[Jarret's Clinic] Supply and Demand [Xelhes]

[Tabarnac]

1st Winter, 511 A.V. A part-time assistant had led Xelhes beyond the clinic, past the dispensary, and into the cave that began where the back of Master Jarret's squat building abutted an otherwise sheer rock face. The old man was tending his treasures, the delicate things that required less light than what grew in his herb garden or Theo's greenhouse. It was hot in the cave, the air hanging thick and moist, humidity condensing upon the moss-covered boulders and basalt blocks that made up its walls. Plants grew everywhere, from the beds hewn out of bedrock and filled with peat, in enormous chests, troughs, and flowerpots. They climbed up rocks, up wooden trellises and stakes. Some were rare specimens, used for medicines or sorcerous philtres and concoctions, and others were so rare they ought not have grown in Kalea at all. Sweet clover, which could be converted with the help of a few types of fungus into a poisonous anticoagulant. Sandworts with their blood-red berries. Mosses huddled against stone blocks among glistening tubers and delicate mountain orchids. In the shady part of the grotto bulged the heads of gray mushrooms like pebbles and more brightly colored toadstools. The center of the cave was taken up with aqueous plants, vats of hornworts and liverworts, glass reservoirs of gnarled rhizomes of hallucinogenic things, slender, dark green cryptocorynes, and clusters of nematodes. Muddy, silted troughs were breeding grounds for countless zygomycetes, algae, molds, and lichen. The old man looked from where he was carefully applying drops of water from a long, slender glass rod to the damp wood chips that rooted a strange and beautiful cave orchid. The flowers gleamed in the light streaming from a block of crystal that made up that part of the roof, one of many, in fact, in this strange part of the building that few rarely saw. "Mm," he grunted. "Bring me anything I asked for last week?" He turned back to his task, muttering. "Someone needs to catch a Zith. Their turds are supposed to be just the right fertilizer for... mm..."

Winter 1, 511 A.V. Seeing the inside of Jarret’s cave always brought a sense of awe to Xelhes. It truly was a sight to behold, something that he would never have imagined existing. Yet here it was before him, hidden from the outside and disguised with the rock face that covered it. If he was allowed Xelhes would gladly come here in his spare time just to clear his thoughts, the atmosphere of the cave bringing even more calm to him than the Lyceum. However the heat of the cave had been an initial shock, though Xelhes was prepared this time. The Ethaefal only had a light amount of clothing on so that he would be more comfortable in the cave as he preferred to be cold and shivering instead of hot and sweaty. In the corner of his eye he made sure to watch the assistant that was leading him, staying close yet still observing everything around him. Yes, it truly was a marvelous sight. Stopping when the assistant did, Xelhes gave a slight bow of his head to the elderly man. Jarret was someone he held in high respect for the skill he possessed; what one might consider an idol of sorts. Xelhes had no desire to be exactly like the man, but the skills and knowledge the elder man had inspired Xelhes to an extent. With time and effort there was the chance that the Ethaefal himself could be known by others for his skill in herbs or even medicine, the thought of that and being able to help people driving him forward. He owed Denval so much, both in this life and in the past. ”I brought some of the Bulboru plant you spoke of before, though not as many as I would have liked. The batch I found was small and I hoped that leaving some would allow for more to grow.” Setting the flowers down on the nearest surface, Xelhes gave the plants an almost disappointed look. Most of them had a flat stem top as the seed had already been lost, though he had unknowingly gathered one or two that still had the seed head. He knew little about the Bulboru plant aside from a description and that it could help reduce a fever. It was for this lack of knowledge that Xelhes also did not know that he had not tried to collect the roots of the plant, only a small amount of the root visible on each plant. Had the Ethaefal known that the restorative powers of the plant resided in the root he would have gathered only that, but of course he did not and now the near useless plant sat on the surface; if they could talk it would be words of mocking and shame. Failure was a perfect word for Xelhes attempt at collecting the plants of Jarret, and the Ethaefal had no idea how the man would take such failure.

