Nice and peaceful, Nabias offers a great place to start your journey or stock up on supplies before heading out to brave the rest of the wilderness out there. They also have Barakka's largest hospital facility to treat all sorts of injuries you could get out there. (+2 Precision)

Moderator: Retired Staff

Return to Town of Nabias

4.1

Postby TrizzyTreke » 07/28/2014 11:49 PM

Joel's eyes had grown to a point where the Gardener felt he needed to say something. "You are going to have to stop making your eyes so big. It scares me a little."

"Yes, sir!" The boy obeyed, and then his mouth began to have the same problem as his eyes had before.


What's a name?
Just window dressin'
Everybody knows it's clothes that make a man
Play the game
Just keep 'em guessin'
Mix and match me
Try to catch me if you can


User avatar
TrizzyTreke
Novice Pet Trainer
Novice Pet Trainer
Pets | Items
Joined: 04/08/2014 8:54 AM
Location: Hoping I'm near the end of my Novice Trainer days.

4.2

Postby TrizzyTreke » 07/28/2014 11:52 PM

"How about we pick your first spirit flower now?" The boy nodded with much energy, so the Gardener led him around the room and showed him each flower.

Joel chose the name before the flower. "Mr. Gardener," he said. "When I first came here, I was scared."

"Of me, right?"


What's a name?
Just window dressin'
Everybody knows it's clothes that make a man
Play the game
Just keep 'em guessin'
Mix and match me
Try to catch me if you can


User avatar
TrizzyTreke
Novice Pet Trainer
Novice Pet Trainer
Pets | Items
Joined: 04/08/2014 8:54 AM
Location: Hoping I'm near the end of my Novice Trainer days.

4.3

Postby TrizzyTreke » 07/28/2014 11:57 PM

"Yes, and of what my friends would say about me if I showed them I was scared, and of many other people and things. But then you talked to me, and I'm not scared here anymore. I think I will be different from now on. I'll be less afraid now. So I've decided to name my first spirit flower 'Courage'."

The Gardener nodded at the lad's wisdom. "That is a very strong name for a flower. I think the flower will like it. Have you decided which flower to give this name to?"


What's a name?
Just window dressin'
Everybody knows it's clothes that make a man
Play the game
Just keep 'em guessin'
Mix and match me
Try to catch me if you can


User avatar
TrizzyTreke
Novice Pet Trainer
Novice Pet Trainer
Pets | Items
Joined: 04/08/2014 8:54 AM
Location: Hoping I'm near the end of my Novice Trainer days.

4.4

Postby TrizzyTreke » 07/29/2014 9:40 AM

Joel selected a flower with a color that surprised the Gardener. "Are you sure, my boy? Yellow is the color of fear. Not very fitting for a flower titled to be the opposite."

"Is that what yellow makes you think of? I picked this one because yellow reminds me of light. This way, whenever fear turns my world dark, I can remember I have a light somewhere that shines very bright."


What's a name?
Just window dressin'
Everybody knows it's clothes that make a man
Play the game
Just keep 'em guessin'
Mix and match me
Try to catch me if you can


User avatar
TrizzyTreke
Novice Pet Trainer
Novice Pet Trainer
Pets | Items
Joined: 04/08/2014 8:54 AM
Location: Hoping I'm near the end of my Novice Trainer days.

5.0

Postby TrizzyTreke » 07/29/2014 9:53 AM

The Gardener approved. The lad had won him over. What an intelligent boy. He would make a fine gardener one day. "You are brilliant," he told Joel. "Now I will show you how to pick a spirit flower. You will not literally pick the flower. Instead, you will spiritually pick it."

The boy looked confused and amazed at the same time.


What's a name?
Just window dressin'
Everybody knows it's clothes that make a man
Play the game
Just keep 'em guessin'
Mix and match me
Try to catch me if you can


User avatar
TrizzyTreke
Novice Pet Trainer
Novice Pet Trainer
Pets | Items
Joined: 04/08/2014 8:54 AM
Location: Hoping I'm near the end of my Novice Trainer days.

5.1

Postby TrizzyTreke » 09/01/2014 9:57 PM

The Gardener shook his head at his negligence. Of course the boy wouldn't understand what he was talking about! "I shall demonstrate for you what I mean."

He reached out with his mind while he spoke to the boy. "Imagine you are talking to the flower with your soul. There is a communion that must occur between you and the plant. You have to give it a piece of you, which it will enhance as you nurture and care for it. Your soul is a garden with many types of spirit flowers to care for. Take on this flower as a part of your life." As he said this, a purple flower began to glow. "I shall call this one Respect."

