John’s chest felt heavy at what she had gone through. He couldn’t begin to comprehend it. The closest comparison he could imagine was a nuclear war in his own world. But even then, what would he be like if his world had truly been destroyed?

  In light of that, Kaelin’s wandering made sense.

  Maybe he could build her a home worth staying in to help her heal.

  “You ready for the Glowwood?” she asked, wiping her eyes and forcing a smile at him.

  John looked toward the shimmering, glass-like energy between the moss-covered stones.

  “I think so,” John said, taking a deep breath.

  He picked up a loose rock and tossed it through.

  It vanished instantly.

  Luna chased after it and disappeared through the portal.

  Both John and Kaelin laughed nervously.

  “I guess she’s ready,” Kaelin said, stepping through after her.

  Suddenly, John was alone.

  “Okay,” he said, breathing deeply, still heavy after hearing her story. “Let’s do this.”

  John stepped carefully through the portal. Warm mist brushed against his skin. For a moment, he felt weightless as everything disappeared, as if he were submerged in water. Then he emerged into the Glowwood.

  Immediately, John understood the name.

  Before him rose massive fungus trees spiraling high like glowing towers. Their caps spread like giant umbrellas across the sky, veined with blue light. The sky above was completely dark. But there didn’t need to be any sun. Everything glowed with soft bioluminescence.

  Moss covered the fungus trees and spread across the ground in pale blue light. Vines glowed as well. A shallow stream beside the portal shimmered faintly. Even the floating motes drifting through the air like fireflies glowed.

  John could hardly believe it was real. He blinked several times and rubbed his eyes.

  Luna was already chasing one of the glowing motes, snapping at it in the air. Kaelin smiled at the sight.

  “I could spend all day here,” John said.

  “It’s pretty, isn’t it?” Kaelin said, humming softly.

  More creatures wandered among the towering mushrooms. The first were deer. They were translucent, with glowing veins visible through their bodies. They paused and stared at John. There were even small fox-like creatures, equally translucent with glowing veins, who dashed by.

  Everything in the Glowwood shone.

  For a moment, John wondered if he might glow too. But when he looked down at his plaid shirt, it was only tinted cyan by the light.

  John even increased his Wayfinding skill for stumbling into a new location.

  Wayfinding (+20): lvl 1 (50 / 100)

  “I’m guessing your world doesn’t have this?” Kaelin asked as she lowered herself down to some of the glowing shrubbery nearby.

  “Not even close,” John said, trying to rack his brain for anything that closely resembled something as strangely beautiful as this.

  “We can gather some of these fruits and leaves if you’d like,” Kaelin said, tugging on a leaf that was outlined with blue lines and interwoven with glowing veins.

  “Is this you telling me to make my stew more interesting?” John asked as he grabbed the glowing mint leaf.

  Glow Mint Leaf (Rare) — Bioluminescent herb with mint scent. Gives meals a minty flavor along with slight fatigue recovery. User emits a faint glow.

  “Oh, wonderful,” John said, stuffing some of it into his basket.

  “I’m not saying your cooking is bad,” Kaelin said as she brought one to her nose and inhaled it. John’s eyes lingered on her lips as she did so. “I just think it’ll be good for some flavor.”

  John couldn’t argue with that.

  He stuffed about three fistfuls of the glow mint leaf, along with three clusters of soft glowing berries that came from fungus caps, as if they were glowing blue earrings.

  Pulse Cap Spore Fruit (Rare) — Soft glowing berry from fungus caps. Satisfies hunger and gives a minor stamina boost.

  John took about three of each and placed them into his basket.

  Foraging (+30): lvl 2 (95 / 150)

  Luna howled as she found another rabbit. This one was translucent and glowing just like the other creatures, chasing after it as John and Kaelin rose to their feet and continued onward.

  “Do you come here often?” John asked.

  “From time to time,” she said, shrugging. “I like being in the sun, though.”

  At the mention of it, John looked up to the dark sky, mystified by how there was no sun here.

  “So is this like a different world or something? Since it has no sun?”

  Kaelin gave him a confused frown as if he were crazy.

  “Of course not. That’s just the shadowy essence from the mushroom trees themselves.”

  Looking back at it again, John could see the darkness above was not solid like the night sky, but rather swirling mists.

  “Oh. Is it safe to breathe?” he asked, suddenly feeling his throat dry.

  Kaelin laughed, readjusting the violin on her back.

  “Of course it is. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be standing here, would you?”

  “Good point,” John said, thankful that he was not being slowly poisoned.

  After a little while in the Glowwood, a small glowing village emerged in the near distance. Before them, homes were grown from the living fungus trunks, bridges growing from the roots themselves and crisscrossing between them. Though there was very little need for illumination, there were hanging glow-orb lanterns scattered throughout the semi-large village.

  The inhabitants, of which there weren’t that many—enough for a small town—were all elf-like peoples, but they did not resemble Kaelin in the slightest. Instead, their skin was translucent just like the other animals’, and every single vein within them was glowing blue. Even their hair looked like an extension of their veins. Several of them were children who cried with excitement at seeing Luna dashing in, chasing after the same rabbit.

