Berry Picking: Lady Amarella

Beanbaker · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:00 pm Post subject: Berry Picking: Lady Amarella

After an two hours of running through the city by Beanbaker's messy handwriting and crude drawing of a map of the Capital, you make it to the gates of the outer walls. Merchants around you try to sell off charms and talismans for good luck. Before you can see much in the stalls, a guard rudely, but lightly, pushes you to signal the gate has opened. You walk outside, and the gate slams shut behind you. You turn to face the south...

...And what a magnificent sight is before you. A luscious field of grasses, trees, and life. A northeast breeze sends a dry air into the region, giving off a nostalgic feeling of the days traveling the countrysides. The sun-scorched, tan-green leaves twitch in the wind, and further south you view a sea of tan wheat grasses, conforming to the winds with ebbs and flows of water-like waves. The few nearby trees revolt at the wind with a thousand applauses, creating a ruckus that drives off unsuspecting wildlife.

A large, yellow, and rather plump looking creature wanders out of a bush. It looks at you in the eye, then stores something under its wing. It awkwardly waddles out of sight, for being a flightless bird they stick to the grounds. It was a tonsor, your objectives for bring back some berries!

Lady Amarella · Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 8:48 pm Post subject:

Everything I’ve heard about these birds has led me to believe that they are quite docile if not outright friendly. As this tonsor scurries off at the sight of me, I’m not at all worried.

It tucked something under it’s wing. That must be how it collects the Ortch berries. I decide to follow the tonsor from a distance, trying not to alarm it. It has one berry and I need two, maybe it is going to deposit the berry in a stash. Then I can just swipe two berries and head back into the city.
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Beanbaker · Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 9:01 pm Post subject:

As you follow the tonsor from the beginning, the bird is relentless in running with seemingly infinite energy. A flock of lump birds land in a patch of tall grass - and the tonsor slows down, unaware of you following it. The tonsor enters the same patch of grass, for it is a member of the very same flock, despite its flightless flaws.

Lady Amarella · Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 9:10 pm Post subject:

I let out a sigh. This may not be as easy as it seemed. Certainly it looks like it's going to take awhile anyway. I might as well use this opportunity to sit and rest a bit before the blasted thing takes off again. Taking care to sit so that I can rise rapidly, I pluck a piece of grass and start chewing on it.
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Beanbaker · Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 9:17 pm Post subject:

After a few minutes, the flock of lump birds take off suddenly, running out of the grass. Out of surprise, you jump from a sitting position to standing, and all is quiet as the lump birds' rancor is diminished as they distance themselves. You calm down some, as a yellow mass is launched into the air. It hits the ground, rolls, and stops, a few yards behind you. The tonsor, the one that ran away from before, does not move.

Lady Amarella · Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 9:26 pm Post subject:

I'm a bit stunned for a couple of seconds. Recovering, I quickly move to examine the tonsor, looking around as I go to see if I can spot the cause of all this avian upheaval as well as any potential threat to my own person.
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Beanbaker · Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 9:51 pm Post subject:

Whatever caused the fiasco ran off in a scurry, making the grasses shake. A few seconds later, all is quiet again. Upon examining the tonsor, its feathers ruffled and bloodied, and its neck was snapped and bitten, leaving a pool of blood in the dirt. It seemed to be more of a brutal animal attack rather than some predator looking for a meal. A wing of the tonsor falls limp - and a blue orb rolls onto the ground.

Berry 1 of 2 collected.

Lady Amarella · Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 11:13 pm Post subject:

I pick up the berry and place it in my pouch. With no birds around, I will have to search for a tonsor nest and/or cache the hard way - one square of grass at a time. I figure they must be in the grasses as the birds are flightless. I keep my searches close to trees or rocks for the most part, assuming that the birds would like some shelter if they can get it. I do scan the open grasses though, as I move, bent over, between trees and rocks.
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Beanbaker · Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 12:45 pm Post subject:

After some fruitless hours of searching, you discover a small pond hidden in a small grove of trees. Several tonsor are seen roosting everywhere, in the trees and on dense vegetation in the pond.

Lady Amarella · Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 5:30 pm Post subject:

At last! Exactly what I've been looking for! Moving slowly, I start going through grass clumps, looking around tree roots, and checking in empty nests. There must be a dropped berry or cache pile somewhere around here.
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Beanbaker · Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 9:44 pm Post subject:

A cache is nowhere to be seen. As you sneak around, you see one clumsy bird unknowingly drop a berry, and in seconds, tonsor swarm the berry, pecking and squawking to get the berry. Feathers fly everywhere, covering the dirt with yellow. The berry disappears, and the fight breaks up.

You continue to look around, when you stop dead in your tracks as a tonsor chick crosses your path, venturing away from its nest. The tonsor chick does not see you.

Lady Amarella · Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 4:45 pm Post subject:

Witnessing the swarm of tonsors was almost the last straw. But before I let myself get discouraged, the tonsor chick attracts my attention.

The chick is adorable! Looking around first to make sure no one will witness this display, I gently reach out my hand to see if it will allow me pick it up and coo over it.
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Billgar · Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2009 11:09 pm Post subject:

*taking over GMing*

After picking up the bird a screeching is heard. It appears that the mother was not all that far off. The mother dropping a berry on the ground which she had undoubtedly gathered for her young flaps its wings and pecks at your shins to get you to drop its chick. The fallen berry shines innocently.

Lady Amarella · Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2009 11:24 pm Post subject:

Ah! I pick up the berry and then gently set the chick down. It has been a long day! Glad to be done, I head back to town with my berries.
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Billgar · Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2009 6:18 pm Post subject:

berry 2/2 obtained, check in with the emperor in the imperial court to obtain award.