The garden does contain a truly bewildering variety of herbs and spices, including a few that none of you recognize. Those of you with some knowledge of such things would estimate you could harvest about 450 gp worth of herbs if you spent the time.
The only other interesting find is in the garden shed--in addition to assorted hoes, rakes, and the like are a few magical and alchemical items:
1 jar of defoliant polish
4 oils of goodberry
1 wand of plant growth (9 charges)
1 wand of speak with plants (12 charges)
6 flasks of alchemical defoliant
Maka happily gathered ingredients from the garden. The smells of the spices and the simple nature of the chore transported Maka back to her monastery. As she worked she lightly sang a Vudrani song.
It made for a peaceful moment, in a dangerous environment. Of course, all things change and all peaceful moments end. In this case, by a startled yelp after Maka popped a strange, blue pepper into her mouth. "AH! It's like spicy but cold!" Maka yelled in surprise.
Once done, Fin looks to his friends. ”We should probably press on…”
Though Maka's stomach demanded enough spices for 100 curries, Maka had already gathered more than enough for their needs. "Yeah okay, the plants will probably get ideas if we stay too long." Maka said as she carefully packed her haul away. As Fin did what Fin did best, Maka took to the air to better cover him.
A path separates the garden area from a tangle of thick brambles and weeds. Maka doesn't notice it, but Fin can just barely make out a very large plant in the middle of the tangled plants that looks like it's moving slightly...
"Nice try plants, but you can't fool us!" Maka shouted as she Kicked a blast of fire at the moving plant.
Selena sighs and says "Oh, a plant moved. Let's kill it." in a very sarcastic and unenthusiastic way. She doesn't bother trying to do anything figuring it would be dead before she got a spell off anyway, but does pay attention for anything they might have missed.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"I mean if you say so Selena." Bulvi advances, drawing his sword and trying to get inside the plants guard. "Either it's here to test us or just kill anyone who shows up here... while you unravel the political theory behind it's placement here I'll focus on the not dying part." He swung his sword in a vaguely threatening arc towards the giant plant though it seemed more to highlight him as a threat than hit.
Fin's arrow sinks into a fleshy bit of stem, but Bulvi's blade skitters off its tough fibers without cutting in. It bursts forward, revealing four huge mouth-like structures which try to clamp down on Bulvi.
Two of the mouths find no purchase on his armor, but a third scratches him through a gap, and then a fourth clamps down around him, holding him tight even as Maka's fire blast scorches it.
Mildly surprised the thing is still attacking, Selena draws her blade and steps up behind Bulvi with a healing hex.
"Thanks Selena but I doubt it'll last too much longer and my ring will take care of the rest in a few minutes. I'm just going to keep it all tied up eating me for the rest of it's life." Bulvi wedges the creatures maw open with his shield preventing it from fully closing. He twists quickly free from the creatures grasp before it can adjust it's grasp before roaring at it defiantly.
"EAT ME!"... though he made a mental note of where all his daggers were just in case he had to carve his way out of the carnivorous plant's gullet.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Sakitu gasps. "Watch out Bulvi! Don't let that thing eat you!" She moves to get a little closer but also to find a spot where she can shoot at the creature without hitting Bulvi. The plant is all vines and snapping mouths. Sakitu gestures in its direction and five magic missiles fly towards it.
"Let him GO!" Maka circled in the air twice before releasing the built up momentum with a fiery kick towards the plant.
The barrage of attacks cuts deeply into the plant-thing, and finally it collapses to the ground, sap oozing out of a dozen holes.
|
Fin glowers as the huge plant falls…looking to Selena, he queries, ”I suppose you thought this plant to be a friend as well? Have you forgotten, Selena, that I was nearly killed, almost swallowed whole, by a giant plant in Artrosa? Never again…”
The Elf searches around the area for anything significant…
"It just wanted a friendly hug." Bulvi hacked a few chunks off the creature for good measure. "The kind of warm welcome we've come to expect in these places."
"My mentor was killed by an elf like you. Should I kill you for that?" Selena responds to Fin with a challenging glare.
|
"Hey! That's enough!" says Quasit sternly, looking back and forth between Selena and Findurel. "Same team, remember? And considering that thing was coming at us with 4 mouths, probably not a friendly plant, so let's just call it a win and move on, k?"
As Findurel pokes around, Quasit sidles up beside him for a more private talk. "You *did* open up on that thing pretty quickly. But maybe you saw something I didn't. You ok?"
"Is it strange how one elf is on my team but another was an enemy? Or is it strange to think all creatures of the same type will have the same hostility, or the same worth?" Selena asks rhetorically.
|
|
"My mentor was killed by an elf like you…”
”Yeah, well maybe that Elf was smarter about your kind than I…”
”Should I kill you for that?" Selena responds to Fin with a challenging glare.
Fin fingers his bow as he smiles at Selena, a dangerous smile that does not reach his eyes. ”You’re welcome to try, m’Lady…you’d be a pincushion before you ever cast a spell…”
"Hey! That's enough!" says Quasit sternly, looking back and forth between Selena and Findurel. "Same team, remember?"
