Solo Harvesting Plants

[Lee William]

12th of Summer - Near and around lake Ravok.

It had begun early, his desire and eagerness to have a day away from the city. To feel solid ground underneath his feet. To see natural earth and honest to the gods trees and plants not meticicolously planted in neat rows. The rawness of nature. Something he had not expected of himself. He had gotten up early in the morning, but Syna was already rising early so he had the morning sun with him as he trekked across the city. A yawn escaped his mouth as he checked his gear for the fifth time. Ensuring he had his multitude of items and provisions. His plan was to get to the mainland early, perhaps around the 10th bell. Then spend a good ten bells on the mainland, before finding his way back to the city. His steel dagger by his right side. The crossbow hefted over his shoulder and the bolts in his backpack. The backpack also contained his herbalism kit – for while he was out, he may as well oblige his desire to collect herbs and experiment. He had also packed some of his rations to be consumed partly on the water glider, and partly as lunch. He hoped that he would come across some light game outside the city, perhaps a squirrel or hare, to bring back for a late, very late, dinner.

The trip on the water glider was long and uneventful. Lee dozed off several times during the voyage, recuperating some of the lost sleep. By the time the boat arrived at the shoreline, he gazed up at Syna. It took him several long moments to judge her position in the sky. But considering Synas position it was nearing the tenth bell of the day before they had made landfall on the other side of the huge lake. Lee bid the captain farewell and reassured himself that there would be another boat heading back in the evening. He'd rather not be stuck on the mainland for the night. Lee contemplated which direction to head. Clockwise, or counterclockwise around the lake. Or if he should just head further inland away from the lake. He took a deep breath and settled on counterclockwise and then if he found something of interest, he would move further inland. He just hoped that there were available plants and herbs during the early summer. Also from what he had heard: The city had been hit by a nasty blast of cold several times, that may have ruined many of the herbs that usually grew outside the city. Perhaps moving inland was a better idea.

Lee straightened his back and made sure the backpack was secure and began moving along the coastline. Finding the solid ground underneath his feet a welcome change. A slight smile on his lips. One foot in front of the other. Soon the flowers would spring forth from every conceivable angle and enrich his day.

494 words.

[Lee William]

Lee had trecked for the better part of a bell and made no interesting discoveries. He had hoped to find a big enough stream to follow inland. Not because he wanted fresh water, but because he desired an easy way to navigate back to the lake when he wanted to head back home. It was one of the simplest survival tips he had gotten from his father. Find something easy to follow, and he'd never be lost! But he hadn't found a stream, not yet. But he didn't want to follow the lakeside anymore so he turned right and went further inland. The chimes passed by as he moved past trees that had seen better days. Some trees were blooming already, others seemed to be dead. Lee shrugged and looked around to find herbs he knew how to harvest or bushes that he knew had roots were good for cooking or perhaps, if lucky, lillian roots. It was partly why he was out here – he was getting a little short on coin and procuring some roots and other things, he might supplment his diet with could do him wonders.

He put his left hand on the trunk of a tree and took a short pause. He looked to the sky. Squinted. There she was. It was about noon. He still had most of the day ahead of him. Another bell and he should have a short meal and then continue his search. It was bound to find something sooner or later. He had seen several signs of animal life, birds were out in force and their songs accompanied him as he moved through the forest. The woods looked remarkably similar to other forests he had moved through, so sooner or later he supposed he would find some herbs and plants he recognized as benefitial to his purpose.

The march continued, over small hills, through small clearings, under knocked over trees. One of those looked interesting. A mushroom he had not seen before was growing on the tree. It was a bright red colour with a spatter of white spots. He knew very little about mushrooms, but he knew some were dangerous to consume, others were a delicacy. He fished out his dagger and contemplated bringing this one home. He came a little closer and sniffed the mushroom. He didn't learn anything interesting from that – except that rot doesn't smell good. The doctor guessed the tree was rotten. He sighed and stepped away, put away his dagger and turned around to see if any smaller plants had sprung forth around the dead tree. Some placed showed clear signs of having been crushed and brushed clear by the tree as it had fallen. To the right. With a small gasp, Lee rushed toward a small cluster of plants.

