For this quest it seemed Jolyne would be most comfortable in her own element, the science of plants and this particular plant was growing too much. Her experience with her own plants and her own magic should help her immensely here or at least she hoped as she set off to the outskirts of the forest in the middle of winter.

“Fellow Knight and Inspector Nilan, I am Jolyne Atreides sent to help with the situation” bowing as she introduced herself she nodded to each of the scientists there. It seemed that the situation must have grown out of hand if this many people needed to be called in, but Jolyne still held confidence that she would be able to unlock the mystery behind this crisis of greenery.

As many minds as there were it seemed there were even more theories swirling among the members here and it took quite some time to go through them all, but it was necessary for them to carry on and still retain the scientists co-operation. Thinking back, it was not that much different from placating nobles Jolyne thought to herself as she listened to the umpteenth theory which went over some early established points while ignoring others to suit their own narrative rather than letting the facts speak for themselves. Still it was not so bad and Jolyne had suffered through much, much worse previously in her life.

“So essentially we need more samples to be sure but all that we can agree on is that this is a result of unchecked magic” Inspector Nilan stated looking far less patient than Jolyne was, not that she could blame him considering the difference in time the two spent with the scientists.

“And I am the one to get the samples, gotcha” Jolyne said warmly as she internally worried about her own magic causing something similar to this one day. It was entirely possible that she could create something similar through misuse of Green Genetics, while Jolyne loved to plan ahead she was not egotistical enough to believe that she could chart all the possibilities in her mind.

Flashes of desert and giant crawling and shifting dunes filled her brain for a brief second. The mind eye was flooded and Jolyne was transported in a similar way that the blue orb had transported her. It was an interesting experience to be sure but not one that she wished to replicate.

Jolyne Atreides accepted the devices to transport, store and collect the samples needed to confirm the suspicions of the scientists around her. She accepted these things gladly as she knew that the sooner she completed this the sooner Nilan would be free from what was to him a living hell, his eyes were dead mirrors of sorror, regret and pain and every so often Jolyne heard him utter the most forlorn sigh she had heard in a long time. It was her top priority to help this sad old man, it was almost a running theme at this point.

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Jolyne thought that a few of these supplies were not needed but she would not bring that up and add to the Inspectors pile of sorrows. After all he was probably hoping that this event would be over when the first beanstalk fell, unfortunately for him it was not but the Atreides thought that it would be figured out soon enough. She only hoped that these bickering scientists would not be around Nilan for much longer. Knowing the Inspector as little as she did, even she could tell he was not a fan of the constant back and forth that happened when many minds when into one room.

Understanding would only come about with those when they established their own sort of pecking order and started listening to each other, but such was the way of most of life.

Vines were growing ever thicker as she progressed, a troubling sign but hardly unexpected. It seemed that this plant probably was housed underground and much larger than any of the others expected. That would also explain how it was apparently changing the environment like the lit, organic jack-o-latern she now suddenly found in front of herself. Jolyne of course had rubbed her eyes, checked her pulse and pinched herself before deciding to harvest it as a sample. It seemed that maybe she would need this many instruments in order to carry this out.

A neon purple mushroom, a red vine, a flower whose petals were flowers in themselves all these and more were collected by Jolyne as the forest was filled with oddities. While she did not have much experience with these parts she distinctly remembered it not being THIS colorful when she had came through the area in the last year. Nor was it here when she traveled with her father five years earlier.

Even more concerning however was the fact that it also mirrored what her magic would do to the soil but on a much larger scale, many of the natural and native plants were slowly beginning to die. Something nefarious was at work here or the plant below was drawing far too many nutrients from the surrounding area to be left alone. Let alone this thing had a strike against it. Jolyne was beginning to get worried about the area for reasons other than just the demonic rift that would soon open. The woman had never thought that the world was this fraught with peril outside of her own homeland, she had hoped the outside world was brighter and while it had been for the most part it seemed evil could dwell under any surface.

As disturbing as it was Jolyne collected a few more samples before leaving the forest but not the feeling of dread, behind her. She soon arrived back to the group where Nilan thanked her again and she handed over the samples to the scientists who were all amazed and began speaking together in hushed tones. This was their kind of golden treasure after all, but Jolyne feared what kind of Dragon was guarding this treasure and feared more what it would do to the environment around it.

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