Chapter 3-5: The Perfect Souvenir
The group continues on and looks around for souvenirs. They soon see some plants, flowers, and gardening stuff.
"There's a lot of greenery even in the residential areas of Clock Town," Silver says.
"People love their plants here. There's almost as many garden supply shops as clockmakers. My mom even used to grow herbs," Deuce says.
"Ooh, like as swanky decorations?" Epel says.
But Deuce says, "No, just for eating."
"That's even better! I grow lots of different things to eat back home," Epel says.
And Deuce says, "Yeah. I think she was trying to add a bit of homegrown flair to our meals. The herbs all wilted though. She gave it a few more tries, and then realized it was cheaper to just buy them."
"...Sounds 'bout right," Grim replies.
"There sure are a lot of them," Jasper says.
"That store over there sells a lot of flowers and houseplants. They've got potted plants, seedlings, bulbs, seeds…" Deuce says.
Then Epel says, "That reminds me! Rook mentioned he's been growing houseplants in Science Club. I bet he'd love it if I brought him back some kind of gardening accoutrement."
"Good idea," Deuce says.
Epel looks around, "...Maybe this watering can?"
"Did Rook say he wanted one?" Deuce asks.
"No, it's just that I heard from some other members of the Science Club…" Epel says, "...that when Rook waters the plants, he talks to them. Even reads them poetry."
"Sounds like him," Grim says.
"It's clearly very important to him, so I'm sure he'd appreciate a new watering can. And look how fancy this one is," Epel says.
"It's brass, so it won't rust easily, "Silver says.
Epel smiles, "Oh, even better! Now I'm definitely getting it."
"All bought!" Epel says.
"They've got dried flowers and potpourri, too," Ortho says.
Then Silver notices, "Look, a bookmark made from pressed petals. The perfect souvenir from the Queendom of Roses. I should get some for Malleus and the others."
"Great idea! Which ones?" Deuce says.
Silver looks around, "Well, Malleus likes black…"
Epel soon notices, "Oh, there's a black one there!"
"It's made from a plant called black dragon," Ortho says.
"That's absolutely perfect for Malleus," Silver says, "The elegant purple flowers even remind me of him. It's settled. I'm getting him this bookmark. For Fa—er, for Lilia and Sebek's bookmarks, I should choose the flower most emblematic of the Queendom of Roses."
"So...roses, then," Deuce replies.
"Wow. Shocker," Grim responds with a frown.
"I wonder if we're known for any other flower. Oh, there's a little explainer here…" Deuce says, "Huh, so the Queendom of Roses is known for lavender, rosemary, berries…"
Then Epel notices, "Oh, they've got tons of bookmarks made from berries. Red, blue, black... All sorts."
"Sebek would love a black one, since it's Malleus's favorite color," silver says.
"This one's blackberries. Produced by species in the genus Rubus in the family Rosacea, they can be eaten as is, or made into jam," Deuce says.
"A bookmark made from dried fruit is certainly unique. It looks tasty too. This is the one for him," Silver says.
"That just leaves what to get for Lilia," Deuce local plants include sweet violet. foxgloves, bluebells…"
"Foxgloves? You mean...these?" Epel asks.
"That's them. Their toxicity gives them a somewhat scary reputation, but they can also be used to make medicine. It's saved many lives since antiquity," Ortho says.
"You may as well have just described Lilia. I'll get a foxglove one too," Silver says.
"I always thought that flowers were kind of all the same. Just different sizes and colors. But now that I'm getting a good look at them here, it's obvious they're totally different," Deuce says.
"Seeing as you're from a land where gardening is so prevalent, it might be fun to research them even more," Ortho says.
"Yeah! And I bet that info would come in handy back in Heartslabyul too," Deuce says. Thanks, Silver. I got a lot out of shopping for souvenirs with you!"