Word count: 449

[Lee William]

Lee knelt. Dagger in his hand again. The flat of the blade found a leaf. Pulled the plant a little closer with the dagger. It was long and sawtoothed. This close – the scent. There could be no doubt. This was Tolm. A plant he had often encountered around Sunberth. A very common plant. The plant was very beneficial and had a multitude of purposes. Lee smiled to himself as he went to work. Fishing out containers and small gardening shovels from his backpack. Clearing the ground around the plants. If his memory served right, it was the roots that was the most useful. But he wasn't entirely sure, perhaps the leaves could be added to a soup to give it a little more taste. In any case, he cut the slim erect stilks close to the ground and carefully packed it away in a container. He could harvest the leaves at home. The eager man found his little shovel and began to dig. Removing dirt from around the base. It wasn't easy to follow all the roots – and he often accidentally cut roots with the shovel. But he found a lot of roots still and pulled them up. The many plants in the small clearing were packaged one by one. Then he continued digging around. Finding roots and networks of roots and carefully extracted them from the soil. He also found a worm now and then, but he ignored those or pushed them aside. Some of the plants still stood when he was done, perhaps half a dozen – he figured if his stay in Ravok was going to be permanent, knowing where to find a healthy cluster of Tolm would be useful – although the plant was so common he might as well not bother.

By the time he was done, he had gathered roughly ten plants and what he figured was several ounces of roots etc. But much of that might be dirt. He would have to wash it when he returned to Ravok proper.

”At least the trip wasn't fruitless.” He muttered to himself as he packed the rest of the containers away. He wiped his blade on his cloak. The shovel was tapped against a tree to knock dirt loose before it too was put into the backpack. He took a breather and looked around. Perhaps this would be a fine place for a pause and a meal. He devoured his meal quietly.

It was a nice day. It was getting warmer by the chime. It had been six days since the heavens had been opened with thunder and forceful winds, but it had remained oddly rain-less. Which had been a positive thing, he figured – he didn't want to see what happened if the canals and waterways in the city got flooded. He packed away the remainder of his food and water. With a small kick against the trunk he had been sitting on, he landed on the ground. He looked about. Noted where he had come from. At Syna, past noon – obviously. But he had several bells before he needed to return towards Ravok and the Water Gliders.

Word count: 527

[Lee William]

Lee continued further inland. There were a few hills and clearings, but he tried to avoid climbing the hills and mounds. Instead seek the lower lying areas. He knelt now and again, to see if there were any lesser plants he could recognize, but it was mostly useless weeds. That or he lacked knowledge about the plants. He would have to do some studies into different plants and memorize their descriptions. But for now, he was satisfied with the fresh air and open landscape. He liked the architecture of the city, it was gorgeous at times. The canals and waterways gave it an unique feel. He was happy he had left Sunberth, the city was drab and uninteresting. Way too dangerous as well, since their pathological hatred of mages.

Another deep breath as he found a little stream carving its path between two lesser hills. This was what he had been looking for earlier. Streams often had some different kind of plants. Some he might find more interesting than the Tolm currently occupying a third of his containers. He was still looking for lillian. That would make this trip more than worth it. He followed the stream against the flow. Slowly moving up the hills. That was when he saw some one-two feet tall clusters of plants he might recognize. The dagger came out again and he knelt next to the plant. It seemed like a Belltor, but he had never actually seen the plant before. The doctor he had been an assistant to in Sunberth had also been a herbalist to aid in his proffesion – but he had spoken of this Belltor, a useful plant. Its ragged edged leaves. Erect stems. Light pink and crimson leaves. This must be it, Lee thought as he knelt down. He wasn't sure how to harvest these. This left him at a disadvantage, some plants had to be harvested in a particular way to be worthwhile.

The best method was of course to harvest the whole thing and hope it was still alive by the time he got back to Ravok again. He would have to figure something out. Lee went down on both knees as the stream rushed past him. The constant water reminded him he had not relieved himself today yet since the morning. An unbidden thought as he tried to focus on harvesting the plant. The shovel came out and the dagger beside it. He removed a little of the earth on top of one of the plants. Removing the earth slowly until he uncovered some of a root. He followed it down, removing more and more dirt until the root went straight down again. He followed the plant around the edge until he had uncovered the extent of the roots. Mostly straight down, but a few stragglers that went further. He used the dagger to chop down and get a better grip for the shovel. He removed the plant with most of the roots intact. He shook it a little and the dirt drizzled down from underneath the plant.

Word count 511

[Lee William]