[Tabarnac]

The flowers had withered long ago. Spring brought the flowers, summer sent the seeds to wander in the stomachs of birds and other animals. The chill of their northerly fall brought death and only the roots really survived the winter. A sidelong glance told him all he needed to know, and he nudged his spectacles further up his nose, an endless battle against slippage that he was never going to win. He grunted and cleaned any remaining moisture off the slender glass rod with a quick swipe of his sleeve; moisture control was imperative in a grotto like this when one wanted to encourage the growth of some fungi, but not all. "I sent you looking for bulboru in the summer," he noted with surprising restraint, though if the Ethaefal respected him so much, his own mistake might make him more crestfallen than a curmudgeonly accusation might. "That's when the seeds have been spread and the root's still, hm, warm." He pulled small, sharp knife from his belt and quickly pared away the bits of root from the rest and that was all he kept. The rest he let fall into a pail of green waste that would be taken outside to mulch. "These won't be so effective, harvested in winter." All the same, what he had harvested was placed on a square of cloth and tied with twine. He shoved the makeshift pouch into a pocket to hang elsewhere, the cloth to wick away moisture before he further prepared them. "Still, I'm, hm, impressed that you could identify them in the winter. That's worth something. And you didn't destroy all of them. Remember where you found them and go back in the summer." From another pocket he counted out three silver pieces and set them on the table for Xelhes.

[Xelhes]

Winter 1st, 511 A.V.

The statement that Xelhes' had been asked to retrieve the plant had been during the summer made the Ethaefal look at the ground for a moment, temporarily uneasy at the words. It was true that he had been meant to bring the requested plant during the summer yet the unease he felt left quickly. He had a reason, though he was almost certain Jarret would not care to hear it; nor should he. A reason or excuse did not change the fact that he had been two seasons late in delivering what had been requested, and saying it to someone such as Jarret probably would not improve the situation either. "The next time you send me out to retrieve a plant or herb I assure you the job will be finished much quicker, now that I have more confidence in my abilities and have already ventured outside of the settlement." That was all he could really say, and even those words made him worry. Would it have been better to stay silent? The possibility that Jarret's opinion of him lowering was in his mind though the thought never made its way to his face, Xelhes appearing calm and attentive.

Jarret's compliment was nice though Xelhes did not think on it very much. It was small yet something the Ethaefal appreciated none the less, but he would not let it go to his head. Letting a compliment boost his confidence was not the way to go about it, as Xelhes viewed that the only real way to boost one's confidence was to do things yourself; to feel as if what you did was adequate and prove to yourself that you did possess the ability to do the task. The words of another and the thoughts you have of yourself are two very different things, and while the words of others were fleeting things what one thought of themself was a far more permanent thing. When Jarret placed the silver coins out Xelhes looked at them for a moment, thinking on accepting them. He did not feel as if he could, that accepting them would almost be the equivalent of robbing the man. The plants he had brought were diluted in strength, that had already been spoken aloud; the amount of the part that truly mattered in little quantity. Had Xelhes known it was the root that was important he would have been more careful, though he knew better now and would not make the same mistake.

In the end he took the coins that had been presented to him, saying, "Thank you very much, sir. It means a lot to me to be gathering herbs for you; to aid in your work and expand my own knowledge as well." Xelhes had decided that rejecting any of the coins that Jarret had given him would be rude, at the very least. The Ethaefal had realised that Jarret was not the kind of man to simply be kind a give more money than a job was worth, instead that he would pay one for exactly how much the job was worth and nothing more or less. To reject the money would be saying the elderly man's judgment was wrong, and Xelhes had no intention of doing that or trying to stand against the judgment. No, he trusted that Jarret was paying him exactly for how much his service had been worth, not more. Taking a step back after collecting the money the Ethaefal asked, "Is there anything else you would like me to retrieve if possible, considering the season?"

[Tabarnac]

Jarret grunted at the thanks, and went back to his work. Still, his old mind was spinning out thoughts, and after a moment he nodded, describing various roots and tubers Xelhes might find and where he might find them. "You might speak to Perras," he said, describing the man who often hunted in the pocket valleys hidden among the dangerous terrain. "He knows the safe routes to places, out of the way places. He'll likely share them with you if he knows you're selling to me, and you might even get some hunting in. Some of the valleys don't get permanent snow, and are warmer for the direct sunlight and all..." Then he twirled his fingertips through a tank of water full of strangely colored lotus blossoms sitting on their leaf islands. "Do you know what these are?" he asked.

[Xelhes]

OOCThe code is still messing up so I am going to PM Tarot and ask him to have a look over it.

Winter 1st, 511 A.V.

The grunt that Jarret made caused Xelhes to smile to himself mentally, happy the man excepted his words. It may not have seemed like it, but to Xelhes the very fact that someone such as Jarret had even made any indication at all was a good sign. As small as it was, it was a start. Mentally Xelhes took notes on the various plants Jarret told him of, and the locations as well. Hopefully this meant that the Ethaefal would still be able to help the elderly man out, even during the harsh winter season.

