(LOG) Addison and Artemus vs. A Tree
Addison responds to Artemus's note and heads off into Shadow with his Uncle. While looking for a vine, they get embroiled in a fight with a tree. Addison proves that all his time in Weirmonken has not been a waste: he can take a tree. It doesn't even run away.
Addison has met Artemus at the predesignated place. Information was shared. Pictures of a specific species of plant was shown along with a verbal description. Artemus, the pacifist, actually wears a sword along with darts neatly arranged in leather straps around both his wrists. It seems the darts are protected in such a way that their tips are covered. With the murder of a helpless little critter of some sort Artemus takes Addison through the shadows with him. They arrive in a dark, mist covered world in what looks to be an endless forest. There is enough light creeping through the canopy overhead but it's dulled by the rolling, ominous mists. "Well," Artemus says. "This is rather... ominous."
Addison came when Artemus summoned him and he brought Nex Fovi with him. The last time he touched Nex Fovi was the Black Road in Weirmonken Campaign, and its touch brings back a rush of horrors. But he goes with Artemus anyway out into Shadow after ensuring he had a 'return cockroach' in a vial. And when he arrives in the dark, mist-covered world, he says, "It looks a bit like Weirmonken."
"It does," Artemus agrees. "However that lizard we used to arrive here was not from Weirmonken. This is a place called Arsenia." He takes a moment to look around. "Well... where shall we start?"
Addison loosens the catch on Nex Fovi and looks around the ground. "I don't know. I don't want to split up. Did the information on the plant have any specifics? Habitat? Sides of trees, in riverbanks, anything like that?"
"It's a vine," Artemus says. "I could be growing up the side of something or, even, along the ground itself. You know how vines are. Just remember the distinctive purple leaves." He adjusts the pack he wears upon his back and then, also, loosens the catch upon his sword. He points in a seemingly random direction. "Might as well start this way."
Addison starts looking around on the ground for something with distinctive purple leaves. Then he looks up to follow Artemus. "I'm pretty good at finding strange and bizarre things no one would ever notice."
Artemus reaches over to pat Addison upon the back of a shoulder. With a rather warm smile he says, "That is because you are strange and bizarre yourself, my dear Nephew. And this is not a bad thing at all."
Addison pushes hair behind an ear and continues to look around for this purple vine. "I like weird and bizarre and strange things. I like answers to questions. I don't usually look for flora, though."
"Yes, neither do I," Artemus answers. "Those princesses can be very difficult to find."
Addison almost bursts out laughing. "Hey! I'm married to her daughter! I live next door to her! Although I've not seen her in months and months."
Artemus laughs himself and then stops suddenly. He points to a tree ahead that has a vine coiling up around it. "There, Addison. Do you see that? The purple leaves?"
Addison walks closer to the tree and peers at the leaves through round rimmed glasses. "Oh... is that it? Purple leaves. That looks about right."
Artemus steps up next to Addison and begins moving leaves around to inspect them. "My, I believe it is," Artemus says. "See if you can find the end so I can get a clipping to root?"
Addison starts climbing around on the ground by the roots of the tree while searching for the roots of the vine. "I think... it's trailed to... here. Here, in the roots of this tree."
As Addison roots around it almost seems as if the tree moves to avoid him. Surely though, it was just a trick of the eye. Artemus continues to inspect the vine and it's leaves. "Do you have a spade," he asks his nephew.
"No, no spade, just my sword," Addison says as he tries this reach for the roots of the vine thing again.
Artemus mms. Then, suddenly, there's a gasp and Artemus is being pulled into the tree. "Addison!" he calls, panicked.
"Artemus!" Addison calls out. "Uncle Artemus!" He has his sword in hand and he starts hacking away at the vines. "Uncle Artemus! Hold on! Hold on!"
Artemus flails and tries to reach for his own sword. It's obvious, though, that Artemus is far from being a fighter. He fumbles with the blade and it falls to the ground. It seems that the tree itself has Artemus, not the vines.
Addison drops Nex Fovi and grabs Artemus. He tries to drag Artemus, with all his might, out of the tree. But Addison isn't strong, either, so he abandons that and grabs his sword again. He starts chopping away at the vines.
The tree coils its thick branches around Artemus, pinning him like a tightly wound mummy. "Addison!" he calls. The tree begins to rumble and hiss as Addison hacks at it. Rather than sap blood begins to seep from the trees wounds.
Addison is hack hack hack hacking like a madman. "Uncle Artemus! What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?" He's hacking like crazy but he has no idea how to fight the truly living. "I'm trying to kill the vine!"
"The roots," Artemus calls down, still struggling. "Hack its roots." The tree begins swiping at Addison with leaf shrouded branches.