Lee stored the plant in a container, one of the larges ones, when he had removed as much of the dirt as possible without damaging or tearing out roots. It would be much easier if he just knew which parts of the plants were usable and which parts were not needed. He had spent almost half a bell harvesting this one plant, mainly because he wasn't sure of the proper procedure. Lee wiped away some sweat from his brow. Looked to Syna and realized he would have to pick up the pace if he wanted to be done in time to head back to Ravok in time to catch one of the later water gliders. Having harvested the first plant, he had gotten a feel for how the plant looked under the ground and the second was harvested in less than half the time. He made a few mishaps here and there, severed some roots that probably shouldn't have been severed. He brushed off the dirt and put it down next to the first plant. He began on the third, same procedure as before, taking care this time to not destroy the roots. He moved methodically, ignored the cramp that began to form in his thighs. He could stretch out when he was done with his work. He was so focused he barely noticed that he wasn't alone any longer. Further up the stream a smaller creature was watching him, deciding if he was hostile or not.
It looked like a badger of some sorts. Lee looked to the plant he was harvesting and up at the creature. The crossbow was lying on the ground, but it wasn't loaded. Lee took a deep breath and slowly reached into his backpack. Rummaged through it slowly, fingers moving over the outline of the different items. There, a small prick told him something pointy was right there. He reached in and found the shaft of the crossbow bolt. He blinked and the badger seemed to notice his activity as it began to move around him. Seeking a path around the human male on his knees. Lee moved for the crossbow with his free hand. He slowly got on his feet. Using the crossbow as an impromptu cane to push him up. He bit down on the crossbow bolt, the now free hand reached down to load the crossbow bolt. He pulled back the string. Petch him, it was harder than he recalled. He strained as his right arm protested the exhertion. He grunted sharply – enough to startle the badger. It began to run away. Lee cursed loudly as the crossbow clicked into place – it was ready to be loaded with the bolt. Lee sprang into action. Tearing the bolt from his mouth as he jumped across the stream. His thighs prosteted vehemently at the sudden action, but Lee ignored them.

He half crawled, half stumbled up the edge of hill, eyes trained on the badger that was fleeing from him. It was going to be almost impossible to hit the small mammal at this speed. If he could even get the bolt loaded on the crossbow. Lee was much slower than the badger, that much was for certain. He could not keep pursuing, he had to stop and loose the bolt. He jumped to a standstill on a little mound. Placed the bolt haphazardly on the crossbow. Took a deep breath to steady himself. He pressed up the trigger. The bolt let loose and soared through the air and much as Lee had suspected, it went wide. Missing the badger by a good twenty feet.

”As well as expected.”

Lee was not very good at martial things. Much better at dexterous things – like harvesting plants, or mending people. He took a deep breath – the sudden exertion and from resting to sprinting in two ticks flat, made him exhausted. Sweat poured down his face as he stood straight. Breath not exactly laboured, but very visible as he almost swallowed gallons of air. Though it annoyed him. A badger could have made his purse a little heavier later this summer. His expenses had gotten a little out of hand thus far – travelling to Ravok and getting settled had taken more of his capital than he had expected. He found the crossbow bolt, it was stuck in the ground under a plant. To his surprise – he had found one! A lillian! He reached for his backpack – it was still a back on the other side of the stream. He jogged back and finished on the Belltor plant he had been harvesting and it was a rushed job – probably not gonna be very useful, but a broken plant was better than no plant – in his books at least. Might fetch a cople of copper mizas to the right buyer. Better than returning with something worth nothing.

Word count: 818

[Lee William]

Lee jumped the stream again. This was the most physical activity he had had in a long time. And he could feel it in his bones and muscles. This time with his backpack with him and the stored plants. The lillian roots he harvested later would be the last for this trip, for he had to return to Ravok before it became too late. He knew how to harvest the roots of a lillian – he also knew the correct way to utilize the roots medicinal abilities. He got to work, first removing the stem – then slowly uncovering its extensive network of roots in the ground. He produced a lot of small roots from the first plant. Would make a good and decent tea. Working hard to cover the hole and placing the stem back in the ground – he didn't need it at all, it would just take up space in his backpack. Some animal, the badger, might come later and eat it. Lee looked about – saw another plant and began work again with the shovel, dug through the ground and uncovered more of the flowers. Realizing he had begun all from before – should have uncovered the roots and just yanked up the whole plant plus the roots. Dirt flew behind him as he methodically uncovered as much as he could without the plant toppling over. He grabbed the stem when he was satisfied and with a grunt – yanked up most of the extensive network of roots. He cut the stem and placed it into the same container as before. He moved from plant to plant until he had recovered almost two dozen of the extensive roots.

He placed the last he could find into the container and got back on his feet. His back protested a little – Lee must have gotten lost in time, for Syna seemed to be moving faster than he anticipated. Unless the goddess had to leave early that day, Lee would have to hurry back towards Ravok. He packed away his things and moved back to the stream he had found earlier. Both the shovel and the dagger was placed into the stream. Washing away the dirt and other juices from the metal. He dried it with his cloak. It was black for a reason – so that nobody would noticed such things. Besides, Syna would dry it on his hike back to the lake. Finally, he knelt down and splashed the cool water in his face. It was a godsend. He drank a little as well. Quenching the worst of his thirst before he got back on his feet. Tugged the backpack up before him. He put away the shovel, the dagger returned to its scabbard. He put on the backpack – crossbow was placed over his shoulder. This time it was loaded and ready to fire. The bolt was in a pocket, ready to be extracted in case of need. But he didn't expect to see any more game. But he had been fortunate that it had been a badger and not a larger creature that had come to eat him. If it had been a bear, he would probably be dead – those huge things would probably shrug off the small crossbow bolt. If that happened, then he would be mauled to death within moments. He knew that for certain.

