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AndrewCooperThe carriage to Ralda was bumpy, uncomfortable and with winter fast approaching, cold. This hadn’t been Ignocious’s first expedition away from Nyhem, but it had been his first journey into Ralda and the unpaved overgrown dirt roads had made his journey most unpleasant. It didn’t help than most of the inns along the way were still repairing from the damage that house Anjervine caused. Ignocious couldn’t believe that a kingdom this close to the center of Formaroth could be this poor. By the time he reached fishgrove he was hardly surprised to see that the kingdom's capital was still mostly a burning wreck of a settlement. To make matters worse, he had to abandon his lab to other alchemists. Who knew what they were doing with his golem or what research they might of been carrying out without his consent. It made Ignocious shudder to think about it. Had it not been for uncle assuring him that no experiments would be carried out until he returned he probably wouldn’t have left. However he needed to secure a deal with this Dyril in order for his research to be a success and he couldn’t rely on others to do it for him. Besides he wanted to examine the properties and magical potential of the mandrakes before he wasted money on them. At the very least Ignocious was grateful that both Cerlina and by extension Alasdair approved of his golem’s and saw sense to continue funding his research rather than having him arrested. His carriage drew to a halt as the man who was both his driver and bodyguard opened the door. In spite of himself, Ignocious actually quite liked the man; he only spoke when needed, was good at his profession and most importantly was quiet when Ignocious needed him to be. Ignocious didn’t even know his name and he didn’t intend to ask unless he needed to.
“According to the information supplied by the crown Dyril’s farmland should be located this way” The man said as he pointed across a frozen field “I hope you don’t mind walking, it might take a while”. Ignocious wrapped a warm cloak around him as he stepped out of the carriage. The cloak itself was a woman’s cloak and Ignocious often drew many strange stares as he walked through the streets of Nyhem wearing it. However for all Ignocious cared it kept it warm and that was what mattered to him.
“Let's get this over with” He mumbled.
Gerey frowned, feeling more workers collect around him. Their eyes rose the thatched room of the hut. A small, lithe figure darted in grace unnatural to any human. Her bare feet gripped the thatch material with practiced movements. In a short time, she found the main beam and began to balance across it. Snow plopped to the ground when she knocked it loose. A few works underneath scattered away from the path, avoiding the incoming piles.
Unable to take much more, his hands cupped about his mouth and he shouted to her.
"OI, GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE! I TOLD YOU, WE'LL FIX THE HOLE WHEN WE GET THE LADDERS! KISEO! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!?"
The man's patience dropped off when it was obvious she couldn't hear him or wasn't listening.
His ears caught the sounds of approaching steps and glanced into Ignocious' direction. The man frowned at the furred coat, but he shrugged off saying anything. Instead his attention returned to his employer's precarious situation.
"Alil, go tell the men to get some ladders and be quick about it. I'm going to see if a few of us can catch her if she falls."
The little girl stood there, gawking at the sight.
"Alil!" Gerey's face reddened when he snapped. It caused Alil to jump and nod. The little girl shot off toward the main village faster than anyone expected from her small size.
His attention turned to other men. A cocktail of horror, awe and stun silence mixed on their faces.
"Munda, Reder, and Andes, we should pace around the building. If she falls, she'll hit the thatched roof and roll off if we're lucky. Ames and Vyncent, you two go inside. If it collapses under her weight, we don't want her landing on the mandrakes. Go, now!"
All the men scattered to follow Gerey's orders.
Meanwhile, Kiseo continued her way to the hole where the smoke poured out. She crouched down just on the left side of it, still retaining her balance on the main roof beam. Her hands began to pull out thatch from the tied bundle at her side. then placed it onto the hole, shrinking its diameter. The billowing smoke began to lower as more became trapped within the hut.
As Ignocious approached the hut there seemed to be sort of a commotion.
“Having some trouble by chance” He said with a smile as he walked up to Gerey.
As Ignocious approached the hut there seemed to be sort of a commotion.
“Having some trouble by chance” He said with a smile as he walked up to Gerey.
Gerey shot Ignocious a frown as he began to move to the building's side.
"I would say yes. Our cat employer has decided to climb the roof and fix the chute herself. Now we got to hope she doesn't get killed because of it."
His voice was rough and irritated, brushing off the man for the moment.
"Gerey, she looks like she's about to jump down!" Yelled one of the men.
Gerey blinked and shouted back, "What?!?"
Before anyone could think, they heard something heavy land into the snow. Nearby people rushed over to see the damage including Gerey. Just next to the building, Kiseo stood crouched and appeared unhurt by her leap from that height.
Gerey's face began red as he pushed past the crowd, ushering them back to work with a sharp look. He addressed while his arm extended to help her up. Subtly his eyes wandered over her form, worry and anger dancing in his eyes over her risky choice.