  Everyone carried the same necklace that Kaelin had, too, allowing John to understand them.

  “It’s the crystal wolf!” one of the little girls shouted, with a little boy following behind as they chased after Luna, who howled proudly.

  The fungus tower house close to them suddenly opened, a door carved directly into the trunk. Out came an elderly elf with dark brown robes and a walking staff that looked like it was made of fungus root. He first looked with suspicion at John, but then his eyes widened and softened as he came upon Kaelin.

  “Ah, Kaelin. You’ve brought a friend.”

  Kaelin bowed slightly.

  “Hello again, Sylvaen,” she said respectfully.

  “I’m John,” John said, reaching out his hand to shake, his normal American customs kicking in.

  The elderly man, holding on to his staff for support, only looked at his hand, confused.

  “It is a pleasure to meet you, John,” though he did not shake his hand. “Are you one of the new settlers who’ve arrived?”

  “I am,” John said, lowering his hand.

  Out of the corner of his eye, John noticed some of the other glowing elves clustering in the spaces between the fungal trees to peek at him and Kaelin.

  “Are you seeking to build a home here in the Glowwood?” Sylvaen asked, raising one glowing, bushy eyebrow as if expecting John to say no.

  “No, of course not.”

  The elderly elf nodded and released the crease in his brow, relieved.

  “I’m just here to hopefully get a chandelier,” John added. “If you have any to spare.”

  Sylvaen spread a wrinkled smile.

  “You see how many mushrooms are here?” he asked, motioning with his fungus staff toward the thousands of glowing mushroom treetops, spores, and all the other bright fungal amenities of the Glowwood.

  “Here, let me show you,” Sylvaen said, motioning them inside his fungal tower.

  Inside the fungus tower, it was much different from what John expected. He thought it would be dark, given the darkness of the atmosphere, but instead it was rather bright. Several glowing chandeliers hung from the ceiling, each of them luminescent fungus clusters with crystal spore lattice and braided root fiber holding it all together. The result was a natural, beautiful glow that illuminated the space.

  There were also dozens of other trinkets and things to purchase on the shelves that made up the interior of the tree, which must have been some sort of general store, given the variety of different glowing foods and crafting materials.

  At the sight of all the different things he could buy, he patted his pockets with his free hand, feeling awkward.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t really bring anything to buy this chandelier.”

  Kaelin was already unhooking it from the top.

  Sylvaen cleared his throat. “Oh, don’t worry about that. Consider it a homecoming gift.”

  John was taken aback as Sylvaen handed the glowing chandelier to Kaelin to hold for him.

  “Oh, are you sure?” John asked.

  Sylvaen merely closed his eyes, though it looked like he might fall asleep, given how wrinkled he was and how old and tired he appeared.

  “It’s too bright in here anyway,” he said, waving it off as if it were not that big of a deal.

  A bark sounded from behind them as Luna came dashing in.

  “I see we found another friend,” Sylvaen said as Luna came up, wagging her crystal tail and trying to catch the pulsing chandelier spores that drifted lazily from it like tiny little stars. A couple of the children gathered nearby at the entrance, giggling as Luna snapped her teeth at one that flickered out briefly like a firefly.

  John sighed as he watched. “She’s not going to eat this in the middle of the night, is she?”

  The kids only laughed, as did Kaelin. But her laughter suddenly stopped when, from behind the kids, a voice called out—soft and uncertain.

  “Kaelin?”

  She froze. Her eyes drifted, peering past the two children.

  John stiffened immediately, not certain if it was a threat or not.

  Parting through the kids was a young, glowing woman. She was tall with translucent skin like the others, with long glowing hair braided down on both sides, and in her hands was a small glowing child, perhaps not more than a year old. The baby nestled against the glowing elf woman’s chest.

  “I can’t believe it,” Kaelin said, staring at the child for a moment. “He’s grown so much since the last time I’ve seen him.”

  “He’s missed you,” the woman said, stepping closer and holding out the baby, who cooed. “We’ve all missed you.”

  Though Kaelin’s eyes did not rise to the woman’s. However, as Kaelin gently held the baby in her arms, humming to keep him from fussing, the woman’s glowing eyes flashed over to John.

  “This is Aerya,” Kaelin said, before looking at the child. “And this is Harith,” she said, smiling as she said the name. “I was her midwife when she gave birth to him.”

  “And you haven’t been back since,” Aerya said, sounding a bit hurt.

  Her eyes softened as she watched Kaelin gently rock and hum to the baby boy.

  “I’ve been busy,” Kaelin said, dodging the accusation.

  “Will you come back to visit us soon?” Aerya asked as Kaelin handed back the little boy.

  “I’ll try my best,” she said, though John didn’t know if that was a promise or not. If he had a guess, her coming and going must have been normal. Perhaps she didn’t linger long and was always on the move.

  “Please do,” Aerya said as Kaelin and John dismissed themselves with Luna.

  The other villagers must have recognized Kaelin, too, as they waved at her and said goodbye.

  Her demeanor changed into one of melancholy once they made it a good distance from the village, with Luna back to chasing the glowing animals again.

  Kaelin sighed heavily.

