Heart of Kyniteros IC

[Yasahiro]

She looked at the shifting wall of flesh in front of her. It was constantly changing, limbs and faces growing upon it before being replaced, pushed into the being as more grown over them. She looked to the sides, hoping to find an end of this being, yet it seemed to stretch into infinity. Its many eyes were staring at her, its limbs seeming to gesture as each of its mouth spoke in a different dialect, different voice, creating a cacophony that was impossible to understand. It slowly reached out towards her, its twisted appendages reaching towards her, grasping her body, shaking it around like a doll. She closed her eyes, hoping to not see what they wanted to do. One of its voices was becoming more clear as it said her name.

"Minerva... Minerva..."

Minerva opened her eyes. Her eyes, filled with fear, were drawn towards who or what was shaking her. She saw a regular human hand, attached to a young human male.

'Caleb' was the name that sprung to mind as his mouth opened, his voice allowing her to realize it was him who she could hear.

"Garen told me to wake you up, we have nearly arrived."

He licked his cracked lips, hoping to bring some moisture into them, before continuing "And no matter how loud I called your name, you slept through it."

She remembered her current situation. She was travelling as part of a caravan, acting as the go-to healer of this group in order to receive transport for no charge at all. Due to the quality of the offered service, she was even going to be paid for as a bonus upon reaching their destination. This young man, Caleb, was one of her patients during this trip, being on the wrong side of a spooked horse ended with him being struck in the chest, breaking his ribs and puncturing his organs. If it wasn't for Minerva, he would have died, and yet here he was, as healthy as the horse who kicked him.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva shakes her head, "sorry Caleb, just... just a nightmare," she says rather quietly, but noted the cracked lips. As she got up, she handed Caleb a small jar, "a balm for your lips," she says. Minerva herself was still dressed, she always was, but she had to adjust the cloth wrap she wore around her head, leaving her eyes and some of her hair as really the only thing visible.

Taking a short moment, Minerva mentally focuses herself before leaving the caravan's cart, it was a morning ritual she did every day, the caravaners were used to it by now, same with her keeping covered, "Did Garen need me for anything?" she asks Caleb after a moment.

[Yasahiro]

Caleb just shook his head. "Not really. He just wanted to make sure you are awake when we are entering the village."

He smiled and thanked you for the lip balm, taking that small jar. With a nod of his head, he left the wagon with the flap remaining open, as to let in some sunlight. To thank you for your help, you didn't have to do much and they even had no problem with letting you sleep in within the wagons with a roof. In their minds, you deserved it. Although quite a bit of space was occupied by their belongings, you had some space to yourself. It was probably the family's gratitude for saving Caleb's life.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva walked along with the caravan once Caleb had left. They'd almost arrived. It left her apprehensive and excited at the same time. She could make a living on her craft, skilled as she was with medicine and surgery, she could make a living just about anywhere. But she felt a need to travel, she couldn't settle anywhere for long as she was. She didn't know where she was even trying to go, but her mother had often quoted that it was the journey, not the destination, that mattered. And that's what had Minerva here now.

[Yasahiro]

As you walked with the caravan, you caught up to Garen at the lead.

"Excited?" He asked, a grin showing up on his mature unshaven face. He was a human male in his forties. He was stern, and yet fair and trustworthy. After saving Caleb he almost started treating you like part of the family, much to your embarassment.

[EdroGrimshell]

"A little," Minerva answered softly, "...has Caleb shown any strain since the incident? I want to make sure I did well enough for it not to creep up again in the future," she asks Garen.

[Yasahiro]

Garen shook his head, a smile gracing his lips. "No, he seems to be in perfect shape. Thanks to you."

You continued moving forward, and as you looked around, you noticed something odd. The bark of the trees started getting darker, reaching into shades of grey and black. The leaves, in comparison, held the lighter shades of grey and sometimes being almost completely white, with grey veins.

Garen chuckled at the expression on your face. "Surprised? Nobody knows exactly what is causing the trees to be this way, but their wood is particularly strong and healthy. It might look a bit odd, but it is part of the village's charm." As he finished saying that, you and others finally got over the hill and before your eyes, you could see a small village. The architecture was simple, but each building seemed to be made of the wood from trees you have seen on the way, as this village was essentially surrounded by them. There were some of them in typical colors, but they were a minority.

