Private Eastern Brisshal Stop Me if You've Herb This One Before

[Azykia]

This wasn't this first time Azykia had been out and about the wilderness surrounding Honeyhome. Indeed, she had made many a trip out to the forest for what the non-gamer saw more as a daily necessity and not a 'recurring quest', as she collected countless batches of the same few herbs whenever she could to help out those in need who were living in the meager yet populous small town she had been staying in since her arrival in Terrasphere some number of weeks ago. This journey was different, though. Today, while feeling at the postings placed upon the request board, she decided to take on one that sounded unique. Important, even.

And so, a good thirty minute walk north of town, she was out in the spacious forest with a bright blue cane made of Arcanamancy magic, which she swung about carefully like a walking stick. Occasionally, she would create a magical mist as she paused to examine the dampened area in front of her, but to little avail. What she was hoping to find was a flower, and a rare one at that. Violet on the outside, and white on the inside. Large, sharp petals flayed out in all directions. Invasive enough to grow alongside other flowers, but too weak to truly flourish.

Worst of all, it wasn't magical, so she had no hope of finding it with her magically-attuned senses alone. She was a prideful sort, and so decided to refuse asking for help from another player. Now, with the thought of not being able to find this magical mystery cure to what sounded to be a disease quite deadly, she could only regret that. Perhaps a lesson for the future.

Her bright blue ar-cane continued to glow and make her stand out to anything with eyes in this scarce forest.

@Ornthalas

 

[Ornthalas]

Orn was on a normal expedition that he had set himself out to do. He hadn't been leaving HoneyHome too often these days, as he wanted to enjoy the beauty around these parts and learn more about the wildlife and magic qualities of plants and animals, and he also really enjoyed the food served at the tavern every night, it was some of the best he had in his travels.

Today he was out exploring a specific species of tree, one not native to the outside world. He had been a tad interested in their properties for potions, but he knew a lot of testing had probably been done on them but hey, it never hurt to try himself. He was looking for the fabled Shullbark tree but he wasn't having any luck. But he was persistent, to a fault most days. And he wouldn't give up 'til he found it.

Along his travels through the shadows, he saw what looked to be a small girl with a giant staff, waving it around and spreading out magic. She seemed to be practicing something, from what he could tell. He decided to come from her right side, well in view of her eyes. "Uh, excuse me." He spoke, raising a hand in greeting. "Sorry to be a bother, but have you seen any Shullbark trees around?"

 

[Azykia]

Just as Azykia was about to throw out another mist to try and find more flowers, she heard a man call out to her from the right, and looked over his direction. "Hm? Shullbark trees? I-" The young girl began to giggle, giving an amused smile his way as a loose fist came up to cover her mouth. Her pupil-less eyes stared in his general direction, and though she was just praying for the chance to get somebody to help her, she felt a much stronger urge to lighten her own stresses with a jest at her own expense once her giggling came to and end.

"I'm sorry, mister, but I actually haven't seen anything, ever." She blinked rapidly for a moment, as though to draw attention to her bright blue eyes. "In fact I'm also out here trying to find a Twilight Fell flower. Perhaps if you describe your tree a bit, I could help you find it somehow. I might have to call my own search quits for the evening anyways."

@Ornthalas

 

[Ornthalas]

As Orn came closer, the young girl turned towards him, he got a better look at her eyes, which had a glazed look about them. Her next comment confirmed his suspicions. This player, this young girl, she was blind. He was taken aback by this. How did she see anything? How did she get around without hurting herself too much? Did it have something to do with her magic? It would make sense, considering how she was waving it around earlier.

"Oh my- I'm sorry, I didn't realize until I came closer. I hope I didn't insult you in any way." He spoke apologetically, coming towards her at a slower pace, as not to startle her in any way. "You said a Twilight Fell flower? Well I just passed a small push of them a few moments ago, I can take you to go find them if you'd like."

He held out a hand towards her, feeling a tad awkward doing it. "My name is Ornthalas, but you can call me Orn if you'd like." The tender and soft words came out in a soothing tone, showing he meant no harm nor any devious plans. "We can worry about my tree a bit later, since you seem to need help the most in your endeavors."

 

[Azykia]

"Please, don't apologize." The girl replied, ignoring the man's hand. Obviously not intentionally, as just from the way she stared forward still, it was clear that she couldn't see it.

"By all means, if I could help you so readily, I would prioritize it over accepting your own assistance. I'm quite stubborn when it comes to letting people show me generosity, I've been told."

She gave a bow, formal and trained. "My name is Azykia, and I'm blind. It's nice to meet you, Ornthalas. You may refer to me whichever way comes most naturally to you. I don't think any two people call me by the same exact name, anyways." She laughed a bit, halfly for effect.

