The Astralaceaes

Chapter 33: Summiting the Mesa

"Hey, Sugar Maple—Screwbean." Spark nodded towards the two Sequoia Squad Druids standing before the sealed doorway. Aiming to walk through the threshold, she continued her confident strut forward. But before she could enter, the Druids stepped in Spark's way and drew their crossbows.

"Spark, what is this?" The Druid that Spark had called Screwbean asked, nodding to Haledon and Witch-Hazel.

"Mesa contacted me to bring these two under his canopy." Spark lied casually. "We're going to speak with him now."

"He isn't here, leave and we will let him know—"

"He is here and won't like that you're delaying us."

Screwbean glared at Spark, matching her intense stare, before returning to the door. Waving his hand, Sugar Maple lowered his crossbow and moved out of the way.

"Okay," Screwbean grumbled, turning to face the door. "I will accompany you—"

"No," Spark again interrupted. "You let us through, and I won't let Mesa know you delayed us."

The two Sequoia Squad Druids exchanged quick looks before stepping away from the door without another word.

"Thank you. This way." She finished with a subtle wink toward Haledon before stepping into the next room. He followed quickly behind, entering the darkened Central Nervous System.

Looking around, it took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the near pitch-black room. It wasn't until after the passage behind the group had closed that he finally saw the space in its entirety.

Directly in front of him, three shallow pools rested in perfect symmetry. The viscous fluid that filled them radiated the faintest green glow into the darkness and cast dancing shadows with each ripple. Illuminated within each pod was the outline of a humanoid body. Their arms and legs were connected to roots that burrowed beyond the edge of the pools. These transformed into thick ridges that twisted and coiled across the floor in an ever-evolving pattern.

Looking to the room's edges, Haledon saw various Druids busy at work. Some ran their fingers through columns of dimly lit pollen, twisting and designing Druidic runes that flashed briefly in the light before disappearing. Others rested in trancelike states with familiar trumpet-shaped flowers affixed to their faces, pulsing in a similar green glow.

Like the pools, he noticed that each alcove where a Druid worked produced similar roots that crept and crawled across the floor. Following the fractal design, the aerial roots eventually reached two wooden stumps. Mesa stood with his hands gripping the fungus that rested on the stands.

"What are those?" Haledon whispered to Spark as he nodded to the pools.

"Druids trained to integrate with the Megacolides." She whispered back. "Linking with a giant space worm is a bit more complicated than a plant...apparently."

"Haledon, are you lost?" Mesa grumbled from the front of the room, his hands still fixed on the stumps. "It appears that you have drifted far from the shade of your mother tree."

Haledon felt his heart skip a beat at the sound of the Druid's voice. He looked over to Spark and then to Witch-Hazel in a panic. Taking a calming breath to speak, he was interrupted as Spark stepped forward.

"Primeval Druid Mesa, great to see you again." She said with a smile. "Hopefully, the Broadhead is to your liking."

"It was a fantastic find, though why it took so long for this information to germinate is beyond me." Mesa's gaze narrowed on Spark. "Imagine what we could have learned in preparation for this upcoming fight if we had known immediately."