The Foal and the Campion

The Ixi walked up to the food stall. "Um, excuse me--"

"No, we don't have potatoes left, they've been withering in the drought," the Meerca at the stand snapped impatiently.

The Ixi bit her lip, but tried not to break her stare. "Do you have hard to sell vegetables at all? Anything?"

The Meerca turned, now noticing the young, ill-kempt child. "Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry. I-I've gotten a lot of requests for just potatoes. I know they're filling and a staple of Meridell, but it's a drought, and the farmers are no magicians."

The Ixi nodded and scanned the stand herself.

"Well, I have these." The Meerca set out a few of warped, twisted carrots that had seen better days. "Don't have discount on anything else, but beans are always cheap and filling if you're interested."

The Ixi nodded. After a brief exchange discussing quantity and price, the Ixi pulled out a small pouch and began counting coins.

"Also," the Meerca whispered. "The nobles are still throwing out their old croutons and old gravy. Not saying you should have to go through the Rubbish Dump, but if you're ever desperate..."

"I did that earlier." The Ixi pushed forward some coins and began loading the food into her basket. "Gotta be fed enough to run back."

The Meerca winced at the thought of a child needing to say such things, but contented himself that he did what little he could. He swept up the coins quickly. He was no stranger to thieves, but they've increased in frequency since the drought's beginning. Even if they didn't ambush his stall, sometimes he'd watch his returning customers straining to count their remaining coin after losing some of their goods. This hadn't happened to the girl, at least. He'd like to believe a kid wouldn't be targeted, but he'd seen enough to quash his naivete.

He put away the coins. "Hey kid, before you go--"

But he looked up to find she was already gone. He looked around and glimpsed the Ixi running low to the ground and weaving between villagers. A villager she jostled gave a loud verbal remark about her rudeness to disguise how close his hand was to her basket.

The Meerca sighed. What was this drought doing to Meridell?

**

A weak door creaked as the Ixi entered her home, such as it was. Her parents moved here just before the start of the drought, after a work incident. She only knew details from rambling one-sided venting. Regardless, it reduced her parents from middling but managing to living in the Meridellian slums. The Ixi didn't like to think about it too much; her parents did enough ranting for anyone.

Thankfully, they were gone, and the Ixi was able to put away the food quietly. As little as it was, but at least she could sneak a carrot and some of the beans for herself in case her parents forgot. Or she could return to the Rubbish Dump.

Or maybe she could visit the woods, she thought while slipping a sachet of beans under her mattress. The other week she'd gotten to the edge of the woods and found some berries in a forgotten patch. Normally she'd wait to bring back a sample for identification, but she was desperate enough to eat some. That left her with a terrible stomachache that kept her from going home until well after dark. Still, now she knew to avoid those particular berries.

She had seen other unique foliage in the woods; maybe those were safe. But she had never breached the edge of the woods. They were dark, and villagers enlightened her to rumors of sinister creatures of knightly lore lurking there. She didn't know how much was true, but she knew she'd stand no chance if she did encounter something. But they also said there was indeed good foliage, and she still wondered what was beyond those brier patches. Sometimes she'd linger at the edge of the woods and see shadows moving in the dark. They scared her at first, but often the shadows did nothing more than move away or stare, and over time her fear faded.

Dangerous, accustomed, curious, or not, everyone was still very hungry, and there might be a wealth of food within. Maybe the monsters would become accustomed to her. Maybe the bad monsters were hiding deeper in the woods. She wanted to try it. Besides, it was often up to her alone whether she got fed.

The door banged open. The Ixi jumped, her thoughts interrupted. She heard the hoofsteps of her father.

"Kid," the White Uni called gruffly. "I know you're back. Did you get groceries?"

The Ixi moved out from her bedroom. "Yes. Carrots and beans. They're in the cabinets--"

"Is that all?" The Uni snorted.

"Um, yes? Prices are going up, they had that cheap, and I didn't want to spend our last coin."

The Uni moved past the kid and looked into the storage. He held up one of the misshapen carrots and let out a gruff sigh. "If it weren't for that incident we wouldn't have to be stuck with rubbish."

"It only looks ugly. What about soup--"

The Uni banged the kitchen counter. "If it weren't for that incident we wouldn't have to settle for ugly! We could get by! Could've even caught noble attention with our work, then we wouldn't have to be here."

