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["Now, now, lass. Calm yourself. Why, the fire is already out! The little bit of smolder in this tiny thing,"]

His eyes climbed when she immediately started questioning his use of fire for his pipe, the worry detectable to one trained in reading people. And near people. So it is like that, eh? Interesting. He reached up to grab the pipe by the stem and pulled it from his mouth for the moment to put on a big smile. "Now, now, lass. Calm yourself. Why, the fire is already out! The little bit of smolder in this tiny thing," he gestured with the pipe slightly, bobbing the large bowl end, "couldn't even burn a leaf unless I stuck one in there!"

With his smile still present, he continued, "Look at me. Not exactly a spring chicken am I?" Having learned his lesson, he quickly clarified, "By which I mean I'm old. I know how to be careful with a bit of flame. I promise I'll bring no harm to you and yours. Relax." He put the pipe back between his teeth and puffed it for a few moments, before opening his mouth in a wide 0 shape and blowing a simple smoke circle. "Haha, see? Even fire can bring laughter and happiness. Should I take this to mean you don't cook your food? I was so hoping to find a meal in this 'Knot'."

[spoiler]Weald attempting to sell 2 Darkwood Klar, one Darkwood Madu, and a Light Darkwood Quickdraw shield. Bargaining for 20%. Dc8
Klar[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+4 : 4 + 4, total 8[/blockquote]
Klar[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+4 : 9 + 4, total 13[/blockquote]
Madu[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+4 : 1 + 4, total 5[/blockquote]
Light[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+4 : 7 + 4, total 11[/blockquote]
[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Crafting Darkwood Madu and Klar and Light Darkwood Quickdraw shields. All are DC 11. Crafting for 18 weeks.
1[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 10 + 8, total 18[/blockquote]
2[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 5 + 8, total 13[/blockquote]
3[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 9 + 8, total 17[/blockquote]
4[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 2 + 8, total 10[/blockquote]
5[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 16 + 8, total 24[/blockquote]
6[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 16 + 8, total 24[/blockquote]
7[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 17 + 8, total 25[/blockquote]
8[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 17 + 8, total 25[/blockquote]
9[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 10 + 8, total 18[/blockquote]
10[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 13 + 8, total 21[/blockquote]
11[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 18 + 8, total 26[/blockquote]
12[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 6 + 8, total 14[/blockquote]
13[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 17 + 8, total 25[/blockquote]
14[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 4 + 8, total 12[/blockquote]
15[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 2 + 8, total 10[/blockquote]
16[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 6 + 8, total 14[/blockquote]
17[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 13 + 8, total 21[/blockquote]
18[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 8 + 8, total 16[/blockquote]
[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Continuing work on Bucklers. dc11
1[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 20 + 8, total 28[/blockquote]
2[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 5 + 8, total 13[/blockquote][/spoiler]

[spoiler]Weald attempting to craft Darkwood Bucklers. Dc11
1[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 7 + 8, total 15[/blockquote]
2[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 4 + 8, total 12[/blockquote]
3[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 16 + 8, total 24[/blockquote]
4[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 7 + 8, total 15[/blockquote]
[/spoiler]

["Not magic young one. I was speaking metaphorically!"]

Melvorn Lionroot nodded to himself softly, almost expecting this sort of answer now. He pulled a small sliver of wood out of a pocket and touched the end of it to the tabac filled bowl of his pipe. The end began to glow red, and little wisps of smoke drifted up from the bowl. Now puffing lightly on the pipe to try and ignite the flame further, he spoke around the peace in his mouth, "Not magic young one. I was speaking metaphorically!" Seeing no recognition in her eyes, he explained "When speaking metaphorically someone....well let's just say the magic is for the soul! When I said it could bring light to your darkest day, I meant laughter could make you happy even when your sad."

Seeing a good ember burning in his pipe bowl, he pulled the stick away, the end of which stopped glowing red nearly immediately and appeared unburnt. Stuffing the stick back in the pocket from whence it came, he slid the pipe to the side of his mouth and puffed occasionally as he spoke. "Now let me ask you this young Treesinger. When is it ever inappropriate to laugh, and show joy? Hmm? It's a trick question!" He laughs slightly. "It's never inappropriate to be happy. You should try it some time," he offers with a slight smile.

["Why wouldn't I young one?"]

"Why wouldn't I young one?" Melvorn asked, wiping tears from the corner's of his eyes. "Laughter is good for the soul, they say. It can turn your darkest days as bright as noon!" Now slowly calming from his second fit of laughter, the man's smile faded only a little as he asked, "Forgive my ignorance, but... Does your kind laugh?" On her guard she is. Seems very all work no play. But I saw the curiosity in her eyes. Have to see if I can bring her out of her shell! ....or would it be pod?

