Chapter Four
Nasrin carefully followed the sound of water and held the bag at arm's length while gracefully moving through the treetops. Her sharp ears guided her through the dense forest as she followed the soothing sound of flowing water. With a strong grip, she held the bag; effortlessly gliding across the canopy of trees.
'Being an elf does have its perks,' She thought as she launched herself to the other tree top. Standing on the tree, she got a better view of the forest. The forest was ginormous, even standing on this tree she couldn't see the end.
Looking at the trees, one can see that this place was an oak forest, but the other sections had different-colored trees. One was just a piece of land covered in grass and various flowers.
"A wisteria forest, sakura forest, Peach blossoms, an apple tree forest, birch tree forest, dark oak, and what is that tree species anyways?" Nasrin whispered under her breath as she looked.
"What is this? A Minecraft word?! Even Minecraft does not have this variety in biomes," Nasrin's eyes twitched as she looked at the odd mash of trees. 'How are they even growing?' Nasrin sighed and then decided to keep moving towards the sound of water.
Soon, Nasrin arrived in front of a small lake. Upon reaching the lake, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow!" The water was so clear that it appeared as if the sky had descended to the ground. The aquatic animals in the lake were visible, even from where she stood. The lake was surrounded by an enchanting display of flowers, creating a scene reminiscent of a fairytale.
Nasrin jumped down from the oak tree and landed gently on the grass. She placed the brown sling over-bag on the ground next to a bunch of purple flowers.
Stopping just a meter away from the water, Nasrin pondered as she looked into the water, "How can I wash my hands? Washing in the lake could harm the fish, and after using the lake to wash my hands, using this lake as a drinking source could be dangerous. Especially if there's no alternative water source," Nasrin scratched her head as she continued staring. 'What's the best solution here?'
She formed a fist under her chin.
Tried from standing, Nasrin squatted. She grabbed a branch on the ground and started poking the soil. The ground was left with dents every time she did this.
'Wait, how many grams of ricin was in the flower? Castor bean plants on average contain 1-2 mg of ricin per gram. It takes 5-10 micrograms per kilo to kill a person. Since the original was an apothecary, she would know not to ingest it, and it's highly unlikely for one to die from just contact.'
Nasrin brought her hands close to her nose and took a quick sniff. "Unripened tomatoes?" Nasrin's eyes widened in realization. It was not ricin that killed the original, but atropine found in Deadly Nightshade. The flower caused the elf to die from nervous system failure. "Seems she might have not washed her hands after dealing with it. Was the original truly an apothecary? Because she seemed bloody stupid to me."
"Whatever, the lake is big enough. I can wash my hands here and collect water from the other side. I bet the fish here are stronger than back on Earth," saying this she moved closer to the water and thoroughly washed her hands. After washing her hands, Nasrin washed her bag as well. It was still useful.
***
After all the hard work, she plopped down on the ground next to the purple flowers. Feeling heaty, she removed the mask she said 'she would not remove'.
She rested for a while before her stomach started aching from hunger. A long groan left her mouth as she complained, "Where am I supposed to find food- "Nasrin sat up; then slowly turned towards the lake. With a slight smirk, she got up and walked towards the lake.
***
"Ugh!" Nasrin groaned, as this was her 20th attempt at lighting a fire. Her hands were red and swollen from rubbing the dry twigs together. Taking a deep breath, she decided to sit and think about it. After a few minutes, she decided to use the bow string method.
On her 3rd attempt, she finally got the fire started. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she took the fish she managed to catch from a stream nearby from the large stone she cleaned.
She cleaned and gutted the fish using a sharp stone.
Nasrin skewered the fish on green sticks to cook over the fire. She then crushed magnolia petals, pansies, and allium flowers she found nearby and rubbed the mix onto the fish.
She cooked the fish over hot coals, turning it to cook evenly. When it was done, she garnished it with fresh pansy flowers.
After all that was done, the sun had started to set. Nasrin sat on the ground as she held the green sticks holding the fish.
"I could have just used the stream instead of using brain power to over-analyze whether I should have used the lake or not," She sighed as she took a bite out of the fish. "Not bad,"