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A Chapter by lilynait

Gil picked his way through the curtain of stalactites, squinting into the darkness for the glow of his quarry. Although he was sweating and breathing hard, the chill of the air raised tingling goose bumps on his arms. He rubbed them to some warmth into his limbs and cast his gaze over the next section of the cave.

He cursed as at the sight of Jade moss on the stone, and made doubly sure of his hand hold before descending onto the cavern floor. It wouldn’t do to injury his aching ankle any more than his last misstep did. The ground here was smooth, with sections covered by a layer of flowing water.

Gil crouched to refill his flask. In the light of his guide stone, the liquid was clear �" clearer even than air, and as he dipped his hand in to wash the sweat from his face, he felt tiny crystals that hinted its origin. Once, he’d tracked down the source of the waters that passed through these southern tunnels, through this very room, and many more ahead, until he reached rooms entirely submerged and filled with shards and boulders of ice.

This time, his Coming of Age called for another path and another journey.

A shiver crawled up his back that had nothing to do with the cold, and he grinned at his reflection. When he stood, the crick in his back seemed to disappear and he stretched for the final haul.

Ahead, the path was lined with the soft green glow of Panacea, signalling out the one correct tunnel from the gaping maws of several others. The light given off was slight, but his well-trained eyes caught the glimmer in places where others never could. And now, this final test would set him apart from the rest of his tribe, and he would finally take his place among the Gatherers.

Even with the moss, Gil made good time navigating the slick slopes and pinhole stalactites that dominated this section of the system. His feet found roughened patches of rock, and his hands found stable columns to lever his weight. The guide stone on his belt cast shadows through the stone forest that moved as he did, flickering back and forth in an effort to escape the light, but Gil paid them no mind, eyes directed straight at the glowing entrance.

The Panacea gathered no more than two rooms ahead in a natural convergence of several tunnels. Gil patted down his the empty satchel, feeling the slight dampness in the leather and the coarse, hand-stitched sigil of his profession: an open eye. It was perfect. And it would be his as soon as he returned with a satchel of Panacea.

He slid over a section of gravel, but caught himself on an outcrop of rock. He shook his head, and swallowed. Time to focus, not dream.

The shadows kept him company as he traversed the tunnels that lead to the chamber he wanted. Third left, second right in a branch of four, bear left until he reached the rock with a hole in the centre, then straight ahead.

The glow grew ever brighter, but it wasn’t until he was nearing the last bend that he was sure �" it wasn’t nearly bright enough.

He slowed and blinked. Then he tucked his guide stone under his shirt, plunging the majority of the tunnel into darkness. His eyes were treated to a world of emptiness for a few scant seconds before vague green outlines and textures returned.

The Panacea.. what had happened?

He rushed passed the bend and into the cavern that had, for whole generations before, been the home to the life-giving creatures they all depended on.

He skidded to a halt, heart pounding in the silence. With shaking fingers, he reached for the guide stone. The little light it gave off flooded the room and Gil stared around him with disbelief.

Gouges and deep depressions marked every surface where the Panacea had eaten into the rock. The largest of these reached close to a meter wide, but only a thin lining remained when it should have been full.

Had the markings grown since he last came collecting? How long had these caverns been empty of Panacea?

In a fit of violence, Gill tore off his satchel and guide stone and threw them to the floor.

“Damn it, damn it.”

He couldn’t fill even a quarter of his satchel even if he stripped the walls bare.

He dropped to his knees, and spread his fingers out against the wet rocks. Empty. How could it be empty?

Then there was a muffled groan, nearly missed amidst the chaos of the water droplets falling from the tips of stalactites. Gil lifted his head towards the noise, startled. The light of his guide stone, cast into the far corner, illuminated a figure tucked into a space between the floor and the wall.

It huddled in on itself, all knees and elbows, covered by a mane of tangled, greasy hair and barely serviceable rags. Gil drew up onto his feet and quietened his breathing. He moved closer, every step placed with care, balanced on the balls of his feet.

He stooped to get a better look.

It was female, that much he could make out. She had her arms wrapped around a large backpack, stuffed to the brim with.. Panacea? No, no �" some of the glow would have leaked out. Although she did hold it with as much reverence as if it were the substance he sought.

She groaned again, and Gil paused in his approach. The mop of hair shifted, and out peaked the tip of a nose and a pair of sunken eyes that latched onto his with a fervour that he thought he could understand.

“You. Help me. I guard precious...” She trailed off in a hoarse whisper.

Gil hesitated a second more before he rushed forward to crouch by her side. He uncorked his flask and held it to her lips but the water poured off her cracked lips to run, undrunk down her chin. She shook her head, nearly knocking the flask from his hand.

“No, you idiot,” she drudged out. “Panacea. Is what I need.”

Gil grimaced and stood back. Idiot? Who was she to call her helper an idiot when she was in such a state?

