[X] Talk to some of the other Gardening Club members about potting the dahlias and getting them ready to sell.
[X] Plant some seeds. (Write in: how many spaces do you want to fill with each plant?)
-[X] Carrot
-[X] Marigold
-[X] Radish
[X] Plant some onions. (You have enough onions to fill a single space.)
[X] Get some thick gloves and a knife. Then, get rid of the stinging nettles. (Will give you +8 spaces in your garden)
[X] Talk to some of the other Gardening Club members about potting the dahlias and getting them ready to sell.
[X] Plant some seeds. (Write in: how many spaces do you want to fill with each plant?)
-[X] Carrot
-[X] Marigold
-[X] Radish
[X] Plant some onions. (You have enough onions to fill a single space.)
[X] Talk to some of the other Gardening Club members about potting the dahlias and getting them ready to sell.
[X] Plant some seeds. (Write in: how many spaces do you want to fill with each plant?)
-[X] Carrot
-[X] Marigold
-[X] Radish
[X] Plant some onions. (You have enough onions to fill a single space.)
[X] Talk to some of the other Gardening Club members about potting the dahlias and getting them ready to sell.
[X] Plant some seeds. (Write in: how many spaces do you want to fill with each plant?)
-[X] Carrot
-[X] Marigold
-[X] Radish
[X] Plant some onions. (You have enough onions to fill a single space.)
I think Green Flame is a strong choice for getting help with teaching Isolia. Also, while I don't think we can ask her to directly help with the Philander/Venta situation, I think we can ask her about what she has observed to work for similar situations in the past.
It has occurred to me that you don't have very many seeds, not enough to fill your entire garden. I've decided that you can fill up to five spaces with each type of seed. Which means that you could plant all of the seeds you currently have and still have plenty of spaces left over. I've edited my previous post to take that into account.
Since nettles and burdock may have useful properties, checking to see if they're useful for potions we could make and sell seems smart. Even if at the very least, we tear them out and make potions from them instead of throwing away ingredients.
I think that I should warn you that you don't have any storage space. Which means that if you get rid of any plants now you won't be able to use them for anything.
I think Green Flame is a strong choice for getting help with teaching Isolia. Also, while I don't think we can ask her to directly help with the Philander/Venta situation, I think we can ask her about what she has observed to work for similar situations in the past.
I think that I should warn you that you don't have any storage space. Which means that if you get rid of any plants now you won't be able to use them for anything.
In total you've already got 30 squares filled. You have 70 empty squares which you could choose to fill. However, you will need to leave at least five empty squares so that you can plant the cuttings which Professor Kunrath gave you.
Therefore, you have 65 empty squares to play with.
If you planted all of the seeds you've been given so far, as well as the onions, that would take up 36 spaces, leaving you with 34 spaces left over (including the five you need to leave empty so that you can plant the cuttings which Kunrath gave you).
It occurs to me that you might as well plant all of the seeds you've been given, which means that I probably didn't need to ask you to vote on this, but... oh well, too late now.
Gardening Simulator 2020, yay! What, you thought that this quest was about wizards? Hah, I tricked you!
I think that I should warn you that you don't have any storage space. Which means that if you get rid of any plants now you won't be able to use them for anything.
[x] Talk to some of the other Gardening Club members about potting the dahlias and getting them ready to sell.
Don't get rid of plants unless you need space. Magic works with religious/spiritual components, and nettles have a lot of belief and folklore associated with them. It is probably useful for some ritual or other.
And a lot of people would not want to procure this ingredient by themselves and get stung in the process, so there is potential for selling it as a raw component as well.
If you planted all of the seeds you've been given so far, as well as the onions, that would take up 36 spaces, leaving you with 34 spaces left over (including the five you need to leave empty so that you can plant the cuttings which Kunrath gave you).
It occurs to me that you might as well plant all of the seeds you've been given, which means that I probably didn't need to ask you to vote on this, but... oh well, too late now.
Gardening Simulator 2020, yay! What, you thought that this quest was about wizards? Hah, I tricked you!
I'm going to assume that you will plant all of the seeds you've got available unless anyone says otherwise, which means that these are the plants which will be growing in your garden:
Hmm. I'm not sure that I want to dedicate another update to Day Three, but basically you have two options here.