The Ixi stepped back, seeing if there was an opening to move away. If he was getting started on that tangent again, she wasn't particularly interested in re-hearing the details--

"Kid, if you wanna earn your keep," the Uni turned his head to address her. "At least find some spices. You can have your precious soup however you want, but we'd rather live a little."

"But spices are so--"

"I don't care how you get it, just don't bring back trouble. We're stuck in this hole, and you know your mother deserves better, after a long day trying to get us back to where we should be. So do us all a favor and get them."

"I just got back--"

"And you came back without the proper goods, so you have to go out again." The Uni stared intently at the kid. "Remember, you have to earn your keep. Do you understand?"

"...Yes, dad." The Ixi retrieved her coin pouch and stepped out without another word.

The Ixi quietly returned to the blustering village. She could appreciate it right now; this was just noise. It was preferable to the miasma inside her head. She didn't want to find out what would happen if she didn't do as asked, or indeed drew too much attention. Don't invite trouble, don't think deeply, just do what they asked. Maybe she'd even have a taste of a soup with spice. ...Yes, this would benefit her too.

"Spices? Are you crazy, kid?" The Meerca shopkeeper asked. "Yes, we have spices, but it's not cheap, and the nobles are snatching them up."

"But you do have them," the Ixi said passively.

"I don't think you have the coin."

"You set the price."

The Meerca stammered. "I-it's not that simple, I have my own living and-!" He sighed. "Look. Food is scarce as is, and not many are investing in spices right now. And you seem to prefer having food over its taste. Do you really think this is a good idea?"

"Nnmm--" The Ixi bit her lip hard. "It pays to pay a favor."

The Meerca frowned. "Kid... I don't know what favor you're paying, but it doesn't sound good. You should get out of it. Don't bring yourself down to prop up someone using you."

The Ixi pawed the ground with her hoof. "I'm the one using them."

The Meerca's ears flattened against his head. He looked like he had much to say, but he stifled those words.

"...Kid." He said sympathetically. "I can't help you. But if you're stuck on this..." He whispered. "Croutons and gravy are very salty. If you mix them in secretly, they won't know the difference."

The Ixi pondered. "...Maybe. But they might want to see the spices. Is there any other way?"

"A legit way. Well..." The Meerca grimaced. "I hesitate to tell you, because I don't think you should go there. There's this plant in the woods. The leaves are small, and they sting, but they're nettles that give a nutty flavor. There are monstrous or magical influences that makes green plants purple, but most are fine to eat, and so are the Corrupted Nettle."

"...Maybe that would be enough..." The Ixi pondered.

"You still shouldn't go. It's really not worth the risk. Just... go back and say you couldn't find any. Anyone normal should understand."

The Ixi considered these words carefully, then nodded. "Tell me how to find them."

The Meerca motioned the Ixi behind the stand and gave her instructions between customers. He spoke in hushed whispers, wary of being overheard. She wasn't sure why; they were just instructions on identifying the so-called Corrupted Nettle. She was given several warnings on how she'd have to go a little farther into the woods to find the nettle, how she really shouldn't do this, and how she could talk to him in detail if she needed advice on talking her way out of a bad deal.

She nodded, thanked the Meerca for his time, and ventured to the woods. She was going to do this anyway, it was just finally time. It was her opportunity, really.

She walked until she reached the edge of the woods, and paced the edge looking for the brier patch that made her sick. It was a path she was coming to know well, and so it didn't take her long. She sat down near the brier patch and waited, watching the shadows skirting about the forest.

Nothing major; a small creature stared at her before darting away. Satisfied, the Ixi got up and walked into the woods, her curiosity and her desire to keep moving overshadowing her fear. She was in the woods before she realized it.

It was much darker under the canopy, minus the small rays of light shining through. It was still light enough that she didn't need to do much to adjust to the dark. The deeper woods promised greater shadow, along with denser branches and foliage. But it wasn't as chaotic as the Ixi thought it would be. Glancing around, she found the familiar unique foliage. But her goal was the Corrupted Nettle; she couldn't afford to taste test plants now. She could bring back clippings to ask about certain plants later.