“Well Panacea is what I need as well,” he said, of a mind to just leave her to fend for herself.

She raked her eyes up and down his form. Gil crossed his arms.

“Kid. I need more than..”

Gil conceded her the point �" she wasn’t only hungry, she was famished. Her wrists stood out, and her skin sagged from the bones of her arms, the muscles wasted to non-existence. Gil flexed his own arms and idly wondered if he’d be able to take her package by force. Perhaps, but even now she clawed her bag closer to her. Its contents rustled.

“What do you have there?”

He leaned closer only for the woman to hunch over, blocking his gaze with her hair and limbs. Gil held out his hands.

“Fine, fine. Don’t know what you’d expect, talking about precious or whatever.”

She uncurled and had the audacity to glare. Gil stared back. He had his share of curiosity, yes, but also his share of foresight. This anomaly with the Panacea ranks much higher on his importance scale than a woman, lost and hungry, who may or may not have possession of treasures. He stood and retrieved his guide stone and satchel and secured them back onto himself.

“This cave used to be home to many colonies of Panacea. Now it is empty. Do you have any idea where they went?”

She groaned once more, a drawn out sound. Gil took that as a no. He cast around and went to one of the deeper depressions where the Panacea layered thicker than the others.

Gil tugged up his mask, securing around his nose and chin before kneeling near the edge of the depression. He sunk his hands into the green fuzz and gripped at the roots which writhed around his fingers, embracing him the same way they embraced the rock face. With infinitesimal care, he slid his hands over the roots, transferring a dozen Panacea onto his palms. When he drew his hands out, they were covered by the waving fronds of the plants, glowing as if he held two fistfuls of fire. Vibrant, green fire.

Two handfuls didn't account for much but their absence made the scarcity all the more apparent. Gil lingered at the sight of the bare rock but turned around when the surrounding Panacea shifted to cover the gap.

Gil drew in a deep breath, in preparation. When the Panacea released its first puff of Perfume, he held his arms away from his body and away from the woman. The green star-shaped spores glimmered seductively in the light and blocked his vision as well as any shadow.

With the last of the spores released, Gil nudged down his mask and released his breath in a smooth exhale that freed the space around his head and diffused the hallucinogenic particles into ineffective concentrations.

He turned at the woman's sneeze. She had her head rested on her pack and didn't stir as Gil went to her side. With his hands occupied with the writhing roots, he nudged the woman with one foot and offered the Panacea. Up close and illuminated with the glow of his hands, wrinkles around her eyes and mouth told stories spanning decades. The movements of the shadows seemed to echo frowns and smiles upon her face but Gil could see she was not as old as she seemed. The skin of her cheeks, though stretched thin across their bones, was not wearied with the spots and fissures of age. Her eyes, when they opened, were unclouded and focused immediately on Panacea he held under her nose.

She lunged. Hands outstretched, she cast her oh so important bag to the side and dug into the Panacea without a hint of modesty. The leaves disappeared into her mouth, and Gil turned away. A hand came up to grasp at his wrist and pulled him in close with a grip as tight as tunnels Gil had to slink through on his belly. Arms trapped as if they had been encapsulated by stone, Gil waited her out as she feasted, and tried to ignore the feel of her tongue and saliva on his fingers and the greasy hair that hung over his forearms.

When she finally finished, only the still twitching roots of the Panacea remained in his hands, stripped of all their foliage. The woman leaned back and drew her package back into the secure confines of her lap. Gil laid the roots in a crevice nearby and took some time to wipe his hands on his trousers.

Then he used the last of his water to wash them. Urgh. Panacea was not meant to be eaten like that.

“You had enough?”

She struggled to stand, and managed to push herself up on two wobbling legs. She leaned against the stone, and Gil, still recovering from being latched onto and fed from, didn’t approach to help. Her grip on her bag as secure as ever, she threw the straps around her shoulders and shrugged her package onto her back.

Left breathing heavily, it took a few minutes before she moved again, this time in the direction of the Panacea.

“Woah, hey,” Gil said. “Do you even know how-“

He grimaced once more when she plunged her face clear into the mass of Panacea, eating directly from the rock. His eyes widened and he tugged on his mask before rushing over and pulling her from the oncoming Perfume. Too late �" the spores released just as she finished with one of the plants and was grabbing at another. Unlike before, the coordinated distress of every Panacea in the cavern caused a near solid stream of the green stars to fill the room.

Gil found the woman’s mouth, and clamped tight on her nose. He scrunched his eyes tight and yanked her back towards the cavern entrance. She tried to knock his hands away but a fit of sneezing gave Gil the opportunity to take them both out of the densest part of the Perfume. Blind and stumbling, he dragged her away into the relative safety of the tunnels and did not stop until he felt treacherous slickness of water under his feet.

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