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“We’re not in Bugaria anymore,” Kabbu stated tiredly. “I think we’re lost.”
“What gave you that idea?” Vi’s sarcasm-o-meter is off the charts. More than usual. Her upbeat spunk took a nose dive when they took a wrong turn…somewhere.
The day had started out ideal. Sunny skies. A sweet collection of loot. And a list of wanted bounties. They found a beetle outlaw and almost defeated him when they got trapped on a floating branch zooming down a river. It got jammed between a stack of rocks, leapt high into the air, and shot off like a rocket. Team Snakemouth landed in a pile of splinters (thankfully and miraculously alive!) only to find themselves in a strange new world. But Leif is missing. So they try and search for him.
“Ugh…starrrrvvving!” Vi muttered as her stomach grumbled. “Got any berries or aphids left?”
Kabbu plunges into their adventure pack and returns emptyhanded. “Nothing. Why don’t you fly up and scout the area? There has to be a town around here. Maybe we can find Leif too.”
“Okay. Guess it’s up to me to save the day –the only bug gifted with flight!”
Vi flies up into the air, her wings buzzing to keep her steady. She dives back down and salutes with her trusty boomerang. “I don’t see Leif but there is civilization ahead, my second mate! Not even a day’s trek from here!”
“Great! Let’s go!” Kabbu, with his charging ability, lead Team Snakemouth to an open clearing.
The scenery changes drastically. Gone are the pretty green woodlands and blue sky dappled with white clouds. Now they step into endless darkness. The trees creak like a sinking ship. The winds whistle ominously. But all the bugs’ skepticism is trounced by fatigue and hunger.
A big stone arc greets them. Before them is a big clearing surrounded by stone. Creatures and beasts shuffle around, completing various tasks with smiles. Snakemouth seems to have stumbled upon a village. Vi eyed a big statue and whistled. “Whoever the leader is here has a big hive. Do you think they got any sparkly treasure-”
“Not now, Vi.”
Speaking of, the lamb steps forth, wearing the signature Red Crown of death. Kabbu ever the polite bug, bowed to the lamb. “Are you the monarch of these lands? My friend is lost and we’re in need of temporary shelter.”
The lamb smiled. “Yes! Welcome to the Red Crown. I am Lamb. We’ll set up some tents for you.”
In the morning they all sit around a big cooking pot while a cultist serves food and drink. Vi’s eyes shine as she hungrily gulps down the contents of her bowl. “Berry soup! Almost as delicious as a honey drop!”
“Yes, how can we repay your hospitality, Lamb?” Kabbu asked.
Lamb merely shook his head. “No need. We’re just happy to hear that you like our food. You said you were lost?”
Kabbu lowered his bowl. “We come from Bugaria. And on our journey, we got separated from our friend.”
“His name’s Leif. A moth. Have you seen him?” Vi asked.
Bells jingled sadly in response. “I’ve never heard of Bugaria. And I haven’t seen Leif. These are the woods of the Old Faith. There are the docks, the shore, and the grotto. He might be in danger.”
The two bugs jumped to their feet. “We don’t have time to lose!”
“Let’s commence a search party right away!”
Lamb nodded and his crown turned into a sword. “We should try and look in the Darkwoods first. Follow me.” The party descends into dangerous forests where Leshy’s cultists dwell, awaiting to spill blood…
Leif made it out of Anura and stumbled upon a quiet place vacant of any enemies. He’s in Spore Grotto. Flecks of golden-colored dust fall like snow. The entire world is painted in warm oranges, blood-reds, and muted purples. Still, silent, colorful…he’s at peace.
The monsters he had fought moments ago were stranger than any foe encountered before. Frogs that spit bombs and carnivorous flies. Beasts that wield sharp knives and wear cloaks. And there are giant mushrooms that slowly absorb and corrode lifeforms sealed within their plant fibers. But all perish by frost. They turn into ice pops and are easily disarmed by Leif.
Now he stands in the Spore Grotto where a giant mushroom sprouts out of a milky white skull, like a radio tower. Merchants run stands selling decorative wares and tarot cards, but no food. Others would be unnerved by such circumstances but Leif’s cool-headedness lets him wander unintimidated. He goes up to a mushroom merchant and asks, “Have you seen any other bugs around? A bee and a beetle? Treasure-seeking and honorable?”
“The only other bug here is Sozo our leader.” The mushroom points to the skull’s mouth. “He lives there.” So Leif visits Sozo. He strolls into the cavern to find a bug –a moth like him.
Leif instantly recognizes the signs of a dormant parasite. He is one, after all. Puppeteering a dead bug’s corpse and synced with his memories. Sozo is suffering from zombification. He doesn’t have his eyes glazed over like Leif’s, or a frozen body, but something is controlling him. The spores.
Sozo, a tall moth, is hunched over a small campfire and roasting a spotted mushroom. His antennae twitch when he senses someone drawing close. “Who goes there?! Who trespasses in Sozo’s sanctum?!”