He moved along the stream to around where he had found it originally. Backtracking was always an art in itself. For now he had to remember how things had looked from the other side. But if he kept moving westward, he would eventually hit the lake and from there, move clockwise he would eventually get back to where he had made landfall this morning. He soon found the knocked over tree that had served as his bench earlier during his meal. He didn't have the time to sit still and eat, he was certain – he would need to eat on the go, or wait until he was on the water glider again to get something to eat. He wasn't so pampered he couldn't go without a meal now and again. He only wished he was better at morphing at times like these. If he only had learnt how to become a bird or similar, he could find a better path back instead of backtracking his exact route. He was sure at least a bell could be shaven off his treck if he had taken a more direct route.

Word count 752

[Lee William]

Lee still had room in one of his containers. He looked at the brightly coloured mushroom. It wouldn't take more than a few chimes to cut it loose and store it in one of the containers. He wasted little time reaching into his backpack. Withdrew the last empty container, not very big, and opened it underneath the mushroom. Keeping fingers clear of its path and he held his breath. He cut the mushroom loose and to his surprise, it came loose easily. Here and there, the steel knife failed to cut properly and he had to press a little harder. But eventually the mushroom dropped into the awaiting container. With a small smile and sigh of relief, it hadn't puffed out a toxic cloud of spores. Lee closed the lid on the container and ensured it was secured before he placed it in his backpack. First time he harvested one of those – but taking it back home he might find an expert who could verify what it was and if it was worth anything. If it was edible, he might have found an easy lunch for another day.

”Better hurry now.”

Lee moved fast. He recognized parts of the route, but much of it wasn't commited to memory, not yet. But he was certain it was the correct path. For many of the things he did remember – soon he could see the lake in the distance. He began to jog. The dagger was placed into the lake, not as an act of defiance towards Rhysol, gods no, but merely to clean the taint of the mushroom off of the blade itself. He didn't want to cut himself accidentally and find himself lethally poisoned. He couldn't wait to return back to Ravok and begin working on the plants. Methodically dry them and remove the useful parts for different potions or brews. It would mainly be a delight to get to drink some free lillian root tea. It had a soothing effect on his mood.

He could also use some of the tea now, for the length of the journey was getting to him. It had been only a few tendays since he had travelled with a caravan to Ravok, but his legs and feet were already weary from one days hike. He grabbed the necklace around his neck and ensured it was still fastened. It would not do him well to lose his symbol of Rhysol – especially not if he was to return to Ravok.

The chimes seemed to move by slowly as he moved back. Weary feet and aching muscles. His back was beginning to protest from the backpack he had worn all day. He found his water skin and drank the last of his water. A few mouthfuls, but he figured it was better to carry those inside of him, rather than in a waterskin. Another bell dragged itself by, and Lee could see the end of his journey. Out across the water he saw a glider move towards the landing place. Encouraged by the sight, Lee set a faster pace. Ignoring the protests from his different muscles – he would soon be on a glider again and be moving back to Ravok. He could sleep on the glider – he needed a measurement of clarity when he came home to properly prepare the plants and roots for the drying process.

Word count: 565

[Ruvya]

G R A D E

Observation +3
Planning +1
Foraging +4
Botany +1
Cleaning +1
Weapon: Crossbow +1
Hunting +1
Endurance +1
Running +1
Navigation +1

Lee: Possesses a deep appreciation for nature
Navigation: Utilise streams as landmarks
Foraging: Some mushrooms are poisonous, while some are edible
Observation: The smell of rotting flora
Botany: The look and scent of Tolm
Foraging: Take only what you need
Ravok: Beautiful architecture and canals
Wilderness Survival: Streams are a vital source of food and medicine
Botany: Belltor has erect stems and crimson, ragged edged leaves
Archery: Loading a crossbow
Badger: A curious and agile critter
Hunting: Be quick or lose your dinner!
Botany: The look of lillian
Foraging: The method for harvesting lillian
Navigation: Backtracking may not be the quicket route but you won't get lost
Lillian root tea: A soothing beverage

+ 1 mushroom red with white spots
+ 10 oz of tolm stalks & leaves
+ 8 oz of tolm root
+ 1 lbs of belltor
+ 2 lbs of lillian root


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