As they came upon the village they could see all varieties of flowers growing. Every corner of the village had flowers of some kind. Roses, Nightshade, Croquets, Even a corpse flower could be seen off in the distance, mostly to avoid the smell he thought. Though Mercer could name many, there were also many that appeared very rare and he did not know.
Inside the town he could see many people tending to the flowers. Watering them, or trimming bushes.
"Ah, Belur you have returned... and you brought friends," The old man turned to face Mercer, Lera and the others, "Who might you four be?"
"We are travellers heading to the Manian Theocracy. We need somewhere to stay shortly." Tumuo responded calmly and quickly, then looked serious and gazed at the old man, "Tilumesa." Upon hearing the word the man looked around and then offered a hand to help them down.
"Follow me and I will lead you to a good place to stay. If you'd like I'll give you a tour of our home?"
"I think I would like that," Lera responded quickly a small smile creeping onto her face, "I would like to see the flowers."
"I am Geral by the way, it is nice to meet you all." He glanced at Tumuo then turned and left beckoning them to follow.
...
The building he lead the too appeared fairly small but it could be seen that it had multiple rooms.
"This is where you will stay for a couple days before you continue towards your destination." He walked up and opened the door, waving them in. "There is a kitchen as well as a stocked pantry inside. If you need anything come find me and I'll get it if I can."
Inside they went around looking at the rooms, overall there were 4 bedrooms, though they only really needed 3. There was one bathroom, and the kitchen was relatively small, only having a stove and a barrel which would hold water from the well. They found the pantry and saw that it was well stocked with a variety of foods that would last the few days they would be there.
"Come outside when you are ready for the tour, I can show you around." Geral went outside to wait.
"Are you going to come with me on the tour?" Lera looked around at the others.
"I have to speak with the village elder, so no." Tumuo was on his way to the door, and turned around to respond before continuing out.
"I want to stay and think alone for a while." Mercer left and claimed a room.
Lera looked over at Silachlume.
"I guess I can come along." Silachlume stood up and made his way outside with Lera. They found Geral relaxing on a bench in the garden.
"Ah is it just you two?" Geral sat up when he saw them come outside.
"yes, the others have things they wish to do." Silachlume spoke up.
"Alright, I'll point out the meanings of each group of flowers." He stood up and led them around showing them the many different flowers. When they were on the far side of the village they came across a couple very different patches of flowers.
"These are the second most rare flowers on Eyrien, and the rarest we have. The Spirits of Life and the Spirits of Death." He pointed to the black flowers and white flowers respectively. The Black flowers had a golden center that seemed almost to glow, the white flowers had a deep red center that seeped out onto the bottom of the petals.
"Aren't those backwards? Shouldn't death be the dark flowers?" Lera asked taking a closer look at the flowers.
"Ah, I believe their names are based on the ancient religions. I don't know what they are though." Geral shrugged then looked closer at Lera before plucking an exceptional white flower from the patch. "I believe one of these is in order, please accept my condolences."
Lera grew silent as she took the flower. "Thank you..." The words were barely audible.
Silachlume was engrossed in the flowers. "They are exactly as I remember them, we used to have an entire field full of these. Black for the spirit of life a curse grim and dark, White for the spirit of death a blessing bright and shining."
"You seem to know much about the ancients." Geral raised an eyebrow at Silachlume.
"It is my life work, researching ancient cultures." Silachlume remembered what Tumuo had said after he sang the song.
"Well, I am glad to know why the flowers are named how they are."
They continued through the village learning about all the different flowers.
...
When they got back it was nearing night. Inside they found Tumuo and Mercer cooking a meal for their dinner.
Tumuo looked back when the door opened. "Good you are back, food will be done shortly, I'll call you when it is. Tomorrow we will go grab some supplies from the market area."
After dinner they all went to their rooms and slept through the night.
...
In the morning they were woken up by Geral whispering furiously in their ears.
"Wake up. Stay down, do not show your faces, and keep the lights off. Ligerian Guards." He then left as though nothing had happened.
Outside they could here the silent clank of swords against armor, and the thunk of boots against the stone paths. They were listening intently trying to figure out why the guards were here.
"Geral, there were two children of the witch Aliara who escaped the execution. Have any of you spotted them!" One of the guards was sternly shouting to the people of the village.
"No, we would have reported any magic children to the guard immediately." They could here Geral's reply to the guard.
"Well then, make sure you do. I wouldn't want to find out that the most prestigious flower village needed to be burned to the ground for harboring a witch's children." The guard mocked the village then continued on, heading up the path the way Lera and Mercer had come from.
After a while, the guards could no longer be heard. Geral came in their house a few minutes later.
"It's safe now, but you need to move, they placed a bounty on your head, I don't want a bounty hunter burning this place down." He was hurrying them in their packing trying to get them out quickly. "You can get what supplies you need, and then leave." He left and headed straight for the main building.
"I guess we are going to leave a day early, lets go." They grabbed everything they need and went to the market. Using what little gold they had they bought enough food for the trip all the way to The Manian Theocracy, it would take a few days they were sure.
They saw Geral coming up with a white flower in his hands. "I am sorry about your loss, take this flower as a gift please." Lera took the flower from his hands. "Thank you..." Her words were barely audible. After a brief pause they left the town, they would have to make it through Ligeria before they could get to the Manian Theocracy.