Turning to more fully face her, he fished around in pockets built into his coat and vest. Pulling first a small vial with a stopper in the top, then a small metallic silver pearl. A small ball of twine, a string wrapped and tied around itself, an assortment of small metal coins, and finally a small needle he managed to prick himself with were all pulled and subsequently stuffed back into pouches in his vest. Consternation painting his face, he finally pulled a small pipe from an inside pocket, his expression relaxing, and began to thumb tabac into it while he regarded her and awaited her answer.

["I'm sorry. Hahaha. I'm sorry." He looked from one to the other, finally catching his breath and continued, "I don't think I've ever met the likes of your kind. But I think I like you! Hahaha. I'll answer all your questions. I will, I promise! But you got to give them to me one at a time! Hahaha, I don't even know where to begin... Oh. I know."]

This was not at all the reaction Melvorn was expecting, from either of the strange new young ones. As the bombardment of questions renewed with vigor, the human's face went through a series of expressions; questioning, considering, consternated, affronted, frustrated, angry, exasperated, and finally desperate as he tried to find a place to get a word in edge-wise.

Many times during the tirade he opened his mouth to answer a question only to find there was no real chance to do so. When the boy mentioned starting the fire, red suffused his cheeks and he raised a finger up and opened his mouth to set the lad straight but there was just no chance. Weald's word's were like an avalanche rushing down a hill, and Melvorn was simply caught up in their path. Then the boy plucked at his coat button and he raised a hand to slap it away, his frustration having finally reached a boiling point. However like the last small pebble rolling down the hill just as he was recovering, the young woman's question hit him and stole his chance at escape.

When the tirade finally stopped for half a second, he quickly looked between the two, and then he laughed. And laughed. Uproariously he laughed, hand on belly, head thrown back. Startled for a moment by such an odd reaction to simple inquiries, Weald took a step back, and shared a look with his sister that said 'is he dangerous?' Before they could decide however, the human's laughter slowed to chuckles and he bent forward, hands on knees, gasping for breath.

Still chuckling Melvorn raised a hand saying, "I'm sorry. Hahaha. I'm sorry." He looked from one to the other, finally catching his breath and continued, "I don't think I've ever met the likes of your kind. But I think I like you! Hahaha. I'll answer all your questions. I will, I promise! But you got to give them to me one at a time! Hahaha, I don't even know where to begin... Oh. I know." He reached down and grabbed the button on his coat, pulling it softly to bring attention to it. "This button here is very important." He grabbed it and held it between thumb and forefinger, and then with his other hand pulled the ends of his coat together, popping it through the hole that presented itself for the job. "It hold's my coat closed! Hahaha!"

"Now, I didn't start that fire. You see what happened was-" Melvorn began to say, getting into his story telling the way he liked best. However, once Weald had realized that the man probably wasn't dangerous, although a bit crazy maybe, he had stepped forward once more. His eyes lit up when the human promised to answer all their questions. As soon as he realized that the answer to the great mystery of the small button on the man's coat would likely be a boring one, he turned and began rushing off; now not far from the Knot at all, though it was well hidden from view to those who didn't know where to look for it.

Calling over his shoulder he said, "I'll go get all the others so you can answer all our questions! They're going to be so excited!" Darting off, his form was quickly swallowed up by the verdant growth of the forest. Melvorn Lionroot, adventurer extraordinaire, treasure seeker, and master tale spinner was left standing in the road with the young female, hand raised, mouth open, mid sentence, speechless for the second time in the last minute. Turning his head slowly, and closing his mouth, he looked at the female and then he did the only thing he could do. He laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

["Slow down girl, slow down, Haha. Well you see, the scorpion needed to cross the river to get away from a fire. The frog was afraid that the scorpion would try to sting him as they crossed. The scorpion said, 'but if I sting you, we both shall die.' The frog was hesitant still, but eventually accepted. I happened to pass by as I escaped the fire myself, and offered to give them both a ride. They both accepted. The frog was grateful, but when I let the frog go first, the scorpion was angry. 'You ruined everything!' it said. It tried to sting me."]

Melvorn blinked momentarily at the sudden onslaught of questions from the girl. Starting to see the resemblance after all, he thought wryly to himself.

"Slow down girl, slow down, Haha. Well you see, the scorpion needed to cross the river to get away from a fire. The frog was afraid that the scorpion would try to sting him as they crossed. The scorpion said, 'but if I sting you, we both shall die.' The frog was hesitant still, but eventually accepted. I happened to pass by as I escaped the fire myself, and offered to give them both a ride. They both accepted. The frog was grateful, but when I let the frog go first, the scorpion was angry. 'You ruined everything!' it said. It tried to sting me."