"Kiseo, what in the world were you thinking? You could've gotten killed!"
"I've jumped off much higher before," She explained, little confused by his concern.
"That's not the point! Did you break anything?"
"No," she lifted her foot and wiggled her toes, foot and leg to show it all worked fine.
Gerey settled down, but his face still retained its red coloring.
"Next time, wait for the ladder men. You gave everyone a heart attack," he grumbled then turned to Ignocious.
"Also, I think we have a visitor. I'll take care of the mandrakes. I'm sure a few of them have mature and need moving into the house. You deal with him."
Kiseo tilted her head, her ears twitched and her eyes drifted to Ignocious' direction. She then nodded. Her feet moved and she began to make her way toward the man dressed in furs.
She made a little bow, "Hello, my name is Kiseo and the mistress of the house has been called away. If you would like, I can take a message and send word when she has returned."
Ignocious’s attention was soon entirely focused on the strange cat woman that had just jumped from the roof of the hut. He had read about the Mao before and always thought they sounded like fascinating creatures. But he had never seen one before and due to their rare occurrence outside of the imperium, never expected to see one. He stood closer to her examining her over with his eyes doing everything he could to keep himself from poking her.
“Extraordinary” He said as he continued to stare at Kiseo while still avoiding eye contact.
Kiseo's tail flicked in a slow, cautious fashion. It whipped from side to side showing her obvious discomfort at Ignocious' gawking. Her head tilted a bit and her attention shifted behind her. There was nothing unusual to provoke such reaction. Her hands fell to her front in a normal and submissive fashion.
"Sir?" She spoke again.
"Tell me are you native to shingseng or were you raised in Beliokias"? Ignocious asked seemingly ignoring or unaware of Kiseo’s discomfort. "And your formarothian is very good? I take it you've been here for a while".
"I was born in Beliokias as for my Formarothian, I have been here for a few months now. It was difficult at first, but I... what is the word? Puursisted? Peersisted, no..."
Gerey, overhearing her struggle, replied in the background.
"Try 'I kept at it'. It's easier than that silly word you're trying to pronounce."
She turned to his direction briefly, "Thank you Gerey."
"Aye, just add a tip to my pay."
Kiseo nodded. Her expression hinted at her not following through on the suggestion however. She returned to address Ignocious.
"Sir, I still need to know why you've arrived here."
"Right yes of course, as fascinating as you are I have arrived here to discuss business with you" Ignocious said, though he was no longer examining Kiseo he was still undeniably intrigued by her "I wish to examine your mandrake crop and if it meets the standards I am looking for, buy any fully developed mandrakes you have".
"Some fully grown mandrakes are being held back for future crops, but we have a few ready early. I am afraid to say our supporters have first selection, but what remains are open to sell to other parties."
Kiseo explained, then added, "I have to ask this, so please excuse any rudeness. How much are you aware of the mandrake's uses?"
“I think you’ll find I work directly for your supporters” Ignocious said as he produced a scroll from his cloak with the royal seal upon it and handed it to Kiseo “I have never used them personally but I have read about their nature and uses extensively before coming here. I am surprised to hear that some are already fully grown” Ignocious said with a cocked eyebrow “From what I have read it takes several years for mandrakes to fully develop”?
"It does, but oddly... we've had few mature rather quickly. Their growth cycle appears to be shorter here than in Beliokias. By a notable degree. They are finishing their cycle in the hut as we speak." Kiseo admitted as she took the scroll.
She unfurled and began to read it, having learned the language basics on their route here a while back. Her eyes skimmed the orders and finally confirmation who he was working for.
"Not to offend, but I'm surprised you have been able to study how to produce magical items. Finding materials to study on the subject is very rare outside Beliokias. One wrong application could lead to waste or worse, a nasty magical effect."
Kiseo gestured for the man to follow her inside the hut. Heat already began to rise in humidity, the fire's smoke hazing around the scenery and making it difficult to breath.
"Apologies for the condition, but it is important to have a humid climate."
“No matter, I spent much of my childhood in a similar environment” Ignocious replied, glumly reflecting on the thick smoke that infested the brothel he grew up in. Every morning, afternoon and evening the courtesans would light the incense sticks that would cause the newer patrons to cough when they first entered the building.
“You would be correct in your assessment, the only place in Formaroth that has magical materials readily available is the circle and buying it off them comes at an extortionate price. Personally I always had to get my items imported illegally from Akki. As you would imagine the war made it increasingly difficult to get supplies from there and now that house Blackwell has taken over it is nigh impossible” Ignocious continued as he walked over to one of the grown Mandrakes, lifting the blanket so he could examine it. “You can imagine my excitement when I heard that Mandrakes, a crop that even the circle had a limited supply of, were being produced en masse here”.
