'Tace' does as the Sergeant instructed, switching his raincoat for Emma's and walking away a little distance to chat. He nods so the Sergeant knows he understands the Commandant's position, and that it is up to them to decide what to do for the night.

"From a brief conversation whilst you were gone, there are times when she is aware of the change, and can warn us. I believe in those circumstances she would happily manacle herself. But there are other times when instinct kicks in and she blacks out instantly, the monster taking over. The danger seems to be that instinctual change. For example, if the fire crackles or a wolf howls, would she change?", he reports back.

"If I may make a suggestion or two as well. If we are going to allow Emma to change clothes and stay under cover rather than manacled to a tree, it might be best to put the tent up first and allow her to use it as a changing room. Part of why she is sobbing is because she feels we are treating her like the lowest scum. Her words, and she understands why, but it leaves her feeling upset all the same", he adds, trying to be of help with the knowledge he has gained.

"In terms of keeping watch, perhaps we set the tent up with the entrance facing the alcove. That will allow heat from the fire in. A little anyway, and we can take turns keeping a close eye on her from the alcove. She would have to be manacled of course, we cannot avoid that. I can take the longer shift, but I would not feel comfortable going into a trance and being caught flat footed. Once the camp is set up, we could try the root".

Arren listens to the Corporal's insights and suggestions attentively. When Tace speaks of the instinctual change, Arren nods with a grim look. "That does make it impossible to leave her without the manacles," he agrees.

But at the mention of "the lowest scum" he looks genuinely surprised. "Lowest scum?" he repeats, pausing. "I'd like to believe she hasn't met a soldier who treats people that way. At least, not from us." Not that it would be impossible coming from others, he thinks. Thirteen years in the army have shown Arren that Katton's ranks aren't free of those who'd treat someone like Emma far worse—and with far fewer questions. Still, he adds with a sigh, "But I can sympathize with her words." He nods again. "Those are good suggestions. We'll do as you say", he says, regarding using the tent as a changing rooma and placing it facing the alcove.

Regarding shifts, he considers a moment longer. "After we've dealt with the tent and the root, I was thinking of taking first watch while you trance—say, for three hours. Then I'll sleep for about six. It's not a full night's rest or trance for neither of us, but it should be enough... if the night goes well." He says that last part with the faintest touch of hope, before adding "I've thought of asking her how to cook those potatoes using her pan and the spices I bought in town. Emma hasn't had a proper meal in weeks, and it might also help her to think of better times. And I might learn something from an actual cook." It would be a win-win situation. We'll see how that goes.

If Tace agrees with everything, Arren straightens slightly. "Right then. Looks like we've got ourselves a plan. Let's speak with her first." 

They return to Emma, and Arren speaks to her calm, but firm. "Emma," he says, trying to rise above her sobs, "listen to me, please." He gives her a few moments to register his voice, and once he sees some sign she's listening, he continues: "This is what's going to happen. The Corporal and I are setting up camp facing the alcove. I brought some of your clothes—something more comfortable to change into." He pauses again, ensuring she understands. "We'll remove the manacles so you can change in the tent. You'll have privacy for that. We ask that you be as quick as you can, and that you remain calm afterwards, since we'll put them back on after. But you won't be tied to the tree—you'll stay in the tent at all times."

Another pause, his gaze steady but not unkind. "The Corporal and I will take turns watching. Whoever's resting—trancing or sleeping—will do so inside the tent with you. The other will keep watch from the alcove. Is that understood?" (ooc: I hope I got that right!)

Arren waits for her to respond. If she nods or acknowledges him positively, he replies, "All right. Let's get it done. The quicker, the better."

If everything goes according to plan, once the tent is set up the Sergeant will place Emma's clothes inside, then keep watch while the Corporal carefully removes the manacles, and then take a few steps towards the alcove so Emma can enter the tent untroubled. 

(ooc: please let me know is something I wrote doesn't add up!)

