Potatoes of the Thundercloud Mount

On a windy spring evening, Silas found himself, as per usual, surrounded by a pile of books. Before him, on the table lies a tome, titled ‘local legends and folklore’. It was his first time in the Garner kingdom in the southern regions of it, so of course, the scholar found local myths and legends interesting to learn about. He flipped it open and began reading through it vigilantly.

Most of the myths and legends were pretty typical and many of them were similar if not exactly the same as other legends found in the Garner kingdom. Heroes, monsters, river-dwelling demons. The mightiest dragon to have ever lived, who brought prosperity to all of the kingdom. However, as he got to the middle of the book, an unusual tale cough his attention, it was titled ‘Potatoes of power’. 

He read through the story ‘it is said that at the base of mount thundercloud wild potatoes grow which glow if you harvest them in the spring. The potatoes are hot to the touch and can only be cooked within the inner magma chambers of the mount thundercloud, and upon cooking the potatoes there, they become infused with the powers of the mount thundercloud which was inhabited by an ancient dragon, and they were his favorite snack. 

Silas scratched his head and took a sip of local dark coffee – “fascinating! Magically infused potatoes if harvested during a specific season and cooked in a specific location. I ought to see this”. He took notes of the location and process described in this legend, spending rest of the night digging through other tomes in search of more hints and confirmations of this legend. Before he realized it, the sun was rising once more. He had found several mentions of this legend and his curiosity had completely taken over.

Silas yawned and ventured to his inn room, leaving the city library behind. After a morning nap in the inn room, he decided it was time to venture to the mount thundercloud. And although Silas was no stranger to travels and was a highly educated scholar, even he knew that volcanoes were dangerous and that he’d need special equipment to help him on his journey.

During lunch at the inn’s tavern, Silas took notes of the equipment he thought he thought he’d need. The tavern keeper noticed his intense note-taking and approached him – “how’s the food, good sir?” Silas replied without looking away from his notes – “and a heat-resistant backpack! And boots! Sorry what??” he lifted his gaze up to meet the eyes of the tavern keeper who stood there, staring at the young miqo’te scholar in awe. 

The tavern-keeper spoke with obvious curiosity “where ya off to mister?” Silas smirked “Ah! I will be making a journey to the mount thundercloud, it has piqued my interest”. The keeper smirked lightheartedly – “ah! A famous tourist attraction you could say!” He nodded at a smaller guy in the corner, sitting alone at the table with a massive backpack by his side, gobbling down baked potatoes. “Chat to that lad over there” 

Silas finished his stew and put a couple of coins on the counter, nodding softly – “thanks keep! Meal was great” he closed his notebook and walked over to the potato gobbling guy. He spoke somewhat hesitantly and shyly – “uhm, th-the keeper told me to ask you about uhmm…. Mount thundercloud?”. The smaller guy, no taller than 170cm, but quite bulky, with a smooth young face, by the looks of it no older than 17, lifted his head up and swallowed.

He looked up at Silas and his eyes almost physically sparked from excitement as he jumped up from his seat and grabbed Sila’s hand shaking it – “Sir! Good day sir! Welcome to the guided thundercloud tour bureau of Marin Meza! Well inofficial name i guess! I am, oh I guess I already introduced myself, did I not, sir? I am Marine Meza! I will be your guide for a cheap price of 5 gold coins per day sir! Oh is that too much sir? Fine fine I’ll settle on 4. You seem like a good man, sir! Thank you for agreeing”

Silas, stood there, absolutely shocked by the overly enthusiastic young man, as his hand was being forcibly shaken by this incredibly strong young man. – “uhmm…”Marine shut him up before Silas could say a word – “fine fine sir! 3 gold coins is my final offer! I give you the best tour sir!” he smiled as he stopped shaking Silas’s hand. Silas shook his head – “no it’s a uhm, yes.. Sure?”. The young lad let go of his hand which was now sore from all the shaking and a firm grip. 

