Nero did as instructed, setting the cup down and beginning to pull up clumps of the blue-glowing growth. It came away from the stone in thick mats, releasing clouds of spores that drifted through the air like smoke. He gathered armful after armful, carrying them to the array's center and piling them there.
When he had what seemed like enough, the creature nodded.
"Now crush it. Grind it until it becomes powder."
Nero knelt at the pile and began pressing the fungi against the black stone, crushing and grinding it with his good hand. The blue glow intensified as the plant matter broke down, releasing more spores into the air. His palm turned blue and black from the residue, and he could feel a strange tingling where the powder touched his skin.
After what felt like another hour but was probably only minutes, the pile had been reduced to a fine powder that glowed softly in the dim light.
"Into the cup," the creature instructed. "All of it."