Since her arms are manacled behind the tree, Emma has buried her face into her folded knees, pressed against her chest. This position also allows the raincoat to cover as much of her as possible, so she may have also taken it for its protection, despite (to Bryn's knowledge only) it being less warm than Bryn's coat. When Arren approaches and calls her name, she raises her face. Her eyes look wet and her face is red, but she listens. Once Arren is done explaining what's about to happen, Emma nods slowly, in silence. Her face brightened a little once Arren mentioned bringing her a change of clothes. She quietly - almost inaudibly - adds a quick "Thank you" in between Arren's sentences. 

The closest place Arren and Bryn manage to find that would be somewhat levelled, without any thorny bushes or a tree in the way, is about a metre from the alcove's entrance, and though a bit diagonal to it, a person in the alcove can still see most of what's happening in the tent while the tent's flaps remain open. The tent, a lengthened triangular box (or a prism with a triangular base, on its side), is composed of a large cotton canvas supported by two sets of crossed wooden poles connected by a length of hempen rope (see the Wikipedia value for "Whymper Tent" for reference).

When Bryn removes Emma's manacles, he notices that her wrists are already slightly abraded from the metallic manacles - an unpleasant feeling he is now unfortunate to be familiar with. She rubs her palm over the sore wrist - a movement Bryn saw almost daily in Tus - before struggling to stand up and leaning against the tree to support herself. 

Once in the tent, Emma insists on closing at least one flap of the tent's entrance before she starts changing. Should one of the soldiers sneak a peek at her while she's changing from inside the alcove (to make sure she didn't turn into a monster, of course), they'll see her bandaged leg but no more than that. Despite Arren's instructions, it takes her a little long to change, but she eventually calls: "I'm... finished. You can turn around now."

Emma remains in the tent as instructed and waits for one of the soldiers to manacle her again, cooperating with them as she can. Though her hair is still wet, the clean and dry Emma looks a lot less miserable than the Emma who entered the tent, though still far from happy. "Could you take these," she gestures towards the pile of wet clothes she left by the entrance to the tent, once she's manacled, "and throw them away? Please? As far away as you can, or somewhere I wouldn't see them again."
 

Arren can't help but feel yet another wave of sympathy for this woman—and for the state she's been brought to without ever truly asking for any of it. He also thinks that he'd very much like to have a word with the person who, allegedly, placed her and Hector in this situation. Still, even as these thoughts surface, he works to mask them under a neutral expression, focusing instead on being practical.

He remembers there was a conversation between Emma and the Corporal when he arrived that hadn't finished. Perhaps it'd be good to bring it up again—though maybe later.

Once Emma finishes changing, Arren signals to the Corporal so he manacles her again. He watches closely, trying to read Emma's body language for the slightest sign of distress—anything beyond what would already be expected in this situation (Insight: 11+1=12) Once that's done, he takes Emma's old clothes and hides them from view, tucking them into a nearby bush behind the tent.

At this point, the soldiers can turn to rekindling the fire using the dry wood Arren brought from town. And, after that—and since he’ll be keeping the first watch (ooc: unless Volcano objects!)—Arren moves to the alcove and settles in as comfortably as he can. He unstraps the javelins and leans them against the inner wall, then adjusts his shield so it hangs more loosely and no longer presses into his back. The longsword stays at his left hip, though he shifts it slightly to sit more comfortably.

From that position, he picks up the root and raises it for both Tace and Emma to see.

"All right, let's discuss this," he says, glancing at Tace. Then, turning to Emma, he adds: "This was given to Olive by the Etanan hunter we asked you about. It's supposed to help in case someone is hurt by... the creature. As you know, we're in that situation now. You don't happen to have seen a root like this before, do you, Emma?"

(ooc: let's imagine we put the bedrolls inside the tent before Emma entered)

‘Tace’ has no problems with the plan put in place by the Sergeant.

”That all sounds good, Sir”, he says and then sets up preparing the ground as the Sergeant explains things to Emma.

He works as quickly as possible putting up the tent, still drenched through at this point himself. 