Marin grabbed the last remaining piece of the potato and stuffed it all in his mouth, grabbing his backpack and gesturing for Silas to swallow. Talking with his mouth full – “yum sho fi fill need hmmmm mmmhhmm yush shooo heash reshishtant closhes and humnmm nyam backpacksh anddmmmmm” he continued chewing. Silas followed him out the door, silent and confused. “Washer! Lotsha Washer! Breashing mashk anddd mmmmhhhhhh” he walked confidently to the west, Silas followed. 

Silas found himself standing beside Marin at the entrance to a hunting store by the looks of items on display behind the window. Marin smirked – “This store has all you’ll ever need to survive a trip to the volcano sir!” he went inside, and Silas followed closely behind. He found himself in awe of the store’s assortment. Truly a store for all your outdoor needs. 

It had boots, clothes, tents, masks, filters, backpacks, bows, crossbows, magical scroll items, summoning scrolls, and all kinds of things to survive the wilderness. Marin came back and grabbed Silas who was awestruck, by the hand, pulling him in a certain direction – “Sir please, we don’t have time to waste! This way, this way!” Silas almost fell over as the strong young lad pulled him “yes yes! So… what do I need again?”. Marin sighed.

After spending half the money he had on him, Silas found himself staring at the door of the outdoor store where he had just left half the money he had remaining, a hint of sadness on his face as Marin’s mightly hand slammed on Silas’s gentle, humble shoulder, sending him toppling to the ground – “It’s okay sir! The equipment is well worth the price! Oh no sir, are you alright?” he grabbed Silas by the backpack and lifted him back up to his feet. 

Silas now had a pretty massive backpack that had all the necessities to survive a trip to the inner magma chamber of a volcano. Marin dragged him to a food store where they bought dry meals and meals that would not spoil in the heat over several days. They were ready, it was now approaching evening. Marin stoke a pose and pointed at the sunset “Look!” said Marine confidently. Silas turned to look in that direction.

On the horizon, Silas could see the massive shape of mount thundercloud, living up to its name as a cloud of thunder hung above the volcano whose shape he could see in the setting sun. Lightning lit the cloud up in a spectacular sight – “2 days walking, that’s how far the volcano is, let’s set out” Marin said as he began walking in the direction of sunset, towards the city gate. 

Silas followed him. They walked for many hours, night has fallen but they kept walking. As the sun began to rise over the horizon, Marin suggested eating 1 of the meals they bought, specifically a ‘wide awake’ meal. It was supposedly nutritious enough to make a man not need sleep for a day or 2, and the meal definitely lived up to its name, like an angry bull, Silas marched onwards for the next 32 hours, as did Marin, his trusty guide. 

The volcano was getting bigger and bigger, it’s size was truly impressive. “Whole 5 kilometers above the sea level, constant release of smoke creates a permanent thundercloud above the mountain, raining toxic rain on the area around it. As such, the volcano is devoid of all and any plants and animals on its slopes. Silas swallowed hard – “wait…toxic?”. 

Marine giggled as he gobbled down another potato – “Relax sir! It’s only toxic if you drink it, or if it gets in your ears, eyes, nose, mouth, well anywhere, I suggest not sticking your tongue out and wearing the protective hood we bought!” 

The effect of the meal ran out and they crashed for a good night’s rest near a local farm. In the morning, Silas was awakened by excited Marin who dropped a whole bag of potatoes down beside him and spoke loudly – “Sir good morning sir! Look I got us breakfast sir! These are finely boiled potatoes, dig in sir”. Silas laughed a little – “You really do like potatoes don’t you?” 

After a hearty meal they continued their journey towards the volcano. As they approached the base of it, Silas took his notebook out and read through the notes, sitting on a log while they took a little break. Behind him, out of the bushes, Marin showed up – “What are you reading sir?”. Silas fell off the log out of surprise – “Sheesh! You scared me, don’t jump out like that from behind me when I’m reading!”.

