foxglove jamjar's magical adventure chapter five
The Morning Hues, February, 6 2026
dear reader,
we had a little break last week.
i just wanted to thank you again for helping support my dream of being a fulltime writer. please lemme know what you think of this chapter in the comments.
see you next week
hues
chapter 5: in which we learn what gratitude means
foxglove jamjar’s tongue felt huge in her dry tacky mouth as libations pressed a map into her hands.
“i’ve marked the place on the map for you,” libations said, with a full teeth smile, “the chalice is behind a puzzle that most people would be familiar with. after you solve the puzzle you’ll acquire the chalice. please return chalice to me without during.”
foxglove took a deep breath in and out to prepare themselves as they examined the map. they looked it over, and noticed that there were several chalices marked. one chalice closer to the opening of the lake, and that the other three seemed to be clustered more towards the middle. it made her nervous to think about the monsters in the lake which according to libations would eat anything. however, here foxglove steeled her soul in spite of this. it was clear that death awaited her either way but she had faith in her underwater speed and skill.
foxglove committed the furthest chalice location to her mind. determining that libations would more than likely place the correct chalice puzzle at the farthest point. this was not uncommon for spirits to go. they were quite tricky.
she stripped down to her sports bra and boxers before approaching the lake. the waters of the lake were incredibly still, and yet seemed to be brimming with life. foxglove glanced down into the waters but found the surface of the lake to be like a mirror reflecting back on her appearance.
foxglove took in her visage. she was covered in soot and dust from the caves collapse, which was on top of the last month’s worth of grime from living on the meridian bank. her thick locs needed a retwist, and stuck up and out like the tops of palm trees. the bags under her eyes were heavy, and the blue of them seemed dull in the reflection. she smiled to encourage herself, and decided that once she had completed this trial she would give herself a nice spa day with the last of her geld at the public bath downtown. she deserved it.
with that, foxglove took in a deep, deep breath and drove into the mirror lake. foxglove opened her eyes once she was under the surface. foxglove had expected a deep lake, but not the endless deepeness they now felt and saw below their feet. so deep that the bottom was a shroud of blackness. instinct told her that the lake’s predators would find their way toward her from there. so she made a note to check below her often. foxglove had also expected to find at least some earth below the surface to hold up the massive trees visible on the shore. instead, they found the roots free floating and tangled with ruins covered in pictographs. foxglove felt small amongst the vastness.
she shook her head and pushed faster toward. she had maybe half a minute left to get where she was going and solve the puzzle waiting there for her. she glanced toward the bottom of the lake and saw a strange glow pulsating like a heart below her. foxglove’s heart stirred with shock as the light seemed to be approaching her rapidly, and she stroked faster. she willed strength in her arms to propel her faster toward the ruin puzzle that had just come into view.
the puzzle stone cube with glass walls. it was held up by the trees roots which had wrapped around the strange casing like a hammock. each glass wall had a cut out in the center. the one that foxglove could see the most was a square. from the bottom of the roots hung four large stone shapes by rope: a square, a circle, a star, and a heart. foxglove deduced that the other three shapes must match the other holes in the glass. inside the cube sat a glowing golden chalice. its bright light stood out amongst the deep colors of the stone and the wood.
that is when foxglove heard the sound of rushing water. they glanced toward the sound and saw the glowing pulsing light rapidly approaching her. but more than a light it was the glowing dorsal spine of a merperson. it was a grinning eyeless monster, grinning sharp angular teeth as it began to close in on her.
foxglove almost screamed but remembered they would die if they did. they hurried to the roots of the cube and began to climb as quickly as they could. wrapping their arms and legs around the tree trunk as much as they could and rapidly ascended toward the surface.
and just as they had made it two feet above the lake’s surface the lake monster struck out toward them. foxglove watched as it came a foot above the surface, its face pushing against the surface tension of the lake and found itself forced back beneath the water from a rubberlike invisible barrier. the surface wobbled just a moment before becoming mirror-like again. foxglove took the opportunity to climb a little higher.
elsewhere, libations and the tongue were having a cup of hot cocoa.
“it sounds like she’s escaped her first attack,” the tongue said casually.
