Anemone gasped in surprise as she watched the sap immediately force the mushrooms and plants to grow.
'Maybe the bulb of sap had some magical properties.' She thought to herself.
Meanwhile, Father had the same idea.
"We should grab one of the bulbs and bring it back with us. First, though, we need to get to the Silvermoss."
The landscape was beautiful, but with the way it was formed, it would be dangerous to maneuver without being careful. Father stepped onto a slippery rock, Anemone just behind him, and began to climb up the small land in front of the tree. He used the exposed roots for support as he ascended. Astrape seemed to no longer be frightened and was now just standing there.
"Give me the jars after acquiring the Silvermoss."
Father continued climbing, now realizing just how large this tree actually was. The roots seemed to be moving beneath him, and to get a more stable footing, he had to jump down, back onto the small piece of land beneath the tree. He decided to go to one side of the tree, then jump over the stream separating the land from the tree. So he did just that.
Father went to the left side of the tree, following the small bushes and plants, and small saplings were scraping his legs, but he didn't mind. The muddy ground caved in from his weight, and the small stream splashed water onto his legs as he got to a position where now he just needed to cross the stream.
"Let me go first, Father. Then I will help once I am across."
"Thank you, Anemone."
Anemone gently smiled, then focused on her job. She backed up and got a running start to jump the stream. She collided with the tree and began to slip down, one foot going into the stream.
"Anemone!" Father began to get worried.
Anemone clenched onto some vines hanging down; thankfully, they were strong enough to hold her, as if they were rope. Anemone held on tightly, then turned to Father with her hand reaching out to help him when he jumped. As Anemone stood there, fireflies and other glowing bugs started to fly around her, making it hard to see and making her swat them away.
Father backed away and did the same as Anemone. He landed on his bad leg, and immense, excruciating pain emanated from his wound. He slipped. Anemone grabbed him, using all her strength just to hold him. Father clawed at the wood, trying to find something to grab, and the same vine Anemone was holding was there; he grabbed it, and now both people had a place to stand.
Now the best thing was to move partially around the tree onto the largest exposed root that could easily support a small group of people all together. The path was wet from the droplets of splashing water, and it was also hard to see due to all the bugs flying at the two people. Right before the exposed root was one of the areas where they needed to be careful. A small, but sturdy root was covered in moss.
Anemone stepped onto it, rubbing her foot around to try to scrape the moss away. The moss was extremely dense and wouldn't catch onto her shoes. If she couldn't rely on making a sturdy place to stand, she just would have to risk it.
"Father, could you give me your hand for this?"
"If you need it to be safe, then yes. But instead, I have a better idea."
Father then took out his staff, holding one end, pointing the other at Anemone.
"Hold on to the end, and I will pull you if anything happens."
"Just don't let go."
"I won't. Trust me"
"Well, when people say to trust them, I feel I shouldn't trust them."
"You have known me for a long time, don't say that."
Anemone giggled before responding.
"I know, Father. I was just kidding. Thank you for your help. I don't know what I would do without you."
Anemone held it tightly, Father clung to the branch he was holding on to, as he had to let go of the vine earlier to get to where they were now. Anemone then stepped forward, her foot slipping slightly. She then jumped, completely putting all her weight onto the thin root.
As she felt herself slowly but steadily sliding down, she clung to some hanging branches. Before jumping to the large root that they would use for harvesting the Silvermoss, she helped Father onto the root where she was standing. Then, together, they jumped to the next root, which was perfect. It was large, flat, and clear of any moss. Anemone let go of the staff and just looked up.
Once she looked up, all she could see was fireflies and the hanging bulbs of sap that seemed like lanterns. She wanted to just look at the beautiful sight, but she had a job to do.
"Anemone, get out your knife."
The demand Father had given her snapped her out of her daydream.
"O-oh, oh yeah. The moss."
Anemone grabbed the knife that she had stored in her bracers and gave it to Father. Father grabbed the blade, cutting the moss off in small squares while storing it in bottles. The Silvermoss lived up to its name, and due to its silver surface, it reflected lots of the details of the tree above them, almost like a mirror. As they cut the moss off the tree, it radiated a potent, heavenly aroma. It smelled like a mixture of natural herbs such as lavender, thyme, and something almost minty.
"That smells so good!" Anemone said.
"I can smell it from down here," Astrape announced while breathing in heavily.
Father didn't even mention if he enjoyed the smell, as he was focused on retrieving the moss. He also still had to think about how to apply the moss. Whether it should be ground up with a mortar and pestle, or just cut into small patches to apply. As Father continued cutting into the moss, the dark underpart of the moss splashed onto him, making his clothes darker, matching his and Anemone's legs from when they walked on the muddy ground. Father eventually filled one jar and wiped the sweat away from his forehead, which was caused due to the humid environment.
