It requires exertion and teamwork, but soon the table is pushed up and out of the way, the path just clear enough for the cart to pass.

With the table shifted and cart now able to pass, Artor let his mask show a smile, "Come. We have made our pact and now we must ensure the village can meet the obligations we have laid upon them."

Derrick nods solemnly in agreement. "Yes, back to the mission." Having helped move the table, he returns to his spot on the back of the cart from which he continues to search for signs of danger. As before however, it's hard to see much past the winding twists of the canyon.

The twisty path through the rocks continues on for another quarter mile or so (it's hard to tell, given the slow speed and circuitous route), but eventually there are no more rocky obstructions, and the route is (roughly) clear between the cart and the forest along the river.

To the south, aneen graze.  A few small groves sprout, often by hollows that have small ponds in them.

Derrick looks around the area. "This seems like a promising place for a settlement. We should look around to make sure there aren't any surprises, but then I think this is a good place to test some of the seeds."

Alyssa looks around. "Yes, we have running waters and maybe fertile soil. Not that I know much about that. I never could get the herbs in my garden to grow properly." She chuckles.

Whilst the other's speak of seeds, Artot lets his eyes linger on the aneen to the south of them, a memory haunting him from the sorrow therein. It passes, though his gaze continues to observe the beasts of burden. After a few moments, he speaks, "I might wander, see if those beasts have the knowing of folk, or whether they're wild..."

"I do not think the Aix hunt so far from their bowl," Hoa Sen says. "So you may have some fortune." She looks around the space, mentally transposing buildings from Canthus and Qi into it. The arkus did not have the spatial awareness of an engineer, but spaces did not seem to slip from her mind the way the intricacies of the numenera did. "Checking for other threats is wise. If we find none, this seems a likely place to perform our tests."

Derrick nods to Hoa. "In that case I will circle the area to see if there are any surprises waiting." He heads off in the opposite direction of Artor, intending to walk a roughly semi-circular path around the area and then follow the river back to where he starts while keeping an eye out for predators or other threats.

In reply to Derrick (msg # 561):

"I'll stay here and help out with the planting then. Do we need to fetch water?" Alyssa asks. "I could get some from the river."

Derrick's circuit is uneventful, and he spies no immediate threats.  As the shadows of evening deepen, though, it becomes harder to see what predators might be far away, to say nothing of hidden or subterranean dangers.

Returning to the group, Derrick makes a suggestion. "We should plant the seeds before nightfall. This is the best spot we've come across so far and I don't think we should waste any more time. I'll admit, I'm not much of a farmer, but if someone shows me where to dig and tells me how deep, then I'll do the rest."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:09, Sat 20 Nov 2021.

Returning himself, Artor nodded, "This is not somewhere frequented by other folks, from what signs I can see..."

<Orange>I think I Flexed to Botany this morning, so...<?Orange>

Taking a handful of seeds and a stick, he showed the others how to plant the seeds, and began grubbing around in the dirt, the smears on his robes bubbling occasionally with pulses of sickly green nielle

Derrick lets Artor pick which seeds to plant and otherwise follows the jack's lead, helping as instructed. Once the job is done, Derrick pivots to setting up camp in the gathering dark. "Hopefully whatever those parasites were from this morning are not also in this area. It might be a good idea for some of you to sleep in the cart though. Just in case."

In reply to Derrick (msg # 566):

Alyssa shudders when Derrick mentions the parasites. She sincerely hopes that they're not a common occuring species in the area. "Good idea, Derrick. It might be a bit crowded but to avoid those... things, I don't mind some discomfort."

Artor smiled, remembering his own embrace of them, one hand slipping beneath his rags and robes to press against the flash pressure on his chest

Along the edge of the jungle, where the grasslands begin to transition into greener, denser, and taller shrubs and other woody plants, Derrick and Artor create parallel lines of holes and plant identical rows of seeds. The planting sides are marked with crudely marked stakes.  The test seeds have been specially treated to grow to their full maturity within a few hours (if soil conditions are favorable) so that years of trial and error can be avoided.  The notes indicate that plants from both the plateau desert and the watery jungle below the cliffs of the city are included.

By morning, there are results evident to all.

Of the seeds that thrived, one is identified as a grass grown for weaving baskets and similar items.  The color seems a bit bluer than the sample painted in the book, but the leaves otherwise have the length and flexibility described.  A reddish fruit that grows in clumps under long leaves sprouting from long, spiraling branches, is likewise doing well, and there is plenty to eat for breakfast from that tree alone, already 30' tall.  A magillin tree, familiar to Hoa from her time in Canthus, seems small and sickly, its fruit barely a tenth of the size of a normal one.  A tree of dark wood, straight boles, and orange needled leaves towers over 50' tall and nearly 3' in diameter at the base already.  Used for lumber, it will help provide the necessary building material for a new settlement, although the book of notes doesn't mention anything about the green bubbles in the bark.  Another fruit tree, round as the food it produces, grows well and adds to the morning meal.  A fragrant tree, lighter in color and used for furniture and housewares, grows well beside it.  A purplish tree with a bulbous trunk (it's supposed to be that way?) grows well, and the sap oozing from a few spots on it bodes well for a reliable source of sealant and water-proofing material.  The seed intended to grow "in water" has done nothing, nor has one noted for growing in the desert and being a safe source of bitter water in emergencies.  Lastly, a type of succulent noted as "medicinal" grows stunted and scraggly, the dark spots on the "leaves" aren't clearly lesions, but they might be.

