The metal door creaked open like its hinges had never been lubed. There was a metal table and stools along with four sleeping holes. There seemed to be a pot around a corner to go to the restroom in. The room felt hollow, like it was a lifetime prisoner’s last room.

Highthorn closed the door behind us and looked around the room in dismay. He sighed and said, “So this is where my family would have been.”

“I need some time alone so I will ask you to leave,” I replied

“Sorry Lady Astrid, if I have —”

“No, go take a break. You deserve it. Thank you for getting that crowd away from me,” I replied, remembering the flashbacks I had of fighting waves of monsters in the library’s dungeon. With a wave of my hand, a door to the library opened.

Highthorn nodded and headed in. The door closed behind him, causing the entrance to disappear.

I tweaked my mana vision to look down through the rock beneath me. There were no obstructions beneath me. My hands glowed as I poured mana into them. Raising them up, I bore into the hill like a giant mole rat in fresh dirt. A spiral staircase formed and with it I stepped forward. I compacted the excess dirt into the walls, reinforcing the structure I was creating. Geomancy was not a normal school I used, but it was easy enough to perform, since it wasn’t a moving target. I went down to the height of an eight-story building, so that I had plenty of space to work with when I built my farm.

The design I had made called for a large gathering room in front of the farm. I felt it would be best to do this so that I could attach new areas down here if I expanded its capabilities later. Once that area was done, I made an open doorway to carve out the main farm. While digging down, I had come across some glow stone and iron, so I made a door at the foot of the stairway and filled the staircase with lights.

I dug out a small bit forward to separate the farm from the main gathering room and built a storage room twenty feet high by three hundred and fifty feet long and one hundred and sixty feet wide. It wasn’t exactly precise, but it was close enough. This should be a big enough area for what I want to accomplish. I wanted to build a mushroom farm that had a few different selections along with benches in front of them that people could sit and read at. When people sat there, their mana would flow into the mushrooms, causing them to grow. This way I could promote more people to read. They would be hungry for new content so they would have to write new things so that meant I could get more books.

The mushroom book described how to make vegetable-like edibles that were highly nutritious. The steps of the spell produced a small green mushroom that popped into my hand. To check its efficiency, I placed it onto the ground and pumped some mana into it. As I did, a chain of mushrooms grew immediately. It took so little mana, the refugees could create more supply on demand. I picked one up and sniffed it; the fresh scent of greens permeated my nose. The next step was the taste test. I tossed it into my mouth, it was a little bland but felt very fresh and cleansing. There was no ill effect on my body either, as it entered my stomach.

I felt like I could conserve space by building walls up to the ceiling, almost like the library, as if it was a vertical farm. This would make it so that some were hard to pick, but that meant they wouldn’t accidentally use them all. I could have columns of different mushrooms. For now though, I only wanted to focus on a few different crops. The walls were made of clay and dirt, which was great to grow on. Once that was completed, I placed some veggie mushrooms on a third of the walls. I pumped mana into them, causing them to germinate across the surface of the wall, covering them immediately.

The second type I created was a brown-looking mushroom. I was really excited to try them because the book described them as tasting like meat. The sample I created smelled like raw beef. After it grew, I plucked one off and held it in my hands and produced fire. I cooked a meat mushroom in my hands. This needed some seasonings from my storage. Then I clasped my hands over the mushroom. After a few minutes of a fire spell in my hands, I looked at it to check and make sure it looked safe to eat. It looked delicious and when I tested it in my mouth, it tasted fantastic, just like a well-cooked steak. This could be revolutionary. I had to keep these mushrooms in mind for future usage, like an export.

I covered another third of my vertical farm in these mushrooms. I thought about it for a bit and made a bunch of general medicinal herb type mushrooms in the last third of the farm. There was a range of them, from stomach pain relievers to general pain relievers to mild antitoxins to stress relief to sleeping mushrooms. They came in a variety of colors and sizes, which I could probably manipulate, but I left it alone since it would help differentiate them. I made little placards with the name and description of each type of mushroom in front of wherever they were.

I placed several stone benches with backs on them so that people could provide them with mana while they read. They could add cushions later if they wanted. It was probably best if I taught them how to pass mana to the mushrooms like the gems so they could grow them on demand. A booklet would accomplish this easiest, so I pulled several pages of paper out of my storage and wrote out a mana transfer process. I also included a list of mushroom types and uses. I thought about it a little more and put some recipe ideas as well. Mushroom soup will be a staple in the future!

