It was not long before Inspector Nilan reached out to Kazimir again for another job. This was a follow up request about the beanstalk. It confused the mage at first but would take it nonetheless. The request was vague and only mentioned some disturbing reports Nilan has received form the Orchidia forest. He had to go out, meet him and inspect the new situation since he had dealt with the beanstalk.

Kazimir left at once to take care whatever situation threatened the people. Especially if this was an after effect of him cutting down the initial beanstalk.

The edge of the forest was populated with scientists spouting about theories from what was going on. There were so many voices it was hard to pick out any one theory they talked about. Amidst the verbal debate was Inspector Nilan. Once he noticed the wind mage approaching, he excused himself from the crowd of scientists.

“Kazimir it is good to see you again,” Nilan greeted him with a handshake.
“Good to see you too. What’s going on? Another stalk to cut down?” Kazimir asked.

The inspector shook his head, “Not exactly. The scientists need some more samples from a plant like the one you cut down. They think its growth is due to some act of careless magic. They will only know for sure if they have more samples to test.”

Kazimir nodded and placed his hands on his hips. “I see. So, there are more of those monster plants in the forest?”

“We believe that the origin of the plant is in the forest. I have some more sampling devices for you if you can help,” the inspector pulled out a few more devices to use.

The wind mage tucked the devices away, “Not a problem. Of course, I’ll take care of it.” The exchanged another hand shake and Kazimir headed off into the forest. He avoided the crowd of scientists.

Inspector Nilan informed him that it may reside deep in the forest. A task more dangerous than they could undertake. Kazimir made his way to the entrance of the forest. The closer he got to the woods the more he saw the vines continuing to grow rapidly all around the trees. Once inside the vines wrapped around trees and hung from branches like an invasive species aggressively taking over.

With each step the vines became thicker and hung lower until he had to push them out of his way. It grew like a living mass trying to strangle the life from the forest instead of living with it.

He came across a bean stalk smaller than the one in the city but still vastly larger than it should be. He sliced it down again and filled up a device full of sap. Even with the beanstalk cut down and the one missing in the city, plants continue to grow.

It wasn’t just the growth that caught the mages eye. Now that he arrived deeper in the forest the vegetation around him changed.

WC 502

Large mushrooms as big as a human head grew around trees. Plants and leaves were multicolored with vibrant hues. Even some of the vines were various colors. “I guess these will be worth collecting as well,” he said reaching out to one of the mushrooms and placing some of it in a sampling device container. He gave a small cough and shook his head while blinking a few times. He had not realize how far he had come and was already getting a little more tired.

Dismissing the wave of tiredness, he continued his plant hunting spree. A multicolored vine was next. He yanked it from a tree. It snapped free dropping collected water onto his sleeves. He placed it in another container and started to step onward. With a heavy step he swayed and braced himself against the tree. His hands ran through some vines and the wave of fatigue increased.

Pulling himself away from the vines and the tree and staggered on the ground. His eyes still a bit hazy. “What is going on? I know I haven’t been working that hard.”

He pushed on to collect some more samples. He quickly grabbed a handful of odd plants and leaves to put them in the device. Finally, he filled the last sample device. When he put his hand on the last sample he became light headed again and wavered on his feet. His eyes were heavy, and he began to feel ill. Something was wrong here and it was more than just the plants. It was the whole forest.

Looking around he felt like the plants were closing in on him. It was slow and subtle at first, but he finally realized what was happening. He conjured a small gust of wind. “Of course. That’s what this is,” he proclaimed irritatingly. “The forest is draining my mana and my life.” He understood now what was happening with the people that passed out by the beanstalk before. Mages weren’t immune they just had to sources from the plants to draw from.

He knew he had to get out off the forest now. He had to get out of here as fast as he could, or he may not be able to get out at all. He pushed of the ground, dashing back the way he came. He heaved vines out of his way and jumped over logs and fallen branches. He was skeptical to use magic as he didn’t want it to be drained and to collapse. He had to rely on his own abilities. Luckily from all the beach running he was better at sprinting.

The exit of the forest was near. He felt the drain on his body and his life force fading away faster. He didn’t know how much longer he had left and dove toward the light. He tumbled out of the forest with vines tangled around his body. Crashing to the ground he rolled toward office Nilan.

“here’s your plants. That forest is sucking the life and mana out of people,” he pulled out the samples and rose them up to him.

The officer called over the scientist, took the samples and helped the young mage up. “Thank you. Your efforts were valiant. Here is the reward.”

“Thanks,” Kazimir took the reward and sat back down on the ground. “I’m just gonna wait here for a moment.”

WC 563
Total WC 1065