The bog was its usual odorous self as Tempest and Basalt walked among the dead and bare trees. She couldn’t help looking up at their skeletal branches, they reached for the sky as if for help. Was help here? Or was it too late? Tempest wasn’t entirely sure and she wasn’t overly fond of the bog either. She only came here because she knew it needed as much healing as anywhere else in Vykeli. Today she was more on a mission to find something different to eat and not so much to heal, she’d still do something before leaving.
Together they leaped or stepped over noxious muddy water as they moved from mucky isle to mucky isle. The soft, boggy mud squelched between her toes as she took a step. Tempest had developed a tight lipped expression as she resisted cringing. Basalt wasn’t above making faces and sounds of disgust. Him and Claystone never really wandered very far into the bog as it was so disgusting. Bubbles rose to the surface of the water, if one could call it that, and popped letting out belches of sulfuric smelling air.
“Did we really need to go wandering around in here again? Couldn’t we have gone somewhere else?” Basalt whined as he bounded to a new isle of muck.
Tempest lowered her head as she ducked under a branch. “You could have stayed behind. But yes, I want to find something different yet edible to eat. I heard there are some intriguing mushrooms out here but safe to eat.”
“Next time ask a fungal noul to get them or maybe just see if someone else has them.”
“Not sure I have the right items to trade for something this hard or tedious to get,” Tempest retorted. “Besides, I can get in a bit of healing as well. The sooner the bog is healed, the sooner it will be more pleasant to travel through.”
“Humph,” Basalt muttered, “IF it its still pleasant. It could still be gross here….”
Tempest rolled her eyes skyward. The trees had grow more dense in here and they found a rather large isle. She hadn’t been so deep into the blackbriar bog before and so this was new. Some things actually grew here despite the atmosphere, but with so many coming to heal the bog, it was becoming less oppressive. Carefully she continued to move between the dense grove of deadwood, taking notice of some odd plants growing up around them.
“I wonder if these plants are edible,” she remarked aloud.
Basalt caught up to her and hopped up to a plant. He inspected the leaves with his nose and keen eye sight. “Doesn’t seem like something dangerous but we can’t be too sure. Wanna bring one back to Homewood?” he looked up at Tempest.
“Yes, let’s take one back and see if a botanic could tell us something.”
“Specterdust?” Basalt asked as he carefully separated a leaf from the rest of the plant.
Tempest shook her head and smiled wryly, “Specter isn’t fond of plants or even learning about them. She only keeps the basics for her first aid kit and even then she gets them from another.”
Basalt hopped up onto Tempest’s back and carefully stashed the leaf in her satchel. “She really should consider using her gift more.”
Tempest tilted her head and looked back towards Basalt, “It is rather odd. The Grandfather tree is truly a mysterious thing for that to happen. Most botanics I’ve met are so introverted and keep to themselves. Specter really is the outgoing happy go lucky noul.”
“She isn’t nearly as hyper as you are though,” Basalt snickered.
“Hey!” Tempest squeaked as Basalt hopped off her back. He simply gave her a clownish grin.
Tempest proceed deeper into the island of deadwood and bizarre plant life. It took them some moments til they spotted odd mushrooms growing up the sides of several trees. “Oh look at them all!” Tempest practically whispered in awe. “We should pick a few to take back with us for sure.” Carefully she approached and gripped one in her mouth, she pulled it free of the tree and placed it in her satchel. With help from Basalt, they picked a few more and added them to the leaf and mushroom already in her bag. This will make for a delicious meal once they got back home, well, back to her parents. Tempest didn’t exactly have a home, she went where ever and slept where ever.
Basalt closed up the satchel and then decided to stay on her back this time. “I’m tired of getting my paws so dirty and caked in mud.”
“Speak for yourself. You may get to keep your feet out of the muck but I still need to walk though it.”
They made their way back out of the dense tree grove and into a spot that was more open to the sky. With a smug expression aimed at an oblivious Basalt, Tempest called forth her magic. It was time to call forth some clean water to rain down on this place. Definitely more than just the drizzles she started out with. Clouds rumbled over head and Basalt’s ears perked up, “Tempest…..” he said in dismay as the clouds opened up and dropped their burden. Tempest trotted along happily as the rain fell around them and Basalt began to look like a wet dire rat on her back.
“That’s what you get for complaining about having to walk in the muck!” Tempest shouted in a sing songy voice.
Basalt simply grumbled quietly so she couldn’t hear him. It would take him forever to dry at this rate. Although he was unhappy about the situation, he was also proud at how strong the doe had become in the short time he had known her. She was still rather young but persistent and always on the move. It was never a dull moment that was for sure.
Soon the rain stopped or maybe it was because Tempest was moving at a faster pace back the way they had come. She knew where to step as she followed their foot steps back. The rain could still be falling but they had moved beyond its boundaries. The air smelled cleaning and less oppressive and thick. It didn’t seem long now before the nouls got this place cleaned up but it was all still a work in progress. Tempest’s thoughts were distracted but her stomach growling and she grinned sheepishly at Basalt. “Sorry about that, I’m must be hungry now. Maybe we should snack on a mushroom or two now?”
Basalt pulled one out and handed it to her. Using magic and carrying him was work and she had earned it. Tempest lets out a delighted sound, “These mushrooms taste so good!”
“Don’t talk with your mouthful,” Basalt retorted with a wry smile. Soon they would be home and able to work the mushrooms into a full meal between the two of them.
WC: 1,166