  “I’m guessing you haven’t been there since the baby was born,” John said, walking beside her.

  Kaelin shook her head.

  “I try to see if there are other villages that need help with children or, you know, with cases like yourself needing help with their homes,” she said, carrying the fungus chandelier.

  “Have you thought about settling down in one of the villages, like this one?”

  “Not yet,” Kaelin said quickly.

  When the silence grew between them, John cleared his throat.

  “They seem very fond of you,” he said softly.

  A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

  “It was a rather rough birth story,” she said. “It was during a spore storm, and it was in the middle of the night. I was there after doing a bit of foraging and playing my music by one of the rivers when I heard her screaming in the night.”

  Kaelin paused, her brows coming together as she recollected the memory.

  “She was so afraid. And alone. Her husband had been destroyed in the⁠—”

  She didn’t finish the sentence, and John understood the implication immediately.

  “I played music for her the entire night. That’s how long the labor lasted. Aerya thought that she would not make it. She was already grief-stricken, and the labor was hard on her body, especially with the spore storm, which made it harder to breathe. But my music was able to help her get through.”

  Kaelin said nothing more as they continued walking toward the portal, which appeared not long after. The whole time, John dwelled on how she had a hard time setting her roots down, which only increased his worry that she would leave as soon as they placed the chandelier in his home.

  John tried walking more slowly through the glowing, dark fungus forest, but Luna and Kaelin were already far ahead. He realized, too, that, since he had no concept of time here, given that there was no visible sun, he had no idea how much time had passed. The only thing he knew was that his stomach was growling and he was starving once again. Though he doubted Luna was starving, as she returned to them at the portal with glowing lips and teeth.

  “I’m guessing you had your dinner,” John said with a chuckle. “And that you’ll probably want more.”

  Luna howled, which did not surprise him.

  Stepping back through the portal, which felt more like thick syrup this time, John stumbled out into Meadowreach, the cold air rushing into him immediately. Just as he thought, the sun was already spilling across the horizon as it was setting, casting the entire forest into shadow with but a hint of light remaining. Thankfully, the fungal spore chandelier cast a nice, bright blue light, giving them plenty of light to see.

  They walked in silence back to the camp, with Kaelin no doubt dwelling upon the baby boy she had held in her arms. All John could see as they snapped on twigs and passed over fallen logs was how at home she had looked, holding the child and humming softly to it. Even though it was cold outside, the memory of her doing that warmed him more than he thought possible.

  When the log cabin came into view, he almost didn’t believe his eyes. It was still there, a testament to how much he had poured into his new home. The fire had gone low, and he’d have to chop some more wood. But at least now he wouldn’t have to sit outside in the cold. Even with his insulated tent, he was still exposed to the elements more or less. Now he would have wooden walls to keep him nice and warm.

  “Ready to put on the final touches?” Kaelin asked with a slight grin.

  “Very much so.”

  Together, the two of them lifted the glowing chandelier into the middle of the room and attached it with cordage onto the roof beam. The soft blue light filled the cabin.

  The house felt alive. Luna howled with joy as she jumped into her moss bed.

  John’s homestead finally reached level two as a result.

  Homestead: 2 (0 / 150)

  New Passive Unlocked: Hearthbound Comfort — Rest recovery +25% inside the cabin. Warmth drains more slowly while indoors. Companion fatigue recovery increased.

  Moss Mattress Recipe

  Because he had dramatically increased his Homestead, his tier was also upgraded to Uncommon instead of Common. And his character level increased by 20 points.

  Level (+20): 3 (110 / 200)

  “Care to have a glowing stew?” John said as he leaned against the wall, taking in the chandelier and the coziness of the cabin.

  “Why do you think I’m here?” Kaelin asked playfully.

  While Kaelin and Luna rested in the log cabin, with Kaelin playing her violin again and filling the air with sweet music, John quickly—before it got too dark—chopped down one wooden block, just to have enough for tonight.

  Woodcraft (+5): lvl 4 (90 / 250)

  John then ignited a campfire and got to work making a nice pot of glowcap forest stew, which, just like the fungus itself, illuminated the entire cooking pot with a blue essence. He added some of the glow mint leaf, pulse cap spore fruit, and some of his Songcap mushrooms and wild meadow berries, which were nice and dry and roasted from his drying rack, leaving him with eighteen food stores, which was plenty.

  Though he couldn’t spare any more room on top of the drying rack, he placed the glow mint leaf and spore fruit inside the cabin, away from Luna’s bed, just in case she got the wrong idea.

  Hearthcraft (+5): lvl 1 (65 / 100)

  Cooking (+10): lvl 2 (10 / 150)

  “I think you outdid yourself this time,” Kaelin said as the three of them slurped down their glowcap forest stew, which restored warmth and helped them recover their fatigue. Each of their skin began to glow, including Luna’s crystalline fur.

  “I think it was the glow-mint leaf, like you said,” John said, complimenting her.

  “It’s not bad for a settler,” she said, smiling.

  And though each of them sat equally apart from each other around the crackling fire pit, John couldn’t help but feel closer to the two of them than he’d ever had before.

  Companion Bond (+5): lvl 1 (70 / 100)