Once done, he heads across to Emma with the key to the manacles, heading behind the tree where her hands are.

Once the manacles are off, he watches the familiar rub of wrists, and almost copies the gesture as the memory hits him.

He follows her to the tent flap, not too close, and then respectfully turns his back as changes.

Once she is done, he quickly puts the manacles back on her, asking for her to put her hands behind her back. Less comfortable but safer. Once the Sergeant returns from taking her clothes he looks him.

”Um, sir. Perhaps you can watch Emma and chat about cooking whilst I change clothes in the alcove?”, he says as he stands there dripping wet.

Assuming that is ok, he will finally change his clothes, grunting a little as his wet tunic sticks to the wound in his stomach.

Now set, he looks at the setup.

”Perhaps we should switch our sleeping arrangement, Sir. The one who is keeping watch does so from inside the tent entrance, and the one who sleeps does so in the alcove? Just in case something happens, that means the one on watch can protect the one sleeping”.

With regards the fire, he will offer to light it, knowing that if the Sergeant was in the tent with the noise of rain he could easily light it with magic discreetly. Perhaps whilst the Sergeant discusses the root with Emma, and his plan to cook.

(OOC: sorry if I missed anything, doing this on mobile with a lot of scrolling and switching to tiny landscape view)

(ooc: Agreed with everything. I did forget about Tace's change of clothes, and having the one watching inside was my initial idea, but I confused myself while writing! I thought "something is not quite right here" 😅 I've left post #465 as it is and will continue with a new one asap.)

Emma sits in one corner of the tent, trying to find some position she can sit in that would be at least remotely comfortable, as much as possible with her hands manacled behind her back as they are.

When Arren sits down in the tent (I assume, since standing in the tent is not very comfortable even for short people), he finds that the pine needles that cover the ground under the tent, covered by a wool canvas, creates a soft floor beneath them.

"Uh, no. I don't think so." Emma answers when presented with Olive's root. "Roots sometimes grow in strange shapes due to harder areas in the ground, like rocks, but... never have I seen such a shallow spiral. Maybe by taste or smell I can tell more, but... I wouldn't know anything about a root's effect on... wounds, of any kind."

Arren watches silently silent as the Corporal manacles Emma again, her hands behind her back. Inwardly, he still reproaches himself for how he reacted the first time he saw him doing just that in the clearing—but it's clear now that he was right to do it then, and right to do it again now. They simply cannot afford to do this any other way.

When the Corporal asks that he keep watch over Emma while he changes clothes in the alcove, Arren nods. "Of course. Go ahead. You've been waiting long enough to change."

To his suggestion to switch the sleeping arrangement, Arren absently rubs a hand across his forehead. What was I thinking. "You're absolutely right."

(OOC: Arren will still leave the two javelins leaning against the wall inside the alcove, if possible—they wouldn't really be of use inside the tent, I think. As for his other weapons, he’ll proceed as described before.)

Quote from FairIthilien >>

...then adjusts his shield so it hangs more loosely and no longer presses into his back. The longsword stays at his left hip, though he shifts it slightly to sit more comfortably.

As they wait for the Corporal to finish lighting the fire, Arren and Emma speak quietly about the root, and he realizes that he hadn't thought to smell it yet, so he brings it to his nose, in case it might remind him of something. Then, he leans forward slightly and holds it out to Emma so she can smell it too. As for tasting it, he decides to wait until the Corporal is done with the fire.

In the meantime, he adds, "By the way, I could try to cook the potatoes for you, using this as well," he says, showing her the seasonings, "if you tell me how to do it. Would you like that? You said you hadn't had a proper meal in... well, several days."

Once he has changed, 'Tace' tries to lay his clothes out so they will not be in the way, but might benefit from the heat of the fire to dry. Speaking of which, in order to light it he will arrange the logs along with anything dry from the alcove, perhaps leaves blown in there or twigs. He will then take out his tinderbox and position himself with his back to the tent, hopefully out of view anyway due to the angle it was set.