"Who do you need to give respect to?" Joel asked. "It is you who should be respected."

"I do not have many people in my life to respect. The character trait has grown weak within me, so I shall improve upon it. Now, show me how quickly you can learn."


What's a name?
Just window dressin'
Everybody knows it's clothes that make a man
Play the game
Just keep 'em guessin'
Mix and match me
Try to catch me if you can


User avatar
TrizzyTreke
Novice Pet Trainer
Novice Pet Trainer
Pets | Items
Joined: 04/08/2014 8:54 AM
Location: Hoping I'm near the end of my Novice Trainer days.

5.2

Postby TrizzyTreke » 09/02/2014 11:17 PM

The boy struggled, and the Gardener backed up to make the moment more personal. The boy reached out toward the flower with his hand, and he noticed a spark in its stem. The Gardener was impressed. He remembered his first time plucking a spirit flower, and he knew it did not happen this quickly. As he watched Joel connect with the spirit flower, something stirred within him. He wanted to get to know this boy better. He decided to offer the boy an apprenticeship. He might like that.

Joel completed his connection with the spirit flower, and a grin filled his face. "Mr. Gardener," he exclaimed softly, trying to look mature in front of him. "I did it!"

"Excellent job, Joel. What are you going to call it?"

The boy pondered silently for a moment and touched the flower's sun-golden petals. Then he said with certainty, "'Courage.'"


What's a name?
Just window dressin'
Everybody knows it's clothes that make a man
Play the game
Just keep 'em guessin'
Mix and match me
Try to catch me if you can


User avatar
TrizzyTreke
Novice Pet Trainer
Novice Pet Trainer
Pets | Items
Joined: 04/08/2014 8:54 AM
Location: Hoping I'm near the end of my Novice Trainer days.

5.3

Postby TrizzyTreke » 09/13/2014 7:30 PM

The Gardener felt love for this boy grow within his heart. "That is an outstanding name."

Joel stared with joy at his new acquisition. "What do I do now, Mr. Gardener?"

The Gardener decided now was the moment. He knelt next to the boy and said, "Now you get to choose. Do you want to work as an apprentice for me? I will teach you much more about spirit flowers, and you will get to see things few others will have the privileges to look upon."

"Of course! My dad has been saying I need to start apprenticing with a master of a trade." Then Joel paused. "Will I be paid?"

The Gardener shook his head. "I am afraid not."

"That's okay. I like things money can't buy." Joel beamed at him. "As for my folks, I can't say they'll be happy that I'm working for free. And will they be okay with me working for someone as scary as you?"

"I thought you said I wasn't scary."

"Not to me. But my folks don't know you. They think you're a monster like the rest of the village does."

"Here's where your training begins, then. Have courage, and we will find a way to show them that I am not to be feared."

The spirit flower named Courage became just a little brighter at that.


What's a name?
Just window dressin'
Everybody knows it's clothes that make a man
Play the game
Just keep 'em guessin'
Mix and match me
Try to catch me if you can


User avatar
TrizzyTreke
Novice Pet Trainer
Novice Pet Trainer
Pets | Items
Joined: 04/08/2014 8:54 AM
Location: Hoping I'm near the end of my Novice Trainer days.

5.4

Postby TrizzyTreke » 09/14/2014 8:45 PM

It is appropriate at this point to provide some background information on the Gardener. It will add depth to his relationship with Joel.

This is not the first time the Gardener has taken an apprentice. However, it is the first he has taken in a very long time. He used bad judgement in picking his last apprentice, and as a result the entire world grew a shade darker.

The Gardener used to be much more social, and he did business with the villagers. He made deals in normal flowers as well as spirit flowers.

He mentioned before that there are many types of spirit flowers. You see, there are also negative types. Dark types. The Gardener's former apprentice developed a fascination for these kinds. Fascination became obsession, as dark spirit flowers have a tighter grip on their partners, and when the Gardener learned of this obsession he fired the apprentice. This broke the Gardener's heart, and enough time passed for the world to make up ghost stories, and the apprentice was forgotten by all but him.


What's a name?
Just window dressin'
Everybody knows it's clothes that make a man
Play the game
Just keep 'em guessin'
Mix and match me
Try to catch me if you can


User avatar
TrizzyTreke
Novice Pet Trainer
Novice Pet Trainer
Pets | Items
Joined: 04/08/2014 8:54 AM
Location: Hoping I'm near the end of my Novice Trainer days.

