Daphne climbed down her tree house ladder as she held a basket onto her arm. She was going out to find wild berries today so she could make some delicious tarts for her family back home. Per usual she had painted golden runes down one side of her body from the villagers who she looked after on a day to day basis.

She greeted them as she made her way to where the wild berry bushes were on her side of the rain forest. She took her time as she made sure her delicate dress didn’t get caught in the bushes. Her hair was in a braid to keep it out of the way.

“Oh not again.” She made her way down to the river and stayed at some tall walking palm ents. “Now you know better! We’ve had this discussion at this fifty times this month.” Daphne tried to use her best stern voice as she frowned towards them. “You are causing a lot of problems for the rattans around here. We need those… If you could move to the sides of the river and not take up a lot of room I would like that.”

The tree ents made noises at her and she listened to their long drawn out speech. “Don’t take that kind of tone and attitude with me!” She pointed at them. “You are worse than children.”

If it was not a day where he was helping those cross the woodlands, then it was one where he scouted the woodlands for anyone lost or injured. The trees and ents were good sources of information for leads to help those to get out. However, it was always the occasional case where the stranded were killed from the wildlife and feral beasts that resided inside as well, which he did to pay his respects.

However, the trees did not speak of a person in danger, but more of one… arguing with the ent? Odd. Qadim never heard of a person doing that before. Still, it was a case worth investigating. Making minor adjustments to his quiver, the elf orc went into a bit of a sprint to seek out what such incident was occurring.

It was not long when he found the case in point. A woman in a long dress and woven hair arguing with a forest of the palm ents that lived in the area, often hiding themselves within the rattans. There was hostility, but not enough that would break out a fight. Just flicks of the tongue and wood.

"Now hold on," Qadim spoke out as he walked into view, "We can't just barrage them without knowing their side of the story, now can we?" he asked the lady before turning over to the treants before them.. "Palmshade, I know you are here." There was a brief pause before one of the ents moved forwards in front of the others, wood groaning as it moved sluggishly. "Now it seems you have been giving this lady a bad time. Care to explain why?" The woodlands echoed with its groans and strains as it explained what they were dealing with. "Ah, I see… I see."

It was about then when he turned over to the damsel. "Did you hear that? If not, let me repeat: Their normal nutrients ground is running dry and bare, so they have been starving searching for food. This plot of land is very rich, so they came here to stop themselves from dying of starvation before they move to find a more permanent plot of land as their previous region rejuvenates."

However, he was quick to turn back to Palmshade. "Seriously, though. I would of figured you would have had three nutrient grounds to cycle through…"

Daphne smelled the newcomer before he was there with her speaking to the ents. She took a moment to sigh a bit and put her hands firmly on her hips as she looked at the trees. “Actually,” she chuckled a bit. “I can speak with them just fine. I understood the whole thing.” She kicked her barefoot around playing with a rock under her toe as she tried to figure out the situation.

“They do. In the forty years, I’ve been here and guarding this part of Laeto these Ents have always had three ground to cycle. However, I can’t get them not to hog the whole thing. My problem isn’t that they are here.” Daphne held up a finger as she explained her side of the story. “They are tapping into the center of the nutrient field here and draining it dry by the day. This is the quickest in forty years I’ve ever seen this place lose life force like it has.”

She turned her finger to the ents. “These three, they keep coming back when I’m not paying attention and siphoning the center. If they don’t stop being gluttons they will kill the plant life in this area. Look at the Rattan around… the bushes… Don’t you see they are such a sad shade of green? They need to move and share with rest of the plants of this area. I don’t mind if they stay but they cannot hog the nutrients. They are even affecting my garden at the house.”

The ents began to make noises at her. “Oh, don’t even go there. I am not lonely!” Her hands were firmly on her hips again. “Have you been spying on me?” She was red in the face now as she stared down the group. “Don’t you just invite random people to my house! That is really rude.” She scolded the group.