"Dyril was fortunate enough to convince her family to allow a small seed shipment. It was better to ship than actual mandrakes. The latter would've rotted along the way and there's no known way to preserve the actual plant." Kiseo explained, her eyes keenly eyeing the man as he examined the plants.
The sprouts had been covered with blankets, allowing them to germinate faster. Any larger ones had long, wispy leaves that looked like a cluster of wild onions. However, some purple colored edges giving a clear identification mark. When Ignocious dug under the dirt, a fat, pale white root with a disfigured 'face' on either side appeared. Hence the name mandrake.
It was of a decent size and healthy, though a little withered due to the rapid growth.
“Dyril also felt producing the magical items here would save on shipping costs and strengthen the trade possibilities with Formaroth. Both very serious challenges to her plans.”
“I suppose the second part of your plan has fallen apart a bit what with the Imperium’s invasion” Ignocious said as he continued to examine the plant “Tell me how much oil can a single mandrake plant produce? How much magical power can mandrake oil contain”?
"Yes. Originally we only heard a few rumors, but even rumors have some truth. At this point, we’re working to adapt." Kiseo admitted, her tail curled closer to her leg.
"I'm afraid I'm not able to fully answer that. Dyril is the one with that knowledge as it depends on the process, the age, and the health of the mandrake itself. I am better at .orggrowing them."
Her head tilted up for a moment in thought.
"From what I can recall, Dyril usually got a small pitcher worth out of a single small mandrake. She's still aiming to improve the process for better quality and greater quantity. As for how long it lasts.. it usually depends on the use. More magic required and more frequent uses tends to shorten the magical item’s lifespan drastically."
"I see" Ignocious said as he re-covered the mandrake. "In which case I will take a batch of thirty mandrakes. That should be enough for my initial experiments. I'll let my quiet friend out there know and he will handle the payment and loading of the supplies. For now I have a request of you" Ignocious said as he turned to face Kiseo’s, a grin upon his face.
Kiseo visibly tensed up at his last words. Last individual to ask a 'request' of her was Jain Surya, the very man that wanted to use her. Thankfully Klaus had chased him and he had never been heard from since. Not letting her past experience show through, Kiseo straightened her posture up.
"Right now, we have about twenty-five matured. The other five might be ready by the end of the day. It's hard to tell."
As Kiseo spoke, another two pots were brought in.
"Correction, twenty-eight. As for your favor... I'm hesitate to ask. Last 'request' a time ago left me to be more cautious with my kindness. So I can not promise to agree to it, depending on what it is." Kiseo tried to say in her most polite voice.
“Please don’t insult me” Ignocious said with a hand wave “I merely wished to ask more about your species. This is my first time meeting a Máoróngrōng and I could hardly call myself a learned man if I passed up this once in a lifetime opportunity to learn more about your culture”.
Kiseo relaxed instantly. It flooded her body as she slacked in her posture and nodded.
"I was raised on a mandrake farm from birth. To be honest, I have never been to our country or even the capital. So there are some cultural differences between free and owned Máoróngrōng. I do recall stories from others who also kindly shared them."
Kiseo began to walk toward the door, her hand rested on the handle. She turned back to him.
"We can have that talk first then we will discuss how to transport the mandrake. If they aren't kept humid, they might die within the day."
“Let us walk and talk then, I would prefer to discuss this outside rather than slowly suffocate from smoke in here” Ignocious replied as the smoke of the hut started to bring back unpleasant memories of his past.
Kiseo nodded and opened the door. She slipped out to hold it open for Ignocious, allowing him to follow her. When he exited, she shut it tightly from the outside. Escaping humidity was an issue if she wasn’t careful.
“We hope to have a proper building designed for their growth, but for now we need to make due with what we have.” Kiseo explained before her attention returned to her guest.
“So, what specific topic is most interesting to you? It would be a good place to start.”
Ignocious gestured to his bodyguard who promptly made his way over to him “What innate abilities do your kind possess, from what I can see you already climb a lot better than we humans can” Ignocious said as he pointed towards the roof.
“Yes, it helps to have a tail and claws to prevent my feet from mistepping.” Kiseo commented as she lifted her hand, tightening the tendons in her fingers. Small, sturdy claws popped out to reveal themselves along the fingers and thumb tip.
They began to walk from the building into the woods. Kiseo casually glanced at the scene, the gnarled trees covered in white and dark patches. She continued the conversation as she seemed relaxed with the growing distance from her responsibilities. “The tail also helps with balance when I’m running fast. My eyes are able to see in almost complete darkness, but only for a short distance.”
"So your kind can see in the dark" Ignocious replied, genuinely intrigued "the books I read seemed conflicted on the matter. Does that mean your naturally nocturnal too"?
