Bilberry Part One

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Home of the Konti people, this ivory city is built of native konti stone half in and half out of the sea. Its borders touch the Silverwood, and stretch upwards towards Silver Lake, home of the infamous konti vision water. [Lore]

Bilberry Part One

Postby Oriel on June 29th, 2013, 11:16 pm



TimeStamp: Summer 14, 513


Journeying into the Silverwood forest is not an easy task, even for a young Konti that wanders in almost daily. Oriel was in her working skirt, stocking and corset, had her leather gloves already on her delicate hands and her backpack packed with all she will need for her quest. Her quest was a simple one; she went on this type of journey every few days. Her herbalism and botany interest need to be fueled by fresh ingredients and study material.

Her gloves shielded her hands from the sharp leaves and branches that she pushed her way through, while her low boots protected her feet. Her arms, though, were bare and slave to the harsh environment. But she was used to the small scratches that she wielded on her skin and they came no notice to her anymore.

Her pack she had filled the morning of. Like she did almost every adventure day, she loaded up her Herb Journal where she recorded her findings. She had her waterskin, filled to the brim with fresh water tied to her side and her game knife tucked safely at the bottom of her bag. Her flint and steel, of course was stuffed inside as well as a small spade, house and chest keys and a glass jar. Not to forget her quill and ink contained in the glass jar for safe keeping.

Oriel started out early in the morning, just as the sun was rising in the sky, so she could get deep into the forest and have enough time to collect some different specimens. As of currently she was rather far into the woods and the sun had risen just a bit, signaling that about 2 hours had passed since she left her small abode. Looking behind her she glanced at the small marks she carved into trees that lead her way back to Mura. They were important little marks; at least they were back when she started her walks in the woods. By now all her walking in the same place had worn a little path in the underbrush and had stamped all the Running Clubmoss that grew like a weed in the shade, and all the other little forest floor plants that grew within the dirt. Those marks upon the path trees were pretty much useless now, but the marks deeper in, where the path was undefined, were crucial.

She walked for about an hour more into the forest, where the path became thin and she soon took out her knife to add more marks to the trees. The whole time she was debating whether or not to grab a few Running Clubmoss cones or leaves or spores or stems, for her research. In the end, though, she figured there was no need to fill her backpack with something she could get at the edge of the forest, when she was already so far in.

It wasn’t long after 3 bells since her departure that she stumbled upon a small clearing of the trees. Completely hidden by the dense forest that surrounded it, her surprise was mutual when she frightened a small doe that then darted out of the circle quickly. She paid it no mind, she was no hunter. Instead she walked slowly out to the middle of the clearing, looking around her. There wasn’t much in the clearing; it was made of grass, green and lush as it was, but boring and useless. Instead she eyed the edge of the circle of sun, where small bushes and plants were growing near the tree line.

It was places like these that the young Konti traveled so far to find. Here, where the sun was present and wind was not, due to the protection from the trees, was where some plants could strive where they wouldn’t elsewhere. Oriel skipped over to one grove of bushes and kneeled down on the ground to get to eye level with the plant. She stripped off her backpack and flipped over the top, pulling out her journal. Opening it to the next blank page she smoothed the paper and pulled out the little glass jar that held her ink and quill. She set the ink on a small patch of dirt, making sure it was level and wouldn’t spill and dipped her feathered quill in, letting it soak up the black stain. Leaving a little room at the top of the page for the name of the plant when she figured out what it was, she began to write down what it looked like. She was not a Konti who could draw, and once again cursed herself for not finding time to practice; she had to resort to describing each find.


Starting with the basics:

“Plant is small, only about a half a foot in height. It has a bush structure, with one woody stem rooting out from the dirt and many branches splitting out from said stem. Color is a pale brown, like that of an oak tree. Tiny green leaves sprout from the edges of the branches, about a fingertip in length.”

She measured the plant’s height by placing her foot next to the bottom and seeing how far upper leg it went. Seeing as it only reached to mid-calf she determined the half a foot measurement. The leaves, she did in the same manner, now only plucking one small leaf from the plant and placing it on her finger, to measure its length as only one fingertip.

“Small berries about a centimeter in diameter. Color ranges from a light yellow to a red-orange. Rubber-like texture, but with a thin outer wall. Inside is fleshy and very juicy. A tiny, brown, oval shaped seed in the middle of the berry.”