Either:
1. Sell your Dahlias to Simony Boole. He offers you ten silver shards, which he says is a fair price. (Easy money, costs no action slots, gets you 10 silver shards.)
OR
2. Buy pots from the Gardening Club, borrow a cart, go out to one of the city's main markets, spend the rest of the day selling the dahlias. (More difficult, will cost 2 action slots, can only be done at the weekend, will get you between 20 and 35 silver shards, but you'll have to pay 1 silver shard to the Gardening Club for the use of their cart, pots, etc.)
Anyway, that's another day gone by. What do you want to do on Thursday Day Four?
Action Slot 1:
[X] Ritual Magic lesson
(Again, I'm going to assume that Dorian will attend lessons unless you say otherwise.)
Action Slot 2:
Ages ago, when you planned out your timetable, you said you want to learn about Ritual Magic during this study period. if you're happy with that choice, you can stick with it. But I will allow you to change it if you wish.
Choose one:
[] Study Alchemy (read pamphlets, gain 2 xp towards Alchemy)
[] Study Ritual Magic (read illusory textbook, gain 2 xp towards Ritual Magic)
[] Get together with Cadre 1k to practice Literacy (gain 2 xp towards Literacy, help Isolia gain Literacy)
[] Do something else (write in).
Action Slot 3:
Here, you said that you wanted to try to speak to the Ritual Magic teacher, Professor Glossoloria. If you're happy with that choice, you can stick with it. But I will allow you to change it if you wish.
Choose one:
[] Do some more gardening. (+2 xp towards Durability)
[] Go to the Explorers and Archaeologists Club
[] Go to the Mathematics Club
[] Get Philander and Venta together. Attempt to bridge the gap between them (+xp towards Social Skills?)
[] Do some extra studying (+2 xp towards chosen subject)
[] Find Simony Boole. Sell your dahlias to him. (Note: this won't take very long. You can choose another action as well as this one.)
[] Ask to speak with Professor Glossoloria
-[] Show her your 'Quickness' cantrip. Ask what type of magic it is.
--[] "Would knowing this cantrip already give me any kind of advantage when it comes to learning that type of magic?"
-[] Ask if there are any more cantrips she can teach you.
-[] Ask her if there's anything you can do to assist her in Ritual Magic lessons.
-[] Ask her for advice on how to succeed in her class.
--[] "Is there anything else I could be doing in my free time besides studying the textbook which would help me succeed in your class?"
-[] Show her that you've completed the homework already.
-[] Tell her that you're worried that some of the school meals are having a strange effect on your mind.
--[] Ask what you can do to protect your mind.
-[] Ask her for help with teaching Isolia how to read.
-[] Criticize her teaching methods.
--[] Write in: what do you want to criticize, exactly?
-[] Say something else (write in).
[] Ask to speak with Green Flame
-[] Tell her that you're worried about whoever paid your school fees for this year.
-[] Tell her that you're worried that some of the school meals are having a strange effect on your mind.
--[] Ask her how you can protect your mind.
-[] Ask her for help with teaching Isolia how to read.
-[] Tell her that Venta and Philander aren't getting along.
--[] Ask for advice.
---[] Ask her what she has seen to work for similar situations in the past.
-[] Say something else to her (write in).
I'm unclear on if the previous vote is closed it not, so, just to be safe.
[X] Talk to some of the other Gardening Club members about potting the dahlias and getting them ready to sell.
[X] Plant some seeds. (Write in: how many spaces do you want to fill with each plant?)
-[X] Carrot
-[X] Marigold
-[X] Radish
[X] Plant some onions. (You have enough onions to fill a single space.)
Action Slot 1:
[X] Ritual Magic lesson
Action Slot 2:
[X] Study Ritual Magic (read illusory textbook, gain 2 xp towards Ritual Magic)
Sticking with the plan sounds like a good idea.
Action Slot 3:
[X] Get Philander and Venta together. Attempt to bridge the gap between them (+xp towards Social Skills?)
I don't think talking to Professor Glossoloria has much benefit right now. I don't think we know enough to ask useful questions so I'm voting for a change in goals.
I'd rather spend the time this weekend selling the dahlias directly, to build up a little supply of money. Maybe not every time, but this first time.
I don't think talking to Professor Glossoloria has much benefit right now. I don't think we know enough to ask useful questions so I'm voting for a change in goals.