Leif holds up a thin stubby arm. “We come in peace.”
“Another moth!” Sozo smiles. His erratic behavior still shines through, obvious through his twitching and slight jumpy gaze. “It has been a long time since any have traveled this far. At least you aren’t those traitorous followers! They circle my home, waiting for me, waiting for me at dusk to strike, to kill me. They are plotting Sozo’s death!”
Paranoia. A symptom of the parasite settling within the host and slowly taking over their mind. A deadly enemy. One that refuses to learn symbiotic co-existence. Sozo has sealed himself within this small space. For how long, Leif is unsure, but he knows it has taken a toll on the moth.
“Are they?”
“Yes! To stop them Sozo must unlock the magic secrets within the mushrooms! If I brainwash them they will leave me.” He waved a basketful of the toadstools at Leif. “Have you come to sample them? Tasty, tasty mushrooms!”
Why not? It’ll be risky on an empty stomach but Leif won’t suffer from any serious side effects. His powers will inhibit the mushroom’s power –and any zombie spores. He takes a bite of a roasted mushroom.
“Have you seen any other bugs around? We got separated from our friends Vi and Kabbu.”
“No,” Sozo’s voice warbles sadly. His fuzzy body slumps. “You’re the first bug Sozo has seen enter the grotto.”
Ignoring the rainbows swirling at the limits of his vision he asked, “You don’t go outside?”
“No. Sozo can’t! Sozo’s underlings are backstabbing traitors! They harvest mushrooms. But Sozo can see! He sees all! They will kill him one day! But a lamb does visit sometimes. Sozo gets lonely. Lamb is Sozo’s friend.”
Leif’s limbs start feeling tingly. “We understand. Why not go see Lamb?”
The zombified moth sighed. “Sozo tries to leave grotto but his legs move on their own. Back to this place.”
Towards the sun. The spores need sun to eventually leave its host. Shortly, Sozo will be nothing but nourishment for violent vegetation.
“We think we can help.”
Ice magic sparkles in his hand. Maybe the frost will melt away that troublesome nuisance.
The infected moth’s smile faltered. “What if Lamb doesn’t want Sozo there? Sozo will be crushed, wounded. Lost!”
“We were lost for a long time too,” Leif said. “Before we found Vi and Kabbu, life was an empty blur. We were stuck and fearful of how much the world had changed. Kabbu and Vi, they helped us. They were there when we lost hope. Without them, Leif would’ve never been able to say goodbye. Now we’re part of Team Snakemouth and we help others –and search for treasure along the way.”
Heartened by Leif’s story, Sozo reached out an arm –but quick as a snake’s snapping jaws, the parasite took over. The mushroom crown reacted violently.
Leif flinched as the mushroom’s roots snapped, the monstrous fungi pulling its roots out of Sozo. The roots meld to its host’s body and create armor.
“Pathetic puny pest! You think you can erase all our hard work?! We absorb and decay all lifeforms at their end. To defy that is to defy life, to detest nature! The chain of command!”
“So be it,” Leif smiled sadistically. “This’ll be a good stress-reliever!”
Sozo’s voice and the mushroom’s waver back and forth, merging as one in the same. The surreal deity laughed at Leif’s heroic plights. “Foolish pest. You bugs are mere vessels for us. You’ve no right to life’s riches.”
Chucking some ice, Leif severed one of the roots. “You’re wrong. Sozo deserves to live as Sozo.”
The Mushroom God screamed. It was a fatal mistake not to be wary of ice being sharp as a blade. Quickly recovering it attacked Leif, lashing angrily at him with serrated roots and acidic vomit. “You are a hypocrite! Are you not a living parasite inhabiting a body?”
“That’s true,” Leif hissed as acid burned his side and wings. The mushroom he ate earlier started to make him feel floaty and the pain though stinging, was less potent. He narrowly dodged a giant root that would’ve crushed him if he had stayed there a second longer. “But I don’t destroy the host –or the bug who used to be Leif. We carry on his memories, his heart, and his adventurous spirit!”
Icicles rain down on Mushroom God, a powerful flurry that cut every root implanted in Sozo. With a nerve-wracking scream the fungi hit the ground. And with the enemy stunned Leif tried to save Sozo. Using his ice magic he made the moth immortal.
Sozo’s metamorphosis is complete. Frost encompasses his body. His wings are covered in snow and glitter in the stripes of sun skewering through the ceiling. His wounds are dulled and shielded in ice. When he exhales, puffs of white leave his mouth. Leif stabs the Mushroom God with an icicle, and the fungi slumps over dead. Without a host it’s useless. Powerless.
“You saved Sozo’s life! How can Sozo thank you? Sozo feels like a new moth!”
Leif helped him up to his feet and smiled. “Let us find Lamb. Then we’ll look for Vi and Kabbu.”