She identified a route through the woods and moved. The initial obstacles were okay, but new to the city-dwelling girl. Her exertion promised a later ache in her legs as she stepped over intertwining branches and bushes. Youthful, she brushed off the sensation and moved faster through the woods, which rustled bushes and broke twigs.

Krkrkrkrkr kreekreekree!

Kaw! Kaw!

Kaaaaaaaaaaa...!

The Ixi halted and checked her surroundings. The first two were birds, including a Crokabek. But the unknown third sounded low, like a hiss. She froze, unwilling to make a sound until the commotion died down or she saw danger.

Nothing arose. The near-hiss sound eventually faded, and the forest chirped with its normal fauna. Whether it was normal fauna or a monster, it decided not to interact.

The Ixi continued, more careful of where she stepped. Noise from the fauna and the flora beneath her hooves became an inevitability as the forest closed in around her. She'd stop every so often to listen, but she heard nothing unusual. Maybe it was just a normal forest after all. Maybe the rumored threats were just hearsay.

She nibbled on some leaves nearby that she knew to be safe. As she chewed, she looked around. Some of the encroaching foliage seemed edible. Some leaves were slightly dry and yellow tinged from the drought, but otherwise they seemed to be doing well. But some leaves looked unnaturally darker, with purple along their edges. Still, none of them matched the Meerca's description of Corrupted Nettle.

Curious, the Ixi bent down and nibbled on the edge of a purple-tinged leaf. Most of it tasted normally dull, but she tasted a bitter barbless sting on her tongue. She instinctively jerked back, then considered the flavor. The sting wasn't punishing; the bitterness somehow mellowed it out. The taste was mild and short-lived, and certainly wouldn't be a good enough spice, but she ate more anyway.

She knew she must be on the right track. But the purple was curious... 'Corrupted' was right in its name. What made it corrupted? A bitter flavor wasn't corruption. Regardless, it didn't change the leaves more than that.

The Ixi decided to follow the trail of the increasingly purple foliage and idly wondered how long she'd have to walk. She noticed that not all plants purpled equally. The grass was hardly touched, but some flowers took a purple hue. The same went for some neighboring foliage. Maybe it wouldn't be long before she found Corrupted Nettle.

Chk chk chk chk!

The Ixi stopped, standing face to face with a Symol. It was holding a stem of branching flowers with alternating purple and blue petals that it was midway through eating. The Symol stood and stared in a small filled circle of the same flowers. The Ixi leaned down towards the flowers, which caused the Symol to run away.

"I'm not--" The Ixi sighed. Instead, she pondered the flowers. If this Symol was stuffing itself with these flowers without question, maybe she could do the same. She took a daring bite.

The taste was overwhelming. The flower would've been overwhelmingly bitter if not for a strange, swirling sweet taste that accompanied it. The final flavor was akin to blackberries as the texture melted in her mouth. It felt strange, yet refreshing, and intriguing. She helped herself to more, eating a quarter of the flowers before the overwhelming taste got to her.

Still, she didn't feel negatively affected. She gathered some into her basket for later. Even if she didn't find the Corrupted Nettle, surely this would work to appease her parents. Unless... she'd rather have these for herself. She did find them after all. And this plant was such a novelty. She couldn't help but smile, an action that surprised herself.

While considering what to do with the flowers, the Ixi checked her surroundings again and saw some purple-ish bushes not too far away. She walked closer and saw it was a mix of small purple and green leaves that looked like nettles...

The Ixi chanced a bite of a green leaf. It was nutty with a light sting. She tried a purple leaf, and there was that familiar bitter sting with that nuttiness. These must be the Corrupted Nettles. The Ixi placed a cloth over the flowers and gathered the nettles into her basket.

Before long, she was making her way out with a full basket. She followed the purpling plants back to their entrance, and from there the way out was much easier than the way in. Maybe she'd memorized the route already. Maybe she just felt lighter in her step. She stepped into the scary woods, nothing bad happened, and she filled a basket to full. It was more than she expected. She was able to help! And the woods felt serene. More than she was used to.

On her way out, she gathered clippings of unknown fauna to identify later. If the Meerca didn't know, maybe he could point her in the right direction. For now, she exited the woods and headed home.

**

The Ixi gently nudged the door to her house open. Her father and her Purple Ixi mother were already cooking.