Fin nods, not taking his eyes off Selena. ”Aye, Q, I remember…I just don’t think she does…or if she ever did…”
"Is it strange how one elf is on my team but another was an enemy? Or is it strange to think all creatures of the same type will have the same hostility, or the same worth?" Selena asks rhetorically.
Slowly letting his anger go, Fin lets out a long sigh. ”Answer me one question, Selena. Of all the numerous times you’ve questioned my judgment for shooting first, how many times have I been wrong? If you’d like to scout ahead from now on and let me hang back, that’s fine by me…”
As Findurel pokes around, Quasit sidles up beside him for a more private talk. "You *did* open up on that thing pretty quickly. But maybe you saw something I didn't. You ok?"
With a hurt expression, Fin asks, ”You think I shot too quickly, Q?” He shrugs before continuing. ”I saw a huge plant move in such a way, I thought it was trying not to be seen and it didn’t look like Maka or anyone else saw it; from what we faced in the garden, I was reasonably certain it was hostile and trying to ambush us. So I acted accordingly; but next time it happens, I’ll send Selena up to go ask if it would like to be friends first…
“You remember the last huge plant we encountered that your satyr friend set upon me in the Maiden? I stared down its maw, thought I was dead…that leaves an impression on a person, Q…never again…”
|
|
With a hurt expression, Fin asks, ”You think I shot too quickly, Q?” He shrugs before continuing. ”I saw a huge plant move in such a way, I thought it was trying not to be seen and it didn’t look like Maka or anyone else saw it; from what we faced in the garden, I was reasonably certain it was hostile and trying to ambush us. So I acted accordingly; but next time it happens, I’ll send Selena up to go ask if it would like to be friends first…...
"Now, don't get upset, I'm only asking. I trust your judgment, obviously." says Quasit, laying a hand on the elf's back and speaking with calm familiarity. "If you say it seemed hostile, that's good enough for me. And I think I did say basically--'if it moves, kill it' to Maka. Forget I said anything."
She slaps him on the back twice and begins her own search of the area.
|
|
"Now, don't get upset, I'm only asking. I trust your judgment, obviously." says Quasit, laying a hand on the elf's back and speaking with calm familiarity. "If you say it seemed hostile, that's good enough for me. And I think I did say basically--'if it moves, kill it' to Maka. Forget I said anything."
Fin’s expressions lightens, the corners of his lips curling into a slight smile. ”Thank you, Q…you trusting my judgment has been one of the things I’ve been able to count on…
“And sorry…I really let Selena get under my skin this time…I’ll keep that under better control next time…and I’m sure there’ll be a next time…she questions me every time I fire my friggin’ bow…”
"You missed the point Fin. You have judged everything by what kind of creature it is. My point was that such a judgemental method doesn't work on elves, and therefore doesn't work at all. As for how often you've been wrong, well, you can't tell can you? If you attack first, especially with how dangerous you are, then of course there would be retaliation, which means there is no way to tell whether the thing is fighting because it was attacked or if it would have attacked anyway. And if doesn't even get to react, then you definitely don't know what it would have done."
Obviously all witches have the moral aptitude of a turnip.
"I'm the one cautioning against excessive violence and you think my morals are untrustworthy? Aside from being difficult to talk to or listen to, when have I ever done anything evil, or even suggested evil?" Selena asks not rhetorically.
|
|
"I'm the one cautioning against excessive violence and you think my morals are untrustworthy? Aside from being difficult to talk to or listen to, when have I ever done anything evil, or even suggested evil?" Selena asks not rhetorically.
Quasit turns to look at Selena. "Oh, you decided to butt in again, eh?"
"Look, I'm not saying you're evil or that you've suggested evil things, Selena. You feel very strongly that no book should be judged by it's cover, we get that. But you seem a little naive when it comes to reading context sometimes."
"And honestly, I'm well past wondering whether a creature is evil or not when I encounter it -- at this point, I'm just trying to gauge its hostility to us as quickly and accurately as I can before it pounces on us and murders one of us. That's all. I'm happy to be nice and talk and play along as much as I can, but I'm really not going to shed any tears for carnivorous plant abominations that wander into our path."
"If that makes me a bad person, well, so be it I guess. We've got a job to do. And you'll pardon me if the guardians and slaves of Baba Yaga and her various daughters have somewhat colored my view of witches choosing benevolent helpers. Her kingdom is a benighted autocratic horror of a police state, and her various enclaves are monuments to her paranoia and sadism."
"The only way out of this nightmare is to get through it. I'm not proud of everything I've done, but so far I can live with it. I'll let Pharasma work out who's evil and who isn't."
You missed the point Fin. You have judged everything by what kind of creature it is.
"No he hasn't! Maka yelled as she descended. "You keep accusing us of that but we've interacted with winter wolves, goblins, trees, trolls, centaurs, ghosts, birds, and all kinds of stuff without just attacking them on sight!" Smoke bellowed from Maka's nostrils as her anger built and built.
"I'm the one cautioning against excessive violence and you think my morals are untrustworthy? Aside from being difficult to talk to or listen to, when have I ever done anything evil, or even suggested evil?" Selena asks not rhetorically.
