Melchior’s Grand Tour: Mouth of Saint Gugonix [3]

Diary of Melchior, 14th day of the 1st of Summer.

I was in a dilemma: to stay at the castle with the Audiomage and lady Oozolina or to venture into the tunnels of Tartarus?

Eventually, aunt Berenix chose for me: she became so annoying that going away was just necessary. The last straw was the arrival of her new dog, an annoying Cerberus Corgi

that yapped uncontrollably from the moment it put a paw in the castle.

I was growing fond of the Audiomage and Lady Oozolina, but the aunt’s presence was spoiling those encounters, as she barged in unannounced to take the slime lady and the wizard to some guest or some social gathering. I had some great chats with them, maybe a little incomprehensible due to the technical language of the mage and the bizarre metaphors of Oozolina, but enriching and exciting nonetheless. The Audimage gave me a recording device

and a brass plate with a wax seal: if I ever encounter a curious sound or tune I should record it and bring it back. Oozolina gave me a plate already “filled with voice” to play “if the hugs are many” (I believe her interpreter was making fun of me).

My guide to the underground is Aminta, the Mushroom Ranger, a young woman just a couple of years older than me. She will accompany me, and a party of Dwarves, to the Mouth of Saint Gugonix, one of the entrances to the Tratarus’ Tunnels.

Aminta is a nice girl, but the mushrooms growing out of her skin are concerning to me, even if she assured me they are harmless, beneficial even. Hosting fungi makes you be in tune with the depths, more aware of the surroundings, capable of navigating the darkness. There’s a protocol to follow so that the hyphae don’t grow too deep in the tissues: if they did, the mushroom could end up making decisions for you.
She spoke of this horrifying scenario with a smile.
She is enthusiastic about all aspects of her work. I asked her what she did in her Sabbatical Year: did she go on a Grand Tour? When did she know that being a ranger was her vocation? She laughed: she’s not noble, but she managed to spend the year touring different entrances to Tartarus. She always wanted to be a ranger: it is her family tradition and pride, after all.
A pet badger travels with her, it’s called Sunny, and it’s poised and responsive as the best-trained hound.

The Dwarves traveling with us are six in total, they are part of the Hifar Company, a commercial enterprise of some kind. They traveled to the Mouth of the Saints on two carts pulled by oxen and stuffed with provisions, barrels, and mechanical tools.
They are polite but cold. One of them is an interpreter, and between him and the little dwarven known by Aminta, we could have simple conversations, but they seem not interested. I regret to have daydreamed during the lessons of dwarven grammar, but it bored me more than most other subjects, and I was sure I’d never need more than the basic phrases.

After a day and a half, we reached The Mouth of Saint Gugonix, one of the eldest entrances to the depths of Tartarus. There is a convent of the Order of the Dungeon’s sisters. The temple and the buildings are decently kept, considering that the interest in the underground has only recently resurged after centuries of progressive indifference. On the other hand, the actual portal to the underground is in disrepair: the frescoes peeled off, the chapels are in ruin, almost reduced to caves. The only decoration standing is a ceramic map of the first tunnels, and an oxidate bronze statue of Saint Gugonix, the jailer of the Titans.

The Dwarves chose this entrance because of the convent: they need a sort of “base camp” to store the equipment they do not intend to bring in the first descent. And they have a lot of equipment: one cart had a construct, a rhino with a drill-head, and that came with three chests of spare parts and accessories. The other cart was a traveling alchemical lab with trunks of reagents and alembics.

Tomorrow we will start the descent, the caravan will have a head and a tail, one will sometimes detach to go scouting, the other will proceed slowly and regularly, guarding provision and equipment.

I can GO WITH THE HEAD OF THE GROUP: Aminta, the Artificer, the Dwarf leader, and his deputy. There I will focus on the flora and fauna of the caves, and the danger they can provide.

Or I can GO WITH THE TAIL OF THE GROUP: the interpreter, the alchemist, a dwarven guard, and Sister Jezib, one of the nuns of the convent. There I could learn more about the history of Tartarus and, maybe, the dwarves’ mission.