"Where have you been?" Her mother asked brusquely.

The Ixi child blinked. "Gathering spices." She set the basket on the table and placed the Corrupted Nettle on the counter.

"Why would you bother with spices when we're looking for food?" The mother grumbled.

Her father also looked confused. The Ixi blinked.

"You asked me to get some after not bringing enough food back?"

Her father mulled. "...Oh, I guess I remember. Well, what did you bring back? I don't even recognize these."

"Nettles."

"Nettles aren't spice," her mother said.

"I was told they gave a flavor like spice," the Ixi said.

"Who said that?"

"The food stall Meerca."

The mother scoffed. "That low-class Meerca can't compete with the noble chefs. He'd take anything that isn't bland and call it a spice."

"Well I... I got some."

"Ugh, I guess it'll do. It's more than what you brought back earlier." Her mother grabbed the nettles and was about to soak them in water when she paused and tasted a purple one. "What is this? This isn't a nettle."

"It is a nettle, it's just--"

"Can't even get a proper nettle. Ugh, if only we could afford to be picky." Her mother threw the nettle into the pot.

"We could if we just had our chance with the nobility again," Her father muttered.

"We just have to try harder," Her mother stirred the pot. "It's our only way out of this mess of a drought."

"If only our opportunities weren't being blown," Her father grumbled. "If they stopped mishandling the deals, if they actually contacted us back about our offers..."

The Ixi turned around as her parents dipped into complaining about their situation and talking about noble opportunities that would never arise. She could at least kind of understand her mother, as she came from decent means. But why did it matter now, here in the slums?

She left them to their complaining and headed to her room. She glanced into the kitchen to ensure they were distracted, then uncovered the cloth she used to hide the flowers and cuttings. They almost shined despite their dark colour. She wondered what kind of flowers these were. She ate one, and for a moment, she was back in the forest, remembering the quiet in the din of the parents' noise, not worrying about anything except her immediate surroundings in a forest of kind shadow.

She hid the flowers. At dinner, she at least got a decent portion, with the cooked nettles tasting like stinging spinach. The flavors got complaints the whole time, but it was enough to sate her parents, because after dinner, they didn't complain about her. It made for a fair evening.

She slumped onto her scratchy mattress and quickly fell asleep. It was a wonderful day, and she was eager to learn more about the forest.

**

The next day, the Ixi took to the town to investigate the unidentified clippings. Her first stop was directly back to the Meerca, who looked relieved to see her again.

"There's a lot of stuff there, as it turns out," the Ixi said. "But I don't really know what these are."

The Meerca looked them over, quietly setting some plants on one side or another. "These are safe for you to eat. But these will make you sick, or worse. Especially worse here." He took turns pointing to each plant, identifying an herb or basic vegetable, or something poisonous. He described each one by one until he got to the bottom of the basket where a single branch of unusual flowers lay.

"How did you get that?" The Meerca gaped.

"I don't know. But I saw a Symol eating it, so I figured it was safe. And it was," the Ixi shrugged.

"Remember what I said about the purpling plants being fine? This... it's something else. It looks like a red campion, but obviously not red, and it shouldn't shine. It looks magic. And picking campions is bad luck. You shouldn't eat more."

The Ixi nodded, discarding his advice. Even if it was magic, she felt normal eating them, even if they did have a strange taste. And how could it be bad luck, if it gave her such a nostalgia refreshing sensation and if the Symols could eat them just fine?

The Meerca sighed and put the safe plants into the Ixi's basket. "I'd say different if you had access to a mage or scholar, but I doubt it. Even then, it's better to avoid these kind of plants. Bad luck can strike later, and I wouldn't chance curses. I can't stop you, just... be careful."

"I will. Thank--"

The Ixi was reaching for the basket when an unknown hand grabbed it, and absconded with the goods inside.

"You just stole from a child!" The Meerca yelled. The Ixi ran after the thief, but they were quick, neither of them got a good look, and everyone was too used to wanton thievery to notice the incident. The thief was lost in the crowd, and the Ixi soon returned, defeated.

"I'm so sorry, I should've held tighter." The Meerca sighed. "Are you planning on going back?"

"Yes."

The Meerca returned the problem plants. "Then take these. You can use these to rule out the bad ones. As for the basket..."

