[Job] Bushwhack (Lily Ambrosia)

Job Details:

Basin had become a lot better at moving without disturbing its surroundings. While heavy the earth guardian was still a part of nature, and as such with just a little training it already managed to walk around without causing the ground to shudder with each step.

This was important because it meant Basin could walk into villages without sending people into a panic or causing things to fall over. The panicking still happened but a lot less than before: people paid attention to little signs whether they noticed it on a conscious level or not.

As such Lily didn't foresee any problems occurring during this latest journey to Beanstalk Village. The herbalist who they'd helped procure a sample (or seven) from the unusual (and unnatural) weeds had contacted them with the news that she'd figured something out but wasn't sure how to proceed without the input from the dryad and the earth guardian. Given that she herself hadn't been able to make heads or tails from the strange plant Lily couldn't blame the herbalist, although she wasn't sure whether her input would be much help. With some luck she'd get some insight from whatever information the herbalist had obtained.

Walking through the fields that surrounded the village Basin focused on progression while the dryad was inspecting their surroundings. They'd gotten rid of all the weeds last time but with such a plant there was no telling whether it might come back. Especially given the fact that it had the trait of spreading far.

"Ignore him for now." She said this silently to Basin, the earth guardian showings its agreement in its usual vague way. The 'him' was the figure who'd been stalking them for a while now, doing a pretty good at staying hidden but failing at erasing the fact that his footsteps put a weight upon the ground. For Lily and Basin anything which touched the ground was not hidden. They didn't know why the man was following them but it was clear that he didn't want them to know.

Lily tapped Basin's moss-covered shoulder as she noticed that the weeds had returned. Her friend came to a halt as the dryad focused her powers, reaching through the earth to push the weeds out of the ground. Covering them in a layer of dirt she brought them over to where Basin could pick them up. They'd have to ask the villagers if these weeds had been spotted earlier or if they were a new occurrence.

While Lily kept an eye out for both their shadow and the weeds once they'd found the first bunch of purple plants the rest of the road passed by without incident. Soon Basin was lumbering through the village, although before they could reach the herbalist's hut the woman came out to meet the two of them.

"I'm glad you came. I did some tests and... Well, it's really worrying."

"What did you find?"

The herbalist shook her head and motioned for them to follow. "I'd rather not talk about it where people might eavesdrop. People are already on edge." She looked at Basin. "Although your friend won't fit in the house."

Lily looked down at Basin, then smiled and patted its shoulder again. "That's all right, Basin can stay outside and make sure nobody overhears. Right Basin?" There were unspoken words between her and the earth guardian, as the both of them knew of the presence of at least one figure who might want to listen in...

The herbalist hurried back towards her home with Lily and Basin in tow. Once there she went inside with Lily following her while Basin took up a position in front of the door. While the door could still be opened and closed people would have a hard time moving around the guardian's stony bulk.

Inside the herbalist turned back around towards Lily. "Okay, listen. You remember when I said that the wounds people get from touching it aren't poisoned?" The dryad nodded. "It turns out the plant does... something. I'm not a mage so I can't explain it well, but it appears that it breaks down anything it touches even if it's a slow process." Lily blinked at that, opening her mouth but the herbalist hurried on. "I know, it sounds crazy, but it's true. I'm guessing it's a magical plant of some sorts. But it's very harmful since it destroys its surroundings."

The dryad nodded, letting the herbalist continue speaking. She'd ask her questions afterwards. "Also it spreads through its roots. It's very small above ground but underground it grows long roots which then resurface and turn into more plants. Did you get the roots last time?" "Yes, we pushed them out root and all. But when we came here today we already saw some new weeds." The herbalist sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm guessing you could do something about it if you stuck around but people around here don't have the means to track what goes on underground. We can try to keep removing them but since they spread through underground networks they'll keep coming back."

The green-haired girl nodded, a frown on her face as she considered this. It reminded her of what she sensed every time she dealt with the plants... they felt strange. She couldn't sense them quite the same way that she could sense other plants. She opened her mouth to mention that but at that point there was an angry yell outside and the sound of creaking wood.

"What was-?" "There was someone following us on the way here. Basin stayed out to capture him." Lily quickly explained as she was already heading towards the door. After taking a second to regain her composure the herbalist followed.

Outside there was a cloaked figure tightly wrapped in roots. From the looks of it he'd known that Basin was more than just a statue, but hadn't realized that the guardian could pull tricks like making roots erupt from the ground. The stalker had been trying to eavesdrop from the back of the hut but was now futilely struggling against the wooden tendrils that had tightly wrapped around him.

"You look like you know something about what is going on here." Lily stated as she stood in front of the trapped man, reaching up with one hand to push back the hood that had been obscuring his face. He didn't look very unusual... aside from the fact that he looked really angry.

"Do you know who he is?" "Not at all, sorry. But now that we've got him we can start asking some questions." Lily really hoped they'd also be getting answers. These plants gave her a bad feeling and the sooner they got a good lead on what was going on the better.

Basin moved to stand next to Lily, then reached out and pointed towards the man's pockets. They had been spared the roots, mostly because his arms were very, very stuck and having his pockets free wouldn't help him. The dryad stepped closer and began to dig through the man's pockets, eventually upending them. Picking up the sole two items the man had on him she frowned, as much in confusion as in worry. A used match and a coin of strange design... "Have you ever seen this coin before?" The herbalist looked over Lily's shoulder, then shook her head. "No, sorry. Could I trouble you to bring him to the rune knights? They're probably the best choice for finding out what he knows, and maybe they can also tell you more about the coin." Lily nodded and the herbalist gave a sigh of relief before handing the dryad a bag of bog standard currency. "Thank you. I'll be busy studying the plants further and asking a colleague for help. Unlike myself he's also got magic in his veins so hopefully he'll have more luck figuring out what this magic plant is about."

Accepting the payment Lily smiled and nodded again. "I hope so too. By the way, my name is Lily. Lily Ambrosia. And this is Basin." The earth guardian raised its hand in greeting. The herbalist looked at the two of them before smiling in return. "My name's Delilah. Good luck Lily and Basin."

Returning the sentiment Lily climbed back upon Basin's back. The earth guardian molded some stones to act as more sturdy restraints for the man, then picked him up and carried him with them as the two of them left the village.

WC: 1,421
TWC: 1,421/500 (Completed)