Chapter Three Hundred and Ninety-Seven - Live Free and Dine Hard

Chapter Three Hundred and Ninety-Seven - Live Free and Dine Hard

Chapter Three Hundred and Ninety-Seven - Live Free and Dine Hard

The mothfolk decided to throw a small impromptu party. As Mister Lepido said, many of the locals had moved out, but those that remained were really happy to see the Evil Roots cleared out. Or at least, pushed back--we couldn't know for sure if the dungeon had shaken them off completely, just yet.

The mothfolk here seemed hopeful, but they weighed their hope against an equal measure of caution. Theyd believe that the Evil Roots were eradicated from their dungeon when they didnt see even a single sign that they existed anymore. For now though, they were happy to celebrate us trimming back the roots and clearing out the core.

Puffles promised--before he left with the Scallywags and a couple of others to face the dungeon again--that hed be checking it daily until he was certain that the roots were all gone for good.

Thatd have to be enough.

I... didnt know if my way of clearing out the roots really worked in the long-long term. Id never been back to a dungeon Id cleared to check it out. Still...

I put it out of my mind. The folks back at Sylphfree were monitoring the dungeon I had cleared for them. If the infection started showing up again, I was sure they'd tell us.

With a big table set out in the glade before the dungeon's entrance, we sat down and had a big lunch.

There were lunaflower cakes--which were strangely spicy--and a few different flavours of stew, as well as big round loaves of very pale bread that one local called sunbread and which tasted very nutty.

I noticed that the average age of the locals was... older. Mister Lepido seemed old enough to be my grandpa, and he was about average as far as age went. A lot of grannies were bringing pots of stew over and cackling together off to one side. A number of them had brought out small stools and benches to keep the weight off their knees.

The men were almost all wiry and tough and I heard a lot of back in my days when I flicked an ear in their direction.

It seemed as if the younger half of this village had almost all moved to greener pastures.

Maybe that wasnt such a bad thing! The community seemed tightly knit, and it wasnt terribly far from Codwood. And it wasnt like there werent any kids running around.

One nice mothlady told me that the two little ones zipping by with a flutter of wings were her great-grandlarvae, currently being taken care of by her daughter who was sticking around.

They... werent actually larvae, were they?

They couldnt be that close to bugs, right?

The twinkle in the old mothladys eyes suggested that Id just been duped. Then she cackled and I found myself giggling too.

I was kind of grateful, nonetheless, that Id ended up a bun, because last I checked, rabbits were mammals too.

Do you think a lot of the younger people will come back? I asked Lepido. It was a delicate question, but I felt like I should ask.

He frowned, then nodded. I think some of them will. They have children, and theyll want them to go through the dungeon as well. Its very limiting if they dont. And we have some goods that can only be obtained here, and a lot of those youngsters were pushed out of the village by well-meaning parents. When things got lean here, it made sense to push our youth towards a better, safer place.

I nodded along. That was very brave, I said.

Maybe, he replied. I dont know, really. In any case, the village will grow again. Im sure of it. Ah, to be young again, though.

Amaryllis smiled. If you keep saying things like that, you certainly wont feel young.

Lepido grinned back. Thats a fair point. I remember when I was around your age. I used to travel quite a bit around these parts. Never too far from home, but still, I fluttered about, chased the moon and let wanderlust carry me around a little.

I was going to need to be rolled back to the ship.

Where did they get the flour? Amaryllis muttered as she picked up a cupcake.

We trade for it in Codwood, Lepido said. Its a little pricey, but the taste is worth it.

And where do they get it? Amaryllis asked. I didnt see any fields when we flew over the town. A few gardens, sure, and maybe there are some farms on the edges, but not enough to account for lots of flour thats easily tradable. Besides, I didnt see a mill.

Lepido smiled. They get it from the Endless Swells. They are part of the nation, you know.

Amaryllis huffed the huff of someone who decided to give up on the question.

I was just starting to worry about the Scallywags when they burst out of the dungeon, all three of them loud and exuberant and bursting with humour.

Then I noticed how dishevelled they looked. Oda had a piece of cloth wrapped around an arm which had soaked up a bit of blood, and Sally was walking with a limp.

I gave up on the cupcakes and cookies and ran over to them. Are you okay? I asked.

Were fine, Joe said with a dismissive wave. He had a shield strapped to his back, the same sort that Amaryllis had picked up in our own dungeon run.

We had a couple of close calls, Sally said. But we managed to make it though!

I turned towards Mister Puffles as he left the dungeon behind the Scallywags. The older farmer looked a lot tired, but he nodded to me all the same. Not the quickest run through, he said. And not the safest. But we made it out alive.

The Evil Roots? Lepido asked as he came over.

A lot of ears were listening in, I noticed.

Still there, but not around the core, and the dungeon spent as much time fighting the roots as it did fighting us. It looks like its working hard to get rid of them, Mister Puffles said.

I clapped, and there was a cheer from some of the more exuberant listeners. Thats fantastic!

It is, he agreed. Itll make keeping the dungeon clean a lot easier if its trying to help. Might even be enough to clear the entire infection away.

The mood in the village lifted at the news. The mothfolk who had been cautiously optimistic before let out a sigh of relief, then the chatter picked up and some of the more spry older folk even started to dance.

Grinning from ear to ear, I looked at my friends. We did it! I congratulated. Ah, but we should probably think about heading out soon. Did you three manage to take out the boss? I asked the Scallywags, and got a chorus of "yeses" in return. Perfect! In that case, I think were nearly done here.

There was a small frenzy of activity after that. A lot of folks were insisting that we load up on leftovers, and with the quality of the food on offer, we werent about to say no!

Mister Lepido, meanwhile, pulled me aside. Im not one for big speeches, he began with a grateful smile. "Thank you for everything you've done for our village," he said. "We will never forget your bravery and kindness. I wish you all the best on your journey to Inkwren and beyond."

Thank you, I said. But its all in a days work, right?

After saying our goodbyes to the villagers and promising to visit again someday, we boarded the Beaver Cleaver. The Scallywags had some bumps and cuts, which wasn't too bad, but I asked them to take a break to heal up faster. The airship's engines roared to life as we lifted off, leaving the village and the dungeon behind.

***