Hoa studies the growth thoughtfully, thinking less in terms botanical than logistical. "This is imperfect, but perfection was never likely. It's possible the succulents will be more successful further out into the scrub. The growth of the fruit trees is obviously promising, though we'll need to find substitutes for staples. I think we're unlikely to find a better site than this. At least the people of Canthus won't be starting wholly from scratch."

In reply to Hoa Sen (msg # 570):

Alyssa examines the strange plants with interest and curiousity. "I'm no botanist, but could some of these discolorations and odd growth patterns be to the accelerated growth? Perhaps some sort of mutation in the early stages of the plant will be multiplied?" The village healer kneels down and examines the medicinal plants, trying to remember if she has had anything similar in her own garden.

18:42, Today: Alyssa Yulo rolled 10 using 1d20.  Recognizing/remembering facts about any similar medicinal plants.

If applicable I would like to call on my skill in Healing tasks.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:43, Thu 25 Nov 2021.

When he wakes, Derrick goes to inspect the plants from the night before. He stands staring at 50' tall lumber tree, craning his neck back to look at the top. "This is incredible! I underestimated the value of these gifts that the Canthan's gave us." He walks around the tree to inspect it from all angles still somewhat incredulous.

He returns to the camp, shaking his head and addresses Hoa. "I agree. Some of these plants might do better inside the Great Bowl. They could possibly be traded to the Aix. As for the future settlement, this location does seem promising. Plentiful water and good land. We should still thoroughly search the area. There may be hidden Numenera that could pose a threat."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:02, Thu 25 Nov 2021.

“Food, fruit, shelter and houseware”, spoke Artor wryly, “There are plenty of folk who would kill for such riches.”

“Let us continue our .. peregrinations”

Alyssa, the only plant you somewhat recognize with respect to healing is the succulent (that seems to have grown poorly).  It seems to be a variety of a plant you are familiar with from the Steadfast, one whose sap is used for cleaning wounds and accelerating healing, if boiled and condensed.  From what you recall, it grows better in dry, rocky soil.

Of all the Yazim Riders who return to Canthus, Derrick's changes are perhaps the most startling to the residents of the settlement. Though many of the others have changed as a result of their passage through the Shimmering Veil, the patches of crystal that cover the Glaive's skin when the party returns are more dramatic than a change of hair or eye color. Artor is perhaps still the strangest looking of the group, but from the perspective of the residents of Canthus he looks much the same as he did before the group departed.

Derrick takes the stares in stride even as, over the course of the efforts to pack up and move the settlement, the patches of crystal slowly merge into each other until he is a walking form of crystal. He makes for an intimidating sight even against the hulking forms of the lattimors as he moves through the streets helping residents pack, organize, and otherwise prepare to leave.

When the crystal virus sheds a new 'seed', Derrick manages to trade it, along with his current set of armor, for the raw materials he needs to forge a much sturdier armor for himself. Bresca, the woman from whom he buys the materials, is the best metalshaper in Canthus and she agrees to help him with the project. Though he has never been an expert craftsman, he works diligently at shaping each piece of metal under Bresca's guidance until it fits his new crystal body perfectly. The work continues long after the caravan leaves the site of old Canthus and on until they have nearly reached their destination. Perhaps a day after they pass through the Shimmering Veil, Derrick emerges from his tent wearing the completed set for the first time. The added bulk of the armor makes him nearly as broad as a lattimore.

The rest of Derrick's time during the trek is spent keeping careful watch and defending the community from threats. He organizes a volunteer patrol each night to keep watch on the perimeter of the camp. More than once an over-ambitious predator has to be fought or chased off. On one occasion, a scouting party of reptiles managed to find the camp and Derrick had to lead the effort to chase down each member to ensure that the route of the caravan was not relayed back to a larger force.

Alyssa spent most of her days in Canthus as she would have in her old settlement, speaking with people, trying to treat various ailments and generally making people comfortable with her cheerful and caring disposition.

She also befriends an older man, Vandos, who in his youth was a travelling trader and who has many stories to tell about Canthus and the surrounding area.

As they travel back through the veil Alyssa is startled by her sudden transformation. Her skin, which usually is lightly tanned has turned completely white as alabaster and her nails are now a shade of purple. She briefly considers applying some sort of make up to hide the transformation, but decides against it when she realises that the transformation is something common among those that travel through the veil and she now feels less like a stranger, since similar mutations are commonplace among the villagers now.

Hoa Sen cannot help but busy herself with the affairs of the community. The migration brings myriad challenges and trials, losses and changes (including hair such an emphatic shade of yellow that Hoa Sen resumes shaving it). She is no wright, to solve the people's problems with tools or devices, nor is she a jack to find them clever paths through difficulties. Hoa Sen is an arkus, trained to work with sentients and their systems, and that is where she bends her efforts.

Those show up in a dozen small patterns repeated over and over as the people of Canthus migrate and begin the work of establishing a new aldeia. Hoa Sen is available to listen and to speak, to teach some of the tricks and techniques she learned in Qi to listen and to speak more effectively. As with her practice as a kasunda, much of it involved deflection, redirection, and precision. It doesn't matter how much she is appreciated, it matters how much the people of Canthus can do>. There's nothing particularly cheerful in it, and much of it is as subtle in the delivery as in the use. It's exhausting work, but it is the first chance in what seems like months that Hoa Sen has had to do what she is trained to do.

The lessons are slow to take—unsurprising given the volume of material challenges for the community—but Hoa Sen is persistent. Material needs will be easier to meet with cooperation, and growth will be more sustainable with the same.