"We function best in the darkness, but our activity is based on our duties. I'm more active in the day time, but I can easily shift to night time given a day of sleep. It was how I was raised."
"I imagine that is one of the many reasons the elves value your people as labourers" Ignocious said as out of the corner of his eye he glanced movement in the trees, though he quickly dismissed it as being nothing more than an animal and turned his attention back to Kiseo "though from what I gather not all of your kind have the misfortune of being slaves. Your homeland of Shingseng is still ruled by a Mao monarch, yes"?
"I am sad to say, slaves have little connection or knowledge to their origins. Especially those born into it. So, I wouldn't know for sure. Mother told me once that the ruling monarch was more of a front than truth. How true that is, I do not know." Kiseo admitted as she continued to lead the way, heading deeper into the woods. Her ears flicked about and noted the sounds of hooves trampling snow nearby. She wondered how long it might be before they scared it off.
"I see. My apologies, there is so much information on the imperium to read about that I find myself more interested in its obscure colonies. However all of those books were either written by travellers or elves of the highest social caste. It would be interesting to hear what someone on the other side of the social structure thinks of the imperium"?
"I was lucky compared to my fell-"
A sound of wind was all her ears caught before something hard hit her in the side. Shock flooded her expression as her eyes trailed down. The end of an arrow stuck out in her fur and clothes, the other end buried into her stomach side. From the trendline, a man and boy rushed out. They shared the same horrified look. Kiseo felt her legs start to weaken then give from underneath her.
Ignocious jumped back in fear as he started to call out to his bodyguard
“Hey! Bodyguard! Driver! Come help me! '' He cried now regretting he never asked the man for his name. Though it didn’t matter, they were far too far away for him to hear Ignocious.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t-” The boy began to pled, but his father raised his hand. He fell into an uncomfortable silence and stood beside the tree. Meanwhile, his father passed over his own bow then moved toward the pair.
Kiseo’s ears pushed against her head as she lowered herself into the snow. She laid on the side opposite of her wound while she fought through the shock. Drips of her blood reddened the white snow and pain flared across her side, the muscle torn from the movement. Her trembling paws wrapped about the wooden shaft with the intention of pulling it out.
“STOP”! Ignocious shouted as he hurried to Kiseo’s side “If you remove the arrow like that you will just bleed out. Let me see what I can do” He said as he started to examine the wound “I may not be a surgeon, but like all alchemists I have had training in tending to wounds”.
Kiseo nodded, jumping out of her fur from his shout earlier.
“I don’t… think it’s too deep.” She leaned back onto the ground, exposing her side to him.
As Ignocious looked at Kiseo’s stomach he was surprised to see that she was right. While the arrow had penetrated it had only just made its way below the surface. Something that should have been impossible, a clean shot like that from such a short distance would have been fatal. “Extraordinary” Ignocious said trying to hide his excitement “I was unaware that mao skin was so thick”.
Kiseo chuckled, “We don’t....”
He eyes glanced away. A bit of shame was obvious in them and she tried to hide it. Her tail couldn’t as it wrapped about her leg.
Now Ignocious was even more curious than ever, though he had more pressing things to attend to than press Kiseo for a clearer answer, at least for now. The wound still needed dressing and patching up and the arrow to be removed. “It would be better if we could do this out of the cold and somewhere where I can get the supplies I need, tell me if we carried you would you be able to make it to fishgrove”?
"I just need someone to lean on and we should be able to make it back to the cabin. I wish I had some herbs, but we arrived too late in the season." Kiseo spoke and slowly tried to rise upright, her paw covered the wound to starch the bleeding.
The man whose son shot earlier drew closer, finally getting a good glimpse of Kiseo. His eyes hardened and his figure turned around. Whatever help had been offered was given no more.
"You should be careful when walking in the woods with that thing…"
Ignocious was annoyed by the sheer apathy of the man, who after being partly responsible for Kiseo’s injury merely walked away, though he was not surprised.
“Still better company than you it seems” He said with a smirk, as the man continued to walk Ignocious’s mood changed “Don’t you walk away from me peasant, don’t you know who I am” Ignocious said speaking in the same way he so often heard the nobles of Nyhem address those below them.
Kiseo’s ears lowered a bit when she heard Ignocious’ aggression. She had never seen someone bluntly defend her, especially against one of his fellow race. If it wasn’t the pain throbbing in her side, she would’ve been in shock.
“It’s all right. This isn’t the first time and it won’t be the last. People fear what they don’t understand.”
“I do not care, this is his fault and he will help remedy it. That is unless he wants to see his son’s head mounted on a spike in Nyhem as a attempted murder” Ignocious said as he produced the royal seal from his coat. While he was certain the peasant wouldn’t recognise it, he would at the very least understand that Ignocious was someone of great importance. “And before you decide to rough me up my bodyguards will make certain that any harm that comes to me will be done to you and your son tenfold. Now stop wasting my time and carry her to fishgrove” Ignocious said with a smirk upon his face.
