I begin to air out some of my worries to my newly appointed partner-in-crime, "... So I was thinking earlier that we need some sort of distraction when I begin harvesting the Asphodels."
"... I guess. We wouldn't want some kind of commotion while you do that after all." Melaina ponders it over as she takes note of this.
I wince, as that's not the only reason. At the risk of either sounding idealistic, be misunderstood as a Ms. goodie-two-shoes, or even doing this for self-satisfaction—I ignore my discomfort and explain further, "Well, yes."
"That, and... I don't want to harvest all the flowers all at once without giving the dead some kind of compensation, you know?"
I begin to caress one of my thumbs gently out of apprehension.
This may be needless worry, however. But, not only will I be troubling my new partner more, but, I know deep down that whatever I can come up with as a replacement will never be as good as the Asphodel flowers.
I quickly glance at Melaina, before looking away again.
Before she says anything in reply, I feel her eyes observe me for a while. After clearing her throat, she says, "Hmm, you don't have to worry too much, I think. At least it doesn't take long to grow back."
Traces of guilt taint my voice, "I understand that the flowers actually won't take THAT long to regrow. It's just... I know what it's—"
Not being able to help but recall what has happened earlier, I don't end up finishing my sentence as I get lost again in my own darkness. I manage to snap myself out of it again, by mentally chastising myself.
Finally being able to focus now, I end up sighing as I'm not done quite yet, "Sorry about that, let me continue."
"I've experienced some things first-hand; the things that the dead are facing right now — I've gone through it myself. I stayed here long enough to have it happen to me as well. I had a front seat row to the torture they all go through, day in and day out."
"I'm sorry for making it harder than it should be on both of us. I just can't bring myself to be more self-centered with my actions. I want to be more careful with how I handle this." I finally finish squeezing out a reply, despite feeling awkward for opening up to someone I barely know.
I was almost sure that she was going to be put off by what I said. Instead, she answers me thoughtfully, "Mm, fair enough. If you want some type of 'distraction', we can always go with what I usually do with them on a daily basis."
Oh?
Wait. Is she a lot more of a responsible person that I give her credit for?
The beguiling woman chuckles faintly as she takes my hands in hers.
In one swift action, I am pulled closer towards her, as words of gentle comfort begin to enter my ears, "Don't worry too much. As a matter of fact, you actually do need a diversion. I doubt they'll let you take all the flowers in peace. It's still a food source even if it's not necessary for their survival, and all they do is binge on it for the most part."
Hmm... I guess. She does have a point.
Just as I'm about to have a better impression of Melaina, she manages to destroy whatever hope I have from doing so, "Full disclosure, though: If you ever hear sudden wailing or something to that effect, it's most likely because of a nightmare I've induced on the dead. It's quite interesting. You get to see their deepest and darkest fears come into play..."
My expression quickly alters from legitimate curiosity, to one that's filled with repulsion.
Of course... I should've known. Melaina's the nymph of madness, spirits, nightmares, and the dead, after all.
Feeling somewhat vexed upon knowing she's the cause of those spine-tingling screams, I let out a deep breath.
I'm a little worried that this conversation will go off on a tangent, though. Or more like, I'm worried it'll evolve into something that'll end up taking too much time to discuss.
Not wanting to lose a second further, I've decided to get straight to the point and immediately voice my thoughts out to Melaina, "Uhh... well, I rather they're no longer tormented anymore."
"To be honest, I was thinking about using my enchanted bottles to store a specific type of magic. Since staying here would mean they'll be plagued by their regrets, insecurities, and whatnot to the point of lunacy, the point of the magic is to give them some sort of temporary comfort."
"It'll trigger some calmness or a short respite from the dreariness and hopelessness of this place. It'll be timed to set off every few hours or so." After I finish telling her my plan, a moment of quiet befalls us as I wait for Melaina to answer.
"That may not be the right way, unfortunately, my goddess. I am not sure if my father will allow such a thing. These meadows are meant as a field of punishment after all." My eyes widen as I'm surprised that Melaina gives a fair point.
Huh. I try to keep myself from smiling, but it looks like she's a bit more observant than I give her credit for.
I certainly did not have a good impression of this nymph at first. Seeing that she's aware of such things, changes my perspective of her a wee bit, at least.
The girl before me crosses her arms. Her eyes grow sharp as she takes on a more earnest disposition.
To my surprise, Melaina takes the time to explain what she meant earlier, "The Asphodel flowers are permissible because they're not meant to ease their suffering. The effects of eating it are so negligible that it's almost a bit torturous even to consume them in the first place."
She grows quiet all of a sudden, but then, ends up shaking her head. "It's why it's almost weird how the dead can't seem to have enough of them. You'd think that trying it themselves would make them realize how useless it all is."
I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow to what she just said. Does she even have ANY idea why they'd even feel so desperate in the first place?!... Urgh.
As I rub my temples with my eyes shut, I do my best not to react right away. I'd like to ask her later when I'm a bit more calm, I guess.
"... Well, I suppose they don't have much of a choice. It's just a bit off-putting to see how desperate and greedy they are over something that's practically useless."
I fall into my thoughts for a few minutes before I speak again, "So what do you suggest we do? Is there anything else that can be done to make this task go a lot smoother?"
Melaina looks upwards as she tries to recall something. She drums a few of her fingers on her chin before finally looking back down.
It seems like she may have thought of something, as her countenance looks a lot more relaxed compared to earlier. Melaina informs me of a few clues, "Wellll... Hmm. I guess that if you can find a way to have something that's 'distracting'. You know, instead of providing them relief. That would probably be a lot better. It won't be breaking any unspoken 'rules' per se."
... Distracting? Hmm...
Wait!
An idea suddenly hits me.
Out of excitement, I grab both her arms firmly. With lots of energy and enthusiasm I launch into a more hyper state of mind as I notify her of this, "So I've collected a significant amount of Heroes' tears at the Elysian plains. They're in jars, and if we work together, I think we can set something up that'll fulfill all these requirements!"
[...]
I look over the meadows with great satisfaction.
To hatch this plan, I had to go back to the Elysian plains to grab all the extra bottles with Heroes' tears in them.
So much that scheme of mine to have some in stock, just in case. I wanted to trade it for other things with the Fates, but that obviously isn't happening now.
We set 1 jar every 200 meters within the grasslands. It's, unfortunately, a bit short of covering the entire territory, but it's good enough.
To make this work, I enlist the help of Melaina to try and do some crowd control.
I don't want them going ballistic if the dead catch me harvesting the flowers. I put in a request with my partner that she moves them off to the side of the meadow.
We've decided on a rotation of sorts.
While I'm harvesting, they'll be preoccupied with the entertainment these jars will provide.
As part of the diversion, when the heroes' tears are activated, it will show memories of the owners of those tears.
Since these tears were collected from several different individuals, there might be some mixed memories here and there. Considering it's not really possible to separate them at this point, we've decided to no longer care about that part.
The point is, they are distracted long enough, while at the same time, it doesn't provide them any type of advantages or relief whatsoever - then it's definitely worth it.
It's crude and simplistic, but it still gets the job done.
...