At this he reaches into a pocket and pulls out an odd sort of pen, segmented and slightly curled. Very quickly both young Briarborn were able to tell that it is in-fact a scorpion's tail. "That's how I got this beauty. Enchanted it is, never runs out of ink! And that's the tale of the scorpions tail! Hahahahaah! That's what I do you see, I turn bad situations into good," He said, offering them both a big smile.

When the human seemed to reach the end of his tale, Weald quickly spoke up. "But wouldn't the scorpion just sting the frog after they reached the other side? And why were they running from fire? Did you start the fire? I've heard humans love to start fire's. I don't understand how anyone could love starting fires. It's dangerous you know. You shouldn't have started that fire. And how does that never run out of ink? Did you enchant it? Did you make all the magic things you have? Is everything you have magical?" Not stopping for breath, he reached out and plucked at a button on the humans coat front, "What does this button do?!"

["Why that's mighty kind of you,"]

"Why that's mighty kind of you," the human said with a flash of fairly-white teeth.

"Thank you sister!" Weald said at nearly the same time, a large grin now a permanent fixture on his face. "You're going to come with us too? You should ask him about his boots! I'm really curious what those do. And about his twin! Where is your twin? Are they also Adventurer Extraordinaire?"

As the young Briarborn seemed to pause to think of more questions, the human cut in quickly, "Well you are a curious one aren't ya? Haha. These boots actually give me the ability to walk on water! Why I once carried a frog and a scorpion across a river to settle a dispute! Little scorpion did try to sting me though." Here he paused for breath, but seeing the young man's mouth open to ask more questions quickly continued, "Now, I don't actually have a twin. I had a brother once. Good man Therdon was. I do miss him sometimes. But I'm as curious about you all as you are about me."

He now turned his attention to the female Briarborn as they continued their trek. "Treesinger was it? Might I ask how you got that name young one? And this Knot your brother spoke of," Melvorn said, bringing a hand to his chin to rub at the stubble there. "What exactly is it? Your brother can talk almost as much as I can and he seems to skip around on topics a bit too often for me to get a good idea of what he was talking about."

Waiting to get more questions in, and now leaving the guiding to Treesinger, Weald felt quite embarrassed when the human mentioned how much he could talk. He was often lectured during their lessons for being too eager to question and not eager enough to listen. Its not my fault. I just.... I want to know about things! But sometimes the answers are so boring... He hung his head slightly, now keeping his eyes mostly on his feet. When his sister responded however, he did raise them to look at her.

["Treesinger! I'm glad your he-"]

When his sister first stepped in the road Weald's smile broadened, and he turned to greet her. However, after she spoke the first time, his smile slipped a bit. She seemed...tense. Angry even. Oh boy...

"Treesinger! I'm glad your he-" he started to say when she then asked him where he was taking the human. "Well, to the Knot. He says he's traveled all over Yslia! I thought the elder's might want to speak with him. He's really nice, not at all like they told us about humans. And he has these amazing items. He has a horn he says he can blow that summons things to defend him. And a sword he says can slay a dragon. That hat he's wearing he says can make him invisible, and..."

Meanwhile the short man accompanying the young briarborn stood poleaxed. After the barrage of questions and the arrival of another of these interesting creatures, this one a far more exotic example of their race, had left him momentarily speechless. Few in any of the land's he'd visited could leave him speechless. He sized up this new arrival. Though he could sense the more suspicious nature of this one, he had much practice in breaking down suspicions and ingratiating himself wherever he went. However once the young man started sharing the thing's he'd told him of his items, he knew it was time to take control of the conversation.

He reached over and clapped a hand on the young man's shoulder, and with a broad smile for the new arrival and a flourish of his other arm said "Okay now boy, okay. Haha. Allow my to introduce myself young lady. I am Melvorn Lionroot! Adventurer extraordinaire, treasure seeker, and tale spinner!" He withdrew his hand and tipped his hat to the young lady. He waited a moment but when she didn't seem to respond to the action, he continued, seemingly unperturbed.

"I ran across this young man on a trek through the forest. Helped me out he did, I was so turned around and lost I had no idea where to go!" he said, trying to give the young man some credit and forestall and issues. "Doesn't happen often that! Still, he helped me out and in exchange I wanted to tell him some stories. He mentioned this place you call home. This...Knot was it?" he said with a questioning glance at the young man but without and pause to allow him to speak. "Well when he mentioned a larger audience, how could I refuse? Haha. I'm always looking for an adventure, a crazy new item to add to my collection, or a place to tell of my grand quests!"

