Zombie Fungus (Hermitcraft AU)

Chapter 3

(2205 words)

XB looked down at the large island as he flew towards it. The Shopping District was surprisingly empty, there wasn't a single person, as far as he could tell, but he didn't let that distract him from his current task: buying sand.

He flew in the Barge's open roof and immediately scrunched his nose. The whole shop had a faint, sour smell.

After finding and paying for all the sand he needed, the man decided to figure out where that smell was coming from.

The source, apparently, was a chest sitting in an extended part of the shop's wall. There were a few signs accompanying it, which XB read.

"Mycelium? Who'd want to buy that?"

He opened the lid of the chest and was hit with a small wave of hot air and the same smell, which he had started to become used to. He immediately closed it and turned away, coughing.

"Disgusting." He shook his head.

<~~~>

The air in the Nether was drier than in the Overworld, and much hotter.

Sweater tied around his waist, Grian flew through the odd terrain of colorful mushroom forests and boiling pools of lava. When he neared the coordinate Mumbo gave him, he looked around and soon found the man sitting on the shore of a lava lake with two striders wandering on the shallows, nearby.

He smoothly landed next to his friend, who had removed his suit jacket and had the orange-ish glow of a potion effect around him.

"Ready to get your rear kicked?" Grian swung himself up on the back of one of the striders, which had ambled onto the shore. "I'm gonna call you Waffles!"

Mumbo cleared his throat. "Forgetting something?"

Grian looked over to the taller Hermit, who he was now at eye-level with, holding a glass bottle with an orange potion in one hand, and a pair of fishing rods with teal fungus on the hooks in the other.

"While I would love to see you try and lead Waffles using sheer willpower, I think it's only fair you have a chance. Also," he added, tossing the potion and one of the rods to Grian, who caught them. "We wouldn't want you falling in the lava."

Grian gratefully drank the bitter potion. The Nether heat lessened to a comfortable warmth, and the same glow that was around Mumbo surrounded him as the fire-resistance took effect.

The other strider had made its way to the shore, and Mumbo swiftly mounted it, which was easier for him, since the creature wasn't almost his height.

"Alright, see that warped tree next to the cliff?" The taller man pointed across the lake. "First one whose strider touches the shore wins- Hey, I didn't say to start yet!"

"You didn't say not to!" Grian called back, a couple of meters from the starting point. Waffles was waddling across the bubbling lava at a speed just quick enough to look ridiculous.

His victory was short-lived, however. Soon enough, he saw Mumbo's strider passing him, with the rider in question tauntingly saluting a greeting.

"Onwards, Waffles!" Grian called out louder than necessary, consequently spooking the strider, who began sprinting towards the shore.

Mumbo reached the goal first, hopping off his strider and shouting in victory.

Grian tried to get Waffles under control, but the fungus-tipped pole slipped out of his hand and fell into the lava with sizzles and cracks. The strider bucked suddenly, sending its rider flying into the netherrack.