"Astrape, are you ready to catch it?" He turned to face Astrape.
"Yes, just toss it whenever."
Anemone could've held the jars, but she was mainly there to make sure Father didn't fall, and in case he wanted her to acquire the moss.
"Let me throw it. I probably have better aim anyway." Anemone said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yep."
"Okay, then here you go." Father handed the jar to Anemone and continued filling another jar.
Anemone tossed the jar, almost perfectly; it landed just a tad short of Astrape, causing Astrape to step forward suddenly, almost slipping on the wet ground. Astrape caught it, then straightened herself, standing back up and giving Anemone a look of dismay, then shook her head softly.
"I just wanted to test your reflexes." Anemone gave a nervous laugh, then very slowly turned around to avoid eye contact.
"Mmhmmm, sure. Well, at least I caught it."
Father then filled a second jar, and Anemone tossed it again. This time, the throw was perfect, causing Astrape's eyes to open in surprise.
"See, I said I was better anyway," Anemone said proudly.
Astrape just shook her head again, waiting on the pair to finish, though she didn't show it.
"Take your time, you two."
Father just continued cutting the moss, trying to hurry. Anemone leaned her back against the tree.
'You know what, I should help.'
"Father, would you let me help you?"
"Thank you, young one, but I am nearly finished."
"Okay, well, just let me know if you need me to do it."
"I have something you could do: gather the mana to do a powerful gust of wind. That way, we could just jump straight back to the land."
'I hadn't thought of that. That's smart.
"Okay, Father."
Anemone began to focus her attention on casting the spell. A vertical gust of wind. The spell, Wind Gust, was quite simple, though it cost a lot of mana. Though it was normally used horizontally, to disrupt someone's movement or help improve someone's evasion and movement. It shouldn't be too hard. The difference in this case was that instead of picturing the surrounding air moving left to right, or back to front, she now had to picture a vortex. Having the air collapse downwards towards the ground, suddenly hit the ground, then surge upward in a single burst. If she only drew the air from right underneath them, she wouldn't have enough force to lift them; she needed all the surrounding air to move towards the single goal of lifting her.
Father finished grabbing the rest of the moss that they could store and tossed it to Astrape in Anemone's stead. Anemone was finishing the preparation for the spell as the pair stepped toward the edge of the root.
"I'm ready, Father."
Father and Anemone then jumped, landing on the edge of the ground closest to the current. Suddenly, the powerful gust of wind shot them up, reversing their descent. Anemone's dress fluttered up, and the mud became loose, shooting up into the air. Her reaction was to pull down the dress, whereas Father focused on preparing his landing. Anemone, the lighter of the two, raised up just a bit higher than Father. As the gust of wind dissipated, Anemone and Father dropped, along with the bits of mud floating in the air. Father, who prepared himself, landed perfectly, whereas Anemone slipped and her feet began to slip in the mud. The floating mud balls began to rain on Anemone as she finally found her balance, causing Astrape to laugh.
"Look at you! This is why you should be more careful."
Anemone's hair became soaked in brown mud, some dripping down to her shoulders.
"Bend your head down, young one. I will wash it." Father said to the muddied Anemone.
"Thank you, Father." She said, putting emphasis on Father.
Anemone then bent her head down, letting it flow towards the ground as Father used his magic to shower her head in water. The mud poured out of her head, hitting the ground and splashing her already muddied legs.
'It can't get much worse. I will just wash up when we return to rest.' Anemone thought to herself.
"Well, Father. Since we are done attaining the Silvermoss, would you like us all to go to the pharmacist, or return home and turn them in tomorrow?" Astrape said
"You both return home. I need to speak to him alone." Father replied, glancing towards Anemone, who was facing away, staring into the distance, then returning his gaze to Astrape.
Astrape lowered her voice, "Well, I probably know how to prepare the moss, but I don't know what to do with the Gravebloom."
"Anemone, let's go," Father said, turning back to the trail they followed to get here.
The journey back was a lot easier, except for Astrape, who now had some extra weight to carry. The lamp posts were still spaced out, making them periodically walk in absolute darkness.
'I wish I could use light magic; it would come in so handy.' Anemone thought to herself.
After a while, the group returned to town, going through the gate. Father split from Anemone and Astrape, instead choosing to talk to the pharmacist alone, if he was even still there.
"Astrape, is it just me, or does Father seem to be in pain?"