25 Fall, Year 3
Old Master Cannoli
It has taken me the whole autumn. I've been worried. I've been wondering if I should've used fertilizer to help it grow; if I should treat a disease or spray for a parasite I can't see. If it just needs a different climate – more warmth, less sun, more or less water, a different soil. Lavinia literally had no instructions at all except for 'just plant it'. I've been wondering if I should've planted it in the greenhouse to have more control over its environment, but then, with no idea of what environment it needs, what could I have done? It has shown no single sign of trouble or difficulty, but it has taken so long, I was sure something was wrong.
But finally, it grew. Finally, I have the sweet gem berry, the sweetest thing under the sun according to Lavinia.
And I'm not sure what to expect right now. In my past three years it has turned out just about any random thing can turn out to be magic. Maybe it's just a statue, and I'll be wasting a thousand gold today. It's not a big deal right now, I basically bought that seed with this purpose in mind – I can buy more of those seeds next spring (Lavinia seems to have that same supplier problem where she can only get seeds in spring and summer for a plant that produces seeds in fall… I'm sure by this point that they're all just artificially jacking their prices). Either way if the seed is worth that much money, the fruit should go for much more.
I should've bought more of those seeds in the first half of the year, I guess. I just hardly ever end up in the forest on Fridays and Sundays anymore. Anyway, this one has a name on it, and it's Old Master Cannoli.
I take the mine cart at the bus stop to go grab my best sword from my chest in the mines: the lava katana. It has a cool reddish glow, and it sears the wounds it creates… somehow… and not long after I bought it, I stopped going to the mines. Now well equipped, I head to the Secret Forest.
I haven't gone in there for the whole year, because I'm not sure if there's going to be any other kind of critters than slimes. I don't feel as conflicted about killing slimes because they don't actually seem to be alive, more… animated. What creature can live with no organs, after all? It's probably that magic permeating this valley, and more than once I've wondered if the wizard lives here because there's magic here, or if all this stuff is happening here because of the wizard and his 'elementals' and whatever other stuff it is he plays with.
There aren't a lot of slimes around right now, and with this sword I can dispatch most of them in one sweep. I go through the entire place and around the pond just to get all of the ones that are present so I won't be ambushed while I'm not paying attention and then take the time to look around a little more. I don't have a lot to do today, I have time.
In the far corner next to the pond, I find something very interesting: a clump of ferns. By this point they're going brown and when I turn one leaf I can see that the little pockets that hold the spores are already open and empty. I asked Leah if she knew about fiddlehead ferns and what she told me was that they're not one particular species – a lot of ferns grow their new fronds all rolled up, looking like the end of a violin, and then unroll them as they mature. Several species are edible. She said she'd never spotted any of the edible ones in the valley, but she knows what they look like. I pick one of the greener leaves to ask her. She's sure to be interested in where I found it, but I don't mind sharing. I know she doesn't deplete sources.
She's been at this far longer than I have, after all.
I also take a look inside the pond and spot some fish swimming around near the surface. The white ones are pretty recognizable as carps, but there's also a smaller brown species that I don't immediately recognize. Could these be woodskips? Willy's book tells me those live in ponds and lakes in forested habitats… And I need one of those for the community center. Maybe I should go get my fishing rod.
I find more of the ferns in the corners of the brush, around those old stumps, and a few interesting mushrooms as well – lots of amanitas. Maybe this is where all the spores come from that grow these mushrooms in my cave. It makes sense; it's very cool and humid in here. For now, that seems to be all.
I turn to Old Master Cannoli and check that little text on his pedestal, to be sure. "Still looking for the sweetest taste", it says. So what do I do? Just kind of smash the sweet gem berry on his face? The mouth seems to be slightly open, so I try to fit the pointy end of the fruit in there. Nothing happens.
So am I the idiot here for thinking that this statue would randomly be magical? I hope not.
I try something else; you can't really taste the true flavor of a fruit through the skin, so I pick off the end of the fruit to expose the flesh. Then stick that in the mouth again.
A couple of seconds go by while I hold it there and then I give up. In the meantime I put the little piece that I pulled off the fruit in my own mouth and I have to give it to Lavinia – this thing tastes almost like pure table sugar, but with a fruity flavor that reminds me of a mix of peach and melon somehow. It's definitely singular. Might as well eat the rest, right? I'm not selling it anymore now, damaged as it is. I take a sweet, juicy bite.
A deep grinding noise sounds from the statue, and I jump a little, but mainly because I wasn't expecting it after like a minute. I take a few steps back, just in case it decides to sink into the ground or something. The eyes of the statue turn bright red, and then his mouth opens.
And in the mouth lies… something… purple… and star-shaped?
I grin to myself. For the first time since I found out about all the magic in this place, I'm starting to have a feeling that I'm getting a grip on it. I drop my fern to the ground for a moment, go closer and gingerly pick up the object. It is indeed star-shaped and has a couple of leaves and a tiny stem at the top. It feels a little bit rubbery, like the skin of an eggplant, and it smells… by the gods, it smells… heavenly.
Suddenly I find myself with only a few little leaves in my hand and chewing on something, and before I can process the fact that I do not remember putting that fruit in my mouth, its taste drives me to utter distraction. It's sweet and sour and bitter and a little salty all at once, and somehow, inside of all of that, it tastes like chocolate. It's so intense that I'm hardly aware of my surroundings anymore, it's like a sensory overload – it feels almost like talking to the dwarf, like my brain can't follow what's going on well enough to process it properly, but it's so good.
And then it's over.
I stand where I stood before, in front of Old Master Cannoli who looks normal again, with these little leaves between my fingers and my mouth full of something kind of rubbery, dumbfounded as to what just happened, and feeling a sense of loss. I have no clue what just came over me. Not the slightest idea. I can hardly even remember what I tasted or why it was so good. All I know is that I didn't want it to end.
I doubtfully look up at the statue again. I'm still holding the sweet gem berry with one bite taken out of it, but it seems the mouth is entirely closed now. I try pushing the fruit up against it again, just to see if anything else is going to happen – if I can make that happen again – but after several minutes, there's no movement. I bend closer to the pedestal, but the text that was on it is gone now – it just says 'Old Master Cannoli', and that's it.
It's just strange how hard it is to step away. I know nothing else is going to happen. The magic has done its thing, and as evidenced by the disappearing text on the pedestal, it was only meant to do said thing once.
Well, I did what I came for. What now? I look around. The pond. Yes. And the fern on the ground. Gotta ask Leah about that.
I pick my fern back up and leave to get my fishing rod.
