ARTIO

THE PLANT MASTER

The Maw of Mosses had been purged of that clinging, rancid fungus that Master Artio so detested. She'd done her part, albeit hidden--deliberately so--and truth be told, she had to admit that the Gembounds--and Valkhounds--had more than done theirs. Her estimation of them had risen a bit further, though they'd already proven themselves in their freeing of her Divine and the capture of Nemean. Or entrapping, in any case.

She did not require their help for tasks that needed power--but tasks that required work could use them. More hands were always better, in particular in cases such as these: when Master Artio carried a basket of thousands of tiny seeds, regarding the spongy earth and its burnt remains with pursed lips.

Some of her work was... tedious.

"Gembounds," she called, her voice imperious and melodic, carrying to the far reaches of the cave. "I require aid." One hand swept gracefully down, gently lifting a bug from her leafy garments and flicking it away without harming it. Her lips quirked downward as she recalled why the Gembounds aided. 'Ahh, yes.' Fair was fair. "You will be rewarded."

...Oh. One last thing.

"Please inform me if you have-... prior gardening experience."

Hm. Yes. That would do.

The quest Feeding The Maw has begun!

This is a short quest, perhaps three posting rounds long, with three-day lightning round post style, and is expected to last two weeks. Participants will receive their choice, at quest's end, from among offered rewards themed to the quest.

The next round, which will commence rolling, will begin in three days' time late on August 29th. Characters will need to post in each of the three rolling rounds (starting next round) to receive rewards, though there will be a small grace period to make up for missed rounds. Order characters/drones will not be safe in this thread.

Additional information will be posted on the 29th, after characters have signed up.

Rift heard the call from his Sanctuary, the beautiful sound of the plant master's voice arousing some distant memory in his mind. He had yet to meet Artio in this life, but in a previous one?

Had he? Had they had some kind of connection? Or had he simply respected her, loved her, without her truly knowing his regard for her? He, honestly, had meant to seek her out, but the infection had kept him occupied, and his frequent trips regrowing things here and there since then further pushed it from his mind.

But here, perhaps, the opportunity...?

He leaped to his feet and instantly began pushing his way through the undergrowth, towards the maw were Artio was awaiting. He was the first to arrive, and perhaps the most eager, looking up at the beautiful spriggan woman with wonder and awe. He did not have strong feelings towards the Masters in general, but Artio? She might as well have been his god.

As he trotted forward, he lowered his head deeply, respectful, and humble. "Master Artio. Whatever you need, I'll do. I've been gardening and protecting Eridanus as best I could all my life."

Titanite shambled in slowly, a creaking, halting walk that looked more like the shifting of vines in a heavy wind than any of the usual sorts of ambulation.

He studied Artio as he came, his demeanor both curious and inoffensive. He lived here, though he mostly just... existed, consuming light and water and enjoying the feel of both on his bark-like flesh.

"Aid?" he rasped softly, head tilting quizzically as he approached. He came to near Artio's feet, then paused, settling himself into an almost huddled sitting position in the ferns to wait. He wasn't too close, or looming, or anything but "vaguely attentive," easy enough to disregard.

"I may aid. I have... some experience," he explained, and the words held a bit of a cringing admission in them: despite being made of plant, and living with plants, he'd hardly cultivated much at all. Maybe he could learn today.

They already knew Artio was there. They had already been observing her from afar, their mycelial threads having reached the edge of the Maw some days ago. They had yet to begin pushing through, unsure of her intentions, unsure of who she was. She had a presence about her that, for once, gave the system pause. They should tread carefully.

But her call for aid was something easy to answer. The Consul was already nearby, and they quickly called it forward, had it wait for a couple others to appear first, before the pitch rat trotted carefully out to join them.

Pose as your own being, for now, they advised the rat as it approached. It sat back, head tilting as it raised itself further up. "I can help - while I don't garden that much, I know how the forest works and I can grow mushrooms."

Some of them laughed. Grow mushrooms indeed.

How much did she know about gardening? Not a damn thing. But, she'd heard the plea for help and followed it. She followed and followed until she found its source. Clementine had already decided she very much liked helping, not that she'd ever met anyone yet, but that didn't matter!

"Hello-- Oh-- Oh dear." Clementine murmured as she arrived, perhaps looking around and realising she'd dug herself quite the hole. These were all very planty people, and her extent of gardening was limited to pruning moss and algae.

"I don't know how to garden-- I just thought I could help." She mumbles, looking rather sheepish. Shuffling on her trotters as she found a place within the Maw with the others.

Maw in the Maw. Well, this made sense didn't it? They shared a name. And, Maw had worked for Master Artio before. Her, and her giant crab partner. In fact, Farina's user profile is still what I use on Maw today. Teehee!

