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 Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:29 pm
~Kingdom: Makai; Location: The Thornwood~  This shafts of sunlight poked through the thick canopy of the Thornwood as Castalia made her way through the thicket, carefully picking her way so as not to harm any potentially valuable herbs. Unlike most of her trips, she moved with purpose; making a beeline through the trees to her destination instead of her usual fiddling around. She'd forgotten one of the ingredients on her list the day before, but as she had gotten back late last night her grandmother had forced her to stay home until morning. She already knew exactly where to get it, and she also knew that, alone, she'd probably have to be quick... For her caretaker's peace of mind, if nothing else. She made it to the edges of Agnhim Swamp in good time and found the billbergia plants almost immediately. Climbing up one of the trees the plants leeched off, she twisted off a few of the red, fist-sized flower-pod-things and put them in her pack before starting back to Woodfall. Who knew, maybe she'd be back in time for lunch... Wouldn't that give her dear old gran a shock. Giggling at the thought, she continued trekking as she listened to the birdsong.
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 2:43 am
The pounding of feet could be heard as a young woman made her way to the edge of the Thornwood forest. Asteria had just finished visiting Poena Privusl and was about to embark on a quest. She felt alive just thinking about it. Normally she was a very reclusive girl, but when it came down to acquiring new plants, Asteria felt more daring and brave.
Asteria had previously been in Poena Privus, preparing for her adventure. She had spent a whole week reading the few tomes there were concerning the Agnhim Swamp. Alas the only thing that aided her in any way was a brief mention of a rare and wondrous plant that could supposedly cure all kinds of poisons. Asteria had tried to look for more, but found no more aside from a shady witness account of it bearing a single purple flower. However, that was enough to prompt Asteria to go in search of it. After all, how many purple flowers could there be in the Agnhim Swamp?
Asteria finally arrived at the Thornwood forest and stopped to make sure that she had everything she needed. Once everything was in order, Asteria started to climb the nearest tree so as to travel between the dense canopy. As she climbed, Asteria smiled in anticipation. Would she run in to anybody? Would she find the plant? Or would she run into danger?
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Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 12:51 pm
Castalia stopped for a moment and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she listened to the sounds of all the life around her. It was such a lovely day- it couldn't hurt to stay out in the woods a little longer... And it wasn't as if she was really expected to be back until much later. She did have a tendency- no, more like a habit- of losing track of the time; and it wasn't as if she had much to do at the shop. Might as well enjoy the day and stop to smell the flowers, since very not-humid weather like this usually meant it would rain all next week.
Opening her eyes, she looked around and blinked in confusion- she must have been going the wrong way; she must have been near the edge of the wood! Castalia sighed, it looked like she didn't really have much of a choice to stay out or not in the first place. That was alright, though; she'd packed a lunch like always, just in case... Even though 'just in case' was actually the usual.
She wandered around a bit more as she became more aware of her hunger, looking around for a good place to stop and eat. There- a nice big tree, the base curiously free of undergrowth and large knobs of root penetrating the surface. Taking her pack off her back, she chose one of the larger roots as a bench and began to rummage around in her bag.
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Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 3:15 pm
Asteria was making good time by running through the tree tops, however, she was getting slightly hungry and thirsty. She stopped for a bit and decided that resting for a bit would be good. Asteria looked down and realized that it was a bit too high to jump down...climbing down and then jumping would be better. Sure enough, she started climbing down the tree and jumped once she climbed down half-way. She landed well enough and looked around....and that's when she realized that she wasn't alone.
There was a girl sitting at the base of the tree. She had pretty blue hair and eyes. It seemed she was younger than Asteria and It looked like she was about to eat something. Asteria nervously looked around and fiddled with her fingers. Maybe the girl was hungry Witch-Eater......or maybe she knew something about the plant she was looking for. She did look like she was a local of Woodfall. Maybe Asteria had seen her around when she was younger but as of right now, she couldn't really remember if that was the case. Maybe if she had a name for the face she would remember.
"Hello? Do you live in Woodfall? Ummm my name is Asteria, Asteria Rangecroft. What's yours? " Asteria fiddled with her fingers; with any luck this girl would be friendly and NOT want to eat her. "Do you know anything about any purple flowers in the Swamp here?" Asteria crossed her fingers in hope the stranger would be able to help her.
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Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 7:01 pm
Castalia had finally located the packaged lunch and had pulled it out onto her lap, when a sudden voice from above startled her. With a yelp, she jumped a little; though luckily not so much as to disturb her soon-to-be-meal. She quickly recovered, and took a deep breath before looking up at the green-eyed woman in the tree above her.
"Oh, hello! I'm Castalia. Yes I do; and, um, is this your tree, Asteria?" Castalia asked, genuinely curious. She had heard tales in Woodfall about nymphs who lived in the trees, though she'd never seen one herself in all her time traipsing about the depths of the Thornwood. Much more likely that she was just a fellow resident of Woodfall, or maybe even a traveler, but it couldn't hurt to ask... She was always one to look for a good adventure, after all; especially since rumors of returning Riftborn had been circulating. And yet it seemed that she was one who was always looking, but rarely finding...
However, she immediately brightened at the mention of the Swamp. "Purple flowers in the Swamp...?" There were plenty of purple flowers out there, though, so she'd need a bit more than that. "No one really goes out to the Swamp," she left out the 'and comes back in one piece' bit, "but I'm sure I can help you. Mind telling me a bit more about what you're looking for, though? Size, specific shade?"
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Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 8:19 pm
Asteria heard the girl yelp and felt slightly bad for startling her. She caught her name; it was Castalia, it had a nice ring to it. "Umm I'm sorry for startling you Castalia..."
Asteria looked at Castalia and tried to think if she might have seen her before; alas her brain came up empty. She perked up at the Castalia's question about the tree. "Uh no, this isn't my tree. My trees are back home in Clarus Arbor." Asteria found it to be an odd question, but found it to be slightly amusing as well. Asteria relaxed a bit as it seemed that Castalia meant her no harm; it also seemed that she was indeed a local of Woodfall.
Asteria's eyebrow went up at the mention of no one venturing into the Swamp; it seemed that the old legends were still keeping people from going in. Asteria hoped that the legends were just that: legends. Still, if there was even a slim chance of her obtaining her plant, she would venture forth regardless of the danger. Castalia seemed to brighten up at the mention of the Swamp; maybe she was interested in going there as well.
Asteria snapped out of her thoughts when Castalia asked her for details. "Well, the legends say that it can cure almost any poison there is. Umm the plant in question is said to only be able to produce a single purple bloom. As for the shade, the only person to have seen it says that it was a dark purple of sorts. Do you know where in the Swamp it may be?"
Asteria felt a lot more relaxed now. Maybe it was because this girl could help or maybe she was getting slightly more comfortable around Castalia. In any case, Asteria was glad that she had higher chance in finding this plant.
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