spellbinders | catch-all open log!

Who: Anyone and everyone!
Where: On the beach, and various other places throughout the hub island
When: Day 80, and the next couple days after
Open/Closed: open log for hub shenanigans!

[This evening, someone has placed an old, rusted-over camp stove on the beach near the coven's row of huts--anyone examining it in detail will see that it's not operational at the moment, but that could potentially be changed, couldn't it? If someone was handy with mechanical things . . . .

Next to it is a crate (which, from the weight of it is empty) and pinned to that crate is a sheet of paper with a map on it, something like a much cruder, black-and-white version of this:

with the following key:

1 - crags. Contain snakes which may be poisonous. Watch out.
2 - ocean, going about one mile out from the coast.
3 - lagoon. Contains thick reeds (could be woven or shaped into tools) and frogs (edibility uncertain).
4 - abandoned campsite.
5 - orchard. Currently, trees are diseased and bare. Plant healer needed.
6 - abandoned house. A family used to live here, from the looks of it. Still contains some useful supplies.

And there should be a 7 north of base camp with the notation "graveyard. Graves unused." but the player forgot and is too lazy to go back and fix it right now. Observant individuals will note that the map looks like a more detailed version of one hanging on the door to a certain coven member's cabin, one that has a note on the bottom: "Have information? Ask for Jay."

Other than that, it's a quiet night on the hub island. We've been here for a couple days; maybe you're getting restless? Want to check out that ocean, or lagoon, or even those crags? Maybe just go door-to-door in the beach huts? Maybe you're sick of shrimp and looking for other things to eat . . . hopefully someone's got a fire going tonight, and thought to kill a boar . . . .

What are you doing tonight?]

((here or here for place descriptions))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Signs that the trees are still alive... [She runs her fingers along the bark, frowning a bit but when she turns to face Geir she offers a bright smile. She's seen this dazzling looking dragon around in the last world but never had the chance to make his acquaintance!] If the trees are still alive and just sick, we can heal them. But... if they're dead then we need to start over. You can't save the dead... [Human, animal and plant there are no exceptions to the rule that the dead must stay dead.]

Can you grab me a branch? [She points upward at the sickly looking branches that are beyond her reach.] That can be our first test.

Sure thing, lady.

[Geir reaches up to grab the branch, thinking hard about what she said about the dead. that man he'd talked to earlier had asked him if his power could "restore life" -- maybe it really is that extensive? it doesn't seem possible, really, when he tries to consider it more deeply. in the meantime, he can hand her what she asked for.]

...how do you tell if a tree is dead or not?

[let's say he has a professional interest.]

Thank you. [She waits for just a moment till he has one in claw. She'll let him do the inspecting since she already has a good idea of what she's going to find.] When you check a branch you're mostly checking to see if that particular branch is still healthy. If the branches are doing well the rest of the tree is too. So. When you snap it in half or even when you cut it from the tree you should notice that the inside is a nice healthy green or white.

[She can safely presume that most of these trees if not all of them lack any green in the branches.] If the branch is brown on the inside it means that that particular branch is dying or already dead. This can sometimes happen in just one branch and you simply prune and allow the tree to continue growing and it will grow more branches. But... as you can see all these branches seem to be similar. So what we have to do next is check the trunk of the tree. This can be done by simply scratching away the bark. Your nails are more suited to that task than mine~ [She laughs a bit and steps back so he can check the trunk for himself.] Let me know what color you find underneath.

All right... checking the tree bark! Let's do it!

[he's like a healer for trees! that's certainly a bewildering sensation, when he thinks about it that way, but he's also fired up about the task now, since it seems interesting. he puts the bemusement aside and scratches at the trunk as instructed, leaving long, light gashes -- no point in making the tree work harder than it needs to in order to repair itself.]

...this one looks green! Does that mean it's alive?!

[Color her truly surprised. Really, green!? Well, look at that! What a wonderful and pleasant surprise! She didn't think they'd find any. A chance at learning what made these original trees and finding out what they once grew is just as important as planting all new things.]

Yes it does! What this tree needs is a bit of pruning and time and eventually it'll be back to it's usual self. But this is good news.

[She's quick to pull a the ribbon that's holding her hair up out and instead ties it to one of the lower branches. This is a good tree that shouldn't be cut down. She'll have someone with healing powers look at it and see if they can perk it back up.]

Excellent job! Just dozens and dozens more trees to check~ But now you know all the secrets to checking the health of trees.

That's it?

[Geir sounds wistful. if most of the trees are dead, it would be a sad fate for a perfectly nice stand of trees, and he's invested in their welfare now. isn't there something that they can do for the others?]

If they're brown, that means that they're absolutely dead already? No chance they'll make it back?

Correct. I would not advise attempting to revive the dead be it plant or otherwise. There are some things that must not be done even if we have the power to do so. But I would take heart. With death comes a new chance for life. There are quite a few that have collected seeds from our last venture and we can have a new orchard of both the surviving trees and new ones.

[She offers a reassuring smile.] But this tree here speaks of hope for many others. We just have to make sure and do our best to preserve it.

All right. I'll use my power to help the living ones, too. Let's check all of them--!

[Geir goes to the next tree and rears up to scrape at this one's bark, too. with his claws, they can make relatively short work of the orchard, compared to how it would have been with a knife or stick alone.]

What is your power?

[She follows after. This big dragon is going to make this rather tedious task quick and simple. She'll have to find a way to repay him. Everything given must be returned one way or another. Crafting a gift for a dragon will be fun, she's never had the pleasure before.]

Do you have a healing ability that allows you to heal the sick trees too?

It's not a healing ability! It's more like a second wind. Here, I'll show you--

[he concentrates on Yuuko for a moment, and she feels the tiredness of tending the trees with her own abilities fade for a moment-- nothing is healed, but she has a bit more to fight back with, afterwards. it's hard to say if trees feel exhaustion, but they certainly run out of resources or energy, so perhaps this will still help.]

It's called "enlivening." I tried to use it during the last big battle at Aimintas, but I overdid it, so I haven't been using it as much since then.

[he liked the idea of using it in a battle, though. he's going to have to think of how to do that without wearing himself out so much he almost falls out of the sky, next time.]

catch-all open log!

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