In future, I think I'll ask you to plan out Dorian's future activities a few days at a time instead of doing it week by week. Hopefully, that way I won't need to keep asking you if you're still happy with the plans you made before. At least not quite so much.
Anyway, having money is always useful. Especially in this quest, where Dorian has the possibility of a large debt hanging over his head. And he has to think about getting next year's school fees as well. Yeesh.
Think of it kinda like a strategy game: once you've got your economy sorted, everything else follows. Of course, not every strategy game is like that, but... well, you get my point, I hope.
@Chandagnac, if we are going to use the garden as a source of potion/alchemy ingredients what can we use as a solvent/liquid? plain drinking water? Just curious.
@Chandagnac, if we are going to use the garden as a source of potion/alchemy ingredients what can we use as a solvent/liquid? plain drinking water? Just curious.
Some kind of potable water is an essential ingredient of potions (if you consider that other drinks such as beer and fruit juice have a high water content, it's pretty much unavoidable). There's not really any alternative. You wouldn't want to be drinking mercury or molten metal, for example.
Therefore, water is usually considered to be a 'neutral' ingredient when making potions. However, because there are many spiritual/religious beliefs associated with water, it can be difficult to balance the spiritual, physical, and magical elements of a potion if you don't take these into account.
Crab apples are edible, but so tart that you probably wouldn't want to eat them raw. Also, they're a symbol of love and fertility. (Y'know, just in case that was important to you.)
Certain types of fruit tree, yes. Basically, anything from the Prunus genus.
However, it's a very small crab apple tree, so you'd be hard-pressed to graft a decent-sized branch onto it. If it was larger, maybe, but then it would take up more space in your garden. Swings and roundabouts.
Some kind of potable water is an essential ingredient of potions (if you consider that other drinks such as beer and fruit juice have a high water content, it's pretty much unavoidable). There's not really any alternative. You wouldn't want to be drinking mercury or molten metal, for example.
Therefore, water is usually considered to be a 'neutral' ingredient when making potions. However, because there are many spiritual/religious beliefs associated with water, it can be difficult to balance the spiritual, physical, and magical elements of a potion if you don't take these into account.
I guess purified rainwater is a free source of Potion Water. Does the school have drinking fountains? that can probably be considered aquifer or well water. If beer and juice can be counted as a potable water, what about oils like olive oil? drinking that's be horrible tho
Like you said, it wouldn't be very pleasant to drink. And it might have a different kind of spiritual/religious significance which you would need to take into account. (For example, olives are a symbol of peace and reconciliation, and olive oil is meant to bless and strengthen those anointed with it.)
I think it's worth it to sell the flowers ourselves. 15-15 extra slivers for 2 actions is a lot, especially since our other time-for-slivers comparison is one action at Simony's booth for 1 sliver. I think it might also count as training for Social Skills. I think the Dahlias will last another week, so we can budget in two actions for the next weekend. If they won't last another week, we can ignore 1 point of fatigue through Willpower and remove a point of fatigue with a potion.
Action Slot 1:
[X] Ritual Magic lesson
Let's not start skipping class in the first week.
Action Slot 2:
[X] Study Ritual Magic (read illusory textbook, gain 2 xp towards Ritual Magic)
We've gotten clear communication that what we're doing with Isolia isn't working.
Action Slot 3:
[X] Ask to speak with Green Flame
-[X] Tell her that you're worried that some of the school meals are having a strange effect on your mind.
--[X] Ask her how you can protect your mind.
-[X] Ask her for help with teaching Isolia how to read.
-[X] Tell her that Venta and Philander aren't getting along.
--[X] Ask for advice.
---[X] Ask her what she has seen to work for similar situations in the past.
The Gardening Club president said that the meal illusion was a test, and the sooner we get advice about mental defenses the sooner we can work on passing it. It could be a good group project once Isolia can read and the Philander/Venta situation is resolved.
We need help teaching Isolia to read, and Green Flame has proven dedicated to helping us already.
The Venta and Philander situation needs to be solved quickly, but Dorian only has Social Skills 1 and Charisma 2. I think we need to do some work on lowering the Difficulty before the confrontation. I do think that we want to resolve this in the first week, and if we have to we can change one of the weekend rest periods to deal with it and then drink our potion.
Possibly I should have included this along with everything else I'm writing for Day Four, but I thought it would make more sense to post them separately.