The man had stopped in his tracks. His eyes glared at Ignocious debating on something in his mind. Finally, he gave a submissive sigh. He turned about and his time reaching Kiseo. He stopped beside her as he lowered himself to one knee then scooped the feline-like woman up. He was not gentle about it causing her to fight the surge of pain swelling inside of her.
With the balled up Kiseo in his arms, he turned to his son. The boy seemed to shrink from his father’s eyes as he spoke. “Andrian, go inform the healer he has a patient.”
Not waiting for any comments from Ignocious, he began to move off.
“According to the information supplied by the crown Dyril’s farmland should be located this way” The man said as he pointed across a frozen field “I hope you don’t mind walking, it might take a while”. Ignocious wrapped a warm cloak around him as he stepped out of the carriage. The cloak itself was a woman’s cloak and Ignocious often drew many strange stares as he walked through the streets of Nyhem wearing it. However for all Ignocious cared it kept it warm and that was what mattered to him.
“Let's get this over with” He mumbled.
Gerey frowned, feeling more workers collect around him. Their eyes rose the thatched room of the hut. A small, lithe figure darted in grace unnatural to any human. Her bare feet gripped the thatch material with practiced movements. In a short time, she found the main beam and began to balance across it. Snow plopped to the ground when she knocked it loose. A few works underneath scattered away from the path, avoiding the incoming piles.
Unable to take much more, his hands cupped about his mouth and he shouted to her.
"OI, GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE! I TOLD YOU, WE'LL FIX THE HOLE WHEN WE GET THE LADDERS! KISEO! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!?"
The man's patience dropped off when it was obvious she couldn't hear him or wasn't listening.
His ears caught the sounds of approaching steps and glanced into Ignocious' direction. The man frowned at the furred coat, but he shrugged off saying anything. Instead his attention returned to his employer's precarious situation.
"Alil, go tell the men to get some ladders and be quick about it. I'm going to see if a few of us can catch her if she falls."
The little girl stood there, gawking at the sight.
"Alil!" Gerey's face reddened when he snapped. It caused Alil to jump and nod. The little girl shot off toward the main village faster than anyone expected from her small size.
His attention turned to other men. A cocktail of horror, awe and stun silence mixed on their faces.
"Munda, Reder, and Andes, we should pace around the building. If she falls, she'll hit the thatched roof and roll off if we're lucky. Ames and Vyncent, you two go inside. If it collapses under her weight, we don't want her landing on the mandrakes. Go, now!"
All the men scattered to follow Gerey's orders.
Meanwhile, Kiseo continued her way to the hole where the smoke poured out. She crouched down just on the left side of it, still retaining her balance on the main roof beam. Her hands began to pull out thatch from the tied bundle at her side. then placed it onto the hole, shrinking its diameter. The billowing smoke began to lower as more became trapped within the hut.
As Ignocious approached the hut there seemed to be sort of a commotion.
“Having some trouble by chance” He said with a smile as he walked up to Gerey.
As Ignocious approached the hut there seemed to be sort of a commotion.
“Having some trouble by chance” He said with a smile as he walked up to Gerey.
Gerey shot Ignocious a frown as he began to move to the building's side.
"I would say yes. Our cat employer has decided to climb the roof and fix the chute herself. Now we got to hope she doesn't get killed because of it."
His voice was rough and irritated, brushing off the man for the moment.
"Gerey, she looks like she's about to jump down!" Yelled one of the men.
Gerey blinked and shouted back, "What?!?"
Before anyone could think, they heard something heavy land into the snow. Nearby people rushed over to see the damage including Gerey. Just next to the building, Kiseo stood crouched and appeared unhurt by her leap from that height.
Gerey's face began red as he pushed past the crowd, ushering them back to work with a sharp look. He addressed while his arm extended to help her up. Subtly his eyes wandered over her form, worry and anger dancing in his eyes over her risky choice.
"Kiseo, what in the world were you thinking? You could've gotten killed!"
"I've jumped off much higher before," She explained, little confused by his concern.
"That's not the point! Did you break anything?"
"No," she lifted her foot and wiggled her toes, foot and leg to show it all worked fine.
Gerey settled down, but his face still retained its red coloring.
"Next time, wait for the ladder men. You gave everyone a heart attack," he grumbled then turned to Ignocious.
"Also, I think we have a visitor. I'll take care of the mandrakes. I'm sure a few of them have mature and need moving into the house. You deal with him."
Kiseo tilted her head, her ears twitched and her eyes drifted to Ignocious' direction. She then nodded. Her feet moved and she began to make her way toward the man dressed in furs.
