Thread Closed
Chocobos started to chirp. Animals steadily began to creep out of their nest and hideouts. Windows, doors and curtains are pushed away.
It was yet another morning in the Shroud. A morning like any other, to any other person in realm. To the bubbly girl of the fancy hat though, it was a particularly special one. Acorn gathering with her friends? Marvelous! A chance to enjoy a bit of peaceful time with Mr. Franz and Ms. Edda. And so she went, humming happily at her cheery thoughts, down the road that led to the Blue Badger Gate, already finding a highlander she knew very well.
Snickering, she approaches sneakily before patting Franz's shoulder with a grin. "Hello! Thanks for coming, Mr. Franz..!"
The redheaded highlander turns around, greeting the girl with a smile of his own. "As I'd said, any time."
Shortly afterwards, a blonde midlander approached them silently, hands clasped together in front of her, prompting another smile from Leanne. "And Ms. Edda just joined us! Which means, time for acorn gathering!"
Edda answers with a curt nod.
"It should be interesting." Franz nods back to Edda.
Leanne nods before walking a few meters forward. Suddenly, she turns around, pointing to both of them with an awful amount of enthusiasm. "It shall be! And I concocted a plan to get us through quickly and effectively!" she nods rather sagely.†She clears her throat. "The conjurers requested a “holy†acorn. To make sure we don't roam all over the forest and gather any acorn we find, I suggest we only stick to spots sacred to the elementals! So...Lifemend Stump, Hedgetree and Everschade! Mr. Franz, you are our secret weapon."
Franz plasters a confused expression, speaking barely more audible than a mumble. "Why am I a weapon?"
Leanne snickers upon the confused question. "Just a manner of saying, you silly!" she crosses her arms. "You told me you can 'taste' the aether of other individuals, correct?"
"I wouldn't call it something quite that specific. And it's...generally only if someone tries to cast on me." He took a deep breath and smiled anyways. "But I shall try to assist however I can."
Leanne smiles sheepshly. "Does not hurt trying. I mean. I know they call it a "holy" acorn. But the only thing I can imagine of such is that such a particular acorn has a different manner of aether than other ones. So...an ability to discern which acorn has a "holier" aether will be more than welcome!" she then faces Edda. "Ms. Edda!"
"Yes, Leanne?"
"You're a conjurer! Perhaps you would know another manner of discern a holy acorn from normal ones?"
Pursing her lips, Edda shakes her head in a negatory. "I am not so skilled as to be able to discern so fine a thing. I will do what I can, however."
"Anything you can do to make our task easier, the better. And I...I...will rely on my eyesight. Which means nothing, but I don't have any manner of knowing what is holy and what isn't..." Leanne frowns, clearly unsatisfied.
Franz clears his throat. "In any case, if we gather enough, we'll surely find one that fulfills the leve?"
Edda looks down at her feet. Meanwhile, Leanne nods at Franz words. "Yes. That's pretty much why they gave me this huge bag." she finally frowns while showing the bag to them. It went from her head to waist in length.
Franz looks between the two girls. "Then we best get to work. Perhaps we can try casting on the acorns later to see if any of them have different properties. Did the leve say they should act any differently?"
"Only that they’re holy…" Leanne smiles sheepishly. "A gil for your thoughts, Ms. Edda? You're awfully silent."
Edda hesitates, speaking very quietly. "I imagine there may be some process that can be tried on them. I do not know for sure."
Franz chimes in. "Perhaps a 'holy acorn' is one that's been purified in some manner?"
Leanne sighs, shrugging dejectedly at the lack of details. "Maybe? Besides the fact that is a holy acorn, completely in the black...ah wah, let's go to the Stump. I'm sure we will figure out something while we sift through them." She nods before peering at the hyur. She throws a grin her way. "Ms. Edda, come on, cheer up, be more energetic! It is an adventure! A very minimal one...don't want you sleeping in the middle of a forest. Who knows what will happen. An insect might try getting into your mouth..!" laughing at her own jest, she goes her merry way.
Franz peers back a bit. "Leanne seems to be quite excited."
Edda watches the woman, and nods once.
-
It took a few minutes to reach the sacred Lifemend Stump. Upon reaching the spot, Leanne quickly jumps onto the stump, and immediately starts to look around. "Ah wah, suppose here is a good enough place to start..." she drops the sack then stretches herself.â€Would be too much to hope finding the holy acorn here already...?"
Edda speaks in a low tone. "The stump itself is hallowed ground. It would make sense to find on here."
