Dawnfall Wk3

http://www.johnmsteele.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Talislanta/Tour/Southern/DarkCoast/Danger474.jpg

You awakened, still sore, and a bit stiff but somehow whole and in the trees, your body wrapped up in a practical cocoon of green as you groaned in remembered agony. Somehow you could feel the days which had slipped by you, as you curled into a ball and healed as much as you could.

The vegetation near you was bent in your direction and the leaves were all an unhealthy brown, the pockmarks of your feeding roots punched liberally everywhere, it seemed like you were concealing yourself with your power and feeding on the trees.

“You up? I thought ya was gonna kick it for a while there and stink up the place.” The Chameleon spoke, uncloaking with a single eye pointed towards you. “I can’t even eat ya if ya did… I even took a nibble just to make sure, but man you taste like shit. Hauling yer ass up here took effort ya know.”

“You pulled me up?” You asked, remembering falling towards the ground.

“Well yeah, what else was I supposed ta do? Leave ya down there? I’d be up ta ma neck in Quick-thieves and Terror-Claws. And even Arbor-Wolves. Nay better you actually survive and ya know not make me have to go find a new killin spot…” Suddenly his eye snapped back away from you, towards the ground, as his head swung away from you. “… Speaking of which! Breakfast!”

You never even saw his tongue as it flew from his mouth, only the huge fleshy line which it made as it connected with something down on the ground, then a moment later came snapping right back into his waiting claws and jaws. With a quick bite with those sharp fangs he bit down and then there was a quick crunching sound as he ripped into its armour and crushed the creature’s spine.

It was, now that he had it no longer struggling in his claws, one of those creatures which you’d eaten the other week, a bit bigger and stronger but similar enough to get your roots flowing out from their sheaths.

Briefly your savoir glanced back towards you.

“Huh, oh your hungry ah?”

“Uh… yeah… can I just… have a taste?” You beg... not really trusting yourself to go hunting for such a snack for yourself just yet.

“Why the hell would I share my food with ya kid? Yer only up here cuz it woulda been way too much trouble to leave you down there.” The barbed edge of his tongue lapped out, clearing the blood from his teeth and lips.

“Ah… um… It’ll help me leave faster?” You hazard to guess. Then with a slight shake of your petals you added. “And I’ll just drink it. Only the blood and fluids?”

It took him a few moments, long enough that you weren’t exactly sure that he was going to reply. “… I guess that can’t hurt. Blood smells up the place either way, if I ain’t too careful with it.”

You can hardly contain your delight as you scrabble across towards him, almost subconsciously bending the vegetation your way to make your movements easier, then settled your hands upon the dead beast. Your roots snaked out, piercing the carcass and draining its liquid measure.

You felt GOOD, the taste the sensation… divine.

“Thank you thank you thank you!” You thanked him. Apparently thought no one rolls eyes quite like a Chameleon.

“That was kinda useful.” He spoke as he bit into his now dried prize. “Hmm… a bit tougher now, but that’s a nice flavor. Ya know, that wasn’t so bad kid… oh hey it isn’t smelling as much either. Ya know kid, if you were to make yourself useful I wouldn’t actually mind you hanging around.”

You couldn’t help but beam a little at that, though you shook your head negative.

“Ah… no. I’ve been a bother for too long already.” You spoke softly as you rejected the offer. "I want to follow the sun..."

You weren't expecting the laugh that came.

"Trust a flower." He barked out with a grin. "Well, fair warning, west is where alot of yer type end up. Boatloads of flower minions and the like... but it's also thickest with the kinds of things that don't mind a bit of poison in their diets."

You nod appreciatively.