At this, the young man finally spoke up once more, "See sister? I'm sure the elder's would want to meet him and hear the stories he has to tell!" A broad smile lit his face once more as he looked to his sister hopefully.

"Sister eh boy? Is this the twin that you spoke of?" He stopped for a second to study the two of them, then he smiled as he said, "Well of course she is. I can see the resemblance. My eyes must be getting old not to have seen it right away, haha! It's very nice to meet you little Treesinger."

["I think she'll like this."]

"I think she'll like this." Red tinged hands ran across an item in Weald's lap. Where his hands touched, the wood, leaves, and vine seemed to grow slightly. He glanced over at a similar item sitting on the ground beside him, this one complete.

It was almost like a vest. Dark green fibrous material, leaves, comprised most of it. Dark brown bark was layered across the front, sides, and back. Nearly black vines of different sizes and lengths ran across the item in bands at different intervals, functioning as straps and strings.

Weald focused his attention back on the piece in his lap. Only about half the size of the other. Running his hands slowly over the material, he continued to extend the material, another row of leaves slowly extending, only to have bark harden and grow on the outside of it, a slim rope of vine locking all of it in place.

Sighing he grabbed the piece and set it next to the other. "A few more months." A few more months and it will be done. A few more months and I'll be ready. Rising to his feet slowly, he glanced up. Just through the tree's he could make out the last rays of the setting sun. He glanced around the small glade at the towering oaks around him. There was little foliage here, the oaks stealing most of the life giving energy of the sun. At the moment, everything was quiet.

After taking a look around, he slowly closed his eyes. And he felt. He tried to feel for the trees in the glade. For the shrubs and flowers. But more. He tried to connect to the vein that ran through them all, that ran through himself, in some fashion or another. Long moment's passed where he simply stood, eyes closed, trying.

There. A pulse. A flash. A slight suffusion of warmth. A cooling breeze. A sense of firmness, of solidness. The feeling of a drop, then another, and another;another. And there, the place where these things seemed to.... not combine. They didn't merge. They converged, they simply enabled. There, something else grew. Flourished. Flowered. And there, he found his strength.

Opening his eyes, he glanced down at his hands, raising them. Furrows of verdant green ran along his red tinged skin;itself a combination of vines, leaves, and bark. Slowly, it always had to be slowly, he focused on the power running through his hands; On the vein of power running through himself and all the nature he was surrounded by. Raising his right hand, he simply gestured, palm down, a sort of slicing motion horizontally through the air. And out of his hand, out of the power contained in it, needles and stinging nettle blooms shot out, flying through the air. They flew for a distance before the force behind them faltered, and they simply fell to the ground.

Looking at his hand once more, the verdant green had gone and only the red tinged plant skin remained.

Soon.

["Really?"]

[spoiler]This Freeform is for Nature's Daughter (Ella) And Weald (Wolfrin)[/spoiler]

"Really?" A voice asked. The voice belonged to what at first glance might appear to be a man. Silver-gray robes adorned the figure, trimmed in greens and reds. What they covered however was of more interest. A humanoid shape, in form and features, but comprised of plant matter. Frost colored leaves formed the hair, bangs hanging in the young man's sun gold eyes, and a small pony tell hanging down to the shoulders. Bark-like cheeks converge above vine-like lips. Similar combinations of vine, leaf, bark, and fibrous plant material formed the rest of the mans body.

"Oh yeah! I've been all over Yslia. Travelled the land I have. Seen many amazing things too! But you!" The man paused at this point. Short and slim, he was rather nonthreatening. His words were accented by grand gestures, his pinkish skin contrasting the green skin of the young man he walked beside, "But never have I seen one like you! What did you say you were?"

The young man, leading slightly ahead of the human, turned slightly as he spoke, a large smile on his face, "Umm... I think... I think your kind call us...Briarborn?"

"Briarborn eh? Amazing. Just amazing! Hahaha."

"Actually, I never really understood that... Does your kind know we don't come from briars? Actually, we come from the earth. The spot that I came from, well me and my twin; did you know I have a twin? I think we're the first, at least the elder's have never heard of such a thing. I hear your kind has twins all the time. Do you have a twin? What's your twin's name? Where is your twin?"

[spoiler]Weald is buying 10 Potions of Cure Light Wounds CL1.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Weald is attempting to buy a Cloak of Resistance +1 and Apprentices Cheating Gloves. Trying to barter the merchant down by 15% on each. Dc12.
Gloves[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 4 + 7, total 11[/blockquote]
Cloak[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 14 + 7, total 21[/blockquote]
[/spoiler]