Franz chimes in. "We should probably take samples from each place, just to be careful, however." He eyes the large bag, wondering if they were expected to fill it. And whether the acorns on the ground are fine or if they are to gather fresher ones still on the trees. "Leanne, do you know what they plan to use the acorns for? It may help."
Leanne slap both cheeks then groans. She couldn't say she was excited for acorn gathering, but it was better to keep herself up than to drown in the sheer boredom the sound of the task inspires. "To substitute a sapling that was sanctified by the elementals." she slides from the stump, starting her acorn gathering.
"I see. Then likely ones that could sprout into to trees..."
Edda says not a word, simply heading to a nearby tree to begin her search for acorns. Unwrapping the cloth sash around her waist to use it as a makeshift bag, she starts to place her acorns into it carefully, minding her own business. Meanwhile, Franz took sight of a treant, and decided to slowly approach it. It would probably have the freshest acorns, and the Elementals did seem to be rather fond of the tree-creatures, he thought. Leanne though, with no proper knowledge of what she’s seeking, simply starts collecting all acorns she could find. If anything her trained eyes could help her with, is spotting a big amount of them, even those slightly camouflaged between dirt and leaves. Eventually she notices the stunt Franz was pulling, and calls out for him in curiosity. "Hm? Whatcha thinking, Mr. Franz?"
The man peacefully collects the acorns from the silent protector before returning to Leanne. "It didn't seem to mind." He hands over a few very green acorns to her. Blinking while taking the acorns, a big smile sprawls through her features. "Ooh! Didn't think of that! Good thought, Mr. Franz!" she nods. Edda though shoots a wary glance at Franz before resuming her own gathering attempt.
"If the Elementals like to use treants as their minions, I figured perhaps a sapling that would become a treant may be what we want."
Leanne nods in agreement, then laughs sheepishly, noticing Edda’s glance from the corner of her eyes. "Agreed...although, be cautious while catching those. You know how elementals are finicky...treants seem to share their temperament."
"I'm sure we'll be fine. There's....nothing to upset them this time, right?"
Edda answers the question by a simple shaking of her head. That prompted Franz to approach her. "Is something amiss?"
"No." she answers, holding up her sash full of acorns, as if to prove her point. Leanne, slightly unnerved, chuckles nervously. "Oh gosh. I will continue my acorn hunting...! We're up for a good start, anyway!" she nods, depositing a handful of acorns into the bag.
“Alright." Franz nods before walking over to the stump to gather some acorns that had fallen around it. At the same time, Leanne jumps back to the ground, returning to pluck acorn after acorn, any that her golden hues could spot. Soon, she hums melodically. "Hmmm...I can't help but think now...why a sacred sapling was stolen..."
Once more, Franz chimes in to the girl’s thoughts. "It sounds like something that would cause woodsin."Â
Leanne were to nod to Franz’s assessment, shortly before being interrupted by Edda, who wordlessly came to her while holding the collection of acorns she had caught. "It would. I thi-oh! Thanks~" The seeker shoots a warm smile to the blonde before once more climbing onto the stump, gingerly depositing all that was collected into the large bag. Done so, she continues with her line of thought. "Anyhow! It was probably the same person! Or group of individuals. Or voidkin? We don't know who the perpetrator was still.."
"It was likely not Voidkin," Edda says softly.
JumpÃng down from the stump, Leanne immediately returns to the hunting. Wasn't being as tedious as she thought at first, and she was particularly thankful for that. "Probably wasn't, yeah. But with the amount of craziness I've seen...always room for doubt at this point."
Franz likewise returned to his own questions. "Hmm...what would one have to gain from it? It's...just a tree at this point, isn't it?"
"No idea. So far it looks like they're simply trying to anger the elementals?" Leanne tilts her head. "There's not much to win from burning a sacred tree except woodsin, I'd think...but what I know about void users."
"It was not the goal - merely a means to one," Edda says more to herself than anyone else.
Franz looks at Edda. "Goal?"
She nods. "Yes."
"Yeah, but which one? What sort of plan has you burning a sacred tree and stir the wrath of the elementals? I can't understand that...just like I can't quite understand playing with the undead." Leanne sighs.
Franz hums, then redirects his gaze back to Leanne. "You were raised in Gridania, right, Leanne? Are there any customs or rituals that might make use of a sapling as opposed to any other tree or bush?"
"There are, but those are mostly knowledge of the conjurers."
Pursing her lips, Edda smiles lightly. "Leanne."
"Hm?"
"May I hold one of the green acorns? Just one."
