The Apple Grotto Nymph (Dungeon Core Fairy Tale)

In the forest of fireflies, at the edge of the continent of Eomis, there was a cave. In the cave, there was plenty of soil as well as damp, and so many beasts called it home.

 One day, a merchant by the name of Crassus, got lost on the road and ended up in the cave as he followed a rabbit he wanted to hunt down.

The rabbit evaded him, and so he ate the only thing he had on him.

An apple.

 Not wanting for others to find themselves hungry in this cave, the merchant planted the apple seeds in different corners of the cave. There were holes in the cave, and so the merchant planted the apple seeds under the holes.

That night he dreamed that he was going to find a pot of gold for his good deed, and indeed, when he woke, there was one.

On it was a note:

Thank you for fathering a nymph.

The merchant grinned when he read this. Crassus had no family, and so he was happy that by the action of him planting the apple seeds a nymph had been born.

 He vowed to return home and buy many different plants with the gold so he could turn the cave into a grotto and so that his daughter would never be alone.

Taking the pot of gold, the merchant rushed to his horse and a small ghostly girl waved at him. She knew her father couldn't see her yet, but she was happy he found her gift.

Moving around, the nymph went to the apple tree that had taken root.

It was such a small thing. Even smaller than her. Just a seed with a root poking out of it. She was not ready to be born yet, and so she dreamed under the warmth of the light that got through the hole in the roof of the cave.

The happy merchant returned with many seeds and a hoe. He upturned the soil, making sure he ignored the places where he had planted his daughter, so he won't uproot her. Then he carefully began to plant the seeds he had taken.

Carrots for the rabbit which had taken him here, should it return. Pumpkin seeds for boars so that the grotto could be fertilized regularly.

Lavender, mint, rosemary, and parsley so that the cave would always smell nice, despite the fertilizer that was going to fall on the soil.

Planting some pear trees and mulberries, the proud father hoped that his little girl would have many brothers and sisters soon. Then, as a finishing touch, he planted already grown rose bushes. Yellow, white and red near the entrance of the cave.

Going to the entrance, he observed his work. It looked like a proper nursery for a little nymph. Now she only needed a name.

"Theanore, it is I, your father, Crassus! If you like your name, please give me a sign!"

A butterfly landed on the merchant's nose, and he heard a little girl's giggle. The light sparkled over a particular patch of soil, and the merchant blew a kiss that way.

"Theanore, I need to go finish the trade run. I will leave you the rest of the seeds. Don't just plant flowers now! Plant plenty of vegetables so that you will have many animal friends. Goodbye, little nymph!"

The newly named Theanore waved goodbye to her father and watched as he left. She exited the cave, still looking ghostly, and she looked around.

The forest was so beautiful at night, she thought. There were fireflies everywhere!

Capturing one, she went back to the cave to see what kind of seeds she had to work with. She released the firefly, and it went back outside.

But Theanore wasn't paying it any attention. There were so many small bags with seeds in the sack her father had left behind!

She looked towards the deeper parts of the cave, where the moonlight didn't reach. There were tunnels there, something told her. She put the seeds back inside the bag and went down a winding tunnel.

Feeling the soil beneath her feet, the newborn nymph wasn't scared. For her mother was the earth, and everything blanketed with her flesh couldn't be bad. She could already imagine filling this tunnel with plants that liked the dark!

Mushrooms, potatoes, and more carrots! With burrows at the edges of the tunnel for bunnies. A bunny had slept over her apple tree earlier today. It was white and with the cutest red eyes.

Theanore had wanted to cuddle it, but her tree had still not broken from the soil, and so her body was not made of flesh yet.

Theanore heard gentle splashing up ahead. There were five more tunnels in total, and she went into the one from which the sound of water was heard.

What she found took her breath away.

There was so much water in there! A tunnel lead somewhere, and it was wide enough for someone to swim through.

Small animals were swimming in the water. Fish, her mind supplied. Her grotto had other inhabitants beside her! She had friends!

Kneeling, she observed the silver and green fish. They were small, bait sized. Theanore wondered if they would ever grow up.

Achievement unlocked: World of Wonder!

You, Theanore the Nymph, have shown curiosity about the world around you. For this, you are granted a regen of five mana each day to use as you please. Would you like to use your mana now?

Theanore stared at the words in front of her. They were floating above her. She really wanted to do something nice for the fish. Perhaps feed them, somehow?

You can plant deep wheat that will fall in the water. But you have only normal wheat seeds. Do you wish to use five mana to upgrade a normal wheat seed into a deep wheat seed?

Could the words read her mind? That was great! Theanore had yet another friend!

 The words morphed again.

Yes/No.

Theanore pressed the yes button, and a light whipped past her and down the way she came. Theanore rushed after it. When she finally caught up with it, the light was absorbed into the seed sack. One of the bags glowed briefly, and then it turned dark blue.

The nymph took the bag and checked the seeds inside. One of them was dark blue. She couldn't feed the fishes with the wheat of a single plant, but if she raised the wheat here and had enough seeds to plant by the pool, then the fishes wouldn't have to go hungry again.

She went to the darker regions of her grotto, and she dug out some soil, making enough space for a single seed. The little nymph tucked it in lovingly and then searched for the water her father had left behind.

Finding it, she quickly poured just enough to wet the soil, as he had done while he made her nursery. Then she stared at the spot. She pocked it. Nothing happened.

"Friend, how long until the deep wheat grows up?"

Three months and fifteen days.

Theanore was distraught at that. What if her fish left before that time? She tried to think about what she could do to speed up the process. She had this energy inside of her, she could feel something like a reservoir. But it was empty!

Achievement unlocked: Finding of magic.

Theanore the Nymph has realized the connection between mana and magic. For this, she is granted five more mana to her magical regen. Use the mana now?

Yes/No.

Theanore beamed. Her friend was rewarding her again!

"Yes, I want to use the mana to grow the deep wheat now!"

Insufficient mana. The bypassing of growing time for deep wheat would require twenty mana. You have five.

"Then I will wait," Theanore pouted. She went back to the bag of seeds and rummaged among them.

 In one of the bags, she found mushroom hyphae. She took the bag excitedly and rushed with the bag into the tunnel where she had found the water. She planted mushrooms around the tunnel's walls until she was out of hyphae.

Theanore was very tempted to force a single one to grow to maturity to see it, but then she stopped herself. She needed the mana for the deep wheat.

Achievement unlocked: The patient nymph.

Theanore has resisted the urge to spend mana. As such, she is rewarded five more mana, but not to her mana regen.

"I have ten mana, yay!" Theanore jumped in joy. She needed ten more, and she would get her deep wheat to grow, and then she would breed the seeds. With ten mana regen, she could do it tomorrow.

Or perhaps she could unlock more achievements?

She blinked and waited for the words to tell her she had unlocked a new achievement, but nothing came.

 Disappointed, Theanore went back to the bag of seeds. Her father had told her not to plant only flowers, but she had planted an entire bag of mushrooms plus the deep wheat.

She deserved some petunias outside the entrance of the grotto.