The white loop processed the last data it received from the tortoise before losing the connection, “green bird, green tick, loss of connection”. The white light around the loop strengthened as the ghostly branches of the loop flashed and overlapped. The loop exchanged a few messages with the memory vine. Green <creature> was near both danger and loss of connection.
The white loop felt a shadow pass through the tendrils it had grown across the surface of the pond. The tortoise had arrived near the loop and was wading into the pond. The loops sent a message to the memory vine about things in the pond but received nothing back. The loop processed.
“Loss of connection, fear, green owl”
“Green owl, danger, fight”
“Green owl, green tick, loss of tortoise, tortoise in pond”
The loop altered its last command and broadcast, “danger, fight, green tortoise”. The memory vine responded with a very recent memory fragment, “danger, fight, loss of connection”. The loop processed this as the tortoise drew closer. The loop sensed the tree spider moon cat arrive and begin pacing around the shallow edge of the pond. The shadows of feathers and one whole bird splashed into the pond near the tortoise. The “fight” command echoed faintly back to the loop from the cat and birds. The loop processed this too.
<hr>
“Loss of fight”
The moon cat and birds hesitated in confusion at the command from the loop—the meaning was not immediately clear, since it seemed to command that the fight be removed. After a moment, the drive to fight left them and they moved to the branches around the pond. The tortoise come close enough to the loop and stretched its neck through the shell of white light to tap the looped branch. The green glow of the tortoise stopped, and the tick crawled out of its mouth, onto the loop. The tortoise retracted its head in confusion and turned toward the shore.
The tick crawled back and forth on the loops of the branch. It clawed and bit at the branch but failed to pierce through. The tick aligned itself crosswise to the seams of the churning loops and rammed its head between two layers. Using its tick-formed body, the construct shoved deeper into the loop until it vanished. The loops of the branch began to churn faster. Flashes of aquamarine shone through cracks in the loops. Mental energy fluctuated wildly, in and out of the loop.
“pain, absorb, grow”
The message leaked out of the loop into the tendrils. The memory vine responded with a strong reflection of the message, “pain absorb, grow”. The white light around the loop collapsed to one ghostly branch. The loops churned beneath the ghostly branch, flashing aquamarine and red from behind the normal green loops.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“pain, absorb, grow”
The tick emerged from the loops of the branch, impaled by red roots. Red stains spread from the roots across the frantically struggling tick. The red stains drowned the aquamarine glow and the tick died. The red roots pulled the dead tick back under the many green loops of the branch. White light spread across the loop again and mental energy flowed into the loop.
<hr>
_ Quest Complete: Destroy the Elven Construct Intruder _
_ Quest Rewards: Common Treasure, Dungeon Reward Selection, Experience _
_ Treasure Unlocked: “Ironwood shield” _
_ Select Dungeon Reward:
- New Material
- Unlock Spawn
- Unlock Treasure
- Entrance Feature
_
_ Random Selection: “New Material” Selected. Select From Available Material: … _
_ Random Selection: “Hemp Fiber” Selected _
_ Core Level Increased to 10. Mana Storage Increased 5%. Mana Generation increased 5%. Durability Increased 10% _
_ Select Dungeon Reward:
- New Material
- Unlock Spawn
- Unlock Treasure
- Entrance Feature
_
_ Random Selection: “Unlock Treasure” Selected. Select From Available Treasure: … _
_ Random Selection: “Gem (Zircon)” Selected _
<hr>
Violet was alerted to the new treasure by the guttural caws of a pair of ravens. When he saw the multicolored pile of gems under the ravens’ feet, he rushed out of his art studio and down the tunnels. The ravens did not give up their treasure easily, however, and he had to hunt down some of the medicinal herbs after he acquired the load of gems.
Back in the art studio, Violet summoned his favorite “make stuff” book and opened to a section on gems. “Gems!” He ranted, alone in his studio. “Gems! Maybe I can make jewelry, adventurers love jewelry! Oh!” He paused as a thought struck him, then began cackling. “Enchanted treasure! Enchanted with dungeon spells, yes-yes-yes!” He waved a hand and the door locked behind him.
<hr>
A fruit grew on the white loop, floating on the pond. The body of the fruit was white, the stem was red, and single green leaf grew from the stem. Mental energy flowed into the fruit, filling out the body. When the fruit was full, the flow of energy cut off and the stem detached from the loop. The fruit fell through the water and settled on the bottom of the pond.
After a time, the fruit split open to reveal a white vine sprout. The vine sprout grew up through the water towards the loop. Thin red and green streaks appeared on the vine as it swelled in size. The white vine grew up through the floating loop and began to open its leaves. Each leaf unfurled into a white loop that blazed with mental energy. White roots grew across the bottom of the pond. The white tendrils from the floating loop broke away from the network fibers and memory vine. The broken tendrils spiraled inward to connect with the growing white vine. Roots spread across the ground, connecting with the mushroom network and memory vine.
Mental energy flowed smoothly into the white vine to fuel its growth. The loop leaves grew sparsely off the side of the white vine, leaving significant spacing between most of them. The white vine branched as it grew. The branches threaded themselves smoothly between the branches of the memory vine.