"Thank you." Edda mutters. Kneeling down to search through the bag, she finds one of the green ones. She inspects it closely, before depositing it into a pocket. Curiosity picked, Leanne hums, ears flicking like little antennas. "Something in your mind, Ms. Edda?"
"Nothing of great import. Did you want to head to another location?"
Leanne smiles gently. "All thoughts are important...ah, yes! Unless you guys feel like grabbing a few more acorns? Here, I mean."
Franz finally interjected into the conversation once more, holding a couple handfuls worth from around the stump. "I think we've plenty." Edda nods in agreement. So did Leanne afterwards. "If you think so...!" she takes the sack, opening it under his hands. "To Everschade then!"
"Alright." He motions to the bag slightly after depositing the acorns. "I can carry it."
"Thank you." she grins while handling the thing to Franz. Jumping onto the stump one last time to retrieve her bow, she points to the exit. "Come on! More acorns await us!"
---
The walk to the Everschade tree were to be as peaceful as the entire morning were so far. Upon reaching their point of interest, Leanne stopped to admire the tree, golden orbs glowing with wonder and admiration. "I always loved this one spot in particular...just had to ignore the slugs..Aah, Everschade..." she sighs contently. Snapping from her brief reverie though, the girl quickly drops both bow and quiver on the little patch of dry land before stretching limbs. "This one I can help better than the other..."
Franz inspects the tree with equal awe. "This is quite the tree..."
"More acorns similar to the green ones would be helpful." Edda adds.
Franz nods. "That can be done."
Edda frowns, and takes out her lone acorn from earlier, inspects it slowly, then returns it to her pocket. Leanne just kept herself riding on her sudden burst of enthusiasm nodding with a confident grin at the notion of being useful to the task. "Yup!" she puts a foot on a root. After examining the tree for a moment, she proceeds to jump from bark to bark, until grabbing hold of a branch, throwing herself up to the top of the tree. She giggles before bowing in just. "Ta da!" Edda watches Leanne’s stunt in severely self-muted awe. Franz meanwhile rests a hand on the trunk, concentrating. Or at least trying to. He closes his eyes and takes long, slow, breaths. Nope, nothing. He gives up, concentration broken after the acrobatics.
"Be right back! Feel free to talk in my absence...!" Leanne grins while making a peace signal to both hyur. She then jumps into the greens and browns that comprised the Everschade's top. Franz looks back to Edda.
"Is it even safe for her to be doing that?"
Edda barely looks over her shoulder. "No more or any less safe than an opo-opo doing the same. She will be fine." she kneels down on the ground to look for acorns, but the water-logged soil did make the task a bit more difficult, taking a few minutes before heading to the other side of the bank to look, only managing to find a small handful here. Meanwhile Leanne made a bit of a ruckus up there as she moved from branch to branch, not unlike the opo-opo Edda mentioned. Every now and then there was a bit of rustling over Edda and Franz, followed by several acorns being dropped into the bag. Sighing, Franz resigns himself to searching for acorns around the base of the tree. He simply didn't have the motivation to climb the branches.
Eventually, Leanne peeked her head out of the green leaves. Her head was upside down. Somehow her hat held to her skull. Hat magic. "Having too much trouble down there?"
"The ground is a little soft, but there are a few." Franz calls back up. She nods. "I will try to get this over quickly...!â€
Rustle rustle...rustle...Leanne finally jumped down from the tree, alongside her a few more couple of acorns. They were quite greenish. "Think I took enough."
"Quite." the man answers.
"Yup! Got how many?"
Franz shook his head in defeat. "Not many made it to the ground and stayed. I've only a small collection from here."
Sighing, Leanne looks around, scratching her head. "Thought as much. The ground here makes it for a hard time finding them...wait, where's Ms. Edda?"
"The other side." He points somewhat. Both of the look to the spot the finger led to. No Edda in sight. "She was over here..."
Leanne blinks repeatedly before deciding to simply yell. "Ms. Edda! Where are you!"
Edda suddenly stands from her kneeling position, and emerges from behind a boulder. "What is it?"
"We're done here! Got any acorns?"
The woman nods, staring at Leanne with a blank expression. "Yes," she says, and holds up her sash full of them, but certainly less from before. "Did you find any green ones?"
"There were a couple near the trunk. I think Leanne must have found some in the branches." Franz answers. Leanne nods with a sheepish aura to Franz. It was no doubt by that point that Edda's mute visage slightly unnerved her. "Y-Yup! Quite a good amount! Hopefully the next tree will be even better. Anyhow, let's go...!" she nods before walking ahead, doing a quite wide berth from a swarm of hornets nearby. "I still remember the last time I was stung by one..." she shudders in the reminder.
