day 2: The trek begins
The day was mostly over by the time I stumbled into the thick bramble that consumed the edges of the swampy area known by the locals as The Bahlm. The sweet scent of the local flora, Daatura, made its location known far sooner than the eyes laid upon it. The supple sweet scent of the plant flooded the senses in a way that brought me back to my childhood when my father would take me to the local confectionary shop, The Braided Baby on a Sunday morning, you know, when the candy is made fresh and the pungent aromas permeate the street…. ah nothing better than a Caramel Twist and a walk down the avenue. But this sweetness held something sinister within it, a numbing feeling that started at the tip of my nose and ran down through my body, subduing mild thoughts, numbing the senses just a bit. If I had not known that this was the work of the plant, I may have just laid down and succumbed to the aroma. But all scholars worth their salt know to never let their senses escape them. A concoction of Ruubrum, the bright crimson spice from the floating isles over Mindara, and baking soda does the trick. The burning of the Ruubrum, the same that is used by Dusters for their magnificent flame based techniques would snap me back to reality. Though usage should be regulated, as I could see a red tinge flow across my nose, one that would surely pass soon, but prolonged usage would tint my nose permanently if I wasn’t careful.
The Bahlm was a curious place. Half dead, half teeming with life. The Daatura plants which grew in magnificent abundance killed most of the other plants that dared grow too close. The mulch of those plants, ever enticing to new breeds, would soften the ground, which made for a difficult path. Wading through the knee deep earth was arduous, but luckily I had plenty of Zip, my crimson companion, to keep me going. A part way through, the fallen trees came to my aid, as the forest was so dense with the poor bastards that it made a neat little catwalk above the swamp, if only temporarily as the ground shifted even in the time that I was there. Most likely that path was gone by the time the sun went down.
The fauna was particularly interesting, much more so than back home on the Plains. It must be the concentration of Daatura that led to such mutations. Mammals with sprouts of small fungi that created crowns above their eyes. Birds that seemed to waft in an out of reality as they flew through the thick green fog, as though they were reflecting the area behind them. I came across a rather interesting snake like creature, that would wind itself up a tree and by the time it reached the first branch it had… melted for lack of a better word and dripped down to the ground, reconstituting itself and trying again. Poor creature.
I of course snagged a sample of the plant, for research purposes. Though the need to seal the toxic scent in one of my ampules was a bit unsettling. I hope it doesn’t break on my travels…
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