“that means she’s probably realized that the ferals can’t leave the lake,” libations commented while taking a sip of her drink. she burned her tongue because it was too hot, and spent the next several minutes fanning her tongue.
“i wonder if she’ll be able to handle your soul’s manifestation,” the tongue wondered, “you’ve always been quite vicious underneath the kindness.”
libations gave the tongue a knowing look and glanced out toward the lake, “foxglove is the right one. i know she will be one of the few to meet salt.”
foxglove’s fingers were starting to give, and she was scared to go beneath the surface of the lake. she couldn’t tell if the creature had left, had swam back to the bottom, or what if it had gotten backup? the thought made her tighten her grip against the bark hard enough to cut into her fingers. the sting of which gave a pump of blood throughout her body waking up slightly her legs that had fallen asleep.
foxglove felt sick when she thought of the monster’s speed, but reckoned that the puzzle was just below. she knew the moment she breached the surface the monster would begin making its way back. she could never hope to outrun it, but she maybe could outsmart it. it would depend on her luck but if she could get under the surface and complete one part of the puzzle, then run up the trunk maybe she could get the chalice.
so, she took a deep breath and let go of the tree. the cool water was refreshing on her worn and tired limbs. foxglove immediately opened her eyes and checked around for the feral. she noted that its glow had drifted back down toward the bottom of the lake but not completely. she could still make out its faint beating, she also noted it had reversed its direction.
quickly, she swam to the square stone hanging from the roots. the stone was large and heavy, but with effort she managed to hoist it up and into its respective slot. the stone slid in and fell to the otherside of the glass wall. it hit the bottom of the glass case, and the glass did not break. foxglove did not have time to celebrate as two things happened simultaneously.
first, the roots of the tree gave a little and the cube lowered and tilted causing the chalice to slide forward ever so slightly. secondly, foxglove saw from her peripheral the approaching glow of the feral. foxglove swam backwards and narrowly avoided being bitten.
she swam evading the gnashing of the monster’s teeth as much as she could. it grabbed her and she wiggled free using as much of her strength as possible to kick it away from her. she succeeded in sending the monster backwards and propelling herself towards the tree’s roots. she clamored up once again narrowly escaping the monster as the surface pushed it back.
foxglove held herself tightly to the trunk, and weeped at how close she had been to death. she thought about how the extra weight of the stone within the case had caused it to shift within the roots. more than likely it would fall, if she added any more weight to it. so, she realized she would need to devise a more clever scheme.
after a long rest, foxglove allowed herself to slip down the trunk and into the water. she noted that once again the feral had drifted back down towards the bottom, and she used her few minutes of time to very hurriedly place two more of the stone shapes within the case and watched as the roots loosened even further until they were barely holding the case.
right on cue, the feral was on her. anticipating this foxglove swam around and through the circle hole in the case grabbing the glowing chalice. the feral followed her into the case, a mistake they both realized as the added weight shook the glass case loose from the roots, and it began to rapidly sink towards the bottom. this thought was something that foxglove had considered. using the momentum of the fall and the feral merman’s confusion to her advantage she kicked it in the head and into the wall of the case. this wounded the monster and darkened the water with blood. foxglove swam out the opening, their heart pounding as the case had just barely entered the black water where other monsters were surely waiting. foxglove pulled at the cord holding the circular stone plug onto the case, and maneuvered it to allow for gravity to shove it into its hole.
foxglove was panicked with hey lungs and limbs burning, but she pushed on. using the last moments of her strength to pull themselves up onto the shore. black spots crowded into their vision, and they could barely make out the multiple tension bubbles coming after her below the surface. safe for a moment, she allowed sleep to overcome her.
libations and the tongue looked up from their hot cocoa, unbothered by the state of their soon-to- be master. once foxglove had awoken they would feed her, and allow her to use one of the many blankets that they had summoned to keep themselves warm by the fire. libations’ realm though beautiful had always waxed cold, and though the sibling spirits held a brief thought that perhaps foxglove would be cold. neither moved to bring her closer to the fire. if she had wanted to rest by the warmth, she would have found her way to their picnic with the remainder of her muster.
libations did however take to warming up some rabbit she had caught over the flames. she couldn’t let the child starve after all.