She made a little bow, "Hello, my name is Kiseo and the mistress of the house has been called away. If you would like, I can take a message and send word when she has returned."
Ignocious’s attention was soon entirely focused on the strange cat woman that had just jumped from the roof of the hut. He had read about the Mao before and always thought they sounded like fascinating creatures. But he had never seen one before and due to their rare occurrence outside of the imperium, never expected to see one. He stood closer to her examining her over with his eyes doing everything he could to keep himself from poking her.
“Extraordinary” He said as he continued to stare at Kiseo while still avoiding eye contact.
Kiseo's tail flicked in a slow, cautious fashion. It whipped from side to side showing her obvious discomfort at Ignocious' gawking. Her head tilted a bit and her attention shifted behind her. There was nothing unusual to provoke such reaction. Her hands fell to her front in a normal and submissive fashion.
"Sir?" She spoke again.
"Tell me are you native to shingseng or were you raised in Beliokias"? Ignocious asked seemingly ignoring or unaware of Kiseo’s discomfort. "And your formarothian is very good? I take it you've been here for a while".
"I was born in Beliokias as for my Formarothian, I have been here for a few months now. It was difficult at first, but I... what is the word? Puursisted? Peersisted, no..."
Gerey, overhearing her struggle, replied in the background.
"Try 'I kept at it'. It's easier than that silly word you're trying to pronounce."
She turned to his direction briefly, "Thank you Gerey."
"Aye, just add a tip to my pay."
Kiseo nodded. Her expression hinted at her not following through on the suggestion however. She returned to address Ignocious.
"Sir, I still need to know why you've arrived here."
"Right yes of course, as fascinating as you are I have arrived here to discuss business with you" Ignocious said, though he was no longer examining Kiseo he was still undeniably intrigued by her "I wish to examine your mandrake crop and if it meets the standards I am looking for, buy any fully developed mandrakes you have".
"Some fully grown mandrakes are being held back for future crops, but we have a few ready early. I am afraid to say our supporters have first selection, but what remains are open to sell to other parties."
Kiseo explained, then added, "I have to ask this, so please excuse any rudeness. How much are you aware of the mandrake's uses?"
“I think you’ll find I work directly for your supporters” Ignocious said as he produced a scroll from his cloak with the royal seal upon it and handed it to Kiseo “I have never used them personally but I have read about their nature and uses extensively before coming here. I am surprised to hear that some are already fully grown” Ignocious said with a cocked eyebrow “From what I have read it takes several years for mandrakes to fully develop”?
"It does, but oddly... we've had few mature rather quickly. Their growth cycle appears to be shorter here than in Beliokias. By a notable degree. They are finishing their cycle in the hut as we speak." Kiseo admitted as she took the scroll.
She unfurled and began to read it, having learned the language basics on their route here a while back. Her eyes skimmed the orders and finally confirmation who he was working for.
"Not to offend, but I'm surprised you have been able to study how to produce magical items. Finding materials to study on the subject is very rare outside Beliokias. One wrong application could lead to waste or worse, a nasty magical effect."
Kiseo gestured for the man to follow her inside the hut. Heat already began to rise in humidity, the fire's smoke hazing around the scenery and making it difficult to breath.
"Apologies for the condition, but it is important to have a humid climate."
“No matter, I spent much of my childhood in a similar environment” Ignocious replied, glumly reflecting on the thick smoke that infested the brothel he grew up in. Every morning, afternoon and evening the courtesans would light the incense sticks that would cause the newer patrons to cough when they first entered the building.
“You would be correct in your assessment, the only place in Formaroth that has magical materials readily available is the circle and buying it off them comes at an extortionate price. Personally I always had to get my items imported illegally from Akki. As you would imagine the war made it increasingly difficult to get supplies from there and now that house Blackwell has taken over it is nigh impossible” Ignocious continued as he walked over to one of the grown Mandrakes, lifting the blanket so he could examine it. “You can imagine my excitement when I heard that Mandrakes, a crop that even the circle had a limited supply of, were being produced en masse here”.
"Dyril was fortunate enough to convince her family to allow a small seed shipment. It was better to ship than actual mandrakes. The latter would've rotted along the way and there's no known way to preserve the actual plant." Kiseo explained, her eyes keenly eyeing the man as he examined the plants.
The sprouts had been covered with blankets, allowing them to germinate faster. Any larger ones had long, wispy leaves that looked like a cluster of wild onions. However, some purple colored edges giving a clear identification mark. When Ignocious dug under the dirt, a fat, pale white root with a disfigured 'face' on either side appeared. Hence the name mandrake.
It was of a decent size and healthy, though a little withered due to the rapid growth.
“Dyril also felt producing the magical items here would save on shipping costs and strengthen the trade possibilities with Formaroth. Both very serious challenges to her plans.”