Marin offered his hand to help Silas up and apologized, after sitting back down and reading through his notes, Silas looked around – “According to legends, base of the volcano on the southwest suppose to have a field of potatoes”. Marin looked at his notes – “Sir are you stupid to believe these legends? No please don’t answer that…” he stepped to the side and sighed – “my boss is stupid… okay sir this way please sir i’ll show you the fields” 

They walked for a few hours before Marin suddenly stopped in the middle of the grass field – “Welcome to the southwest fields sir! As you can see” He looked around “no potatoes here sir, only stupid grass sir! Please have a look around and let me know when you want to step onto the volcano” He put his backpack down and sat down on the grass, resting. 

Silas checked his notes once more, left his backpack beside Marine, and went to search for a bush of potatoes. Hours passed but the search was in vain and yielded no results. Silas turned to return when from a treeline he heard a voice “stranger!”. It was a young girl’s gentle voice. He turned and looked into the treeline but there was nothing. The voice echoed out from the forest once more “Stranger! What ya want?” 

Silas walked towards the shadows of the trees, confused by the source of the voice as his ears could not detect the precise location of it, it’s as if the forest itself spoke to him. He walked closer – “uh, hello?” the voice replied – “Hello stranger! What ya want?”. Behind him, Marin replied “Potatoes!”. Silas jumped once more – “STOP SNEAKING UP ON ME” He shouted, but Marin just laughed – “you’re a cat sir, shouldn’t you be good at hearing people approaching?”

Silas shook his head and stared at the forest – “So, who’s talking?” Marin grabbed his shoulder and dragged him back- “Mandragoras, they lure kids in and turn them into feed for the plants and forest. Since the soil here is rather bland, the forest survives on animal and human sacrifices which the mandragoras make, I advise you against venturing inside that forest unless you want to get sucked dry. That came off wrong, ah whatever, let’s go sir”

Silas shuddered – “what do you mean turned into the feed?” Marin walked away from the forest – “to put it simply sir, the vines will wrap all around you and get under your skin, bl” SIlas interrupted him abruptly- “OKAY THAT’S ENOUGH! I get the idea” he shivered – “they won’t…come out?”. Marin shook his head – “no sir, they can’t leave the shadows of the forest, these empty fields are deadly for them, i don’t know why sir, i’m not a magician I’m just a tour guide sir stop asking me things” 

They returned to their backpacks, on top of Silas’s backpack a creature sat. Small, yellow, sparkling creature, or rather, slept to be precise. They got closer to see a miqo-fair, no larger than a hedgehog in size, curled up, sleeping on top of silas’s backpack. As he reached for it, Marin slapped his hand away and gestured him to hush, whispering – “Sir these are the volcanic fairies, they can be the difference between life and death sir! Don’t anger it”

They waited hours until the little yellow fairy awoke, stretched, yawned sleepily, and then sat up, staring at the duo of a young boy and a miqo’te scholar who were intensely staring at it – “mmeeoowwning travelers!” she spoke softly as she rubbed her eyes and fixated her gaze on Silas – “a fellow feline, how cute” she jumped off from the backpack and flapped her wings, flying up to silas and examining him, lifting his upper lip up to look at his fangs – “whoa!”

Silas, sat obediently, following Marin’s advice to not anger the fairy as she pulled on his ears and lips and poked at him all over – “you big cats are lame” she concluded as she sat down on his head and crossed her arms and legs – “lame lame lamooooo!” Silas’s ears twitched  as he listened to the insults – “And who are YOU to tell me that?” he exclaimed and the fairy smacked him on the head.