After taking off her gloves, she had picked one berry off the plant and rolled it in her fingers, noticing the texture and colors. Oriel then squeezed the berry until it popped. Juice immediately flowed out and down her hand, dripping onto the soil. The flesh inside had hidden one small seed that the Konti examined closely, then dropped into the ground when she had finished writing her notes.

Her gift from Avalis told her that the plant was in no way poisonous to her, so she picked another berry from the plant and stuck in in her house. Rolling it between her teeth she noted the strength of the outer wall. It had some resistance but was no match for any predator, its texture, though, was very unappealing. Biting down, careful not the crush the seed, she tasted the very juicy and fresh taste. It was almost sweet, but a bit bitter. She assumed, as this berry was a light orange that the bitterness must be because of the berry not being fully ripe. The sweet flavor was almost unnoticeable, and the fresh taste was the dominant flavor in the fruit. She then separated the flesh from the seed and spit the seed into her hand, swallowing the rest of the fruit. It slid down her throat with ease as the juice guided a smooth journey.

She noted all this in her journal and added the rest of the details:

“The berries grow along the branches in large clusters, each with their own tiny green stem connecting it to the plant. The plant grows in groves, needs sun, but wind may harm it. This plant is not poisonous and the berries are edible.”

She had looked around the one plant she was examining and noticed that they grew in small groups of about 5 or 6 plants. Each about a foot or two away from each other. She noted that they were partially in the sun, but stayed close to the tree line, where wind is unable to go. Each plant had its own cluster of berries growing on it, and they all seemed ripe or almost ripe, so she concluded that the berries matured and grew within the Summer days, but she would need to come back and observe their growing habits to know for sure.

She took out her spade from her pack and put her gloves back on. She began to, with her hands, move the dirt away from the base of the plant until she hit the top of the roots. She took her spade and carefully dug out the whole plant, with the majorty of its roots still intact. The roors of the plant were nothing more than hair-like roots that sprouted off thicker branches of roots. Just like many other bush plants. She picked off all of the berries and put them safely inside the glass jar, so they wouldn’t get squished when the put the plant in her backpack. Closing the jar with the berries and her ink and quill, she put that in the bottom of her pack, right in from of her Herb Journal that she had had blew dry so the ink wouldn’t smudge. Then, very carefully she placed the plant she had yet to name in the pack. She placed the roots down and around her glass jar, and the branches reached up and a little out of her sack. She quickly looked, just as a precaution that her knife, keys and flint and steel was still in the bag and that her waterskin as still attached to her hip. Then, almost forgetting, she shoves the spade back in the bag.

She stood up, looking at the small hole in the ground that she had made, and turned around, searching for the place where she had entered the clearing. She remembered that has walked to the middle of the clearing then spotted the plant and walked to her right. So she retraced her steps and found her way back to her path. Before she left, though, she marked about 4 of the trees with her mark that told her there were plants here, so she could find the clearing again.


It took her about 3 bells to get back to the edge of the forest, just as it had to get in. On her way back, she chopped off a six Running Clubmoss cones and threw them in her backpack, to look at later. She reached her house and unlocked her small door, only to be startled. It was William in her house, he had broken in again. After a second of wide eyed terror of the intruder she laughed at him sitting cross-legged on her bed. His lock picking allowed him to get anywhere. And he broke in quite often.

“What are you doing here, Willie?” She laughed at him, calling him the nickname she had made for him. William was her best friend, so she didn’t mind when he popped on by. “I thought you were off and away shipping Vision Water.”

As she placed her bag on her desk she looked over at him. He was grinning like a little boy, his shaggy hair all over the place, “I got back about a bell ago!” He exclaimed, like he was proud of that fact. “So I dropped on by, only to find you were out and about once again!”

Oriel smiled and started to unpack her bags, she assumed he would stay and watch her research. It was good to have William back.

Bilberry Bush Journal Entry


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Oriel
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Bilberry Part One

Postby Traverse on July 6th, 2013, 3:59 pm

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Oriel

Skill XP Earned
Botany 2 XP
Observation 2 XP
Wilderness Survival 1 XP
Writing 1 XP


Lores Earned
Leaving Trail Markers
The Physcial Facets of the Bilberry Bush
Properly Recording Data


Inventory:

+ 1 Container of bilberries
+ 6 Club Moss Cones

Additional Notes :
A nice little solo! The imagery was wonderful, and I really enjoyed Oriel's attention to detail. I especially liked the little trail marking detail, which is why I awarded the Wilderness Survival and an accompanying lore.


Yes, I Bite.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out. :)
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