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Chapter 39: Six(ty-seven) Feet Under

Oh my god, oh my god, SOMEHOW WE GAINED 5.6K VIEWS IN A WEEK WHAT-

I REMEMBER THANKING Y'ALL FOR 100, THIS IS INSANE, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! <3

Bit of a longer chapter today for several reasons:

1) To make up for the last one

2) I had a lot of stuff I wanted to cover

3) Mel's helping me

4) We didn't know how to end the chapter, so we just kept going.

Fall came fast in the lands of the SMP. Bare trees shed leaves in every land, but here it was as thick as thieves and as colorful as explosions. Fundy almost blended in with orange and red whirls on the ground and the flurries you kicked up with every step. It was as though the world was still lava and you were just striders going through it. The gray trees were as basalt pillars, the floods of cyan butterflies warped mushrooms. The best of Hell on earth, a beauty not even heaven could mirror.

Silence, broken only by the crackling rustle of leaves and the slow creak of the trees, sat between you and Fundy. It wasn't uncomfortable, awkward silence which you detested. It was the silence of enjoying what's going on around you and not having to focus on what comes next or what has happened.

You don't get silence like this often.

Slowly, the maples gave way to taller, thinner spruce trees which had still retained their needles. The ground slowly sloped up to a small mountain with an even smaller hole cut into the side.

"In here," Fundy told you as he led the way to the cave opening and slid inside. It was dark, even with the light from the entrance, but he seemed to have no problem with that. Nimbly, he dodged the stalagmites and disappeared into the dark so fast that you to hurry to keep up. Rough stone scrapped your shoulders on either side as you walked. Slowly, the cave was tightening around you, slowly shrinking.

"Fundy?" you felt in front of you, but there was nothing save for stone and silence. "Uh, Fundy?" Silence. "Fundy? Okay, this isn't funny, my friend. Where are you?" Nothing.

You slowly started feeling your way along the wall, looking for a gap, when a torch suddenly appeared and illuminated the dark. Startled, you scrabbled back, only to realize it was Fundy.

"Ffffffuck, man, you scared me," You laughed, but at the same time put a hand over your heart. "Where were you?"

Fundy wriggled out of the narrow crack in the wall. "Sorry, I couldn't find the torch. Come on, it's this way." He disappeared back into the wall and you followed, surprised to find a thin space between the wall and the dripstone pillars. It was a tight squeeze (and most of your stuff got absolutely smashed) but you did fit through.

And stepped into a different world.

Smooth, vaulted cave walls were covered in glowing lichen and soft moss which spread down to the floor as well, creating a tiered waterfall of plants and calcite and rippling water. Riots of glowberry vines and massive spore blossoms dominated the space, dipping roots into the water and scaling up to the ceiling. Iron and gold poked out in places, but the view was mostly choaked by the amount of plant life in this one area.

"Hoooly shit, man, where are we?"

Fundy was trailing his hand over one of the glowberry vines. "I came here with... a friend of mine. I haven't been here in years..." The glowberries cast a soft glow over his face, illuminating how glassy his eyes had become. "Sorry about the mess," he said abruptly, dropping the vine and turning back towards you. "No one's been in this cave for close to seven years." He handed you a pair of shears and took another one for himself. "Cut anything too close to the walls and ores."