Legend of Ransera

The air among the deep woods was oppressive. The cheerful early spring bird calls were muted. Even the gentle rustle of animals and the buzz of insects were hushed as the researchers and their guard ranged out from their camp. The group would be leaving soon, but there were a few more places among the deep growth that they hoped for some new specimens. Huong Ming suspected that the older portions of the wood held aetherically dense spots. Where better then there to look for dread mist tainted growth. One of the problems or perhaps the benefits of dread mist taint was that it could affect fully grown organisms, not necessarily just new seedlings.

Hui Ming trailed behind the others. He was... uncomfortable. Living on the road and away from modern convenience did not suit him well. He just felt tired from taking watches and eternally grimy, from his clothes to his skin. He wished he could visit one of the public bathhouses. Hui was sure he stank to high heaven. He gently pushed aside a fern that nearly whipped him in the face when the researcher ahead of him brushed past it. This deep into the forest the large titane-sque branches that held aloft the canopy left much of the understory in perpetual twilight. Even though it was noon, the little light that made its way through to the ground was scattered and diffused. Strange how beech and pine and fir could exude such an aura of discontent to the intruders in their midst. He looked up from his musings, his nerves on edge the longer they stayed in the Wildking's forge, their group had stopped to cluster around a new find. A flickering ochre light drew the eye as Hui Ming made it to the group. Nestled into the crook of a fallen log were several mature caps of an orange and yellow glowing mushroom. Thin fibrous filaments supported clusters of delicate caps attached to a central stalk. A thin mesh seemed to flicker like red and yellow flames that extended from central stalk that emerged from moss covered breaks in the wood, almost like protective dress. One of the six researches, an assistant named Yoshiru if Hui wasn't wrong, was eagerly chattering away and gesturing to the peculiar mushroom.

"I am just sayin!" She went on, "Look at it, it has to be called a candle cap. Look how perfectly round the thing is, almost like an Enoki mushroom." The woman was short, only slightly taller then Hui Ming himself and was nearly bouncing with excitement. Perhaps she was the first to spot it. Huong cut into the conversation with a, "No. We will not be naming anything until we get back to the laboratory." She turned to her personal assistant. "Please get the gill sampling paper. We should at least get the spores if we can't get the mycelium to take in the greenhouse." The young man, Dimn, the annoying but obedient stork of a man swung his pack around and rifled through for the sample container. Hui on the other hand was circling around the log to see if he could find more growths in the wood. Using his belt knife he pried up a scale of the bark and found thin traceries of light but no other forming caps.

Well, they did not need his help. They would fuss over the thing for next few hours. The guard gave Hui a smirk and saluted to him his perch atop another fallen tree. The man was getting annoying. Constantly teasing and flirting with him, he probably traded something with the other guard to take this excursion instead of staying back at the camp and guarding the cook. Hui merely rolled his eyes and moved out of line of sight of the man. If the others wanted to look at the admittedly interesting looking specimen, he would leave them too it. Hui would have to test for its properties later, so he was not in any hurry on that front. Provided it did not require aether to sustain it. Always a concern with dread mist changed flora.

Hui wandered off through the towering wooden monoliths, ferns and vines and shrubbery coating the ground and reaching towards the dim sun above. Often where there was one magical mutant, there was another nearby. Assuming the "candle cap", though he would have used the term candelabra cap personally, was in fact tainted by wild magic and not simply an undiscovered naturally magical plant. His eyes scanned the floor of the forest, the thick carpets of greenery and leaf litter announcing his presence. He could still hear the muffled excitement of his party as he ranged further and further away. He was just about to turn back when a sliver of light shifted down from the canopy and something gleamed among the dense undergrowth. He oriented on the flash as he drew closer.

Very fascinating.

Nestled in the among the dense foliage was cluster of what must have been at one time blue bells. Or something similar. Instead before him were not the tiny and round blue flowers but something that gleamed metallic, not to mention nearly three times as large. In the dim light he could make out the same shape in pattern but gilded in glittering copper and silver. It seemed that not only where they metallic but of different metallic colors on the same plant. Very unusual indeed. He reached out to touch the flowers but paused as a rustling stopped him. He slowly looked up, his belt knife coming to his hand. He hoped he did not need to use the thing, he disliked fighting. But if it was a predator... His eyebrows knitted together as a figured emerged from the undergrowth and they were not one of his fellow party members.

The pale woman before him was perhaps as surprised as the shorter young man was when she emerged from undergrowth and into the clearing. The two both stared at the other for a beat before her eyes darted down. He jumped at her roar of laughter and Hui Ming flushed at her amusement. He looked down and grumpily pushed his knife into the dirt as if that was what he intended all along, carefully using the blade that was certainly not made to be a trowel to pull the surprisingly sturdy metallic flowered plant. He certainly did not wish to harm the plant, perhaps because he had a bit of empathy for the quickly abducted and certainly unique plant, but more so because damaging the sample would make it difficult to grow further plants and thus study the effects of pure magical chaos on living things.

"I had no intention of fighting anything" He grumbled to the woman that he admittedly did not get a very good look at. "But what if something or someone," He looked up from his work and gave her a pointed look before getting back to his work. "Attacked me? Better to have something in my hands." He shrugged as he managed to pull his find from the ground with very minimal root loss, chunks of dirt falling to the ground. Hui straightened himself up, sheathed his knife, and turned to the woman, small clump of flowers in hand. She caused the alchemist to flinch back at her sudden jump as he turned to her, her exuberant and to Hui, sarcastic lesson causing a slight scowl to form and a knitting of his brows.

However, that scowl softened as the woman straightened back up and offered a hand to him. He paused for a moment, eyeing the incredibly pale hand extended to him. She wasn't just pale, her skin was like porcelain, fair skin unstained by the effects of light on working or travelling folk. She appeared human, but was of a colouration he had never seen before, there were skin tones of many shades and hues, each potentially as beautiful as the next. But never had he met someone with skin like bleached rice paper and ice coloured eyes. He blinked after a moment, realizing this... Elen, had just introduced herself. "Ah, apologizes honored stranger." He dipped a shallow bow over his prize and awkwardly juggled the rootball into one hand before taking her hand in a gentle, but firm grip in the other. "This one is known as Hui Ming." He knew he was being overly formal, but better to give this woman face then assume she was of low social rank. Hui retrieved his hand and took the rootball in hand and started to gently wrap it around itself so that bits of dirt and root would not fall away. It was enough shock for the plant to be transplanted, better for it and himself if he could keep a good grip on the thing.

"Forgive this one if this is impertinent, but why are you so deep in the the Wildking's forge?" He asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. He had met a few people on this trip, but those were in the shallows of the forest, as it were. He turned as a rustling from the direction of his party heralded that annoying guard of theirs. The mercenary had followed and sauntered a few meters away from the two. "Why hello there. Making friends Hui? You know the forest isn't safe, you would think getting lost once or twice would teach you not to wander." He said with a smirk.

Still flushing from his earlier embarrassment, his cheeks reddened further as the mercenary started teasing him again.