He will then use the tinderbox, but give it a little help when he hears the Sergeant speaking. He will attempt to keep the fire small rather than it be roaring in an instant, and keep his body in between for a little while to benefit from the heat and also make it a more believable timescale for lighting.

During this time he will listen to the conversation from the tent.

Bryn manages to light the fire easily and swiftly. He does so quietly enough that neither Arren nor Emma can hear anything. While listening to their conversation, Bryn manages to hear Arren just fine, but finds that Emma's quiet voice is hard to hear over the distance and the rain. He can make out some of her words, but the overall meaning is lost upon him.

If untouched, the root has no smell. If Arren cuts into it (even with a fingernail) or presses on it hard, he might notice a faint yet sharp smell, a little like an onion or cabbage. Emma would point this out and add: "I think... it reminds me of radish, but... it doesn't look like one." And indeed, its earthly-brown colour and rough texture does not resemble radish, not to mention the unusual shape.

"Yes, I would like that very much." Emma answers regarding Arren's suggestion to cook, nodding slightly as she does. "Though our means are rather limited, aren't they? If all we have is my frying pan... there aren't many options." She looks at the seasonings Arren shows her with a mixed expression. "That'll have to do I guess. Once the fire is going, you can heat some oil in my frying pan and - do you have a knife with which you can cut the potatoes? If you do..."

Emma proceeds to explain how Arren should cook the potatoes given their resources. It's not complicated at all, and it's probably no different than what one with very little knowledge of cooking would do. As for seasonings, she points out what she thinks would be good but says she can't quite tell him how much to use out of each, since one just has to "feel it". Should Arren suggest adding the root, Emma seems a little clueless but suggests cooking it as if it were another potato, perhaps with less time over the fire so it doesn't burn.

Arren notices that, as Emma keeps talking about the cooking of the potatoes, she looks less and less miserable, as if her worries are temporarily lifted. By the end, she almost looks excited, and the only reminder for the situation she is in are her hands manacled behind her back.

If Arren wants to follow her directions, he must first wait a while for the fire to weaken. Then, he can cook however many of the potatoes he wants. To do so, if you choose to, roll make a Widsom check. With an advantage thanks to Emma's help, and with proficiency if Arren is proficient with the relevant tools.

'Tace' will position himself out of the way of the fire in the tent as Emma helps the Sergeant with the cooking, keeping a close eye on her. He is intrigued by the effects of the root, and when they are close to serving the meal, he will surreptitiously activate his elven ability to see magical auras.

He is looking to see if Emma's aura is unchanged before eating compared to after, and also whether the Sergeant or himself has any kind of magical aura before / after eating.

(OOC: Assuming being at the back of the tent whilst Emma is in the alcove / in the tent doorway and Arren is in the alcove should be ok to cast discreetly. Shout if not).

(ooc: Arren is not proficient with Cook's Tools. I could have chosen it as part of  the "Student of War" level 2 feature, but chose Smith's Tools instead. WIS roll at advantage, 7 2 + 1 = 8)

"I do have a knife," Arren replies, glad to see Emma taking interest. He gathers the rest of the supplies and adds, "Yes, our means are limited. I picked up these seasonings just today, when we arrived in Ersta. I was hoping to learn a few tricks to make our field rations a little more bearable. Our Lieutenant doesn't believe they can be improved at all, but... well, I suppose I'm stubborn enough to try anyway."

He begins to follow her instructions with quiet focus. His brow furrows slightly when she says the seasoning amounts should be felt rather than measured, but he does his best anyway.

At the mention of the strange root, he pauses, considering. "We could try cooking it with the potatoes, but I'm not that confident in my cooking skills, even with you watching," he admits, offering her a faint, apologetic look. "I'd rather not risk ruining the whole batch."