"I... I can get another one." With that, the Ixi returned home to retrieve another basket.

"You lost a basket." The Father put a hoof to his nose. "Of course... You'd better find us another one. Don't lose another!"

The Ixi wasted no time returning to the forest. She didn't plan to go deeper; what she needed was in the shallow areas of the wood. She used the cuttings of bad plants to travel the woods and identify what she shouldn't take. But the good plants... there was a lot of foliage. How could she be sure of what she took before? What if she grabbed a new one that was bad?

She meticulously examined and gathered plants anyway. It wasn't as if she could afford to be choosy. But she noticed that the foliage was sparser than she initially thought. She assumed it was because she was un-used to dense forests and used to drought. She'd have to be careful to not over-harvest.

But she kept thinking about the campion. Bad luck... she didn't really believe that. She searched until she found the pattern of the purpling leaves and followed it again to the tiny grove with the flowers.

But when she pushed aside the bushes to the grove, the flowers were gone. Not even their stems remained. The Ixi stood, staring at the spot.

"Symols..." She looked around, looking deeper in the forest. Maybe there'd be more deeper in? Maybe not even far deeper. She moved forward to try.

She noticed that it was getting darker and harder to avoid the bushes around her. She told herself not to go too deep in the forest, lest she get lost. The flower wasn't worth that. But she did find more unique foliage along the way, of which she took trimmings.

She stopped at the edge of a steep hill and looked down below. The hill and valley were studded with trees, so it was difficult to use the slope as a vantage point. But she spotted more foliage, including Corrupted Nettle. And near that Corrupted Nettle...

The Ixi carefully walked down the slope, just far enough to reach the Nettle and the second circle of faintly shining purple and yellow campion. The circle was much smaller this time, and sparsely populated. She thanked her luck at finding this and knelt down to eat a flower.

This taste was a little different. Bitter like before, but with strange brightness that felt like a soft radiant heat on her tongue. Lighter overall, compared to the previous flower. But still overwhelming. She gathered only a few.

"That's incredible..." The Ixi said. "If they're magic, maybe I'm tasting that. But what kind of magic...?"

She stared at the flowers. "Maybe they're rare... I'd better leave them and let more grow. Whatever kind of magic it is, it shouldn't go out."

The Ixi backtracked out of the forest, with more leaf clippings and food in her basket. There wasn't as much this time, except for more of the Corrupted Nettle and the flowers she hid at the bottom of the basket under a cloth. Her family, of course, complained at more nettle, but they again didn't complain about her.

**

The following day, the Ixi returned to the Meerca. She brought up seeing the new campions and lied about gathering them.

"That sounds magic like the other one. Which is all the more reason not to touch it, or anything of strange magic or bad luck. I'm glad you didn't. This is a job for mages."

She wondered if a scholar could help her. Maybe one in Brightvale. But she wasn't rich enough to go, and her family wouldn't help her even if they were. After all, the money was for their household, not their curiosity. Besides, if she told anyone else about this, even if they avoided the flowers, they might know about the food source and over-harvest it. Then there wouldn't be enough for anyone.

She nodded to placate the Meerca and resolved to research this alone.

"By the way." The Meerca handed the Ixi a familiar looking basket. "This was found discarded in an alley, and it had one of your plant trimmings. Here's it back. I'm sorry again for letting it get stolen."

"Oh." The Ixi blinked, reclaiming the basket. "Thank you."

The Meerca smiled. The two finished the scant purchase of misshapen turnips and beans. The Ixi counted out the coins... and came up just short.

"I... I'm really sorry. I want to just give it to you. But we're all in the same boat. Even I can barely keep afloat."

The Ixi nodded slowly and put her coin pouch away.

"Wait," the Meerca said. "How about... Some sorrels, in exchange for the beans."

The Ixi reluctantly accepted, trading over some of the new sorrel plants she had found and only paid for the turnips. Of course, she knew she couldn't do these kind of deals forever.

The Ixi's return home was lukewarm.

"More of the same but with boring beans, huh? Like we need to be punished further." Her mother scoffed. "Just put them in storage, no time, meeting."

"Oh, um, I got the bask--"

But her mother was gone. She was always off on some sort of work. Yet somehow they were still counting coins. The young Ixi was surprised that anyone was here.