"...Leanne." Edda chimes. Franz just stares at Edda a bit.
"Hm?" Leanne stops in her tracks.
"May I hold onto a green one?"
"...Another?" the girl blinks. "Well, I see no problem, just paint me curious."
"Yes. They are both from different locales, after all."
Leanne motions to the bag that was being held by Franz. "Go ahead...!" he readily holds out the bag. There are a few green ones on the top, easily pickable. Edda reached in to quickly snatch one, before putting it away in another, separate pocket.
"That is all, forgive me. Shall we?"
Leanne raises a brow once more. Sighing, she nods. "Ayup." she then resumes her walk. "Hedgetree now."
---
Leanne held to her hat, attentive of the possible dangers that were ready to assault the three of them. Different of the other two trees, the Hedgetree found itself nearby a particularly dangerous location; The infamous Tam-Tara Deepcroft. Ready to pull her bow at moment’s notice, she tries to look intimidating, putting herself on lookout for any antsy diremite or voidsent. Franz shared the sentiment, grimacing a bit. "The air around here is always so stale."
"Nearby the Deepcroft?" Leanne asks.
"Yes. It's a very uneasy feeling around."
"Given it is a site of void magic...not impressed." she purses her lips before stopping before the last site. "Here are. Hedgetree." she stops before the sacred tree.
"...Another green one." Edda mutters while kneeling down to pick up a convenient green acorn. She pockets it. Franz though was more curious about the tree, eyes locked on the adornments wrapped around the bark of the Hedgetree.
"Decorations?"
Leanne nods. "Mhm. There are more than one Hedgetree in the Shroud. All of them have this manner of decoration."
"They're used for the barrier, right?"
"Yes."
The short conversation done, all of them restarted their hunting. The silent didn’t held for long though, as Leanne began to giggle. "Thank this tree for not being attack by everything this forest holds...!†she sighs, her expression darkening briefly. “If anything bad were to befall the hedgetree...it would be a tragedy." she'd look up to the tree. "Well! Sure we will stop them." Leanne says at last, grinning with confidence. Edda just nods absently to herself in agreement with the girl. Franz though decided to pat the tree. Leanne grinned playfully at the action.
"Suppose petting the tree is a manner of showing gratitude, yes...!"
"I don't think it would care for a hug."
"Who knows." Leanne chuckled, shaking her head. "...It is not uncommon for us when we are kids to hug a tree. Was most a childish form of showing gratitude to the Bounty and the elementals, but..." Leanne smiles warmly before shrugging in fondness, reliving a few memories. "Didn't hurt."
"Interesting." Franz answered.
"Is that so? Nowadays I think of it as mostly silly...!" she giggles before lifting herself.
"Never did anything like that growing up, so...it's interesting."
Edda meanwhile kept listening in as she sifts through the grass, keeping her back to the pair.
"Perhaps you could hug the tree then! See how it feels. I promise to tell no one."
After considering it for a moment, Franz decided not to. "I'll pass."
"Aaaw. I was kinda excited to see you hugging a tree...don't know why, the thought of it just makes me have a giggle fit..." although not a gigglefit, she did let out a sweet chuckle. "Anyhow...!" she clears her throat. "Think we're done here!" jumping to her feet, Leanne promptly tipped her hat to both. "Thank you very much for your assistance...would've taken far more long if I've done it alone.."
Fidgeting with her pockets, Edda nods while softly speaking. "...The ones from the Everschade will likely be the best candidates."
"As long as they're satisfied with an acorn! Don't want to think I've wasted both of your times for naught."
Edda clenches the acorns in her fist, before letting them drop to the ground. "I am sure they will be."
Leanne laughs nervously before motioning to grab the bag. "May I, Mr. Franz?"
"May I bring it into the city?"
"Hmm...well, I was planning to do it myself..." she blinks. "Although if you wish to carry the burden...!"
"It's no issue. Where should I drop them off? The Conjurers' Guild?"
Leanne nods. "Mhm. Just go to the reception and ask about my name."
"I'll do that then. Think I might make my leave then...." He gave a light smile, glancing to Edda slightly in a “can you talk to her" way. Leanne sighs and nods silently. Frowning at herself though, she shook her head, patted Franz's shoulder, then gave him a thumbs up and a big smile. Franz leaned down a little for a quick whisper into Leanne’s ears. Retreating with a smile, he makes his back towards the city. Leanne grinned as bright as ever while waving to her friend, full of energy.