Then he glances to Tace. "Should we split it three ways and each take a bit?" If the corporal agrees, Arren hands over the root so he splits it and gets back to preparing the potatoes. He makes enough to be sure Emma has a proper portion, then adds some extra for the two of them—Zaba's stew was a proper dinner, if a bit rushed, but a little more food before rest can only help.

Once Tace returns his share, Arren eats his portion of the root and returns to his task. As he works, he keeps the conversation going, steering it back to cooking since he's seen the way Emma's spirits lift when she talks about it, and if a little warmth and small talk can ease the weight she's carrying, then he's more than willing to provide.

When the potatoes are finally done, the Sergeant takes half of one on a fork and brings it gently to her so she can eat it despite being manacled. "Well?" he asks, sounding uncertain. "I hope it's not entirely awful." He offers a tentative smile. At least they don't look burnt...

Bryn can find a fitting moment to cast his spell discreetly while Emma is busy enthusiastically explaining, bordering on scolding, on why putting too much salt in a dish would ruin its taste completely, and that a proper amount should, in fact, not be felt as salty but merely act to strengthen the dish's natural taste. This, following an anguished cry when she saw Arren use too much salt, which will now be impossible to remove. However, unlike Commandant Nattensbarn's scoldings, Emma does it in a kind manner that seeks to teach rather than reprimand, and acknowledges that she should have warned him before she told him to add it in.

Bryn finds that the magic affecting Emma looks just like before, and does not seem to experience any meaningful changes while his spell lasts. Sergeant Al-Nasrid, for the moment, looks as non-magical as a person can be. The root, however, currently in Bryn's hands after Arren handed it over for Bryn to divide, emits a faint aura of Conjuration magic. Magic that can create small plants is not entirely unheard of in Levicka, but is still considered very rare, while it is said that Druids and their 'primal' magic find it simpler to use than many of the academy's magics. 

((I will, for the moment, assume that Bryn has yet to cut the root and distribute it, given this new information.))

Emma seems to mostly enjoy conversing about food, though the conversation soon reaches realms far beyond what Arren ever thought one could find in something so mundane. Emma, who seems at least partially aware that Arren doesn't share her passion for food on the same level, occasionally notices she's been talking mostly to herself and then abruptly cuts and tries to bring Arren back into their conversation by asking him questions about what he likes to eat, and perhaps foods he remembers from Etana, if he ever mentions having been born there.

When Arren believes the potatoes are ready, Emma instructs him to take the pan off the fire and let the potatoes cool for a bit. After some time, when Arren tries to serve Emma, she seems hesitant with embarrassment at first, but eventually, accepting that she won't be given any better option, she eats the potato from the fork Arren holds, avoiding any eye contact while doing so. She eats the first hurriedly and with large bites, finishing the entire thing as fast as she can, then avoids Arren's eyes for a few more moments, her face red with embarrassment. Eventually, she forces herself to look at Arren with a fake-looking smile, which fades within a few moments. "It is... fine, for a first try. Could I have some more, please?"

Emma will eat as much as you'd let her, and would only stop if you ask her to or if she notices she's about to finish everything, at which point she'll stop to leave Arren and Bryn with two small potatoes each. She doesn't seem any less embarrassed while eating from someone else's hand, no matter how many times she does it. 

Should Arren or Bryn try to eat the potatoes, they'll find that Arren was too worried not to burn the potatoes, that they ended up a little under-cooked but not so much that they're inedible, and if Arren did add too much salt as Emma claimed, they do not feel it to be the case. It is salty, but not excessively so. All in all, you feel that while it is certainly no chef-made meal, it isn't bad in any way either. Given Bryn's time in Tus prison and the rations Arren has been eating for years, this would normally be considered a fine meal for both of them.

'Tace' stares at the root for a moment, contemplating the meaning of the conjuration magic.

Magic could have been used to grow the root, or the root could contain some manner of conjuration that would be released on consumption. Either way, all signs point to Etana and the druids there. It would make no sense for this to beneficial against the creature if it were mundane, short of perhaps staving off regular infection.