For the finishing touches to the room, I wanted to make the room easier on the eyes. Glowstone lights soon emitted down the aisle ways. The dirt was smoothed and polished like a well-made clay home. I repeated the process all the way back up the steps. Once I arrived at the top, I wanted to get someone else’s opinion and I had just the right people in mind.

The library door appeared into the room at the top of the stairs as I willed it to. I went inside to find the Valwrecks in the children’s book section reading with their kids. It was super heartwarming to watch. “Hello, I wanted to show you all my newest creations,” I said, startling them out of their reading time. I knew it was a terrible thing to do but I really needed their opinions

“Oh, you made something for the refugees? That’s great! What is it?” Liz questioned excitedly while she put the book back on its shelf.

“That’s a surprise,” I replied.

They followed me out into the small room and immediately noticed the spiral stairs. They looked around the room, slightly puzzled, since the stairs looked slightly out of place in the room.

“So this was supposed to be your room, but I repurposed it to build one of my plans downstairs. Since we are on the first level, I didn’t have to worry about running into anything.”

Liz looked a little shook but got it together and asked, “So, should we go down first?”

“Yes, and tell me your thoughts along the way.”

As we walked down the stairs, all the lights down the spiral staircase surprised them. The children tried touching them but they couldn’t reach. Once we came to the iron doors of the farm, they paused, preparing themselves for what was next. They opened their eyes in shock and awe.

“Is this a mushroom farm? Are these all edible? Can we try them out?”

“Yes, they are all labeled as well. Feel free to try out the green ones. We can do some of the brown ones later. They need to be cooked, and the others are medicinal, so unless you're sick, I wouldn’t eat them.”

Liz grabbed a few of the green ones and smiled as she chewed and swallowed them. “They are so fresh!” she exclaimed. The children looked at their parents longingly, wanting to try what their mom just had.

“If Lady Astrid made them, they are safe. Only grab the green ones,” Highthoorn said to his kids as he tried them as well. They were all surprised and delighted as they tried out more.

We walked around and looked at the variety of medicinal mushrooms and the brown kind. I described their intended usages out and what their effects could do for the refuge.

“How do they grow? Can only you do it?” Highthorn questioned.

“I already thought of that issue and solved it. They work the same way gem magic works by passing mana directly into them, causing them to grow and spread. The mushrooms also grow passively just by reading down here,” I said, knowing I was skewing the truth slightly. They didn’t have to read, but I needed books.

Highthorn’s mouth went agape for a moment in awe. He looked at me with reverence.

“You really are a goddess. People can actually eat when they need to. No one will starve. Not just here, everywhere!” he said, sounding like he was losing his words. He put his hand on my head and rubbed it.

I had a flashback to when my father would rub my head after I did something good. It felt good to be recognized by my father when I was younger. It made me miss him a little, but this moment felt good. I could feel myself smiling as Highthorn rubbed my head, then he pulled his hand away in shock.

“I am so sorry, Lady Astrid. When I am proud of my kids, I do that. I’m so sorry for belittling you,” he said looking pale and queasy.

I really enjoyed that moment and wanted it to continue. I only felt this calm when I was deep into a good book. “Put out your hand.”

Liz and the children looked scared as to what would happen next.

He nodded and did as he was told, looking worried at what was going to occur. I took his hand and put it on top of my head and moved around. “Continue. I deserve this. I did good. My father would have done the same. Tell no one about this and never do it in public.”

He nodded, confused, and just kept on rubbing my head and patting it. “I would never repeat this. I feel as though I would lose either my hand or my life.”

Liz was smiling at us while the children giggled as they plucked more veggie mushrooms to eat.

I just stood there smiling happily as he rubbed my head. I pulled his hand off and said, “That is enough for now. We can add head patting to the list of things you do for me, including getting books off of high shelves.”

Highthorn smiled wide at the joke.

There was a loud knock at the front door. I refocused and realized it was probably Firth here about the meeting. I didn’t want to make them wait long, so I sent Liz and the children back into the library and rushed up the stairs with Highthorn trailing behind me.