6.0

Postby TrizzyTreke » 09/16/2014 9:49 PM

(Returning to the present)

Much like the flowers they tended, the relationship between master and apprentice blossomed. The Gardener taught Joel something new about his spirit flower every day, and Courage gradually grew bright enough to compare with the candles on top of a cake. He was always happy to hear Joel talk to him, and he found the boy was progressing socially. He had more confidence, and consequently more friends. Of course, there was still room to develop. Joel mentioned an occasion when someone had started on the ghost story of the Gardener, and he had come to his master's defense, saying, "Have any of you seen the man? How do you know he's a ghost?" The person replied to this by ostracizing Joel for a couple of days. The boy was still an inferior in the eyes of many.

One day, while apprentice and master were replacing the mulch for Courage, the boy said something that made the Gardener nervous.

"Mr. Gardener, I like to think of you as my best friend. But also someone who's family. Like a dear uncle."

The Gardener hoped Joel was not perceptive enough to notice the darkness that crossed his face. He realized he had crossed a line with this apprenticeship. He and the boy were becoming too close. His last apprentice had once called him "Father". The boy was becoming too attached to him. Then again, Joel did not give the Gardener much reason to fear he would abuse the power of spirit flowers. He did not have near as much negativity as the other boy had harbored.

He had not replied to Joel, and the boy asked, "Mr. Gardener, did you hear me?"

"Yes," he started back up. "But I am too old to be your uncle. Think of me as a great-great-uncle."

They both laughed after that, and continued to garden.


What's a name?
Just window dressin'
Everybody knows it's clothes that make a man
Play the game
Just keep 'em guessin'
Mix and match me
Try to catch me if you can


User avatar
TrizzyTreke
Novice Pet Trainer
Novice Pet Trainer
Pets | Items
Joined: 04/08/2014 8:54 AM
Location: Hoping I'm near the end of my Novice Trainer days.

6.1

Postby TrizzyTreke » 09/19/2014 11:34 PM

When winter's hand began to brush against the green life of the village, the Gardener began preparing his plants for the coming cold. He always increased the intensity of his gardening when winter came. Though spirit flowers are supernatural, they, like all flowers, are not immune to the detrimental effects of frost's bite. He spent more time alone during this season, only moving about the house when Joel arrived to help out. The Gardener began teaching his apprentice about the significance of a flower's coloring.

"I find it quite intriguing that you named a yellow flower 'Courage,' when yellow is a color that usually goes with fear. Of course, it is also associated with duality, and in some occasions is used to create the exact opposite of terror."

Then an ominous development took place.

As the Gardener and Joel were tending to a room filled with red spirit flowers, the Gardener noticed something frightening. A spirit flower that was very special to him was wilting.

Over the next few days, the Gardener did all he could to nourish the plant, but it's condition continued to deteriorate. He had to make a hard decision. He had to go visit an old acquaintance.

"Joel, my young apprentice," he said. "You are doing quite well. However, I must leave this area for a little while. For the next three days, do not come to work here, because I will not be here."

"Yes, Mr. Gardener."


What's a name?
Just window dressin'
Everybody knows it's clothes that make a man
Play the game
Just keep 'em guessin'
Mix and match me
Try to catch me if you can


User avatar
TrizzyTreke
Novice Pet Trainer
Novice Pet Trainer
Pets | Items
Joined: 04/08/2014 8:54 AM
Location: Hoping I'm near the end of my Novice Trainer days.

6.2

Postby TrizzyTreke » 09/21/2014 10:35 PM

The Gardener admired the boy's courage. Joel had become a loner since he learned the truth about what the villagers called "the Greenhouse Ghoul". He did not have any friends whom he could lean on while the Gardener would be away, so all he could do was hope and pray no harm would come to the boy.

That night he set out. He carried the red spirit flower in a pot close to his body, beneath his black cloak. The pot was unnecessary, since spirit flowers do not require soil or water. However, it would hide the plant's supernatural qualities while he was in the open. The moment he stepped outside his house, he wanted to return indoors. But he could not turn back with the spirit flower in its condition. This journey had to be made. He had to find her. He turned onto the road leading down the hill and began his walk.

He knew the path by heart, and remembered how long it would take him to reach her home. He would be there by sunrise. He had not realized his feet were quickening, and he paced himself. While he traveled he worried, for he feared he knew what the flower's dimming meant.


What's a name?
Just window dressin'
Everybody knows it's clothes that make a man
Play the game
Just keep 'em guessin'
Mix and match me
Try to catch me if you can


User avatar
TrizzyTreke
Novice Pet Trainer
Novice Pet Trainer
Pets | Items
Joined: 04/08/2014 8:54 AM
Location: Hoping I'm near the end of my Novice Trainer days.