He splits the root into three as the Sergeant has requested, using his dagger to do so. After the first incision, he pauses to make sure the conjuration magic is still present, and he does so again once he has cut off the first piece. If it changes, or diminishes in some way, he will stop.

If each piece retains the magic, he will hand them out before his magical vision expires, likely as Emma is eating so the Sergeant can feed her a third.

"We could let Emma eat first, Sir. If it has an effect on her, we can then decide whether to give her more, or eat the rest ourselves", he suggests.

The cooking proves more challenging than Arren expected. For most of it, he's fairly certain he's doing what Emma wants—until she lets out an anguished cry at his use of salt. Too much, and at the wrong time, apparently. He learns the hard way that seasoning before frying, rather than after, is almost a sin in the kitchen. Arren makes a mental note of that ... not that he knows what the right amount should be—only that what he used was wrong—but he figures he'll just have to keep trying.

Arren finds it vaguely amusing being scolded by yet another woman. The manner is different—Emma's firm but kind, while Nattensbarn's is sharp and clinical—but the feeling is oddly familiar. He doesn't mind it, exactly; what matters is that the job gets done properly. Probably that hasn't quite happened with the potatoes. And as for Emma herself… well, the morning will tell them more about that.

The Sergeant also learns that Emma is talkative when it comes to food. A bit too talkative perhaps, at least for someone like him. But he does contribute to the conversation, when she she actually lets him speak. Cooking was never something he cared for, but he's heard his mother wishing she had better access to ingredients from their homeland. Etanan dishes, from what he recalls, tend to use more spices. And while there is trade between Katto and Etana, it isn't as steady as the flow of goods between Etana and Pravice. "I do remember a few sweet things," he tells her. "Some kind of butter cookies filled with figs. And a desert made with very thin pastry layers, pistachios and honey." He pauses. "I haven’t had anything like those in a lot of time."

When it's time for Emma to eat, the Sergeant notices her discomfort and tries to look away. But it soon becomes clear that the best course is simply to go through with it and finish as promptly as possible. And even if Emma doesn't say it outright, he understands this dinner isn't the sort of thing a trained palate would call impressive. He sighs, just faintly, and wonders what Walnuts would have thought. Another question for another day.

Arren finishes his portion of potatoes, and when the Corporal suggests that Emma tries the root first, his first instinct is to argue against it. It feels more natural for one of the soldiers to take the risk—especially him, since he trusts his constitution to better withstand whatever the root might do. But thinking back on their earlier conversation, perhaps the Corporal's reasoning is sound. If the root could help Emma… that would solve so many things. He isn't really ready to believe that just yet, but he nods anyway. He turns to Emma. "The Corporal is right. Let's do that, okay?"

(I'll add the other actions prior to rest I mentioned in the OOC thread in a later post)

Emma seems very interested in Arren's memories of food from Western Etana, though she admits she has never invested much into learning the intricate world of cooking sweets. "When it comes to those, I find no wrong in fresh fruit." She says, though she seems no less enthusiastic talking about sweets than any other form of food. 

Bryn finds the root to be a little hard to cut, but no more than a carrot. He finds that despite the dark, rough skin, the flesh of the root is white. Given its spiralling shape, cutting the root into three equal parts is not a simple task, but Bryn settles on some division which seems more or less equal and results in each portion consisting of two pieces - one large and the other small. As much as he can tell, the magic in the plant remains unchanged even after cutting the root. 

Emma has just finished her third potato and seems about to ask for a fourth when Bryn suggests she eats the root first. She nods quietly, and waits for one of the two soldiers to give her a piece of the root to eat. She'll eat what's given to her right away, but spends a long time chewing it and, from the looks of it, savouring its taste. "Tastes like radish," she says when she's finally done. "It smelled like one, too. You said the hunter came from Etana? I wonder if they have different varieties of radish there. That wouldn't be strange, I suppose, but that still doesn't explain the shape. It's too unusual. I wonder if they did something to force it into this shape. Maybe if they grow it in a 'mold'? That seems like such a strange thing to do."