She took a sigh for a moment and let it go as she turned to the person who was helping her. “My name is Daphne, I’m the local Wood Nymph… or rather forest guardian. Well… half Wood Nymph.” She chuckled a bit. “I take care of this part of the Laeto.”

"I see…. Lying to me, eh?" Qadim spoke out before staring down one of the three she pointed out. "Or are you making excuses to be returning to this spot more often? Its never wise to betray your elders like this," he scolded, before pausing for a moment. The question would be why? After all, if this was a common nutrient ground, then why would they be so eager to come by? And the victims of such ciphering… they were dying from hunger, but… still felt off.

Qadim's mind was still churning over thoughts that he barely caught word of Daphne's introduction, briefly replying back, "Qadim. Elf Orc," before crouching down and digging his hands into the soil, pulling up a small clump of it before giving it a quick sniff. "Strange…" before returning it back and testing another area a few feet away. The same scent.

"Well Daphne, I think I got an idea on why these boys are so hungry for this location: Their addicted to something. Ain't that right, Splintshroud?" There was a nervous groan in the ent's words. "Yeah, right," he chuckled before pushing himself back up to his feet, brushing the dirt off his hands before heading to Daphne. "If I was to guess, something addictive to them has contaminated the water that flows through this section of forest and were quickly hooked. Its taking longer to get a buzz, so they stay longer and thus take in more than needed. Tell me, how long ago has these issues started to crop up like this?"

Daphne’s mind was turning now. “Addicted to something? I didn’t even think about that but you could be right. It could explain the sudden change in their behavior. Under this spot is an underground cave system. It has mineral water in it of the highest kind.”

Moving quickly she offered the elf orc her hand and smiled. “I noticed it a few months ago really. I shoved them off as much as I could normally they respect me but these past few months they haven’t. I’m going to take us into the cavern if you’ll come with me.”

After he took her hand she melded with the earth bringing him with her. She landed on the narrow walk way of the underground and her hand came up and a flame formed so they could see. “There is probably a large pool down here somewhere… I don’t know what direction we should go but it’s probably wise to go against the current of the river…”

A few months, eh? Qadim thought as he watch Daphne present her hand to him. Why, he had no real idea, but his mind was still churning to not even question taking it. If its an underground cave, then the damp darkness may lead to that, but then the question becomes what species is it? It has to be a strong type to– His train of thought was broken as he felt a sinking sensation beneath his feet… well, what were his feet as they were quick to melt and become one with the earth, soon following the rest of his body. It must be her doing, considering her calm demeanor of what was happening, but it did stop Qadim to be unable to hide a panicked face. He even feared letting go, in case it stopped and planted him in the earth like the many trees around them.

There was a strange silence when they were one with the earth completely, but the moment they fell into the underground cavern, Qadim was quick to fall to his knees, panting for breath, looking up to the light Daphne brought in to light their way, the magical flames glowing on her face as she described the layout. Once his lungs were comfortable, he got back to his feet, drawing an arrow from his quiver before giving a flick to the tip, watching it ignite before him like his own personal candle. He'd rather not have a singe man with a light source when the rest of the party lacked.

Moving this arrow over the water, he watch the current push through lightly. A bit murky thanks to the dirt it channeled, but enough to tell what direction it flowed. After all, he doubted they were going for a swim either way. "Alright then," he told her, moving his light back in front of him. "Lead the way, then."

Daphne watched him fall down and start to cough she frowned a bit. “Sorry, I forgot for non-nymphs that it can be hard to do what I just did.” She made a concerned face as she slowly dusted off some of the dirt that had wound up on him. “I can do that. The path is big enough it looks like from other creatures traveling down here… Most likely harmless. I do not see any bones.”

She took his free hand’s wrist lightly pulled. “Just so we don’t get lost just in case.” There was a soft smile on her face. “The river is winding up ahead.” She warned as they went around the cavern bend and she held out the light she had conjured.

