Multi-Dimensional Merchant System

As they circled closer and closer to the land below in search of a likely salvage location, Oliver finally got a better look at the environment he would be working in- and got a few more surprises.

The large swathes of green cutting across the landscape were forest, much as he had expected, though as they drew closer he saw that the leaves were more of a blue-green than he had thought at first. But still, a fairly normal looking forest. Some of the trees even looked similar to ones he knew of from earth: oaks, willows, birches... While he wasn't an expect, he had spent enough time outdoors to recognize a few, even if they were a bit different.

The larger yellowish-brown regions, which he initially took for barren earth, deserts, hills, or maybe mountains... was a whole other story.

Instead of open land, what he saw were giant mushrooms in an expansive swampland, each of which easily rivaled the trees in the forests that skirted the wetlands, though many looked to be as thick as redwood trees, if substantially shorter. Though he wracked his brain for everything he knew about fungi, he knew that he was lacking in that area. He could, perhaps, identify some of the well-know mushrooms on earth- a few poisonous and few that were safe- these monstrosities were completely foreign to him. Wide, earth brown caps sat on dark stalks that poked up haphazardly from the muddy ground... and even the shallow waters in places.

“Vadrin.” Oliver turned to the nearby Rach. “When we get down there, will your people be running some tests on the nearby plants? I want to know if any of them are dangerous as soon as possible...”

“Of course, friend Silk.” Vadrin nodded quickly. “Testing them, while not as important as finding materials to repair the Ark, is still a high priority. We hope to find some that would be safe to eat in order to augment our food supply further. I will certainly make sure you are informed the moment we discover anything, especially if it could be a threat to anyone's safety.”

Oliver grunted in acknowledgment as he went back to studying the terrain below.

His gaze landed on one area in particular, as the color caught his eyes: A patch of the mushrooms, just as tall and impressive as the others, but instead of being brown and dull... were an electric blue that stood out like the neon sign of a nightclub. It was only a cluster of perhaps four mushrooms, but their eye-catching colors left him staring in surprise.

The only problem... was that he couldn't see a reason why these particular mushrooms were that color, or why they glowed. Especially since they were otherwise identical to all the rest of the mushrooms they had passed.

And the mystery only deepened when, a half hour later, they passed a lavender colored mushroom... Then one that was fuscia... Then tangerine orange... Neon yellow...

Always just a few, clumped together amid the carpet of brown fungi.

Suddenly spotting clumps of similarly colored trees within the forests was a second shock.

“We should probably avoid those brightly colored plants, Vadrin. At least until we are absolutely certain they are safe.”

“Yes, I agree with that precaution.”

It took them a while, circling lower and lower, before they found the first signs of civilization.

Not because it was rare, they realized, but because it was simply well hidden... Or camouflaged, really. Though not deliberately, it appeared. It was only because of several collapsed buildings that they even noticed it at all.

Oliver couldn't make out what had caused the collapses, not from a distance at least. It was only because of the glint of metal from the rubble that it even caught his attention. The buildings walls were clearly made from the stalks of the mushrooms all around, while the roof was either patterned to look exactly like the mushroom's cap... Or it was the hole cap, laid carefully on top of the buildings frame. He couldn't really tell.

“I see buildings.” He declared even as he gasped at the sight.

Vadrin started where he sat before quickly leaping to his feet. “Where!? Show me!” He froze for a moment, clearly regretting his tone as he glanced at Oliver.

Oliver ignored the little Rach's awkwardness and simply waved him over to the window, pointing down at what he saw. “Down there. You see the mushroom cap laying half buried in the muck? Those are collapsed walls near it... And a couple other broken down buildings over there.”

He shifted his finger, pointing out the other buildings he could just make out. “I wouldn't have seen them if it wasn't for the first, and if we weren't so low already. Their roofs blend in really well with this... mushroom forest, I guess it is? Whatever you want to call it...” He shrugged, unconcerned with naming it.

Vadrin stared in awe for a moment. “How many of these did we miss? But... It doesn't make sense...” He trailed off slowly, muttering under his breath as he pulled out his tablet and started flicking rapidly through several screens.

“The largest life sign we have detected is only the size of my arm! It is very unlikely that creatures that small constructs such large buildings... Unless it was some kind of grand undertaking...”

“But then, why three of them close together? Religious significance? Communal living space? Government buildings?”

Vadrin directed the pilots to circle the area for a moment even as he continued rambling, trying to puzzle through all of the information he had available. After a moment, Oliver simply clapped him on the shoulder, startling him out of his analysis. He had already realized that this particular Rach was the sort to get a little too lost in his own thoughts when present with a challenging problem.

“We haven't been attacked, and we haven't seen any other evidence of people... So, how about you sit down and dig through all the information you've gotten from the sensors while every else watches the ground for movement or any other clues? Ah, except maybe assign a couple people to continue watching the sky?”

“Watch... the sky? Ah, in case we missed something else or for an unexpected approach. Yes. Yes, that makes sense. Allif, Morik, Bragh, and Phil will take the corner windows and keep a look out for anything in the sky, just to be safe. Everyone else, watch down below. If you see anything, inform friend Silk immediately.”

“Bolus, help me dig through the sensor logs! What we need-”

Oliver tuned out the rambling of the pair of techs and continued to study the area around the collapsed buildings. Now that he had an idea of what he was looking for, he started to pick out other buildings clustered nearby. It was mostly small details... While some of the mushrooms were shorter than others, the buildings were all a bit shorter than even those... And the mushrooms tended to sway with the wind, or the passing of the ship, while the buildings were clearly less affected.

Though the lack of pathways running between buildings puzzled him. All of them appeared to be clustered together on relatively stable ground... But the grass and other flora spread around seemed mostly undisturbed. Where were the roads? Or at least some sort of clearly marked out footpaths? Even if whoever lived here didn't really construct such things, surely some areas would be more worn than others, right?

Right?