[08:22] <@Xale> roll 1d100+1 Wander over yander
[08:22] <+qqbot> Xale rolled 1d100: 83 = [87] + 1 - 5
[08:27] <@Xale> roll 1d100+1 Flower picking
[08:27] <+qqbot> Xale rolled 1d100: 79 = [78] + 1
[08:28] <@Xale> Choose Healz, Painkiller, Attractive, Esoteric
[08:28] <+qqbot> Xale selects: Attractive
[08:28] <@Xale> Roll 1d10 quantity
[08:28] <+qqbot> Xale rolled 1d10: 2 = [2]
[08:28] <@Xale> Choose Healz, Painkiller, Attractive, Esoteric
[08:28] <+qqbot> Xale selects: Painkiller
[08:28] <@Xale> Roll 1d10 quantity
[08:28] <+qqbot> Xale rolled 1d10: 5 = [5]
[12:57] <@Xi|Wrk> roll 1d20 Mix 'Alcohol'
[12:57] <+qqbot> Xi|Wrk rolled 1d20: 17 = [17]
[12:57] <@Xi|Wrk> Roll 1d3 Batch total
[12:57] <+qqbot> Xi|Wrk rolled 1d3: 1 = [1]
[12:58] <@Xi|Wrk> Roll 1d100 Stats
[12:58] <+qqbot> Xi|Wrk rolled 1d100: 24 = [24]
[12:59] <@Xi|Wrk> Roll 1d7 Mix
[12:59] <+qqbot> Xi|Wrk rolled 1d7: 4 = [4]


You'd stay for a while, a few hours more at least before saying your farewells and moving on as you basked in the morning light before picking up and following the path of the sun across the sky. It would prove slow going initially as you made your way across the trees, the voices of a thousand different beasts echoing in your ears as you made your way though.

On occasion you’d dip down to the ground, looking about for new and interesting plants to taste, your newly advanced skill at manipulating the plant life around you aiding your movements to strong degree.

At least one of the plants which you’d managed to eye and then sample would prove to be a strong paralytic agent, growing in a small cluster which made gathering a fair amount of it pretty easy. Something inside you pointed out that it could be used to make salves for pain relief and strong toxins which would either incapacitate or, with a high enough concentration, kill those to whom it was applied.

Another, though much smaller sample just seemed to attract your attention no matter what you did, drawing senses towards them, almost literally enchanting in the way they made you focus. You didn’t really find much more than that as you clambered though the lower canopy and occasionally touched the ground, only that sugar-vine and the sweet sap tree seemed to be something you could find pretty much everywhere you went.

At least these would prove useful once you decided to try out your Mixing skill while on the move.

You managed to completely mess up several times as you got the hang of it, instinct telling you that you needed to make a proper container to hold the liquid results of your experimentations. The sweet juice and sap as it turned out would be a pretty good contender for sharpening your Mixing skills, the tiny spark of magic which your ability provided nudging them into forming a new substance from their combination.

In a cupped leaf, shaped and held together with your power until nothing would leak out, you had your first successful batch of ‘Crude Sweet Moonshine’ the first ‘success’ project which your power pinged you to. Something about your power seemed to show you just what was safely consumable, this thing you’d made it seemed was just that. Thus you decided to try it out.

A few minutes later you were spluttering wildly, wondering what the hell your power was trying to do to you...

Ugg…

Either way you held on to the two other batches of the stuff, using more of the folded leaves to carry your creations as well as to wrap up the extra ingredients to carry at your leisure, hung about your neck with some sugar-vine.

Your journey west was not without some interesting land marks however.



http://img01.deviantart.net/4257/i/2010/276/4/c/strange_land_by_helmuttt-d3009bj.jpg



Amid the bustle and noise which you handily avoided, you managed to find a small clearing strange in the quiet which pervaded though it. Serene Brilliance seemed to emanate from the stones which sat there, carved with arcane runes, lightly glowing with a gentle beauty.

Not a shrine, the darkness within you whispered. Not dedicated to the light, nor defiled in the dark... this was something strange and old. And while you enjoyed lingering about within it's peaceful grip, you recognized that you needed to leave... Still somehow you couldn't help but feel better, your chest no longer heavy with the wound which had burdened it. You felt the power which had tingled within, mending and calming you, fade away.

Curling into the nearby trees you ended your week curled up in nearby branches enjoying the moonlight and tranquility.