”Perras…” Xelhes whispered, making sure he got the man’s name down and ingrained in his memory. Safe routes were a wonderful thing, and the Ethaefal would gladly take one of these routes rather than have to fight against the fauna of nature. It also seemed like some of the routes would let him gather plants that normally could not be found in the winter season, which would most likely make them more useful and valuable. Looking at the tank that contained the blossoms, Xelhes began to go through the knowledge he had, trying to sift through the various plants he had learned from books.

The leaves they sat on reminded the Ethaefal greatly of lily pads, or giant leaves that would float on the top of water. He knew it was a long shot to assume, but he only really knew of one plant that seemed to appear as a flower on such a pad. ”Zu…” Stopping himself, he thought again for a moment, closing his eyes to concentrate. The images he remembered did not match perfectly with the plant Jarret was showing him, yet still it made him think of that plant. What season was it from?

In this cave Jarret kept plants from various seasons, yet Xelhes still wanted to believe the plant corresponded with the current season. Taking a small inhale he spoke again, saying, ”I believe it may be Zujin, though I cannot be sure. However the Zujin is the only plant I remember that has a blossom in that general shape a rests on what seems to be a lily pad, and the one thing I do remember reading is that it is only found in winter. Still though, my memories from the books I read have different images than these plants…”

[Tabarnac]

"Close," he said, "but not quite. Same family, but not a waterlily either. This is a lotus from Falyndar. Theo and I have a rivalry going, who can grow the most foreign things, he in his greenhouse, me here. Anyway, examine it. Not something you'll find around Denval, not even in the dog days of summer, but the entire plant is edible. Roots, stems, petals, stamens... some are better in tea than actually to eat... Not sure if there are any medicinal values, but I believe a varied diet will take care of most things, prevent sickness, you know. I don't think I can produce enough lotus blossoms to augment the entire population's diet, though. Perhaps if I had more space and Theo's help with his Bala magic." He had warmed to his subject, but quickly lost his steam. "Well, if you ever do go traveling and intend to come back, I'll want some samples from far and wide." He nodded. "You don't plan on leaving, do you?" The way he asked it, one might almost think he didn't want Xelhes to leave. But that was silly. He was a crotchety old man who didn't like anybody so well as his fungi.

OOCNot sure where you want to go with this. Winter is a funky time for herbalism stuff unless he wants to fiddle around with some stuff, drying herbs or perusing Jarret's stuff. Let me know!

[Xelhes]

OOCYah, Winter is a rather bad time to be doing herbalism things. If it is ok could we, if possible, do a thread during Spring/Summer? Plus the code is still acting funny for me so posting in a different thread would make things easier as well. Sorry this took so long.

So he had been wrong about which plant it was, yet still having the elderly man say his guess was close instead of dismissing it made the Ethaefal smile. Still, the fact that he had guess wrong was partially upsetting as when Xelhes thought harder on it, the coloring of the two blossoms was completely different, the lilypads having thrown him off. As Jarret talked the Ethaefal listened quietly, nodding when a varied diet mentioned. Xelhes had heard of the concept before and agreed with it, thinking that by changing ones diet could help prevent sickness yet since he himself never became ill the topic was not major to him.

Talk of Bala magic and Theo confused Xelhes for a moment, not completely sure on if he knew what Bala magic was, though had heard the murmers of others to have a good guess. Magic was a thing that scared Xelhes now, after realising the side effects that could occur when one used Morphing, assuming the consequences were the same with all magic. While he nodded when Jarret requested that he brought samples back, the question that followed afterwards did startle Xelhes, though he tried to not express it. With a smile he said, "Right now I do not have plans to leave Denval, however someday it is a possibility. If I do leave though, I will return back; I owe the people of this settlement far too much to simply not return and try to aid them."

For as long as he lived the Ethaefal knew that he would always be indebt to those who occupied Denval. When he had fell they had taken him in and, with effort, helped him establish his life in the settlement. The reason Xelhes had a house or anything was because of those people and had it not been for their kind treatment he might not even be alive right now. With a small bow of his head Xelhes politely said, "I think it is best if I returned home though; I have taken up much of your time already. Should I come across any of the roots or tubers you spoke of I will make sure to bring them to you, sir."

[Tabarnac]

XP Award! Xelhes XP Award: Spelunking +1; Plant Identification +2; Botany +2; Herbalism +2 Lore: Falyndar Lotus; Seasonality Other: +3 sm Additional Notes: Sorry for my part in the clunkiness of this thread. As I said before, though, we can do a fungal thread on the flotilla to Avanthal if you’re of a mind to do so. Paragon will be running a lot of the larger scale plot, so I will have time for individual moderation moreso than in the past. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or concerns. Keep writing!