" When have you ever done anything!? You never have a plan, you just badmouth Quasit's plans and question Fin's judgement. And you're always, and they're NEVER good, and you defend the witches, and AGGHHH why don't you speak Vudrani!? Maka's anger literally ignited as fire rolled off of her in waves. "I could yell at you so much better in Vudrani!" Taking all the fire into her hand, Maka slammed her fist into the ground with a mighty roar. The blast left a small, charred crater in the dirt.
Selena "When they're doing something right, there isn't any need for me to say something. So naturally, if I say something it is because I disagree. Doesn't mean I think evrrything they do is wrong. If I thought that I'd be trying to prevent them from interfering. As for other witches, I don't defend them much, I just say to judge individuals as individuals rather than by stereotype, a concept that seems foreign to some folks. Even your defense of treatment of certain creatures, except that one time we were disguising ourselves to enter a town considered as entirely the enemy, you've been consistent in treatment of creatures by type. You never outright attack a creature on one occasion then look to avoid conflict the next time you encounter the same creature, with the possible exception of what Southerners consider to be 'civilized' races, which then are judged as criminal or not. Fin saw an ent and just assumed it should be approached as non-hostile, because it was an ent and had stories of nice ents, and thus worked to avoid a fight despite it being a very close thing to fight happening anyway, yet the other creatures being not ents were met with violence before being provoked, no effort at all put into avoiding a fight. The only difference being the lack of stories of that kind of creature having a nice reputation."
|
|
Fin hides a smile as Maka goes off on Selena, thinking, You go, girl!
Staying his temper this time, he opts not to jump into the argument again with Selena…she won’t change his mind, he won’t change hers…plus he told Quasit he would keep it under control…
He walks up to Maka, puts a hand lightly on her shoulder, whispering, ”We’d have better luck squeezing blood from a turnip than get Selena to admit she’s wrong…but thank you for having my back, Mistress of Fire, I appreciate it…”
Fin turns to Quasit as he draws his bow once more. ”If it’s alright by you, Q, I’ll continue to scout clockwise…Maka, will you please cover me again from the air?”
He presses on to the west…
|
|
”If it’s alright by you, Q, I’ll continue to scout clockwise…”
Quasit nods slowly, but she's still looking at Selena. Once Findurel and Maka peel off, she approaches the little witch.
"I really do understand what you're saying." she says gently. She seems to be trying to think of something more to say, but ends up just shrugging a little and walking off, looking out across the fields...
"Except for Winterwolves, and fae, and dragons, and ghosts, and all kinds of stuff. Like I said, you don't do anything. You sit in the back not putting in any work or taking any risk, then say 'Um actually that demon that was charging the camp at night might have been a paladin.'" Maka kneeled down for a crude impersonation of Selena, but even on her knees the fire monk towered over the halfling.
He walks up to Maka, puts a hand lightly on her shoulder, whispering, ”We’d have better luck squeezing blood from a turnip than get Selena to admit she’s wrong…but thank you for having my back, Mistress of Fire, I appreciate it…”
"Fine, but I say let her walk up front since our judgement is so bad." Maka grumbled before taking off in the air.
"Did you forget how I became a halfling, Maka?" Selena said in an insulted tone as she boldly strode forward not waiting for an answer.
|
|
Sakitu tries to stay out of the argument with Selena. She recognizes that it is pointless. Of course Selena is right, not all sentient creatures are the same just because they look the same. But context is everything. No one of the creatures that they have attacked has ever held up its arms or branches or feet or whatever and cried for them to stop attacking. Well, except that satyr, and look how that turned out.
Sakitu just moves away from Selena a little bit when she sees Quasit stepping in close to talk to her. Maybe they will come to an agreement.
When Fin slips away for more scouting Sakitu's gaze lingers on his receding form. What is she doing! First, she was fascinated by Bulvi and his large muscles. Now she is entranced by Fin's graceful strength? Both of those men are ages older than her. Come on Sakitu! Get ahold of yourself. She blushes beneath her fox fur then turns to dig around in her backpack.
Another grove of trees fills this section of the 'garden', this one with a single path interrupted by a clearing full of stumps. A mangy gray-furred cat lounges atop one of the stumps. It opens one eye as you approach.
"Oh. Visitors," it notes lazily, without getting up. "It's been a while since I've seen new faces here."
|
|
Knowing that cats are sometimes used as familiars for witches, Fin wonders if this one might be Baba Yaga’s…he keeps his bow in hand but lowers it and waves his friends forward…
The Elf bows. ”Greetings. My name is Fin…have you a name? Have you been stuck here for a long time like some of the other residents we’ve met?”
He tries to get a read on the cat…
When his friends arrive, he nods towards Quasit. ”This is Q…er…I mean Quasit. She’s our leader and much better with words than I…”
"Ask if the cat knows how to get out!" Maka shouted down to her companions as she continued her aerial vigilance.
The cat stands up on all four paws and stretches. "I am Syvet, and I do," she says, "But how why are you here if you don't know how to get out?"