“I suppose the second part of your plan has fallen apart a bit what with the Imperium’s invasion” Ignocious said as he continued to examine the plant “Tell me how much oil can a single mandrake plant produce? How much magical power can mandrake oil contain”?
"Yes. Originally we only heard a few rumors, but even rumors have some truth. At this point, we’re working to adapt." Kiseo admitted, her tail curled closer to her leg.
"I'm afraid I'm not able to fully answer that. Dyril is the one with that knowledge as it depends on the process, the age, and the health of the mandrake itself. I am better at .orggrowing them."
Her head tilted up for a moment in thought.
"From what I can recall, Dyril usually got a small pitcher worth out of a single small mandrake. She's still aiming to improve the process for better quality and greater quantity. As for how long it lasts.. it usually depends on the use. More magic required and more frequent uses tends to shorten the magical item’s lifespan drastically."
"I see" Ignocious said as he re-covered the mandrake. "In which case I will take a batch of thirty mandrakes. That should be enough for my initial experiments. I'll let my quiet friend out there know and he will handle the payment and loading of the supplies. For now I have a request of you" Ignocious said as he turned to face Kiseo’s, a grin upon his face.
Kiseo visibly tensed up at his last words. Last individual to ask a 'request' of her was Jain Surya, the very man that wanted to use her. Thankfully Klaus had chased him and he had never been heard from since. Not letting her past experience show through, Kiseo straightened her posture up.
"Right now, we have about twenty-five matured. The other five might be ready by the end of the day. It's hard to tell."
As Kiseo spoke, another two pots were brought in.
"Correction, twenty-eight. As for your favor... I'm hesitate to ask. Last 'request' a time ago left me to be more cautious with my kindness. So I can not promise to agree to it, depending on what it is." Kiseo tried to say in her most polite voice.
“Please don’t insult me” Ignocious said with a hand wave “I merely wished to ask more about your species. This is my first time meeting a Máoróngrōng and I could hardly call myself a learned man if I passed up this once in a lifetime opportunity to learn more about your culture”.
Kiseo relaxed instantly. It flooded her body as she slacked in her posture and nodded.
"I was raised on a mandrake farm from birth. To be honest, I have never been to our country or even the capital. So there are some cultural differences between free and owned Máoróngrōng. I do recall stories from others who also kindly shared them."
Kiseo began to walk toward the door, her hand rested on the handle. She turned back to him.
"We can have that talk first then we will discuss how to transport the mandrake. If they aren't kept humid, they might die within the day."
“Let us walk and talk then, I would prefer to discuss this outside rather than slowly suffocate from smoke in here” Ignocious replied as the smoke of the hut started to bring back unpleasant memories of his past.
Kiseo nodded and opened the door. She slipped out to hold it open for Ignocious, allowing him to follow her. When he exited, she shut it tightly from the outside. Escaping humidity was an issue if she wasn’t careful.
“We hope to have a proper building designed for their growth, but for now we need to make due with what we have.” Kiseo explained before her attention returned to her guest.
“So, what specific topic is most interesting to you? It would be a good place to start.”
Ignocious gestured to his bodyguard who promptly made his way over to him “What innate abilities do your kind possess, from what I can see you already climb a lot better than we humans can” Ignocious said as he pointed towards the roof.
“Yes, it helps to have a tail and claws to prevent my feet from mistepping.” Kiseo commented as she lifted her hand, tightening the tendons in her fingers. Small, sturdy claws popped out to reveal themselves along the fingers and thumb tip.
They began to walk from the building into the woods. Kiseo casually glanced at the scene, the gnarled trees covered in white and dark patches. She continued the conversation as she seemed relaxed with the growing distance from her responsibilities. “The tail also helps with balance when I’m running fast. My eyes are able to see in almost complete darkness, but only for a short distance.”
"So your kind can see in the dark" Ignocious replied, genuinely intrigued "the books I read seemed conflicted on the matter. Does that mean your naturally nocturnal too"?
"We function best in the darkness, but our activity is based on our duties. I'm more active in the day time, but I can easily shift to night time given a day of sleep. It was how I was raised."
"I imagine that is one of the many reasons the elves value your people as labourers" Ignocious said as out of the corner of his eye he glanced movement in the trees, though he quickly dismissed it as being nothing more than an animal and turned his attention back to Kiseo "though from what I gather not all of your kind have the misfortune of being slaves. Your homeland of Shingseng is still ruled by a Mao monarch, yes"?
"I am sad to say, slaves have little connection or knowledge to their origins. Especially those born into it. So, I wouldn't know for sure. Mother told me once that the ruling monarch was more of a front than truth. How true that is, I do not know." Kiseo admitted as she continued to lead the way, heading deeper into the woods. Her ears flicked about and noted the sounds of hooves trampling snow nearby. She wondered how long it might be before they scared it off.
