Open No Task Too Small

[Planter]

Timestamp: 59th Day, Spring Season, 516. Morning Time

The ocean breeze swept over Planter's face, as the sun rise over the expansive sea. A steady line of ships came and went from the Riverfall Harbor. Even from his cliffside view, he could see each and every one of the outbound ships, filled to the brim with fruits of a varied assortment. As if seeing himself from the outside in, there stood grandiose human-looking colossus of clay, overlooking the Harbor of Riverfall with arms out stretched towards the ocean.
In the statues arms held a wicker-looking basket made of the same material as the statue, as if offering the world an assortment of clay fruits. As if someone was controlling his sight, he eyes panned over the expanse of the Sea of Grass, which had become an orchard of sorts of fruit trees, each and every one of them an overabundance of fruit. As Planter settled into his sweet dreams of a bright fruit, something stirred him in his picturesque dreams, As his view panned out even further from the scope of Riverfall, his heart dropped. The sight of a single strider running through the massive orchard, it's mane alight with roaring flame. The strider's eyes wild and full of fear as it continued futilely outrun the flame that began to blister and boil its skin.

Planter stammered awake, almost falling over himself, as he had taken to the habit of sleep standing up. Attempting to slow his breathing by focusing on the here and now. It worked, in a way. Focusing on a single point on the ground in his one man tent, he eventually willed himself to calm down after a few chimes. Planter heaved himself up, his clay form assembling back into his original form. Planter never knew what he would transform into when he slept, but he had a hunch this time. As Planter began cleaning up his camp site and assemble back into travel size, he was still pondering what his dreams meant. ' Harameus, Ever Changing One. Please, with this one's heart, provide this one with your guidance. ‘ Planter finished his silent prayer as the morning sun peaked over the horizon. The air had an oppressive feel of heat pressing from all side of his little clay form. 'Oh and this one requests, in your infinite wisdom, please change the weather for the better today. This one must complete the task set for him. This one thanks you, Ever Changing One. ‘ Finishing his second prayer and the final portions of storing his tent in his pack. Pulling out his journal and pen, he quickly scribbled down what he could remember from his dream and what he planned to do for the day. Finishing with his paper rambling, he stored his journal and pen away and set off towards the rising sun.

As he clopped away from the city of tents, ignorantly unaware of the dangers of the Sea of Grass, his mind began to wander, ' Test day! I can't wait to actually get out in the grasslands and show Sadara that I know a thing or two about herbs too. Though, I do understand where she's coming from. I mean, does anyone expect a Pycon to come strolling into their tent and ask them for mentorship? Wellll...No, not wouldn't work, but needless to say, no one would expect it. So, it does makes sense she'd set me to this and I suppose it'd be killing two clams with one shovel if I picked some herbs for her. '

What seemed like only a few chimes, the sun had finally shown its vast form in the sky, though Planter had to guess it was still morning, maybe mid-morning. The little clay man lost sight of the flagpoles that the Drykas had placed around the tent city, which made Planter wonder what the purpose of the flags or even the assortment of colors were for. He'd had to remember to ask that question of Sadara when he got back. The Pycon smelled before he spotted a plant he was familiar with, the Chamisa bush, well not much of a bush as it was more of a shrub. A foul smelling plant, but known for its medicinal uses as a tea, in order to calm stomachs. Planter smiled inwardly at his ability to remember the tid bits of knowledge he learned from books he read when he was back home. Planter began collecting the leaves of the foul smelling shrub, when he heard a rustle of grass. He paused, staring in the direction of the noise, unsure of what to do.

[Planter]

59th Day, Spring Season, 516. Noon-ish. Sea of Grass

Planter held his breath with what felt like several chimes. The noise was getting closer and closer. It sounded like a stampede, but something about the cadence of movement gave Planter the impression it wasn’t out to get him. As the tall grass parted, Planter sighed a breath of relief. ” Oh, Gimble! This one thought you were a predator of some sort! You’re lucky this one restrained himself. ” The one Planter called Gimble was a massive ox with horns that barely reach the length of his ear, that he purchased on his trek to Endrykas, to pull along his covered wagon. It was an unusual partnership, and though Gimble was a stubborn swamp buffalo, he was loyal. Of course, Planter suspected it was due to the handful of dried apples that he fed him every day, but that was neither here nor there. The swamp buffalo simply stood in place, chewing on a patch of grass that he nabbed earlier. His deep brown hide twitched, shooing away the flies that accumulated around him, as his tail swooshed to and fro occasionally.

Planter finished collecting up the last portion of Chamisa, as the sun hung high in its orbit, a constant wave of heat radiating down on the two unlikely pairs. The climb in Gimble’s back took a few chimes, but as he finally took his seat, he began scanning the surrounding. The surrounding area around them was nothing more but an endless stretch of grass, waving occasionally to the heavens as a slight wind picked up. The swamp buffalo laid down to rest and chew on another patch of grass. ” Hey! Gimble this is no time for laying down on the job! We must get back to Endrykas! This one must give these herbs to Sadara and once this one does that this one can become a real herbalist. Then imagine! This one can purchase more apples for you! C’mon you dolt! Move! ” Try as he may, kicking, slapping and yelling at the beast would not make him move. In fact, the beast hardly seemed to notice at all. Every time Planter made contact with Gimble, his hide would shudder, which loosen the clay man from his seat.
Then it dawned on Planter, when the voices of his elder would chime in his head, ’ When you are done trying to catch a fly with vinegar, use honey.’ . Smiling inwardly, Planter grabbed his back pack and fetching a couple dried apple slices and stuck them through his py-pole. Balancing himself as best as he could, he slowly walked along the ridge of the beast towards his head, where he propped himself between the horns of Gimble. ” Hey, Gimmy. Look at what this one has!” as he dangled the delicious apple treat in front of the ox. As if on cue, the swamp buffalo slowly stood up, his tongue waving lashing out slothfully from his mouth, eager to feed on the treats set before him. As Planter held the py-pole out even further in order to avoid the wagging tongue and then Gimble began to move forward, attempting to reach his goal. Planter began steering his ox partner in the direction of Endrykas, following the trail that Gimble had left behind from before. ” Today is a good day. ”