Even after eating the root, the magical aura in Emma does not seem to have changed in the slightest, and at first, neither Bryn nor Arren see any change at all. But after a few more moments, Emma leans back a bit - as much as she can without losing balance with her hands manacled behind her - and sighs in relaxed satisfaction. "I'm... replete."

"It's not really confirmed that they were Etanan," Arren answers. "Olive thought the hunter might’ve been a Halfling, or a Dwarf, based on their height, and assumed that. But it could just as easily have been a shorter Human. I imitated the Halfling speech and the general Estaban accent in case that helped, but he could only say it might have sounded like that. He wasn't certain."

Emma poses an interesting question about the molds. Has Arren ever heard of anything like that? "Maybe they’re cultivating these roots through something other than natural growth?" He glances toward Emma, noting how she suddenly looks full after eating only a small portion. "If such a tiny piece can satisfy an adult, then that’d be a real advantage in a region that is mostly a desert."

The Sergeant thinks back to what Olive said about the root. "Olive said he was supposed to eat this root if he got hurt in the forest—or if he ran into the creature." Arren pauses. "I wonder if he got that part correctly," he adds, remembering how easily Olive got distracted whenever he spoke with anyone carrying a noticeable weapon.

'Tace' watches Emma closely, and although he sees nothing change in her magical aura, he cannot reveal that. Nor can he reveal any more about the possibility that the root is from Etana and how it is cultivated.

Instead, he listens, and after the sergeant has finished speaking, asks Emma, "You feel full, but do you feel any other change? Can you still sense the storm, for example?".

He looks down at his own portion of the root, and then to the Sergeant, wondering if he should at least try the smaller section he holds.

(("Has Arren ever heard of anything like that?" I think Arren isn't really knowledgeable in the field, though you can roll a Nature check if you wish.))

"I do not claim to understand how a root so small could make me full after I've been hungry for so long now," Emma remarks on Arren's suggestion, "but one must wonder if this feeling of satisfaction comes artificially or by providing the body with all the nutrients it needs. Given its small size, I doubt it's the latter. In which case, it could be dangerous - feeling full while malnourished. Though even if it does provide the body with all it needs, the taste fades quickly. It would be a shame to eat only such a small root and nothing else. There are so many recipes to try in the world; limiting yourself to just one root seems to me really depressing. Though, maybe they have it in other tastes, or make dishes out of it."

Emma keeps quiet for a bit following "Tace's" question, trying to gauge whether she still feels or not. "I do. Though, as before, the feeling is faint. It's even less noticeable from inside the tent, but I don't think eating the root has changed anything. Well, other than feeling full." She pauses for a long moment again. In that time, Bryn notices - from within the alcove - that the rain has gotten weaker. Though the change has been gradual and therefore went unnoticed, when Bryn thinks of how the rain was earlier, it's definitely weaker now. "No, there's one more thing. The pain from my wounds has waned slightly. I can still feel them, but they don't feel as fresh anymore... I think. Maybe I'm just imagining it, or maybe I just heal faster; now that I've become a monster, or less receptive to pain. I can't tell if it's the root." 

"Indeed," Arren replies to Emma's comment about limiting oneself to a particular root, "I only meant in a situation where people simply didn't have the means to cook and eat regularly. Or in the case of getting lost somewhere difficult, like a desert, with no food at all."

He pauses, thinking. "Now that I think about it... I've heard of fruits being grown in molds to shape them a certain way. Nothing unusual about their properties, though. Just novelty. Some claim that they bring good fortune." He gestures to the remaining pieces in Tace's hand. "But that looks like something else entirely, then" He adds, watching Emma as she describes her wounds feeling less fresh. "That matches what Olive said, actually. And here I was thinking he hadn’t been paying attention."

Turning to Tace, Arren continues "If that’s the case, it might be best to hold onto the rest—at least, the part you cut for me. I think I’ll be well enough once I tend to my wounds before sleeping- And that piece could come in handy later."