Collecting A Sample

Wearing an olive green shirt and khaki cargo shorts with boots and with Argent Gloves shimmering in the sun, Leona made her way into Beanstalk Village. She had heard that a strange plant had appeared on the outskirts of the village and that a local herbalist wanted someone to remove them and to bring her a sample. After her adventure in Desierto, Poko had strongly hinted that taking safer jobs for awhile was a good idea. Leona could not ignore the Guild Master's wishes, so she had made her way to Beanstalk Village.

At first Leona thought that the job was boring, but then an idea hit her. She could collect a sample of the plant for Silver Wolf. She could finally do something that benefited the guild as well as satisfy her need for adventure. With that in mind, she had brought two durable glass jars in her backpack. One jar would be for the herbalist's sample and the other would be for Silver Wolf.

Leona entered the village and soon found a billboard with all kinds of notices posted to it. She browsed over them but found nothing of interest until a neatly written one caught her eye. It was from the herbalist. The blonde read the address of the herbalist's shop and made her way there.

-Inside the herbalist's shop-

"You must be here about the plants!" An old woman with white hair and a nondescript brown dress with stained white apron said to her. The stains were in many different colors. They must have come from numerous plant samples used in creating herbal medicines.

"I'm here to take the job." Leona stated. The old woman smiled and clapped her hands together.

"Great! You see, this plant's totally new to the region. It's never been seen before. Several people have touched it and all of them had to go to the hospital. No one's died, but they all reported being in great discomfort." The old woman stated.

"I want you to go and remove them before anyone else gets hurt. I'm afraid of what will happen if a child touches them. Also, bring me back at least one sample for study." She requested.

"Do you mind if I collect a sample for my guild? It specializes in research." Leona made a request of her own. The old woman's eyes narrowed.

"NO! It's too dangerous! Who knows what will happen if it spreads to different climates? It might mutate and become even more dangerous! We can't risk it spreading throughout Fiore!" She sternly rejected the request. Leona was taken aback. Leona was upset, but she would comply.

"All right then. I won't take a sample for my guild." Leona promised.

"Just pull up those plants. Bring me a sample and I'll reward you. I'm counting on you!" The woman said before Leona left to carry out her mission.

[Word Count: 480] [Total Word Count: 480/500]

-On the outskirts of Beanstalk Village-

Leona asked around for the location of the plants and was eagerly given the information by villagers... in fact, a man had guided her to their exact location before leaving her to do her work. They had suggested getting something to cover her fingertips because the Argent Gloves did not fully cover them and the plants had harmed the hapless villagers by contact. Leona went to a local crafts store and bought some thick cloth to make improvised coverings out of. She then cut the cloth into strips long enough to cover her fingertips and tied them on. The final rectangular strip was left alone and made into a face covering in case they were poisonous like the weeds from Silent Glaciers.

Now ready for anything, Leona walked into the forest and soon found the first plant at the base of a tree. It was a small purple plant with a single leaf. She knelt on both knees and drew her knife. A single cut at the roots was enough to remove it. Into the jar it went.

A short distance away at the base of another tree was another small plant. A quick cut later and Leona had removed another plant. Two out of seven were removed. It also went into the jar. Just as she was getting up she spotted yet another single-leaf plant at the base of the tree just to her left.

She crawled over and removed it as well. It was dropped into the jar with the first two. She stood upright and looked around for the other four. Another one was found, this time next to a patch of mushrooms with red caps and white spots dotting their surfaces. Unlike the first three, it was as big as Leona's hand and had two leaves. She approached the plant, took a knee, and went to work.

Its roots were slightly more resilient than those of the first plants. It took two cuts to uproot, but it was uprooted. Leona took her second jar and lowered it inside. She turned her head to the right and spotted the last three plants arranged in a crude triangle. She was doubtful that plants naturally grew like that, but she did not question it. It meant that there would be no intensive search for the last three plants.

Leona walked over to them, took a knee, and began working on the other two-leaf plant. The modest resistance it put up was soon overcome and it went into the sample jar. Next came the last two plants. They were larger than the first two varieties and sported three leaves. She could not stop now... she only had two more plants to go.

Leona crawled over to the plant on the right and began cutting. Its roots were much thicker than those of the first two varieties. It took three cuts to sever the roots. It was a good thing that her knife was so sharp. There was one last plant, but the blonde was feeling a bit disoriented. The cause was most likely the plant she had just harvested.

She shook it off and started on the last of the purple plants. Her vision blurred just as she was about to cut the roots. Leona waited until the blurriness passed, then started again. A few seconds later and all seven plants had been removed and put into the jars. It was time to return to the herbalist.

-Inside the herbalist's shop-

"You're back, my dear. Did you get them all?" The old woman eagerly inquired.

"Yes. All seven are in the jars. You can count them for yourself." Leona stated before producing both jars. The old woman moved with almost youthful speed and took them out of Leona's hands. She put on a pair of disposable gloves and opened the jars. She then set the samples out on a specially prepared cloth. When all seven samples were accounted for, she put them back in the glass containers.

"Yes, that's all of them. All seven. I'm sorry that you couldn't get a sample for your guild. Until I know what we're dealing with, it's just too risky." She apologized to Leona. Leona took it in stride. She would just have to find another way to do something for Silver Wolf.

"Now, I promised you a reward. Here you go!" She said, handing Leona a bag of Jewels. Leona put them in her shorts pocket. The old woman began removing the cloth coverings from Leona's fingers.

"I don't think the plants are poisonous, but I'd get rid of the coverings. I'll handle that." She said as she put them into a cloth bag. Leona handed over the face covering as well.

"One last thing... did you feel different in any way when you were around the plants?" She asked.

"Yes. My vision went blurry when I got around the three-leaf plants." Leona answered truthfully.

"I suggest you go by the hospital just for a checkup. Tell them I sent you after you disposed of those plants. That should put you on the fast track to a checkup. You should be in and out in no time!" The old woman instructed while donning a protective mask.

"OK, I'm on my way now." Leona stated.

"Later, dear! I'll keep you informed of my findings!" The old woman bade her goodbye before starting to work.

Leona gently closed the shop door. She then kept her word and went to the hospital. When Leona mentioned why she was there, she was immediately ushered into a doctor's room. Several hours later, she was deemed healthy enough to leave. All she needed to do was avoid going around the plants without a mask.

After being released, Leona started the long trip home.

[Word Count: 970] [Total Word Count: 1,450/500]