Addison starts hacking at the roots like a crazy person while the tree bangs away at his shoulders with the branches. HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK. He hacks like he has never hacked before.
It takes some hacking and Addison will surely get some bruises from the attack but the tree monster eventually beings to slow down. "Keep going," Artemus says. "I can feel it loosening!"
Addison continues to hack like a fiend. Hack hack HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK!
Despite Addison's hacking it seems to take /forever/ for the tree to eventually sag. Something like a sigh sounds, a death gasp. Artemus suddenly falls to the ground with a loud thump and an ieeeeee! as the tree monster is vanquished.
Addison is standing there breathing heavily with his shoulders heaving. His face and hands are covered with scratches. Everything else is covered with clothes. "Bloody tree." He gives it a kick.
Addison also gets down on his knees to check out his Uncle after he's given the tree a really good, swift kick.
The tree gives one last twitch and then sags again after Addison's kick. The thing must've been squeezing Artemus hard because where the trunk wrapped about him is beginning to bruise. Ignoring his own wounds he gets up with a groan, "Are you alright, Addison?" He's already unslinging his pack.
Addison is bleeding from a thousand cuts. He says, "I'm fine. How are you, Uncle Artemus? It almost killed you."
Like an over protective parent Artemus begins looking over the wounds to Addison's face. He even licks a thumb and then cleans one of them. "Sit down," he says as he lets go. "I have a few things that will clear some of these up."
Addison sits down and then settles cross-legged on the ground with his sword over his knees. He reaches up and his fingers come away with blood. He says, "Hunh."
Artemus squats down to dig in his pack. First thing out is a bottle of wine and then two glasses. These are set aside. Then a smooth, onyx compact. "Here you go," he says. "Flip it open and smear some of the gel onto your wounds."
Addison takes the onyx compact. He slowly smooths the salve on the various wounds on his face and then on his hands. He hisses when it stings slightly.
Artemus gets wine poured and then offers a glass of it to Addison. "It is not tea, Addison, but it should suffice. I fermented it myself."
"Oh!" Addison quickly puts down the compact and reaches for the wine. "I want to try your wine! I've been waiting to try your wine!" Vine, wounds, peril, near death, forgotten.
"It's not /that/ wine," Artemus says with a soft chuckle. He takes a sip of his own as he watches Addison then goes about removing cheese and crackers. Now it's a proper safari.
Addison sips wine and gets into the cheese and crackers. "What do you need the vine for? Other for nearly killing you."
"Taleyn and Emma went to the place the Aegisvine was reported to be but it was corrupted by the black road," Artemus says as he seats himself on a nearby stump. "In digging through old books and quizzing the ancestors I was able to discover it was the hybridization of three distinct plants. This is the first on the list."
"Two more," Addison says. "Two more to find, then. And then what? You have to go do some super secret alchemy in your laboratory?"
Artemus laughs softly. "I wouldn't call it super secret alchemy... but I must rehybridize them, yes."
"Is that difficult?" Addison asks. "I have no idea how to do anything like that."
Artemus considers that for a moment while he nibbles on a hunk of cheese. "Yes," he decides. "Though it can be done."
"I am at your disposal if you need help," Addison says, "but mostly I am only good for getting you workspace if you need it."
Artemus smiles, "I welcome any and all help... though I believe my work will be done at the Country Manor. Irene has told me that reports from the city say the Blight is close to the Townhouse now."
Addison loses a little of his good cheer. "I can't stay hiding in the Country. My job is in the Lower City. But you can send word again if you need me. I'll come. It's only a few hours' ride."
Artemus takes note of that diminishing cheer but waves it off with his wine glass. "I shall, Addison. I understand duty and needing to be somewhere. You needn't worry."
"I can't really leave," Addison says, "except on small journeys like this. I'm working on this New Lyonesse Project..."
Artemus lifts a brow, "Oh? May I ask about it?"
"It's complicated," Addison says. "When Lyonesse sank, the survivors came to Amber with all their old Feudalistic ideas and their contractual agreements, but of course all the paperwork is gone. We're trying to unravel a whole host of contractual agreements among these people to figure out who really owns what because they make a ton of claims and then get angry and eventually get to stabbing one another. Which means poor Niklas ends up with more bodies in the freezer."
"The Watch Commander," Artemus asks. He looks thoughtful for a moment. "I could, theoretically, brew you some truth potions. That, at least, would help you weed out who is lying and who is telling the truth."
"That would help," Addison says, "because all I have to go on is diplomacy, following the lines of politics where it leads, and then trying to untangle all the relationships. It's slow."
Artemus nods. "I shall see what I can do. It may take awhile. This anti-blight plant, I've been told, is my utmost priority."