"I won't decline your assistance, though. Truthfully, I was just wishing that I had brought somebody with me who could more readily see color than myself. Which reminds me, I actually can see magic, when people are casting it, so if you have any I could follow you along much easier. It's not a necessity, though."

@Ornthalas

 

[Ornthalas]

Orn felt a wave of reassurance from the girl, as his actions had not insulted her, in fact she seemed used to it, and was very adamant to help him instead of her. Stubborn, he knew how that could be from his job in the real world. She introduced herself as Azykia, and he nodded. "It's an interesting name, I'm not entirely sure how I could shorten it though." He jested.

He turned around and pointed to behind him. "It's about half a mile back that way, I can lead the way if you want." He offered her, wanting to assist her before anything. Call it his need to help people, but he couldn't help but want to. She then explained how her magic worked, or better yet how she could see with magic. He nodded and made his hands glow both black and white, using both his Shadow Arts and his Divine Arts to his advantage. "I can do white or black, you choose your favorite."

He readjusted the strap on his bracer crossbow. "But from what you asked earlier, all I know about the Shullbark is it's inside wood is a dull orange and the bark is a light-gray almost white, and it's fruit have magical potency of some kind that haven't been fully tested or discovered, but people that eat the fruit tend to fall asleep soon after and wake up well rested, even if the rest was only for a few minutes." He explained. "If I could find a way to use these fruit to make some sort of stronger potion, or something that increases one's healing magic potency, it could help immensely with boss fights."

 

[Azykia]

"I've been called Azzy, Kia-chan, and everything in-between." She offered simply. "Although, I don't mind being called Azykia either. That is my name here, after all."

She giggled as she figured the man gestured to a direction without truly realizing that she couldn't see which direction it had been, though her eyes widened just a bit as she was given options in what magic to sight out for the first time ever. "White or black...? Well, I think I prefer black, but white would me much easier to see, so I'll take the wiser of the two options today."

The girl brushed her hair back over her ear a few times in thought as he described this mystery tree. "Hm. Would you say that the fruit itself is magical? If it's magical, I should be able to find it for you eventually, even if its glow is very faint. I'll admit, I'm not usually looking much higher than my head." She began to giggle for a few seconds.

"Aside from that, well, I would have to rely on water magic to find them, and by that point you would have already seen them with your own eyes."

@Ornthalas

 

[Ornthalas]

Orn nodded, listening to the nicknames with some thought. They were all good, but he definitely didn't want to be a copy-cat and take one of those good nicknames. He'd have to find a better one, a funny one too. But for now he left that on the backburner, taking her choice of magic and making himself a white halo above his head and around his wrists, giving her a sense of where his hands and body would be. It would make it easier, he hoped at least.

"Alright, hopefully this is enough." he said, then turned his attention to the trail. He started walking and hoped she was following close behind. "And the fruit... I'm not entirely sure if it's magic or not. I know that is has medicinal properties, but I'm unsure if I'd consider it's capabilities to heal 'magical.' All I know is that the trees are huge, and the fruits grow in the canopy which is a good height upwards." He sighed. "It takes a bit of climbing to get to them, but I'm hoping I can use some Shadow arts to climb it as a good pace."

 

[Azykia]

"Ah, that would quite explain it, wouldn't it?" She did indeed decide to follow close behind, or at least a couple meters, with a friendly smile on her face as she waved the walking stick out and about in front of her at shin height. "I haven't tried climbing any trees, as I've been told the Twilight Fell grows among other flowers on the ground. As I'm sure you've seen."

She lowered her head instinctively as she began pressing her mind over the man's own predicament. "Not that I'd be very good at climbing-" She paused for a moment as she remembered the time she had to escape from a sudden influx of undead in the area. She shuddered at the thought, but also claimed a bit of insight from her recollection.

"Although I'm certain I could create a way to climb it fairly easily, now that I've given it some thought. Ah, speaking of which, I actually need three Twilight Fell flowers, if that isn't too much of a hassle, sir."

@Ornthalas

 

[Ornthalas]

Orn nodded as she agreed that it was a good explanation. and he chuckled at her comment. "Yes, I'm sure you haven't anytime soon. Climbing tends to be a bit dangerous. The Fell tend to stay low because they prefer a much darker area compared to the bright sun, it's why they're beneath the canopies." He turned left, and he made sure Azy was following him, and eventually he found a bushel of them on the ground. He stopped and bent down.

"Creating a way to climb? How would one do that?" He asked, a bit curious. As he took his dagger and carefully cut at a low part of the stem, she made the comment that she needed three, which wasn't a problem. "Three, got it." One he got the first flower, he slowly worked on the second, and then the third. Satisfied that he hadn't disturbed the plant too much, he stood up and turned around, holding his hand out and channeling his divine magic in his hand so she could see them. "Here you are, three flowers as you've asked."