"Welcome to the Canunbra village. An odd place with hardy people. They have to be, to deal with what tends to happen around here." Garen exclaimed. As you continued walking, he pointed out how there was not much, but it was a good place to stop, at least for a bit. He went to park the wagons with others, telling you about where to find a nearby inn. There were also few actual shops here, with most of the trade happening in a bazaar.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva wonders what kind of things he meant, but decides to let it be and goes to wander for a time, looking around the small town, and especially the bazaar, she'd heard of them, a desert tradition if she remembered right. There was nothing like it back home.

[Yasahiro]

People were mostly going about their business, but some were courteous enough to at least give a polite nod towards you when they saw you.

The bazaar was, quite suprisingly, a nice place, with proper stores in buildings at the outskirts of it. While there were some people advertising their wares quite loudly, most of them just sat or stood calmly, watching and waiting for anyone that might be interested, as if they knew that most people in this town knew already what they were offering and due to this not being an often visited little village there was no need to yell.

And yet, there was such large variety. Vegetables, Fruit, spices and herbs, even syrups of some type, various little gifts or wooden objects ranging in color from gray to the pitch black. While anything that resembled metal was a rarity, there was what seemed like amber, yet its colors seemed to be on the other side of spectrum, ranging from blue into cyan, even reaching green. This town had a bizarre colors, making for an exotic sight.

[EdroGrimshell]

Interested as she was in medicine, herbs, fruits, and other plants drew Minerva's attention far more than the gems or the odd metal item amongst the bazaar. She tried to identify as many of them as possible, along with their varied medicinal uses, to see if there were any she was truly interested in. Most of her poultices and remedies cost only a few silvers, but took barely a dozen coppers to make in small batches, the one she'd given to Caleb was a simple mix of aloe, mint, and soft beeswax, roughly eight coppers in ingredients, but could sell for a full silver. She made most of her money off of such small profits.

Another thing, however, was the wood. She was curious about it and its properties, black woods were an oddity, and she was interested in the oddity of it. She'd have to ask about it later.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Knowledge (Nature): (1d20+8)[27]
Knowledge (Nature): (1d20+8)[17]
Knowledge (Nature): (1d20+8)[19]
Knowledge (Nature): (1d20+8)[18]
Knowledge (Nature): (1d20+8)[23]

Heal: (1d20+11)[18]
Heal: (1d20+11)[13]
Heal: (1d20+11)[13]
Heal: (1d20+11)[17]
Heal: (1d20+11)[19]

Five of each just for the fun of it, use whichever one you want or none of them, it's mostly to see what ones (out of many) she can identify and name the uses of. It'll be mostly a fluff thing that'll determine if she stays around for a while or not to learn about the medicinal uses of the various herbs there.

[Yasahiro]

As far as you could see, it seemed like a lot of medicinal herbs that you are used to simply adapted the odd color, although you could not identify any additional properties to them at the moment. However, it seemed they might still retain their original effects. Even if you did not decide to use these, there was still some of the somewhat normal colored plants, although they were harder to find around here.

However, you were incapable to determine properties of the wood-related products and materials. There was one thing that you were sure about, though. These colors were not natural, as such white color of leaves would suggest that they completely reflect all light, which is what causes them to be perceived as white. That would mean that the leaves are not using photosynthesis. That meant they would need some other source of food and as far as you observed, they did not seem to be like carnivorous plants.

That only left the option that magic was the cause. Yet, among many magical plants that you were aware of, these trees did not appear in any texts or books you have read or learned about. However, you could not identify their properties without experimentation, especially with any syrups or elixirs as, due to their nature as mixtures of sort, identifying all ingredients or effects of such on first glance was nigh impossible. Or you could ask locals for what they know about these. After all, they lived here.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

You can easily find many medical herbs or ingredients on this bazaar, in both regular, although limited, variety and the odd coloured one, which is more common.

[EdroGrimshell]

Interesting.

Minerva goes to some of the vendors more closely, and starts to ask a few questions about the herbs, woods, and other plants for their properties, showing genuine curiosity.

Spoiler: OOC

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Would this be Gather Information?