Chapter - 50

Biscuit looked pretty strange after her burns healed. She was still the same rabbit, and just as quirky as before, but half of her body was now devoid of fur. The soft white fur hadn't grown back with the magic. Jenny had expected the rabbit to look pristine after she woke up. Biscuit's face and paws were marred with burnt scars, the magic hadn't removed those either.

Jenny already missed the pretty black fur around the rabbit's eyes. She had never paid too much attention to those, but now that half of Biscuit was angry pink skin with a few patches of burnt fur here and there, she noticed how the black fur around her eyes worked to make the whole better. She hoped the fur would grow back in time. Biscuit still reacted the same to ear scritches and petting, and that was what mattered.

"Biscuit, we need to get more water and food, then find a way out of this place."

The rabbit stopped nuzzling against Jenny's hand and looked up. "Moove?"

Jenny picked up the dagger and scratched the lines and symbols on the stone while the rabbit watched. She drew the arena, the tunnel connecting to the forge, the orchard, and the tunnel leading to the room with the pillars. Lastly, she drew the three remaining paths leading away from the forge that they hadn't explored yet.

"First we go to the orchard." Jenny pantomimed walking and traced the path to the orchard on her improvised map. "We get water," she took the water skin and pretended to drink a few sips, "and food." Jenny finished by taking some of the fruits she picked from inside the bag.

Hairless Biscuit nodded, looking between Jenny and the map.

"After that, we go back to the forge," Jenny said, pointing at the forge in the map again, "and from there, we explore this passage," the blonde said, pointing at the tunnel closest to the arena. It was in the opposite direction of the room with the pillars, and she hoped that it was also further away from any other monsters inhabiting the dungeon.

Jenny packed her things, slung her bag over her shoulder, and picked up the spear and lantern. She walked down the seats towards the room exit, casting one last glance at the rusted suit of armor. She bowed, ignoring the tittering from the rabbit, and strode into the tunnel, the faint pink tint in her cheeks hidden by the darkness.

Biscuit followed by Jenny's side, not hopping ahead like she had done before. The duo crossed the tunnel without encountering any issues. It was at the forge they ran into their first obstacle. Near the central contraption were two burrowers. The creatures seemed afraid to approach the forge, even while they kept moving ever closer to it. Jenny tapped Biscuit with her feet gently, and when the rabbit looked up, she placed a finger in front of her mouth. The universal gesture for silence. The rabbit nodded.

Jenny walked inside the room as quietly as possible, staying close to the walls. The creatures didn't notice her moving about. Jenny mused that despite their many eyes, the monsters might be blind and view the world through sound or by some strange, esoteric sense. Jenny reached the tunnel leading to the orchard and sidled into it with a quick look toward the forge to ensure they weren't spotted.

Traversing the tunnel went as any other time before, with the difference the passage was coated in the same slimy, glistening substance from the worms. By the amount, it might be one, perhaps two of the monsters.

"Biscuit," she whispered to the rabbit. "Two monsters ahead." Jenny mimicked worms moving with her hand while showing two fingers. Biscuit nodded in response.

The duo immediately moved to the orchard when they stepped inside the overgrown garden. They walked in silence and were attentive to anything around them. They reached their destination without meeting any additional enemies.

Jenny handed the waterskin to Biscuit, the rabbit dragging it into the fissure without any grumbling; that was a first. Once the rabbit brought the filled thing around, Jenny drank as much as she could before handing the now emptied vessel back over to Biscuit. While the rabbit got them water for the journey, the blonde picked up fruits and placed them inside the bag. After a few moments, she also picked up a handful of leaves and stored them.

"Eeries?" Biscuit asked when she got back from filling the container.

"Why?"

"Agik."

Jenny considered the situation. Berries could be used to restore magic. Biscuit had used a lot of magic over the past two days: evil bunny magic against the worms, neutralize magic to suppress the magic door, and a lot of regeneration. There was still a chance of a burrower or two lurking about, and if they went toward the berries, there was a good chance of meeting them.

"Can you still use magic?" Jenny asked.

"Status, shaare." Biscuit replied.

The blue panel with the white rabbit appeared in front of Jenny again. The girl looked at the image, but aside from noticing the rabbit there still had fur, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Why show me this?" She asked, glancing at Biscuit.

The rabbit tilted her head, "Cup."

Cup? Did she mean the goblet? Jenny looked at the goblet again. It was almost empty. Was she supposed to see something else? As if answering her unasked question, Jenny got the impression the contents of the cup showed how much magic Biscuit still had. Jenny blinked twice.

"Status," she called out, and once the parchment showed up, she added, "share."

With the parchment in front of her, she looked at the goblet in the white-haired girl's hand. Like with Biscuit, it was nearly empty, which made no sense. The goblet was full the day before their exploration disaster. Jenny hadn't used any magic; how was the goblet emptied? She reflected on the fight and another detail that had bothered her since then.

The worms spat at her, and at the time, it had burned. Jenny had thought it was poison or something corrosive, but when she woke up, she was fine, and the slime didn't burn anymore. She'd put all that into something meant to cause pain or maybe a way to distract the enemy, but what if that stuff absorbed magic? It would also explain why monsters were trying to eat the pillars. Biscuit had said there was magic in that room, but they didn't attack the door because of the fire.

It was an interesting theory Jenny hoped she wouldn't need to prove.

"No berries," Jenny said after thinking for a while. "Maybe monsters there." She added.

Biscuit nodded, looking in the direction of the berry patch. "Eehny, we oo?"

"Yes, I'm ready," Jenny confirmed, picking up the bag, spear and torch. "Come, Biscuit. Let's find a way out of this place."