One corner of your plot is getting overrun with weeds: stinging nettles and burdock, mostly. Your initial impulse is to get rid of them, but then you consider that they might have some alchemical uses. Besides, you'll need some very thick gloves before you can do anything with the nettles.
As promised, Fen gives you a few onions, and some radish and carrot seeds. Now, you have to decide what you want to plant. It might take you a few sessions to finish planting, but you can at least make a start.
You have a lot of garden space to fill and relatively few seeds, so you decide to plant all of them. To do that, you first need to borrow a dibber. Lucky for you that the Gardening Club has a wide range of tools which you can borrow. For most of the evening, you walk around with the dibber, making small holes in the ground so that you plant your seeds, and then covering them over with a thin layer of soil. During this time, when you want to take a break, you go over to Isolia's plot and see how she's doing.
There is a rather dense thicket of weeds covering most of her garden area: stinging nettles, field bindweed, docks, and a more-than-usually giant hogweed, all of which appear to have been deliberately cultivated by the previous occupant. In fact, some of these plants are so dangerous that one of the older and more experienced members of the Gardening Club has been assigned to help her with them. He's a sandy-haired youth with tanned skin and a near-permanent scowl. Apparently, his name is Amarin dan Zahl and he's a fourth-year pupil.
'What do you want me to do with the giant hogweed?' he asks. 'Be warned, if you touch it, even for a moment, you might get very badly burnt and not realise until it's too late. And then you wouldn't be able to go outside for weeks.'
'Uhh… what do you think I should do with it?' Isolia asks.
'With your permission, I'd like to cut it down and render it into spell components. Could be useful for light magic rituals, that sort of thing. I'll swap you for it. What would you like in exchange?'
Isolia pauses, engaged in thought. 'Food plants?' she says at last, inflecting it like a question.
'I've got some fennel plants you can have. They're edible, every part of them. Also, a key ingredient in the potion of heroism. Don't even ask me about the other ingredients.'
'Oh… um, I wasn't going to.'
'That's good. Some of them are illegal.'
'I'm not sure why you mentioned it in the first place,' Isolia says awkwardly.
Amarin mumbles something under his breath. 'Never mind. I'll give you some purslane as well. It grows all year round, near enough. The stems, flower buds and leaves are all edible. Use them in soups, stews, or salads. And I'll get you some mushroom spores you can grow.'
'Edible mushrooms?'
'I wouldn't be offering them to you if they weren't,' says Amarin. He stomps around the garden, looking moodily thoughtful. 'You know, I don't think you're ever going to get rid of that bindweed without taking drastic measures. Maybe a fire magic ritual would do it, but you'd need someone very skilled taking charge, or they'd risk burning down the whole bloody lot.'
'My group tutor is Green Flame, the Master of Fire.'
'Yeah, she could do it, no problem.' Amarin nods. He comes to a decision: 'I'm going to get a knife and some protective clothing.'
'All right, you do that,' says Isolia, as he walks briskly away. Then, turning her head, she notices you. 'Hi, Dorian! How are you?'
'I'm fine,' you say. 'How are you getting on? It seems like you've got a lot to do.'
'Oh, I'm all right,' she replies. 'Come here, there's something I want to show you.'
You follow her deeper into the garden, avoiding a patch of stinging nettles. She points to a rather ugly little plant with wrinkled ovate leaves and dark purple bell-shaped flowers.
'Do you know what that is?' she asks.
'No, I don't,' you say, shaking your head.
'It's a mandrake plant. Apparently, the roots are very valuable. Amarin told me that at times they've been worth more than gold!'
You examine it doubtfully. 'I'd have thought that if they were that valuable more people would grow them, driving down the price.'
'I wouldn't know about that,' Isolia admits. 'Maybe that's what happened. But still, isn't that exciting!'
'It is, rather,' you say, smiling at her enthusiasm.
Anyway, I'll carry on with Day Four. I'll post that as soon as I can.
Hogsweed, yikes! Plants that make sunlight burn you are scary!
The mandrake is interesting. There are lots of medical and folklore properties, and they spread pretty easily, meaning that Isolia will have plenty of taproots to harvest. This setting uses real plants, so she shouldn't have to worry about it screaming and killing her. I wonder if there's bryony nearby.
I like Amarin. I like grumpy but helpful characters and he's helped Isolia avoid horrific injury.