Up ahead was a glowing patch of wild mushrooms. They were bright purple in color with wild shades of grass springing up between them. “I think we found our source of contamination.” The mushrooms had managed to spread even into the water somehow. “So do we just pluck them or… How do we deal with mushrooms? Is it even safe to touch these ones?”

Even with the two holding their own individual lights, it seemed Daphne was one to ensure they were kept close, taking his free arm as a bit of a safety net for the two. A move he did not struggle against. Sure, he did not have any connection to this woman, nor did he expect one, but he was also not one to really change a person's mindset. If they felt more comfortable this way, then why argue against it? She had a cute smile as well. It would be ashamed to lose it just as easily.

Carefully, the pair followed the path before them, minding their steps on the semi-muddy pathway, each using their light to keep an eye on the path. It seemed mainly direct without much to get lost in, so there was no real place for the pair to even attempt to argue on which way to head. Instead, it was almost like they were led down the path straight to their goal. "Genwen Mushrooms. Should have known," Qadim thought out loud, almost chuckling to himself as Daphne looked around concerned, wondering how safe they were to handle.

"If you feel like you need to be safe, or if you are part tree, you should handle them with gloves and a face cover. Outside of that, you can handle them by hand," he told her as he broke away from her light grip, stepping towards the glowing schrooms and kneeling before them. Stabbing the tail of the arrow into the muddy earth, he drew out his dagger before began digging down and pulling one out, making sure to leave as little of the mushroom as possible to try and prevent it from growing back. "Of course, we also got to see how they were brought in, just in case. Otherwise, we would have to take care of this every time the issue arrives."

Turning back around to Daphne, he asked, "Any chance you got something to carry these in? Prep them right, and they make a great meal. Wrong, and your bowels will hate you for a month!"

“I’ve never seen them before.” Daphne blushed a bit. “They might have been spreading into this part of the forest. I’ve been here nearly forty years now and this is the first time I’ve come across them.” She felt a bit ashamed that she had never seen them before as she got shy.

Once he broke free of her grasp she bent over and put her hands on her knees watching him as he dug up the mushrooms. “Think someone is bringing them in? That would make sense if I’ve never seen them before.” Daphne tilted her head and all of the red hair fell off to the side with the tilt.

“Oh, yes!” She had a bag appear in her hands and offered it to Qadim. “I don’t know if it is okay for me to touch them so I’m going to trust you with them.” Once he told her it was okay to eat them she started to laugh. “I don’t know if that is a chance I want to take… That sounds an awful lot like how they cook pufferfish and that doesn’t turn out well for a lot of people.”

Looking down the river she nodded. “It will probably take time for the water to clear out all of the drug so I could probably ask my mother to come purify the water…” She mused lightly. “Well, for helping me… I think it is fair that I treat you to dinner and no we’re not eating the Genwen. I have my own garden back in the village.” She bowed to him slightly after she stood up.

“Please, you must let me pay you back for helping me with the Ents.”

"I would assume it would be a bit more of a natural movement, like the spores clinging to the fur of a fox rather than a secret trade route. After all, they are not harmful or drug-inducing to humanoids like us, so there would be no reason to make a secret trade route for them," he explained, nodding to the bag before taking the time to brush off the dirt and place them inside. Still, he did not help but chuckle at her comment before stating, "Neither am I. Not exactly chef material, here. Still, we could get some easy silver for these at the very least depending on how much we can collect."

He did not really pay too much mind about her talking about having someone who could help clean up the water. After all, even without one, it would take maybe a week for all the spores to cycle out of the water and through the soil. The main issue would be the recovery of the afflicted plants. After all, they were ingrained in the tainted soil, which would mean they were being afflicted the hardest by the mushrooms' impact. Now if she could get someone to purity those fast, then he would be impressed.

However, he did pause to look over when she offered him a meal to give thanks for the hard work, being sure to look at her to answer. "Its not something you need to do, you know," he admitted. After all, part of his job was making sure these woodlands were safe and easy to navigate for those traveling. "… However, if you insist, what kind of man would I be to refuse such an offer?"