"Thanks again!!'
It was yet another morning in the Shroud. A morning like any other, to any other person in realm. To the bubbly girl of the fancy hat though, it was a particularly special one. Acorn gathering with her friends? Marvelous! A chance to enjoy a bit of peaceful time with Mr. Franz and Ms. Edda. And so she went, humming happily at her cheery thoughts, down the road that led to the Blue Badger Gate, already finding a highlander she knew very well.
Snickering, she approaches sneakily before patting Franz's shoulder with a grin. "Hello! Thanks for coming, Mr. Franz..!"
The redheaded highlander turns around, greeting the girl with a smile of his own. "As I'd said, any time."
Shortly afterwards, a blonde midlander approached them silently, hands clasped together in front of her, prompting another smile from Leanne. "And Ms. Edda just joined us! Which means, time for acorn gathering!"
Edda answers with a curt nod.
"It should be interesting." Franz nods back to Edda.
Leanne nods before walking a few meters forward. Suddenly, she turns around, pointing to both of them with an awful amount of enthusiasm. "It shall be! And I concocted a plan to get us through quickly and effectively!" she nods rather sagely.†She clears her throat. "The conjurers requested a “holy†acorn. To make sure we don't roam all over the forest and gather any acorn we find, I suggest we only stick to spots sacred to the elementals! So...Lifemend Stump, Hedgetree and Everschade! Mr. Franz, you are our secret weapon."
Franz plasters a confused expression, speaking barely more audible than a mumble. "Why am I a weapon?"
Leanne snickers upon the confused question. "Just a manner of saying, you silly!" she crosses her arms. "You told me you can 'taste' the aether of other individuals, correct?"
"I wouldn't call it something quite that specific. And it's...generally only if someone tries to cast on me." He took a deep breath and smiled anyways. "But I shall try to assist however I can."
Leanne smiles sheepshly. "Does not hurt trying. I mean. I know they call it a "holy" acorn. But the only thing I can imagine of such is that such a particular acorn has a different manner of aether than other ones. So...an ability to discern which acorn has a "holier" aether will be more than welcome!" she then faces Edda. "Ms. Edda!"
"Yes, Leanne?"
"You're a conjurer! Perhaps you would know another manner of discern a holy acorn from normal ones?"
Pursing her lips, Edda shakes her head in a negatory. "I am not so skilled as to be able to discern so fine a thing. I will do what I can, however."
"Anything you can do to make our task easier, the better. And I...I...will rely on my eyesight. Which means nothing, but I don't have any manner of knowing what is holy and what isn't..." Leanne frowns, clearly unsatisfied.
Franz clears his throat. "In any case, if we gather enough, we'll surely find one that fulfills the leve?"
Edda looks down at her feet. Meanwhile, Leanne nods at Franz words. "Yes. That's pretty much why they gave me this huge bag." she finally frowns while showing the bag to them. It went from her head to waist in length.
Franz looks between the two girls. "Then we best get to work. Perhaps we can try casting on the acorns later to see if any of them have different properties. Did the leve say they should act any differently?"
"Only that they’re holy…" Leanne smiles sheepishly. "A gil for your thoughts, Ms. Edda? You're awfully silent."
Edda hesitates, speaking very quietly. "I imagine there may be some process that can be tried on them. I do not know for sure."
Franz chimes in. "Perhaps a 'holy acorn' is one that's been purified in some manner?"
Leanne sighs, shrugging dejectedly at the lack of details. "Maybe? Besides the fact that is a holy acorn, completely in the black...ah wah, let's go to the Stump. I'm sure we will figure out something while we sift through them." She nods before peering at the hyur. She throws a grin her way. "Ms. Edda, come on, cheer up, be more energetic! It is an adventure! A very minimal one...don't want you sleeping in the middle of a forest. Who knows what will happen. An insect might try getting into your mouth..!" laughing at her own jest, she goes her merry way.
Franz peers back a bit. "Leanne seems to be quite excited."
Edda watches the woman, and nods once.
-
It took a few minutes to reach the sacred Lifemend Stump. Upon reaching the spot, Leanne quickly jumps onto the stump, and immediately starts to look around. "Ah wah, suppose here is a good enough place to start..." she drops the sack then stretches herself.â€Would be too much to hope finding the holy acorn here already...?"
Edda speaks in a low tone. "The stump itself is hallowed ground. It would make sense to find on here."
Franz chimes in. "We should probably take samples from each place, just to be careful, however." He eyes the large bag, wondering if they were expected to fill it. And whether the acorns on the ground are fine or if they are to gather fresher ones still on the trees. "Leanne, do you know what they plan to use the acorns for? It may help."