“I am the great Orleyna Fey, show some respect lamo big cat!” she chuckled – “You looking for the potatoes? I know where they are”. Silas jumped up, sending the little fairy flying off his head – “WHERE?”. Orleyna flew up to him again and pulled on his cheeks- “Do that again and i’ll guide you into a trap you lamo cat”

After a while Orleyna led the 2 to the nearest potato bush and sat on Silas’s head – “there it is! Yoink it out”. Silas, distracted by the fairy who was constantly smacking him on the head demanding he hurries up, he pulled the potato out, grabbed it with his bare hands, and burned his hands, dropping the glowing orange potato on the ground where it almost instantly burned away the grass on which it landed. The fey laughed – “oh my god you fool” 

Silas dropped to his knees, wincing in pain – “Agghh!! My hands!” he sat on his knees, his hands blister and burned badly. Marin swiftly dropped his backpack and pulled out burn cream, applying it to Silas’s hands to relieve the immediate pain – “Sir I cannyot believe the potatoes exist! But sir you’re kind of dumb aren’t you?”. Silas winced in pain as he spread the cream on his burned hands, the pain eased up almost instantly but his hands were burned badly. 

This served as a reminder that he was on a dangerous trip and that a single mistake could cost him his life. Silas swallowed hard and nodded – “yea, i’ll be more attentive from here on out”. The fairy sat on his head and pouted, not saying a word while Marin bandaged Silas’s burned hands up – “Sir the relief from the cream will last about 5 hours then we’ll have to reapply it, are you sure you wish to travel inside the volcano still?”

Silas gritted his teeth as he placed the cream down and took his backpack off, pulling out a heat bag to place the potato inside of, and to take out his protective equipment and wear it, he nodded confidently “Yeah! I’m going till the end!” he said without a hint of hesitation in his voice. 

And thus Silas put on his equipment and made ready to venture inside the dangerous territory of the unknown. Through the acid rain and magma so hot it melts rocks. The destination was the inner magma chamber. Silas was confident that he’ll be able to sort out this myth and confirm it properly. He knew he could write a book of his adventure, and his great and horrible same time, companion and guide, Marin. Reliable he was in a situation of need, but an unserious fella otherwise. 

Silas stood before Marin, wearing identical heat-protective boots, pants and coats, gloves, and hoods with masks covering the entire face. At his side, he had a small bag that contained 3 liters of water with a tube going up his sleeve and into the mask, and a scroll of water summoning for, as Marin put it ‘emergency fire-up situations’. In his hand, a heat bag with a single potato inside it. Marin nodded – “let’s go”. The fey, rested on Silas’s head still, remained silent thus far. 

They walked a brief distance before beginning their ascend, it was as if a border was crossed, the lush green field turned into barren, deformed, stained soil. With each step, their boots sunk into the acid-drenched soil, sinking several centimeters into it as acid rained upon them. So far, the gear held up, but Silas still found himself feeling threatened. ‘There’s no return, not any more’ he reminded himself as they walked onwards. 

They walked for hours, the temperature was rising and Silas was sweating quite heavily under the protective clothes. The fey flew off of Silas and waved at him – “This way big lamo I know a shortcut”. Marin stopped at stared at the fairy – “I don’t think it’s a good idea sir, I only know of 1 path”. Orleyna the fey grunted at him – “Silly human I live in this volcano! Of course I know passages you don’t”. Marin nodded – “yes but then I can’t guarantee my sir’s safety if I don’t know the path.”

Silas looked around as his breathing got heavier with each passing second, the pain of the burns on his hands was returning slowly. He could tell this trip will push him to his limits but he agreed that following his hired guide was probably a safer bet. “I’ll… follow Marin”. Orleyna turned around in a loud swoosh – “Very well lamo! Do as you will and don’t complain if you die” she flew off, disappearing from their sight within seconds. 

Silas and Marin went onwards, higher and higher onto the volcano. Several hours passed, and each step was harder than the previous. They climbed over rocks, partly dissolved by the constant acid rain, as thunder roared and echoed and lightning flashes illuminated the mountain. “Just a little more sir. We will soon reach a cave entrance and then it’s a descend down into the inner chambers sir!” 

