Walking alongside his friends, Siquioce departed from the
green zone of the Floralie Palace and took a moderately long trip to a more
arid environment. Wearing an expression of discomfort, Siquioce looked around
at the cracked rocks, the small, dry bushes, and the hard, cracked ground; with
the added factor of the overbearing sun, the area was a stark contrast to the
previous environment. "Kantuta," he croaked, finding it increasingly difficult
to vibrate his vocal cords, "Aren't we headed to a jungle? Why is everything so
dry?"
"Hm," Kantuta tilted her head to the side, "Good question.
Perhaps this is just another oddity of the planet? Still, it is peculiar
how there would be such a parched land next to what is supposed to be a moist
environment…" she thought for a moment before shaking her head, "But you should
be fine. You can hydrate yourself, remember?"
"Oh, right…" Siquioce closed his eyes, trying his best to
ignore the growing sense of dryness in his body to envision a source of water
for him to use. Evidently, this didn't work well; he was only able to gather a cup's
worth of fluid. Sighing, he splashed his gills and skin with what little H2O he
was able to find and picked up his pace, grumbling, "This flower had better be
worth it…"
After a bit more walking, the trio heard a young woman's
voice cry out, "Away from me, you fiends!"
Kantuta looked around, having wearing a curious expression,
"Now who could that be?"
Siquioce pressed forward, shaking his head, "Whoever it is,
I don't care; we have a jungle to get to."
Kantuta frowned, stepping in front of Siquioce as she
retorted, "But we can't just turn a blind eye to this problem, leader! Is it too
much of a hassle to divert from our path to inspect this issue?"
Siquioce sidestepped his partner and answered, "When my
respiratory functions are in danger, yes."
Kantuta watched with a frustrated look as her coordinator continued
west, crossing her arms as she thought up a comeback. As she was doing this,
that same voice called out, "Ah! Not my growth staff!"
Turning his head to the north, Yuchauzh said, "I dunno,
Siquioce, I think that we should see what all the hubbub is all about. A whole
robbery's goin' on!"
Siquioce groaned, coming to a stop as he hung his arms by
his sides, "Oh, cook me…fine, if you both think that this is sooo important, let's
just make a detour."
Kantuta smiled, doing a quick bow, "I knew you would make
the right decision, leader."
Siquioce rolled his eyes, turning to face north before
walking forward, "Let's just hurry up."
And so, the party made their way to the source of the sound,
traveling past more shrubs and patches of grass before reaching a large crater.
In the center of the depression was a tanned woman with pointy ears, green hair,
and clothes made entirely of leaves; she was in the middle of getting harassed
by a quartet of lizardfolk, Urosites, all of whom were tugging at the woman's
staff. Looking towards the group, the lady said, "Finally, some help! Mind
lending a gal a hand?"
Seeing that Siquioce wasn't understanding, held her own
staff out in front of her and replied, "Of course, miss, we are glad to provide
our assistance. We will have these troublemakers gone in no time!" She glanced
behind her at her teammates, "Are you both ready to drive these fools away?"
Siquioce took a step back, his eyes as wide as saucers and
his head fin flared like a fan as he stared at the reptiles, "Uhh, aren't those
the same lizards from when I first arrived on land?"
As soon as Siquioce said that, the scaly snatchers turned a
slight eye towards him and perked up, staring back at him for a good few
seconds. Seemingly more interested in him than their initial target, all four of
the Urosites lunged at Siquioce, extending their clawed hands towards the
Samanian hungrily.
Seeing this, Yuchauzh dived in front of Siquioce with his
log held close to his chest, shouting, "I've got you!" before blocking the
lizards' assault. After taking a hit, Yuchauzh's log flashed a bright green
before suddenly sprouting multiple vines, all of which lashed at the Urosites for
an effective counter. Looking at the downed reptiles, Yuchauzh gasped,
"Woah…that's new."
Frozen with fear, Siquioce could only watch as the lizards
slowly got up, giving both him and Yuchauzh a fierce, coordinated snarl.
Noticing Siquioce's plight, Kantuta twirled her staff and said, "Okay, let us
end this quickly…I cast Fireball!"
Kantuta thrust her stick forward, releasing a small spark
that struck the Urosite in the middle of the group, causing a small yet
powerful fiery explosion to erupt on the reptiles. Already hurt, the lizards
fell over on their faces, unable to go on any longer.
Lowering his head fin, Siquioce let out a breath of relief,
saying, "Thank Tomanil they're done with. I was almost dinner!"
The woman raised an eyebrow, getting up and dusting herself
off as she said, "Got a foreigner with you, eh? Interesting…" sge shook her
head, "Oh, whatever, a rescue's a rescue. Thanks a bunch for that, kids."
Yuchauzh turned towards the woman and frowned slightly,
"Hey, who you callin' kids? You look about our age!"
The female shook her head again, "Oh, nonono, you
misunderstand; I'm actually a druid. I'm over 100 years old! Yet I almost got
robbed by those wretched Urosites…"
"Oh yes," Kantuta asked, "About that…why were those
lizards attacking you? Were they simply after your valuables?"
"You bet they were!" the druid answered, "And what a
valuable thing they were after…they almost nabbed my precious Growth Staff!"
Kantuta's eyes lit up, "Ooh, a Growth Staff? What does that
do?"
The druid smiled, "I'm glad you asked! With this signature
tool of mine, I can make flora of any kind bloom into a magnificent specimen
bursting with life! It is especially useful when there are hurt or suffering
plants in need of attention." Her expression darkened slightly as she
continued, "It has been my most prized possession since I lost my other most
precious item, the Mystic Kernel…"
Yuchauzh drew in a quick breath, "Ooh…"
Unaware of Yuchauzh's reaction, the druid went on, "Anyway,
it wouldn't be right of me to leave you all hanging without showing my
gratitude, so I'm gonna teach one of you a new move. How does the Heart Spring
move sound?"
"Heart Spring?" Kantuta asked, "What does that move entail?"
"Here, let me explain. As you might be able to tell, this
move allows you to summon a geyser of water infused with healing energy. It's
great for getting someone back in the game after they take a beating!"
Kantuta's smile downturned, "Oh. I'm sorry, but you'll have to
try someone else; I don't cater to subjects in that field."
Yuchauzh added, "Yeah, me neither. I'm more of the attacking
type, anyway."
"Really?" the druid held her chin, tapping her foot as she
mused, "Huh. Well…hey, that Samanian friend of yours looks like he knows his
way around water. Why don't I…oh wait, he can't understand me." Sighing, she reached
into her handbag and pulled out a small book, ripping out a page of it and handing
out to Kantuta, "Here, just read this to him. I was planning on using this to
teach my sister's kids, but I doubt they would be interested in a move like
this, anyway. Hopefully you all find a good use for it."
Taking the piece of paper, Kantuta nodded and said, "Thank
you very much, druid. Yes, our friend Siquioce here will certainly appreciate
this gift."
The plant woman gave a thumbs-up, "Awesome. Well, I'll be
seeing you kids, maybe. Have a good one!" With that, the druid left, leaving
the trio alone once again.
Glancing at the still-unconscious Urosites, Kantuta let out an
amused "hmph" before turning to face Siquioce, "Well, that was interesting.
Shall we resume our journey?"
Still not fully understanding the events that unfolded,
Siquioce simply answered, "Yeah, um…we could do that."
With that matter settled, the trio set off to the left,
ready to make the trek to their intended destination.