### 33

The slime-smeared steps are narrow and steep and seem to go on forever. You ascend, settling into a steady climbing rhythm, and after a long while you come to a rot-infested door on which your fumbling fingers discover a corroded metal latch. It opens into a dim and lofty chamber, vaulted by massive pillars of marble which are slick with moisture. The ground is carpeted with mottled green fungi, some specimens standing even taller than yourself, and the humid air is thick with spores.

Slowly you make your way across the chamber to an archway which is flanked by stone pillars, carved to resemble two huge open books. Around the base of these book-like pillars you notice several clumps of fleshy fungi which you recognize at once. They are called Floroa and are very nutritious. Eagerly you pick and swallow a handful of these Floroa--restore 3 ENDURANCE points--before leaving this chamber. (If you wish to take some of this fungi with you, record it on your Action Chart as a Backpack Item. Consuming this at a later time will restore 3 ENDURANCE points.7)

To continue, turn to 333.

[7] You may take one handful of the Floroa Fungi.

Text copyright © 1991 Joe Dever.
Illustrations copyright © 1991 Brian Williams.