The Ixi went to her bedroom and grabbed a blue-purple campions. She laid it next to the yellow-purple campion, covered them up, and set off. She wasn't going to involve mages, but there was still one person who would know to tend the forest without over-picking...

**

"Why hello child," Illusen said, sitting by the brook where the Earth Faerie was trailing her finger. "Please have a seat. Are you here for a reprieve, or a quest?"

"Neither," the Ixi sat down next to Illusen and took a drink.

"A problem, then? You don't seem rushed. It's alright if you need to rest first."

"I wanna know." The Ixi set down her basket. "I've been going to the Meridell Woods for food, and I keep finding strange--"

"Which part of the Meridell Woods?" Illusen asked.

"Um, I don't know for sure, just the path to it from my house. I guess from the slums away from the castle--"

Illusen stiffened. "The Northern Woods are dangerous, child. It's full of nefarious creatures and dark magic."

"What about the dark magic?" The Ixi asked singlemindedly.

Illusen sighed. "The Woods surrounding Meridell are filled with latent magic from the time when Faeries dominated this land. Many faerie factions dwelled in these woods, freely casting spells and imbuing the land with their magic just by existing. It's not all bad; it's why my Glade is a good sanctuary during this time.

"But the Woods you've visited has been strongly influenced by Dark Faeries, or the Dark Magic they left behind. I don't know if both are true. I seldom leave my Glade and I'd... rather not deal with Dark Faeries right now. But their magic is strong. Apparently they even corrupt the foliage."

The Ixi listened intently. "I know that much. But I've been eating the purple foliage fine."

"Yes, most dark-touched plants are harmless," Illusen explained. "You can eat all the Corrupted Nettle you want and be fine. But if there's Dark Faeries... you might catch their attention, and then get caught up in their deals and sentiments. They'll sound good, but it's always a scheme. Another shoe waiting to drop. They're always out to benefit themselves. You can get hurt or worse if you deal with Dark Faeries."

"So don't make deals with Dark Faeries if I don't have to."

"Don't make deals with Dark Faeries, period."

The Ixi nodded without commitment.

"...Times are desperate." Illusen said softly. "That's why you forage in the Woods. It's not wrong to forage along the edges. You're very brave to go out there on your own. To help your family? You're such a big help. I'm sure they appreciate it."

The Ixi nodded very slightly.

"But desperation is the tool of Dark Faeries. Always be wary. I don't know why I'm not hearing of more Dark Faerie temptations in these times, but it wouldn't surprise me if they were trying and just haven't succeeded yet. So be careful. Never go too deep in the woods. It can get dangerous, and I can't say what dark magic will do there."

"What do they do?"

"Don't find out. Please, be safe."

"...Okay." The Ixi moved to grab the basket.

"Oh, did you want me to look at something?" Illusen asked.

"...No. That's just my lunch. Thanks for the advice."

"I didn't hear much of a lunch in there! Here, I have spare food for Neopians in need. You can eat it here and rest as long as you like. Come back any time you need sanctuary."

After Illusen filled the Ixi's basket with greens and Earth Faerie fare, she made her way back to town. She idly munched on a green-touched dandelion and noticed that it had its own ethereal taste, albeit one more grounded and teeming with promises of life. Illusen spent all that time diminishing dark-touched plants, but Earth Magic imbued plants were just fine for her. Still, magic was magic, and it tasted good. She slid one green-touched dandelion under the cloth with the other flowers.

Well, she had some answers. Magic in the woods explained the strange flowers. Purple, purple and blue, purple and yellow, and Earth touched. Each had a unique flavor. Maybe it was leftover magic. It'd explain the flowers' ethereal taste. Did they really do more? ...The Ixi doubted it. Something would've happened by now. And if Dark Faeries really did inhabit the woods for evil means, why wouldn't they just take over Meridell? It would be easy for them if they could enchant a whole wood. She didn't really know why Illusen was afraid.

So what if she did meet a Dark Faerie? She may be in bad straits. But with her discovery and with all she learned, she could get by just fine if she was careful.

She could keep the best of the plants from her parents while still providing, and they'd still provide a roof over her head. If she got good at foraging, maybe they'd see they didn't need rich nobility to do well. Maybe they'd even like her. Maybe things would change.

That was her hope.

To be continued...