We made it through the maze without much difficulty and emerged into a wide chamber. I looked back the way we’d come. It wasn’t a particularly effective maze, all in all, especially since any of the animals or monsters I’d met would be able to scale the short walls with ease and avoid the puzzle entirely.
Why’d someone go to the effort of making it, then? It’s clearly not designed to stop animals or monsters... Does that mean it was made with people in mind? Are there people around here? Or maybe, there were people around here...? Oh well. That’s something to figure out later.
Given that it was guarded by a booby-trapped maze and all, I’d been expecting to find something in the chamber, but it was empty. I sagged like a popped balloon, my anticipation all fizzled out.
I was sure there’d be something here. What a letdown.
A scratching noise snapped me out of my slump. Shion was pawing at one of the walls. I trudged over to him, curious—which was when the section of the wall in front of him collapsed with a bang, sending a tremor through the ground. A new path had opened up, otherwise known as...
A hidden door! A secret passage!
My excitement returned in full force. The adventure wasn’t over yet.
It was another maze.
Thanks to our ever-reliable spider guides, the second maze was about as challenging as the first—in other words, barely.
There’s gotta be something at the end of this one, though. I’m sure of it.
The second maze led to another chamber, guarding an unexpected treasure: dogs. They were small (for this world, at least), smaller than Chai had been when I’d first met him. Of course, Chai had grown a lot since then. Everyone had. Koa was at least two meters tall, and Chai was only slightly shorter. I felt tiny most of the time; the normal-sized squirrels had been a godsend for my mental well-being.
But these guys are perfectly average too! For now, at least... Please stay small. I’m begging you. Do you know how depressing it is to be looked down on all the time?!
I couldn’t tell for certain from this distance, but height-wise, it looked like the new dogs would probably only come up to my chest. They were definitely the smallest out of all the canines I’d met so far.
They must be a different breed than Chai and his friends, though. Compared to the wolves and the first pack of dogs, they’re a little more furious-looking, maybe? Ha ha ha. What am I thinking? They’re all just as scary.
Three of the dogs seemed to be on the brink of death; four more stood in front of them protectively. They were growling, which seemed to be about all they could do. They were weak.
Crap. I gotta somehow let them know we’re not gonna hurt them or they’re gonna collapse from exhaustion... How, though?
Before I could decide on a strategy, Koa and Chai stepped forward, each about half a meter taller than they’d been a minute ago—
Wait, what?
Against all odds, I somehow managed to hold my ground—both mentally and physically—despite the shock of their sudden upsizing. It would be pretty pathetic for me to get scared as well as—or worse, instead of—the wild dogs. Thankfully, the dogs in question were currently cowering with their tails between their legs.
I know the feeling! Okay. Deep breath. Calm down... Phew. It’s okay, me. They’re my friends... I’m so glad they’re my friends.
By the time I’d finished soothing myself, the dogs were already lying in complete and total submission.
Yep. I really, really know the feeling.
I approached cautiously, inspecting the dogs for any sign of the curse. I couldn’t see any physical symptoms, but they obviously weren’t doing too well regardless, so I treated them with the standard prescription of spells—Purify, Unbiding, Heal, and Clean—to immediate effect. The three weaker dogs lifted their heads to survey us curiously. It would be a while before they were truly healthy again, but they no longer seemed like they were actively dying, at least.
Koa and Chai returned to their normal sizes as well, to my great relief.
We explored the rest of the chamber for a while, but ultimately, it appeared that this was the end of the maze; there were no more hidden doors or secret passages to be found.
What the hell was the point of the maze anyway?! Seriously... Oh well. At least I was able to help the dogs.
As usual, I invited the newest batch of animals to come home with us, relying on Koa to communicate the offer. It went well—as far as I could tell, anyway—and the journey back to the mountain was altogether uneventful.
The mountain was in sight now. We crossed a wooden bridge over the river and followed the path through the fields. Compared to the clustered trees in the forest, being out here made me feel exposed. I still hadn’t fully adjusted to the sudden openness created by all our landscaping, but like it or not, I’d have to get used to it eventually.
We were nearly at the house when it caught my eye. Something had changed after we’d left this morning, just beyond one of the new fields. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was, but it was definitely not the way I’d left it.
What have they done now?
Leaving the new dogs to wait in front of the house, I quickly jogged over to investigate the strange change of scenery.
Oh, come on!
It wasn’t an optical illusion, despite my attempts to convince myself otherwise; they’d actually turned one of the fields back into a forest.
What was the point of all the landscaping, then?! Oh, hang on... Okay, I get it now.
The trees weren’t haphazardly placed. They grew in neat, organized lines, and when I looked up, I could see that they all bore some kind of fruit. It wasn’t a forest; it was an orchard.
Well, it wasn’t just an orchard either. Unlike the first field, where everything mostly grew underground, this field apparently housed everything that grew on a shrub, tree, or vine, as well as any leafy vegetables. There were six types of leafy vegetables and nine types of vine-growing vegetables in all. Five long rows had been planted of each and every type. Then came the fruit trees—seventeen varieties of them, and again, five rows of each. No wonder I’d thought it was a forest. Last—but not least—came thirty rows of grape vines, which I had to admit did excite me.
Well, it’s not like we don’t have the room... This is still a little excessive though. The Farm Brigade sure are hard workers! Really, really hard workers... How the hell did they get all of this done in a single morning? I mean, the trees are pretty much fully grown! Come to think of it, the spiders and the ants were even more energetic than usual this morning. Guess they helped? Even then, I’m pretty sure it still should have been impossible... Ha ha ha. Oh well. No point trying to figure out the impossible, after all! Yep, I’ll just be grateful. Looks like everything’ll be ready for harvest soon! Thanks, everyone!