"Well, yes, it will eat the city," Addison says. "The Blight that is, not the plant. But the Upper City is not my jurisdiction."
(Fade here talking about Amber City...)
Addison has met Artemus at the predesignated place. Information was shared. Pictures of a specific species of plant was shown along with a verbal description. Artemus, the pacifist, actually wears a sword along with darts neatly arranged in leather straps around both his wrists. It seems the darts are protected in such a way that their tips are covered. With the murder of a helpless little critter of some sort Artemus takes Addison through the shadows with him. They arrive in a dark, mist covered world in what looks to be an endless forest. There is enough light creeping through the canopy overhead but it's dulled by the rolling, ominous mists. "Well," Artemus says. "This is rather... ominous."
Addison came when Artemus summoned him and he brought Nex Fovi with him. The last time he touched Nex Fovi was the Black Road in Weirmonken Campaign, and its touch brings back a rush of horrors. But he goes with Artemus anyway out into Shadow after ensuring he had a 'return cockroach' in a vial. And when he arrives in the dark, mist-covered world, he says, "It looks a bit like Weirmonken."
"It does," Artemus agrees. "However that lizard we used to arrive here was not from Weirmonken. This is a place called Arsenia." He takes a moment to look around. "Well... where shall we start?"
Addison loosens the catch on Nex Fovi and looks around the ground. "I don't know. I don't want to split up. Did the information on the plant have any specifics? Habitat? Sides of trees, in riverbanks, anything like that?"
"It's a vine," Artemus says. "I could be growing up the side of something or, even, along the ground itself. You know how vines are. Just remember the distinctive purple leaves." He adjusts the pack he wears upon his back and then, also, loosens the catch upon his sword. He points in a seemingly random direction. "Might as well start this way."
Addison starts looking around on the ground for something with distinctive purple leaves. Then he looks up to follow Artemus. "I'm pretty good at finding strange and bizarre things no one would ever notice."
Artemus reaches over to pat Addison upon the back of a shoulder. With a rather warm smile he says, "That is because you are strange and bizarre yourself, my dear Nephew. And this is not a bad thing at all."
Addison pushes hair behind an ear and continues to look around for this purple vine. "I like weird and bizarre and strange things. I like answers to questions. I don't usually look for flora, though."
"Yes, neither do I," Artemus answers. "Those princesses can be very difficult to find."
Addison almost bursts out laughing. "Hey! I'm married to her daughter! I live next door to her! Although I've not seen her in months and months."
Artemus laughs himself and then stops suddenly. He points to a tree ahead that has a vine coiling up around it. "There, Addison. Do you see that? The purple leaves?"
Addison walks closer to the tree and peers at the leaves through round rimmed glasses. "Oh... is that it? Purple leaves. That looks about right."
Artemus steps up next to Addison and begins moving leaves around to inspect them. "My, I believe it is," Artemus says. "See if you can find the end so I can get a clipping to root?"
Addison starts climbing around on the ground by the roots of the tree while searching for the roots of the vine. "I think... it's trailed to... here. Here, in the roots of this tree."
As Addison roots around it almost seems as if the tree moves to avoid him. Surely though, it was just a trick of the eye. Artemus continues to inspect the vine and it's leaves. "Do you have a spade," he asks his nephew.
"No, no spade, just my sword," Addison says as he tries this reach for the roots of the vine thing again.
Artemus mms. Then, suddenly, there's a gasp and Artemus is being pulled into the tree. "Addison!" he calls, panicked.
"Artemus!" Addison calls out. "Uncle Artemus!" He has his sword in hand and he starts hacking away at the vines. "Uncle Artemus! Hold on! Hold on!"
Artemus flails and tries to reach for his own sword. It's obvious, though, that Artemus is far from being a fighter. He fumbles with the blade and it falls to the ground. It seems that the tree itself has Artemus, not the vines.
Addison drops Nex Fovi and grabs Artemus. He tries to drag Artemus, with all his might, out of the tree. But Addison isn't strong, either, so he abandons that and grabs his sword again. He starts chopping away at the vines.
The tree coils its thick branches around Artemus, pinning him like a tightly wound mummy. "Addison!" he calls. The tree begins to rumble and hiss as Addison hacks at it. Rather than sap blood begins to seep from the trees wounds.
Addison is hack hack hack hacking like a madman. "Uncle Artemus! What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?" He's hacking like crazy but he has no idea how to fight the truly living. "I'm trying to kill the vine!"
"The roots," Artemus calls down, still struggling. "Hack its roots." The tree begins swiping at Addison with leaf shrouded branches.
Addison starts hacking at the roots like a crazy person while the tree bangs away at his shoulders with the branches. HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK. He hacks like he has never hacked before.
