Sitting in the Yellow Ajah's herb garden, Kalyan frowned down at the leaf he'd just picked. It was a goosemint leaf, he knew from his studies, but it didn't look right. It was a lighter green than it should have been, and the ruffled edges of the leaf were turning brown. If it had been just the one leaf, Kalyan wouldn't have worried, but as he studied the rest of the goosemint plants, he saw that they all looked the same, and were wilting in the sunlight. Even more concerning to him was that he'd been practicing his Plantweaving on them earlier and though he knew enough now to be sure that his weaves were correct, it had done nothing to improve the health of the plants. The Dedicated shook his head and with the leaf still clutched in his hand, went inside to find one of the Yellows to help.
Approaching the first Yellow he recognized, a tall, black-haired man called Garol, Kalyan opened his hand to display the leaf and described what he'd seen. The Asha'man took the leaf from Kalyan's hand and held it out in front of him. After looking more closely at it, he said, "Well, that doesn't look good at all. You did well to bring this to our attention." Kalyan expected to be dismissed then, but instead the taller man said, "Why don't you come back out with me and we'll check on the rest of the goosemint?"
Kalyan followed the Asha'man out the door and back to where he'd been earlier. They both sat down on the grass, and Kalyan observed silently while the Asha'man plucked a few more of the leaves and dug one of the plants up by the roots. Once the plant was up, he could also see that there were fewer roots than he would have expected, and those few were thin and appeared fragile. Some broke as Garol Asha'man ran them through his fingers.
Eventually, the Yellow put the plant down. "This is a problem with goosemint sometimes," he explained. "We think it happens when the plants receive too much water, but nobody knows for sure. Unfortunately, Plantweaving doesn't help, and all we can do is dig them up and gather more. Do you remember where goosemint comes from, Dedicated?"
Kalyan did know, having been studying the plants in the herb garden and their uses since he'd started working on his Plantweaving there. "It grows mostly in the mountains. There may be some growing wild in the Mountains of Dhoom and the Spine of the World, but what we grow here is from the Mountains of Mist."
The Asha'man nodded. "Very good, Dedicated." he said. "I think it would be good for you to travel with me when I go to harvest more. Will you be able to leave the day after tomorrow?"
The thought of a trip outside the Tower for the first time since he'd arrived here had Kalyan beaming." He nodded in agreement and asked, "Should I dig up the rest of these plants?"
"If you have time for it, that would be very helpful," Garol Asha'man told him, and Kalyan found a shovel and got to work.
On the day they were to leave, Kalyan arrived at the Traveling grounds after rushing there at a near run. Garol Asha'man was not there yet, and neither were the accompanying Warder and Ji he'd been told to expect. Unable to stand still with his excitement, Kalyan paced back and forth across the small area while he waited for the others to appear.
Approaching the first Yellow he recognized, a tall, black-haired man called Garol, Kalyan opened his hand to display the leaf and described what he'd seen. The Asha'man took the leaf from Kalyan's hand and held it out in front of him. After looking more closely at it, he said, "Well, that doesn't look good at all. You did well to bring this to our attention." Kalyan expected to be dismissed then, but instead the taller man said, "Why don't you come back out with me and we'll check on the rest of the goosemint?"
Kalyan followed the Asha'man out the door and back to where he'd been earlier. They both sat down on the grass, and Kalyan observed silently while the Asha'man plucked a few more of the leaves and dug one of the plants up by the roots. Once the plant was up, he could also see that there were fewer roots than he would have expected, and those few were thin and appeared fragile. Some broke as Garol Asha'man ran them through his fingers.
Eventually, the Yellow put the plant down. "This is a problem with goosemint sometimes," he explained. "We think it happens when the plants receive too much water, but nobody knows for sure. Unfortunately, Plantweaving doesn't help, and all we can do is dig them up and gather more. Do you remember where goosemint comes from, Dedicated?"
Kalyan did know, having been studying the plants in the herb garden and their uses since he'd started working on his Plantweaving there. "It grows mostly in the mountains. There may be some growing wild in the Mountains of Dhoom and the Spine of the World, but what we grow here is from the Mountains of Mist."
The Asha'man nodded. "Very good, Dedicated." he said. "I think it would be good for you to travel with me when I go to harvest more. Will you be able to leave the day after tomorrow?"
The thought of a trip outside the Tower for the first time since he'd arrived here had Kalyan beaming." He nodded in agreement and asked, "Should I dig up the rest of these plants?"
"If you have time for it, that would be very helpful," Garol Asha'man told him, and Kalyan found a shovel and got to work.
On the day they were to leave, Kalyan arrived at the Traveling grounds after rushing there at a near run. Garol Asha'man was not there yet, and neither were the accompanying Warder and Ji he'd been told to expect. Unable to stand still with his excitement, Kalyan paced back and forth across the small area while he waited for the others to appear.