Leanne slap both cheeks then groans. She couldn't say she was excited for acorn gathering, but it was better to keep herself up than to drown in the sheer boredom the sound of the task inspires. "To substitute a sapling that was sanctified by the elementals." she slides from the stump, starting her acorn gathering.
"I see. Then likely ones that could sprout into to trees..."
Edda says not a word, simply heading to a nearby tree to begin her search for acorns. Unwrapping the cloth sash around her waist to use it as a makeshift bag, she starts to place her acorns into it carefully, minding her own business. Meanwhile, Franz took sight of a treant, and decided to slowly approach it. It would probably have the freshest acorns, and the Elementals did seem to be rather fond of the tree-creatures, he thought. Leanne though, with no proper knowledge of what she’s seeking, simply starts collecting all acorns she could find. If anything her trained eyes could help her with, is spotting a big amount of them, even those slightly camouflaged between dirt and leaves. Eventually she notices the stunt Franz was pulling, and calls out for him in curiosity. "Hm? Whatcha thinking, Mr. Franz?"
The man peacefully collects the acorns from the silent protector before returning to Leanne. "It didn't seem to mind." He hands over a few very green acorns to her. Blinking while taking the acorns, a big smile sprawls through her features. "Ooh! Didn't think of that! Good thought, Mr. Franz!" she nods. Edda though shoots a wary glance at Franz before resuming her own gathering attempt.
"If the Elementals like to use treants as their minions, I figured perhaps a sapling that would become a treant may be what we want."
Leanne nods in agreement, then laughs sheepishly, noticing Edda’s glance from the corner of her eyes. "Agreed...although, be cautious while catching those. You know how elementals are finicky...treants seem to share their temperament."
"I'm sure we'll be fine. There's....nothing to upset them this time, right?"
Edda answers the question by a simple shaking of her head. That prompted Franz to approach her. "Is something amiss?"
"No." she answers, holding up her sash full of acorns, as if to prove her point. Leanne, slightly unnerved, chuckles nervously. "Oh gosh. I will continue my acorn hunting...! We're up for a good start, anyway!" she nods, depositing a handful of acorns into the bag.
“Alright." Franz nods before walking over to the stump to gather some acorns that had fallen around it. At the same time, Leanne jumps back to the ground, returning to pluck acorn after acorn, any that her golden hues could spot. Soon, she hums melodically. "Hmmm...I can't help but think now...why a sacred sapling was stolen..."
Once more, Franz chimes in to the girl’s thoughts. "It sounds like something that would cause woodsin."Â
Leanne were to nod to Franz’s assessment, shortly before being interrupted by Edda, who wordlessly came to her while holding the collection of acorns she had caught. "It would. I thi-oh! Thanks~" The seeker shoots a warm smile to the blonde before once more climbing onto the stump, gingerly depositing all that was collected into the large bag. Done so, she continues with her line of thought. "Anyhow! It was probably the same person! Or group of individuals. Or voidkin? We don't know who the perpetrator was still.."
"It was likely not Voidkin," Edda says softly.
JumpÃng down from the stump, Leanne immediately returns to the hunting. Wasn't being as tedious as she thought at first, and she was particularly thankful for that. "Probably wasn't, yeah. But with the amount of craziness I've seen...always room for doubt at this point."
Franz likewise returned to his own questions. "Hmm...what would one have to gain from it? It's...just a tree at this point, isn't it?"
"No idea. So far it looks like they're simply trying to anger the elementals?" Leanne tilts her head. "There's not much to win from burning a sacred tree except woodsin, I'd think...but what I know about void users."
"It was not the goal - merely a means to one," Edda says more to herself than anyone else.
Franz looks at Edda. "Goal?"
She nods. "Yes."
"Yeah, but which one? What sort of plan has you burning a sacred tree and stir the wrath of the elementals? I can't understand that...just like I can't quite understand playing with the undead." Leanne sighs.
Franz hums, then redirects his gaze back to Leanne. "You were raised in Gridania, right, Leanne? Are there any customs or rituals that might make use of a sapling as opposed to any other tree or bush?"
"There are, but those are mostly knowledge of the conjurers."
Pursing her lips, Edda smiles lightly. "Leanne."
"Hm?"
"May I hold one of the green acorns? Just one."
"Thank you." Edda mutters. Kneeling down to search through the bag, she finds one of the green ones. She inspects it closely, before depositing it into a pocket. Curiosity picked, Leanne hums, ears flicking like little antennas. "Something in your mind, Ms. Edda?"