"I see. My apologies, there is so much information on the imperium to read about that I find myself more interested in its obscure colonies. However all of those books were either written by travellers or elves of the highest social caste. It would be interesting to hear what someone on the other side of the social structure thinks of the imperium"?
"I was lucky compared to my fell-"
A sound of wind was all her ears caught before something hard hit her in the side. Shock flooded her expression as her eyes trailed down. The end of an arrow stuck out in her fur and clothes, the other end buried into her stomach side. From the trendline, a man and boy rushed out. They shared the same horrified look. Kiseo felt her legs start to weaken then give from underneath her.
Ignocious jumped back in fear as he started to call out to his bodyguard
“Hey! Bodyguard! Driver! Come help me! '' He cried now regretting he never asked the man for his name. Though it didn’t matter, they were far too far away for him to hear Ignocious.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t-” The boy began to pled, but his father raised his hand. He fell into an uncomfortable silence and stood beside the tree. Meanwhile, his father passed over his own bow then moved toward the pair.
Kiseo’s ears pushed against her head as she lowered herself into the snow. She laid on the side opposite of her wound while she fought through the shock. Drips of her blood reddened the white snow and pain flared across her side, the muscle torn from the movement. Her trembling paws wrapped about the wooden shaft with the intention of pulling it out.
“STOP”! Ignocious shouted as he hurried to Kiseo’s side “If you remove the arrow like that you will just bleed out. Let me see what I can do” He said as he started to examine the wound “I may not be a surgeon, but like all alchemists I have had training in tending to wounds”.
Kiseo nodded, jumping out of her fur from his shout earlier.
“I don’t… think it’s too deep.” She leaned back onto the ground, exposing her side to him.
As Ignocious looked at Kiseo’s stomach he was surprised to see that she was right. While the arrow had penetrated it had only just made its way below the surface. Something that should have been impossible, a clean shot like that from such a short distance would have been fatal. “Extraordinary” Ignocious said trying to hide his excitement “I was unaware that mao skin was so thick”.
Kiseo chuckled, “We don’t....”
He eyes glanced away. A bit of shame was obvious in them and she tried to hide it. Her tail couldn’t as it wrapped about her leg.
Now Ignocious was even more curious than ever, though he had more pressing things to attend to than press Kiseo for a clearer answer, at least for now. The wound still needed dressing and patching up and the arrow to be removed. “It would be better if we could do this out of the cold and somewhere where I can get the supplies I need, tell me if we carried you would you be able to make it to fishgrove”?
"I just need someone to lean on and we should be able to make it back to the cabin. I wish I had some herbs, but we arrived too late in the season." Kiseo spoke and slowly tried to rise upright, her paw covered the wound to starch the bleeding.
The man whose son shot earlier drew closer, finally getting a good glimpse of Kiseo. His eyes hardened and his figure turned around. Whatever help had been offered was given no more.
"You should be careful when walking in the woods with that thing…"
Ignocious was annoyed by the sheer apathy of the man, who after being partly responsible for Kiseo’s injury merely walked away, though he was not surprised.
“Still better company than you it seems” He said with a smirk, as the man continued to walk Ignocious’s mood changed “Don’t you walk away from me peasant, don’t you know who I am” Ignocious said speaking in the same way he so often heard the nobles of Nyhem address those below them.
Kiseo’s ears lowered a bit when she heard Ignocious’ aggression. She had never seen someone bluntly defend her, especially against one of his fellow race. If it wasn’t the pain throbbing in her side, she would’ve been in shock.
“It’s all right. This isn’t the first time and it won’t be the last. People fear what they don’t understand.”
“I do not care, this is his fault and he will help remedy it. That is unless he wants to see his son’s head mounted on a spike in Nyhem as a attempted murder” Ignocious said as he produced the royal seal from his coat. While he was certain the peasant wouldn’t recognise it, he would at the very least understand that Ignocious was someone of great importance. “And before you decide to rough me up my bodyguards will make certain that any harm that comes to me will be done to you and your son tenfold. Now stop wasting my time and carry her to fishgrove” Ignocious said with a smirk upon his face.
The man had stopped in his tracks. His eyes glared at Ignocious debating on something in his mind. Finally, he gave a submissive sigh. He turned about and his time reaching Kiseo. He stopped beside her as he lowered himself to one knee then scooped the feline-like woman up. He was not gentle about it causing her to fight the surge of pain swelling inside of her.
With the balled up Kiseo in his arms, he turned to his son. The boy seemed to shrink from his father’s eyes as he spoke. “Andrian, go inform the healer he has a patient.”
Not waiting for any comments from Ignocious, he began to move off.
@TheDuncanMorgan & @Fallenreaper