6.3

Postby TrizzyTreke » 09/23/2014 10:36 PM

His memory served him well. The sun was peaking over the rooftops of the town he had traveled to as he left the path. Like him, she lived on the borders of the town she came from. Unlike him, she was a less reclusive figure, and kept her spirit flower garden out in plain sight.

He made his way to her front door and knocked--three short raps. Then his hand trembled and gave a fourth knock. He calmed down, telling himself he was more nervous than he need be, but when no one came to the door his anxiety returned to his hands. He needed to make sure she was healthy, so he opened the door.

His heart sank at the sight of the house. Her once-vibrant spirit flowers had withered to dull shadows of shrubbery. The floorboards creaked loudly with each step he took, and the sounds echoed through the feeble house. It had been many years, but he knew what room she would be in. It held a slightly less hopeless shade, and she stood in the center.


What's a name?
Just window dressin'
Everybody knows it's clothes that make a man
Play the game
Just keep 'em guessin'
Mix and match me
Try to catch me if you can


User avatar
TrizzyTreke
Novice Pet Trainer
Novice Pet Trainer
Pets | Items
Joined: 04/08/2014 8:54 AM
Location: Hoping I'm near the end of my Novice Trainer days.

6.4

Postby TrizzyTreke » 09/23/2014 11:05 PM

It was as he had feared. She was dying, just like her garden. She spoke before she turned, "Why are you here?"

"I see you did not give Stubbornness the attention it needed. You know why I am here--you are the last piece of that happy time I had with your son left in this land."

"Don't speak of my son." She tensed, and showed the pain it caused her body in her face. Her wrinkles were deep, and her eyes were like dark pools that had once been clear, but the water had been replaced with dark clouds.

"I must mention him because I know he is the source of your pain, as he is mine. I feared this day would come, and I regret letting you refuse my help."

Her eyes softened, and she looked even weaker. "My dear fellow fool, I could not let you do such a thing. There is a reason you will live longer than me. I am stubborn, yes. The difference between us is that you chose to overcome your character flaws, but I held on to my poisonous pain. If you had stayed here, you would have become like me. You would gain nothing positive from my company." She paused. "This wisdom I have just found comes from you, not me. Perhaps I would have become wiser with you. Perhaps I would have become more foolish. Time cannot be rewound. Life would be pointless without time." Then she laughed. "Seems my life was pointless anyway. Listen to me, spouting nonsense. No, don't listen to me. That's what I have been telling you. Leave me to die."

The Gardener remained rooted. "I came because the spirit flower you gave me became dim. Why would you give me a way to see your heart if you did not want me to have anything to do with you?"

She gave him a grimace that was also a smile. "I had a tiny hope that you would grow the flower for me. I know that was foolish thinking. I am the only one who can grow my flowers. Think of it as another example of my blind stubbornness and refusal to do anything to fix my problems."


What's a name?
Just window dressin'
Everybody knows it's clothes that make a man
Play the game
Just keep 'em guessin'
Mix and match me
Try to catch me if you can


User avatar
TrizzyTreke
Novice Pet Trainer
Novice Pet Trainer
Pets | Items
Joined: 04/08/2014 8:54 AM
Location: Hoping I'm near the end of my Novice Trainer days.

7.0

Postby TrizzyTreke » 09/29/2014 10:46 PM

The Gardener asked, "I have two and a half days until I told my apprentice I would return, so I am going to stay here with you until you die." Then he cursed himself for saying it.

"You took another apprentice? You fool!" She began cackling, but her body retorted and shook her until she merely trembled with sickness. "Why on earth would you dare to try taking on another apprentice?"

"This boy is different from your son. Kinder, and smarter. He has a bigger heart than anyone in his village. He will make a fine gardener, and--"

She interrupted, and fire curled over her tongue as she spoke. "That's what you said about my son." Her eyes narrowed. "You are aware of how similar they are, yet you risk welcoming him into your heart. Why would you do something so utterly stupid? Because you want to undo the damage my son unleashed upon the world? Because you want to raise this new boy to defeat my son? Because--"

The Gardener finally shouted, "Because I miss our son as much as you do! I just didn't kill myself with grief for him!"


What's a name?
Just window dressin'
Everybody knows it's clothes that make a man
Play the game
Just keep 'em guessin'
Mix and match me
Try to catch me if you can


User avatar
TrizzyTreke
Novice Pet Trainer
Novice Pet Trainer
Pets | Items
Joined: 04/08/2014 8:54 AM
Location: Hoping I'm near the end of my Novice Trainer days.

Previous

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


cron