Dug finishes gathering up his scattered belongings, and as he trudges by Layf (wih whom e has hunted before) casually mentions "djoo know, djonash don't hear so good."
Layf looks up as Dug walks by and says "Oh yeah, I always forget. Oh well, Edward will know what to do." Layf carefully slides the paper under the door. Business is slow, with everyone being sick so Layf heads to Laurel's to see if she is any closer to finding a cure.
The call goes out for anyone willing to venture into the Darkmoon Forest to gather the ingredients for a possible cure for the illness in Falcon's Hollow. You should gather at the Roots and shop and ask for Laurel.
Ham, who is in the shop 'Laurel, I hear you may have a cure. If you tell me the herbs I should be able to locate them for you. If they exist too far into the forest I may need some protection and perhaps a guide. Are you organizing this expedition or do I need to find them on my own?'
Creeping ivy and full window boxes cover the facade of the rugged-looking, two-story shop bearing the faded sign “Roots and Remedies.” A line of twenty-some somber townsfolk—some with pale, wheezing children, others seeming to be precipitously near tears—stretches from the open door. Inside the hut the smell of burnt earth and spicy incense chokes the air of the cramped, mud-tracked shop. Bunches of dried herbs hang from the ceiling, along with dangling pots, presses, alchemical apparatuses, and glassware of more arcane purposes. Pouches of rare plants, jars of colored glass, and all manner of dried, preserved, and jellied animal parts fill high shelves and tables doing double duty as displays and work spaces. In the shop’s rear, a rail-thin woman with severe-looking spectacles and hair pulled back tightly busies herself between an over packed rack of herbs, a table covered in stray powders and measuring equipment, and a pot loudly bubbling over with thick gray froth. Over the din of her work and without looking up, the woman impatiently says, “What i need is some rare roots and concentrations, most of which I have here, but there’s three I don’t. Elderwood moss, which I’ve never heard of, but granny says the stuff only grows on the oldest tree in a forest. A specially pickled root called rat’s tail, again, sounds like hoojoo to me. And seven ironbloom mushrooms, stunty little things that only grow in dark places thick with metal, a favorite among dwarves, or so I hear.”
'Laurel, we will do what needs to be done. We have several trackers that are willing to help. Perhaps a couple more may be in order? Gentlemen, do you know any others?' says Ham
Dug swings by the shop after completing his deliveries. "I would be happy to sherve azsh a guide, if you will jusht exshplain the plantsh we sheek."
"Well Dug and me should be sufficient for most of the tracking, but I think having Edward along would be a pretty good idea. That means Jonas will pro . . ." Layf breaks off as the crowd around him begins to stir.
Jonas rushes through the crowd gathering outside Laurel's shop. He carries with him a backpack filled to the brim with various supplies as if he
is preparing for a long journey. The gnome nervously picks his way through the last few groups of people, being careful to not be too blatant about his avoidance of the wheezing humans. He stumbles, breathlessly, into the discussion occurring inside.
He holds up the paper Layf left under his door for everyone to see. He jabs at it intently with his short stubby finger and looks at everyone curiously for a few moments as they attempt in vain to comprehend his convoluted sketching of stars and mathematical formulas.
Slowly catching his breath he finally mumbles the words with a slight lisp. “See,… SEE!... you … need us. Id says so… wight there!” He pants again to catch his breath.
Jonas takes a quick drink from a flask tucked away in his pack, sits upon the ground and begins to study his drawing even further as if this is all quite normal to him.
Edward following Jonas' wild run slowly walks through the crowd giving many of the people gathered a somewhat wary look. Upon reaching where Jonas' is sitting he hands him a couple things that he dropped, "What's this about a remedy?
