some blanket moss, one of the softest of mosses for some bedding, and some blankets for warmth, it wasn’t that warm, clearly they weren’t too deep. They couldn’t afford to try lighting a fire, it could attract the attention of the snuffers or some other minions of the firelord.

 

Making sure to stay away from a particularly large and fierce pride of dandylions growing and growling in the cavern, they lay down to sleep after their meal…

 

Or at least they would have slept if they hadn’t the fear of monsters and beasts in their heads from when Bread had led them to the cavern, even Koul was on edge.

 

“I can’t sleep” Lupix said.

“Not happening over here either” Koul said.

“Nor with me” Specker complained.

“I have never been more awake in my life” Mik stated.

“Can’t sleep, monsters will get me” Am ‘P’ uttered.

 

There was worried silence. Bread stood away, back to the band, barely containing chuckling.

 

“How about we set a watch?” Koul stuggested.

“Oh I’ll take care of that for you all, no worries there” Bread drawled.

The band looked at each other, the idea of Bread watching over them was a big worry. They decided at that point, it would be wise to have a watch, nevermind about monsters and beasts, although Bread appeared not to be evil, there was no question that Bread was a tricky sort.

 

They couldn’t imagine what strange trick Bread would do, but they didn’t want to deal with it.

 

Koul took first watch, as he was the one who had suggested the idea in the first place.

 

So, Lupix, Mik, Am ‘P’ and Specker went to sleep, and Lupix dreamed, the conepeople dreamed too, but they had an easier time of it.

 

Lupix was a very little pup again. She was sitting on the lap of someone… it was her mama, she looked up and smiled, her mother gave her a smile in return. Her papa, reached over and ruffled her hair. Fending him off, She peeped over mama’s shoulder. Her brothers and sisters were behind them. One of them stuck his tongue out at her, she replied in kind.

 

Mama told them all to settle down. The show was about to begin. Yes… it was the opera house, grandmama and others were doing an opera, a version of the legendary taming of the Dragons and Grand Wolves.

 

Grandmama was on the stage. She was so old, but so pretty, Lupix was in awe every time she saw her. Grandmama opened her mouth to sing…

 

There was fire.

 

It was not Grandmama’s fire. This fire was cruel and greedy. It devoured the opera house. Burning debris fell, mama handed Lupix to papa. Lupix cried, she didn’t understand, she didn’t like this fire, so unlike the warm kind fires of her family. She didn’t understand why papa was leaving mama behind.

 

Grandmama was howling at something, her flame crashing against the mean flames. She was still beautiful to Lupix, it seemed she was made of fire now.

 

Then the fires swirled, everything vanished, and there was darkness, Lupix was alone, crying.

There was the sound of something being lit. Lupix looked up, and saw a flame, the flame seemed to have a vague impression of a woman, with long guttering hair of flame. The figure’s head was faceless, but to Lupix it seemed to radiate kindness. It was not at all like the hungry flame in the opera house.

 

“Poor child, you have endured much, take heart, joy will come. Your song will defy him, but don’t forget little spark, don’t mistake the light for the flame. How great the joy is depends on you.”

 

The flame woman hugged her then, Lupix flinched, expecting to get burnt, but it was merely warm.

“Keep going, if a fire doesn’t keep going, it goes out. So don’t despair little spark, and keep going. Would you pity him? His end is made, already he burns through what fuel he has. How brighter your future is”

 

 

The flame woman released Lupix, who was no longer the tiny pup of the past. Then the flame woman drifted away, growing dimmer and dimmer.

“Wait!” Lupix cried “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do! Is it right for me to follow my dream?”

 

The flame woman was almost completely gone now.

“That depends on you, little spark, but please… stay… bright…”

 

She vanished, and Lupix was alone once more in the darkness. Somehow, the dark didn’t seem so bad now.

 

Lupix awoke with a start. Koul and the conepeople were asleep nearby. She realised she hadn’t been woken for her shift of the watch. Then, she noticed something else.

 

“Uh, guys, wake up, wake up slowly”

They slowly roused.

“What is it princess?” Koul asked.

 

“We seem to be surrounded… again”

Koul looked about.

 

Indeed, they were surrounded by tailless slugs and their machines.

Bread was nowhere to be seen. Somehow, Lupix wasn’t surprised.