It takes some hacking and Addison will surely get some bruises from the attack but the tree monster eventually beings to slow down. "Keep going," Artemus says. "I can feel it loosening!"
Addison continues to hack like a fiend. Hack hack HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK!
Despite Addison's hacking it seems to take /forever/ for the tree to eventually sag. Something like a sigh sounds, a death gasp. Artemus suddenly falls to the ground with a loud thump and an ieeeeee! as the tree monster is vanquished.
Addison is standing there breathing heavily with his shoulders heaving. His face and hands are covered with scratches. Everything else is covered with clothes. "Bloody tree." He gives it a kick.
Addison also gets down on his knees to check out his Uncle after he's given the tree a really good, swift kick.
The tree gives one last twitch and then sags again after Addison's kick. The thing must've been squeezing Artemus hard because where the trunk wrapped about him is beginning to bruise. Ignoring his own wounds he gets up with a groan, "Are you alright, Addison?" He's already unslinging his pack.
Addison is bleeding from a thousand cuts. He says, "I'm fine. How are you, Uncle Artemus? It almost killed you."
Like an over protective parent Artemus begins looking over the wounds to Addison's face. He even licks a thumb and then cleans one of them. "Sit down," he says as he lets go. "I have a few things that will clear some of these up."
Addison sits down and then settles cross-legged on the ground with his sword over his knees. He reaches up and his fingers come away with blood. He says, "Hunh."
Artemus squats down to dig in his pack. First thing out is a bottle of wine and then two glasses. These are set aside. Then a smooth, onyx compact. "Here you go," he says. "Flip it open and smear some of the gel onto your wounds."
Addison takes the onyx compact. He slowly smooths the salve on the various wounds on his face and then on his hands. He hisses when it stings slightly.
Artemus gets wine poured and then offers a glass of it to Addison. "It is not tea, Addison, but it should suffice. I fermented it myself."
"Oh!" Addison quickly puts down the compact and reaches for the wine. "I want to try your wine! I've been waiting to try your wine!" Vine, wounds, peril, near death, forgotten.
"It's not /that/ wine," Artemus says with a soft chuckle. He takes a sip of his own as he watches Addison then goes about removing cheese and crackers. Now it's a proper safari.
Addison sips wine and gets into the cheese and crackers. "What do you need the vine for? Other for nearly killing you."
"Taleyn and Emma went to the place the Aegisvine was reported to be but it was corrupted by the black road," Artemus says as he seats himself on a nearby stump. "In digging through old books and quizzing the ancestors I was able to discover it was the hybridization of three distinct plants. This is the first on the list."
"Two more," Addison says. "Two more to find, then. And then what? You have to go do some super secret alchemy in your laboratory?"
Artemus laughs softly. "I wouldn't call it super secret alchemy... but I must rehybridize them, yes."
"Is that difficult?" Addison asks. "I have no idea how to do anything like that."
Artemus considers that for a moment while he nibbles on a hunk of cheese. "Yes," he decides. "Though it can be done."
"I am at your disposal if you need help," Addison says, "but mostly I am only good for getting you workspace if you need it."
Artemus smiles, "I welcome any and all help... though I believe my work will be done at the Country Manor. Irene has told me that reports from the city say the Blight is close to the Townhouse now."
Addison loses a little of his good cheer. "I can't stay hiding in the Country. My job is in the Lower City. But you can send word again if you need me. I'll come. It's only a few hours' ride."
Artemus takes note of that diminishing cheer but waves it off with his wine glass. "I shall, Addison. I understand duty and needing to be somewhere. You needn't worry."
"I can't really leave," Addison says, "except on small journeys like this. I'm working on this New Lyonesse Project..."
Artemus lifts a brow, "Oh? May I ask about it?"
"It's complicated," Addison says. "When Lyonesse sank, the survivors came to Amber with all their old Feudalistic ideas and their contractual agreements, but of course all the paperwork is gone. We're trying to unravel a whole host of contractual agreements among these people to figure out who really owns what because they make a ton of claims and then get angry and eventually get to stabbing one another. Which means poor Niklas ends up with more bodies in the freezer."
"The Watch Commander," Artemus asks. He looks thoughtful for a moment. "I could, theoretically, brew you some truth potions. That, at least, would help you weed out who is lying and who is telling the truth."
"That would help," Addison says, "because all I have to go on is diplomacy, following the lines of politics where it leads, and then trying to untangle all the relationships. It's slow."
Artemus nods. "I shall see what I can do. It may take awhile. This anti-blight plant, I've been told, is my utmost priority."
"Well, yes, it will eat the city," Addison says. "The Blight that is, not the plant. But the Upper City is not my jurisdiction."
(Fade here talking about Amber City...)