She would take her place among the gathering crowd, trying her best not to itch herself to death or throw up all sorts of information about Hume that was likely not welcome here. Master Vargas had acted suspiciously—why wouldn't this Master? They did not work for Her. If Maw had to guess, with the breadth of what she had experienced, these Masters were part of the factions that envied Her work.

So Maw would hold it in and focus, instead, on Eridanus. How it felt... more alive somehow than it had when Maw was young. Caves changed in popularity all the time; after the new caves opened up, Leo and Pegasus—especially Pegasus—had stolen the show. So it was nice to see Eridanus still kicking. She was happy for it.

"Know some gardening." Maw gestured to herself. She should've brought her book. She sidled up to the young Clementine, and meaningfully looked Clementine's way before speaking: "Can teach."

@Clementine (interaction)

It'd been some good while since Fahl had bothered wandering into Eridanus. Besides the obvious problem of fungus clinging to far too many surfaces for him to hazard poking his snout into any of the local greenery, it also harbored a few too many bad memories for his liking—rifts leading to futures snatched away from his claws and a watery prison which hadn't held Nemean nearly long enough for the torturous eternity he'd hoped. His presence here was a cautious excursion, simply to check out the rumors of the cave's recent purging. If they were true, perhaps there would no longer be a risk of insidious spores lurking in whatever dyes he might develop from the colorful varieties of berries it hosted.

Her voice, unmistakable despite the passage of cycles, rang out to him though. Recognizing it was enough to send a shiver down scales, bleaching those along his spine, and for his steps to pivot away from his original path and steer himself toward the sound. None too graceful on land, his tail fins dragging over the ground, he blundered through shrubbery until eventually stumbling upon where Artio stood with the other Gembounds assembled by her call.

He dipped his head once he caught sight of her. "Master Artio," he rasped, "I am... no gardener. But I can offer aid... if you see any part of me of use."

While the furthest from any expert, he could make a guess as to his own capabilities and flourished a set of claws.

Marigold stumbled unto the scene, green eyes glazed with the effort it took to exist in any capacity. Did she know Artio? Paws fumbled through the rubble of her mind, the search fruitless as the haze of exhaustion threatened to obscure all of it, everything. She wouldn't be much help if that happened.

Gildenleaf was surrounded by strangers - all of which were younger than her by cycles, but she couldn't know that. Maybe she could ask them where her father had gone, and maybe they'd have an answer. That kept her feet planted in the damp soil, rather than continuing to wander in search of scraps.

And a task. A task would be good. There'd been too much nothing in her life.
"Aid. Yes." A long pause, as she reached around for the words she needed.
"Don't know how."

The Maw of Mosses was denser, less open, than Larkspur's usual haunts in Pegasus's meadows. But the way it brimmed with life was no less lovely, and Larkspur delighted in treating the gnarled branches and dangling vines that crowded the canopy as an extra challenge, twisting and darting through the gaps in shows of aerial acrobatics. All in all, it was a fun excursion from business as usual.

He was still for once, dozing on a branch, when an imperious, echoing voice from nowhere snapped him to attention from his nap. Huh? The speaker wasn't visible anywhere, which was very mysterious, but Larkspur supposed that at least this time (hopefully) it wasn't a horrifically-dying rat spreading the message on their behalf. He shook off the sleepiness and stretched his wings and legs, chirruping to himself as he did. Gardening—that sounded like a nice, peaceful activity to help someone with. And with the promise of a reward as well! Who was Larkspur to say no?

He leaped into flight from his perch, weaving through the jungle to search for the speaker. When at last he found them, others had started gathering and were introducing themselves already. Larkspur alighted on a knot of hanging vines and watched, waiting patiently for his turn. So far it seemed like people were just... happy to be there and help. Which was great! Larkspur was too. But mayyybe, he could also offer a little something extra!

"I'm Larkspur!" he said cheerfully when the last person finished talking. "I don't have my own garden or anything, but I can grow flowers with magic!"

CALAMITY

so all the things can grow

The orb did not introduce itself.

It simply drifted closer- perhaps drawn in by the crowd- and observed quietly. Ephemeral tendrils of warm orange light emerged from between it's stony plating, carefully examining anything- or anyone- within reach. It was pleased by the lack of the choking white mold that had previously infested Eridanus.

At the mention of 'gardening' it emitted a loud, excited hum. It knew how to garden!! It WAS a garden, even!!! The hum modulated up and down wildly, and it pressed itself against the mossy trunk of a tree, willing the moss to spread onto one of its more barren plates. The moss crawled forward onto the new substrate, settling in happily. Calamity, likewise, emitted another happy hum- lower and quiet now, almost like a cat's purr.