At last they reached the cave entrance. Silas collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily, wincing in pain. Marine grabbed him by the arm and helped him up. Getting inside the cave Marin suggested it was safe enough to remove the gloves to reapply the burn cream. The relief helped a lot and after a short rest the journey to the center of volcano continued. As they ventured deeper inside the volcano, it got hotter and hotter, making them go through water at an accelerated pace, with Marin calling out when to drink.

They got to the inner chambers and through a large opening in the cave, they walked onto a platform that hung above the lava of the inner chamber. Marin collapsed on the floor against the wall, even for him this was quite the strain. Silas, was barely able to stand. The heat here was burning even through the protective clothes, they knew they wouldn’t last more than 10 minutes in here. 

Marin threw the metallic rope at Silas – “Sir, put potato on the rope and bake it! We can’t stay here for long”. Silas fell to his knees and unpacked the potato, punctured it with the metallic rope, and tied a knot on the other side so it wouldn’t fall off. He crawled to the edge of the platform and looked down into the pool of boiling magma. He was anxious, his entire body shook with fright as he began to slowly descend the potato down into magma. 

As the potato reached about 1 meter above the magma, the rope ran out and Silas gasped – “ah! Oh no!” Marine stood up, shakingly, holding onto the wall- “What is wrong sir?”. Silas held up the edge of the rope – “it’s…too short” Marine shook his head “Okay, well we have to go back now sir!” Silas shook his head – “No! I have to do this!” he laid flat and tried to extend his arms down off the edge, trying to get the potato, still too short! Another 10cm or so lower. 

Silas crawled closer to the edge, hanging off a little as he grunted – “Come on! Come on!” and just as the potato touched the magma a little, the ledge off of which he hung crumbed a little, making him lose his grip. He began slipping off the ledge, above to fall off when suddenly Marin grabbed his legs – “SIR NO! STOP THIS!” he pulled Silas back as the ledge crumbled more. Rocks fell into the hot magma as Silas grunted, trying to get a hold of the ledge with his hand.

While not letting go of the rope with his other, as the ledge crumbled a little more and Silas found himself hanging off quite a bit the potato dipped into the magma and in that instant Silas was thrown away from the ledge by his collar, pulling the rope and potato wish him as he slammed against the wall. In the spot where he had just been hanging the fey floated – “Seriously, you’re the biggest imbecile I had ever seen” 

She pulled the rope out rest of the way and grabbed the potato, taking it off the rope she flew up to Silas and placed it on the ground beside him, all the while Silas tried to regain his breath after the panic of falling into magma and then having his breath, and almost life, knocked out of him after being thrown against the wall. He gasped and gasped. Marin stood up and sighed – “Sir I am glad that you’re alive, who would have paid me if you died?”

Silas’s eyes darted between the fey, the potato and Marin. Unsure how to feel, whom to thank, and what to say, still in a panic attack and out of breath he nodded – “y…yea th-” and in that moment a loud crumbling sound, followed by a scream which echoed through the cavern. Silas stood, watching as half the platform crumbled and Marin fell into the lava along with the platform. Silas’s eyes widened, his heart had seemingly stopped, and he forgot how to breathe as he watched his newfound friend fall.

What brought him back to his senses was a maniacal giggle- “he..hehehe..hehehee….” Beside Orleyna, another fairy floated, giggling loudly – “Did you see that? No seriously, what fools! They stood on a ledge hanging above lava and expected everything to go well?”. Orleyna frowned at the other fey and then looked at Silas – “LEAVE AT ONCE” she commanded but the other fairy flew up to him – “leave? Oh no, why don’t you stay with us?” 

Silas panicked as he scrambled to get back up – “Uhhh” he grunted as the 2 fey’s floated next to him. His face showed nothing but sheer terror at this point as the yellow fey, Orleyna pointed at the entrance through which he came – “Leave at once and never return”. The other fairy, orange in color shook her head-  “what? No no! He should stay and join his friend”. Orleyna turned at her – “Not him”. The orange fairy shrugged – “why not? Is it because he’s kind of your kin?”. 

