[Cass]
Rootwater's cavern glowed brighter than he had ever seen it. Lantern fungi bloomed in wild clusters, light spilling across the stone in fragile halos. Warbles lined the corridors, whispering as Cass passed. Not whispers of him — whispers of the glow. The Purity Sap.
The three flasks on his belt pulsed faintly, as though alive.
Eshna was waiting when he entered the hollow. Her face, usually sharp as a chisel, cracked into something raw when she saw the flasks.
"You came back," she whispered.
Cass unclipped one and pressed it into her hands. "For Meriv. Hurry."
They carried Meriv from his hut on a litter. The old crafter's skin was gray with spores, his lips cracked. His chest rattled with every breath.
Cass knelt beside him. "Not yet, old man."
Eshna uncorked the flask. The sap shimmered like molten glass, humming faintly. She tilted it to Meriv's lips. He drank greedily.
The glow spread. It raced through his veins, pulsing beneath his skin like fireflies in glass. He convulsed once. Stillness.
Then Meriv's chest rose again — steady. His eyes opened sharp, voice rasping clear:
"I dreamed of the Dawn. And the Dawn sent you."
[System Prompt]
Quest Complete: Save Meriv
Reward: Master Crafter restored.
Blueprint enabled:Spore Ward (Rare).
Rootwater Morale: +++
Infection Resistance: +5% (pending construction).
Meriv pushed himself upright. Cass handed him the blueprint fragment. The spore-etched veins glowed brighter in his hands.
Meriv traced the lines. "Fungal resin. Guardian Core. Stone channels. Blood of the Lord. Yes… but it will drain you."
Cass's jaw tightened. "Explain."
"The Guardian feeds on bond," Meriv said. "Without it, the ward dies. With it, the Lord ties his own life to the ward. If Rootwater falls, you fall."
Eshna swore. "Then we find another way."
Cass shook his head. "There isn't another way. Build it."
At dawn, the Warbles cleared Rootwater's central hollow. Resin boiled like tar. Stone channels were cut into the floor. The Guardian Core hovered above a pedestal, pulsing faintly with Cass's heartbeat.
Meriv prepared the ritual. "Your palm. Blood for bond."
Cass cut his hand. Blood touched the core. The cavern trembled.
[System Prompt]
You are binding a Guardian Core. Do you accept?
Cass: "Yes."
[System Warning]
This action ties your life to Rootwater's Spore Ward. If Rootwater falls, you fall. This bond cannot be undone.
→ Accept? (Y/N)
Cass chose Y.
Light flared, blinding. Pain ripped through his chest, hot then freezing, until he staggered to his knees. The glow spread through the channels, lighting the hollow like veins of silver.
When it faded, the Spore Ward stood — a spiral of resin and stone, pulsing with his heartbeat.
[System Prompt]
Structure Completed: Spore Ward (Rare)
Effect: Infection Resistance +40% (local radius).
Bound: Lord Cass, Propervy Bastion.
Warning:Ward destruction = Lord death.
The Warbles cheered, some dropping to their knees. Others touched the ward reverently.
Eshna grabbed Cass's shoulder. "Idiot. You chained your life to stone."
Cass managed a hollow smile. "Better than chaining it to nothing."
[System – Global Announcement]
Notice: First Defensive Structure Against Infection Established.
Effect: Infection spread slowed globally.
Location: Undisclosed.
Creator: Undisclosed.
[Forum – Global Noise]
[IronFist88]: "What? Infection can be slowed?!"
[StoneSeeker]: "But where? Who? No coordinates. Just bait."
[Nocti]: "If someone built this already, they're ahead of everyone."
[Skeptik]: "Or it's dev testing. Don't trust it."
[Cass]
He dismissed the chatter window. No leaks, no screenshots, just a system whisper to the world. But it was enough to make him uneasy.
Someone, somewhere, would start digging. Someone always did.
That night, he walked alone around the ward. Each pulse throbbed in his chest.
He thought of his mother, tied to machines, life measured in fragile beats. His was the same now.
"You live," he whispered to the ward, "I live. That's the deal."
A tremor shook the cavern floor. Pebbles skittered.
Cass froze, scanning the walls. The quake passed, but the unease did not.
For now, Rootwater stood. The ward glowed. But above, the world stirred. And below, the earth shifted in its sleep.
Settlement: Propervy Bastion (Hamlet)
Population: 221 (growing)
Morale: High
Food: 14 days
Defenses: Spore Ward active
Threats: Infection delayed. Seismic instability rising.