"Nothing of great import. Did you want to head to another location?"
Leanne smiles gently. "All thoughts are important...ah, yes! Unless you guys feel like grabbing a few more acorns? Here, I mean."
Franz finally interjected into the conversation once more, holding a couple handfuls worth from around the stump. "I think we've plenty." Edda nods in agreement. So did Leanne afterwards. "If you think so...!" she takes the sack, opening it under his hands. "To Everschade then!"
"Alright." He motions to the bag slightly after depositing the acorns. "I can carry it."
"Thank you." she grins while handling the thing to Franz. Jumping onto the stump one last time to retrieve her bow, she points to the exit. "Come on! More acorns await us!"
---
The walk to the Everschade tree were to be as peaceful as the entire morning were so far. Upon reaching their point of interest, Leanne stopped to admire the tree, golden orbs glowing with wonder and admiration. "I always loved this one spot in particular...just had to ignore the slugs..Aah, Everschade..." she sighs contently. Snapping from her brief reverie though, the girl quickly drops both bow and quiver on the little patch of dry land before stretching limbs. "This one I can help better than the other..."
Franz inspects the tree with equal awe. "This is quite the tree..."
"More acorns similar to the green ones would be helpful." Edda adds.
Franz nods. "That can be done."
Edda frowns, and takes out her lone acorn from earlier, inspects it slowly, then returns it to her pocket. Leanne just kept herself riding on her sudden burst of enthusiasm nodding with a confident grin at the notion of being useful to the task. "Yup!" she puts a foot on a root. After examining the tree for a moment, she proceeds to jump from bark to bark, until grabbing hold of a branch, throwing herself up to the top of the tree. She giggles before bowing in just. "Ta da!" Edda watches Leanne’s stunt in severely self-muted awe. Franz meanwhile rests a hand on the trunk, concentrating. Or at least trying to. He closes his eyes and takes long, slow, breaths. Nope, nothing. He gives up, concentration broken after the acrobatics.
"Be right back! Feel free to talk in my absence...!" Leanne grins while making a peace signal to both hyur. She then jumps into the greens and browns that comprised the Everschade's top. Franz looks back to Edda.
"Is it even safe for her to be doing that?"
Edda barely looks over her shoulder. "No more or any less safe than an opo-opo doing the same. She will be fine." she kneels down on the ground to look for acorns, but the water-logged soil did make the task a bit more difficult, taking a few minutes before heading to the other side of the bank to look, only managing to find a small handful here. Meanwhile Leanne made a bit of a ruckus up there as she moved from branch to branch, not unlike the opo-opo Edda mentioned. Every now and then there was a bit of rustling over Edda and Franz, followed by several acorns being dropped into the bag. Sighing, Franz resigns himself to searching for acorns around the base of the tree. He simply didn't have the motivation to climb the branches.
Eventually, Leanne peeked her head out of the green leaves. Her head was upside down. Somehow her hat held to her skull. Hat magic. "Having too much trouble down there?"
"The ground is a little soft, but there are a few." Franz calls back up. She nods. "I will try to get this over quickly...!â€
Rustle rustle...rustle...Leanne finally jumped down from the tree, alongside her a few more couple of acorns. They were quite greenish. "Think I took enough."
"Quite." the man answers.
"Yup! Got how many?"
Franz shook his head in defeat. "Not many made it to the ground and stayed. I've only a small collection from here."
Sighing, Leanne looks around, scratching her head. "Thought as much. The ground here makes it for a hard time finding them...wait, where's Ms. Edda?"
"The other side." He points somewhat. Both of the look to the spot the finger led to. No Edda in sight. "She was over here..."
Leanne blinks repeatedly before deciding to simply yell. "Ms. Edda! Where are you!"
Edda suddenly stands from her kneeling position, and emerges from behind a boulder. "What is it?"
"We're done here! Got any acorns?"
The woman nods, staring at Leanne with a blank expression. "Yes," she says, and holds up her sash full of them, but certainly less from before. "Did you find any green ones?"
"There were a couple near the trunk. I think Leanne must have found some in the branches." Franz answers. Leanne nods with a sheepish aura to Franz. It was no doubt by that point that Edda's mute visage slightly unnerved her. "Y-Yup! Quite a good amount! Hopefully the next tree will be even better. Anyhow, let's go...!" she nods before walking ahead, doing a quite wide berth from a swarm of hornets nearby. "I still remember the last time I was stung by one..." she shudders in the reminder.