Orleyna nodded – “he’s not even from here, just a curious fool, let him be sister!” she demanded as the orange fey flew up to the potato on the ground “What? And let him have our greatest treasure, too? Is it not why you lured him here? To rid of a fool who tried to discover our secret?”. Orleyna shook her head – “He’s but a curious scholar, let him keep the potato for his research.” The orange fey pondered – “ugh! Fineee, guide the fool out then” she sighed and flew off.

Still shocked, disoriented, and confused, Silas stared at where the platform broke. In his mind he could still vividly see Marin as he fell in with the rocks. Orleyna looked over in the direction where he stared, flew over there, and looked down into the magma, shaking her head, then returned to Silas’s side and slapped him across the face “WAKE UP FOOL!” 

The shock from the slap brought his focus back as he took a deep breath and looked the fey into the eyes – “He…” she nodded – “Yes, now grab the potato and follow me”. He nodded as he took one more sip of the water, and picked up the potato from the ground which no longer was glowing and didn’t feel so hot to the touch. The fey flew out, guiding his way, and he followed. Out of water, shocked and afraid Silas followed to the best of his ability. 

Frequently falling over and stopping to catch his breath, the trip back took much longer. As he walked out of the cave onto the acid molten rocks, he slipped and fell, tumbling down several boulders as he did so until at last he landed in an unfortunate way and broke his arm. Screaming in agonizing pain, he had reached his mental limit, he was about to give up and let the mount thundercloud take him, but fey grabbed him by the collar and lifted him back to his feet- “We’re almost back, get up” her soft voice gave him a small ounce of hope.

The small ounce of hope that the fairy’s soft voice gave him was quickly replaced by the pain of broken bone, numerous bruises and blisters on his feet, the dried out mouth, and the burning lungs. He winced and grunted as he picked up the potato once more and walked onwards, guided by the good-willed fairy. 

Several hours of agony later, Silas could see, at last, the green fields, within his reach. Each step was nothing but pain and suffering. His mind at this point was filled with nothing but focus on the objective, to get off this hellish mountain and never return. He walked and walked, and each step felt like it took days. Each breath felt like he was about to pass out, and each blink made him wish he could cry but his eyes were so dried out there were no tears left. 

Every time he fell over the fairy helped him back up, however, her words were naught but mumble which he could no longer understand. At last, Silas’s right foot landed on the lush green grass, and in that moment his body completely gave in to the exhaustion, he tumbled to the ground once more and passed out at the same instant.  He awoke, what felt like an eternity later from a sudden bucket load of water splashed on his bare face. 

As he jerked back into consciousness by the shock of cold water on his barren skin, the pain from all the injuries and dehydration hit him all at once as he winced and gasped – “Agggggghhhh!” and licked his lips, collecting water from his face with his hand and licking it. Above him a familiar yellow glow – “well, you’re alive, glad” the fey spoke softly to him as the used up water summoning scroll fell on the ground beside him. 

After a brief rest, the fey led him to the backpacks and pointed him in the direction of the nearest village, helped him wrap his broken arm up, and assisted him in every way possible.  “Why?” uttered Silas as he looked in the direction where the village is supposed to be. The fairy sat on his shoulder- “Why what lamo?” Silas let out a shaking breath, and in a trembling voice he asked – “Why did you help me and not kill me?”

Fey chuckled softly – “because you’re the first fool in 200 years who tried to obtain a potato of power” she patted him on the head and flew off – “I can’t leave the volcanic area, stay safe big lame cat! Return and tell me what people thought of these potatoes when you tell them of your journey” 

A year passed, Silas returned to the field. Marin’s backpack, weathered, covered in moss and plants still rested there. Silas put a cross and a potato near the backpack. He wept as he looked at the backpack half reclaimed by the nature – “Marin, I’m sorry” he said as he ate a freshly boiled potato beside the memorial of his friend, with the fey sitting on his shoulder.