"...Leanne." Edda chimes. Franz just stares at Edda a bit.
"Hm?" Leanne stops in her tracks.
"May I hold onto a green one?"
"...Another?" the girl blinks. "Well, I see no problem, just paint me curious."
"Yes. They are both from different locales, after all."
Leanne motions to the bag that was being held by Franz. "Go ahead...!" he readily holds out the bag. There are a few green ones on the top, easily pickable. Edda reached in to quickly snatch one, before putting it away in another, separate pocket.
"That is all, forgive me. Shall we?"
Leanne raises a brow once more. Sighing, she nods. "Ayup." she then resumes her walk. "Hedgetree now."
---
Leanne held to her hat, attentive of the possible dangers that were ready to assault the three of them. Different of the other two trees, the Hedgetree found itself nearby a particularly dangerous location; The infamous Tam-Tara Deepcroft. Ready to pull her bow at moment’s notice, she tries to look intimidating, putting herself on lookout for any antsy diremite or voidsent. Franz shared the sentiment, grimacing a bit. "The air around here is always so stale."
"Nearby the Deepcroft?" Leanne asks.
"Yes. It's a very uneasy feeling around."
"Given it is a site of void magic...not impressed." she purses her lips before stopping before the last site. "Here are. Hedgetree." she stops before the sacred tree.
"...Another green one." Edda mutters while kneeling down to pick up a convenient green acorn. She pockets it. Franz though was more curious about the tree, eyes locked on the adornments wrapped around the bark of the Hedgetree.
"Decorations?"
Leanne nods. "Mhm. There are more than one Hedgetree in the Shroud. All of them have this manner of decoration."
"They're used for the barrier, right?"
"Yes."
The short conversation done, all of them restarted their hunting. The silent didn’t held for long though, as Leanne began to giggle. "Thank this tree for not being attack by everything this forest holds...!†she sighs, her expression darkening briefly. “If anything bad were to befall the hedgetree...it would be a tragedy." she'd look up to the tree. "Well! Sure we will stop them." Leanne says at last, grinning with confidence. Edda just nods absently to herself in agreement with the girl. Franz though decided to pat the tree. Leanne grinned playfully at the action.
"Suppose petting the tree is a manner of showing gratitude, yes...!"
"I don't think it would care for a hug."
"Who knows." Leanne chuckled, shaking her head. "...It is not uncommon for us when we are kids to hug a tree. Was most a childish form of showing gratitude to the Bounty and the elementals, but..." Leanne smiles warmly before shrugging in fondness, reliving a few memories. "Didn't hurt."
"Interesting." Franz answered.
"Is that so? Nowadays I think of it as mostly silly...!" she giggles before lifting herself.
"Never did anything like that growing up, so...it's interesting."
Edda meanwhile kept listening in as she sifts through the grass, keeping her back to the pair.
"Perhaps you could hug the tree then! See how it feels. I promise to tell no one."
After considering it for a moment, Franz decided not to. "I'll pass."
"Aaaw. I was kinda excited to see you hugging a tree...don't know why, the thought of it just makes me have a giggle fit..." although not a gigglefit, she did let out a sweet chuckle. "Anyhow...!" she clears her throat. "Think we're done here!" jumping to her feet, Leanne promptly tipped her hat to both. "Thank you very much for your assistance...would've taken far more long if I've done it alone.."
Fidgeting with her pockets, Edda nods while softly speaking. "...The ones from the Everschade will likely be the best candidates."
"As long as they're satisfied with an acorn! Don't want to think I've wasted both of your times for naught."
Edda clenches the acorns in her fist, before letting them drop to the ground. "I am sure they will be."
Leanne laughs nervously before motioning to grab the bag. "May I, Mr. Franz?"
"May I bring it into the city?"
"Hmm...well, I was planning to do it myself..." she blinks. "Although if you wish to carry the burden...!"
"It's no issue. Where should I drop them off? The Conjurers' Guild?"
Leanne nods. "Mhm. Just go to the reception and ask about my name."
"I'll do that then. Think I might make my leave then...." He gave a light smile, glancing to Edda slightly in a “can you talk to her" way. Leanne sighs and nods silently. Frowning at herself though, she shook her head, patted Franz's shoulder, then gave him a thumbs up and a big smile. Franz leaned down a little for a quick whisper into Leanne’s ears. Retreating with a smile, he makes his back towards the city. Leanne grinned as bright as ever while waving to her friend, full of energy.
"Thanks again!!'
"Forever walking forward, towards the ever distant horizon."
-Leanne Delphium