FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Still shaken though he was from his encounter behind City Hall, Martin nevertheless composed himself enough to retrace his steps back to the Central District and, from there, find his way to the herbalist thanks to directions provided by one of the locals. The side street along which the herbalist's storefront was secluded was narrow, almost claustrophobic, with shabby wood-paneled cabins only slightly removed from shanties in terms of their architectural quality and integrity. The largely untreated pine clapboard exteriors of the houses painted a picture of better days long past, with haphazard repair work speaking more of pragmatism than intentionality, and dingy gray-green algal growth speaking more of a commensal rather than a mutual relationship with nature. Yet, despite the run-down buildings, something about the lane invoked a sense of coziness that helped put the man a little more at ease. The herbalist's shanty itself was clearly marked with a hanging wooden sign hanging out front that read GORO'S POTIONS AND POULTICES, though the sign itself embodied the same forlorn, faded character as the rest of the street.

Upon entering the building through its creaky pine door, he witnessed the faun engaging in animated conversation with a cheerful old woman, whom he presumed was Mrs. Goro. She was diminutive in stature, with a crooked back due to her advanced age and the same creaky, weather worn appearance as the architecture she made her home along, but in spite of her frail appearance, carried herself with a wisdom borne from decades of pursuit of her vocation. The two botanists were looking over an unfurled cloth containing some dried plant material. “You mean to tell me that you found this less than a day's ride from here?" the herbalist said, astounded.

“I sure did! And there was lots more all along the lake shore. Well, not ALL along the lake shore, but I found it most often in shaded areas near… um… I think you call the trees 'sand beech', or something?"

The man smiled softly upon noticing the two of them getting along so well. The excitement with which they were conversing helped to fill the pit that had formed in Martin's breast after his brush with fate scarcely an hour earlier.

“Silt beech—yes, oh that's just excellent. I haven't found any trees like that on the western shore but—“ the herbalist stopped mid-sentence when she noticed Martin walking up behind Namo. “Oh, apologies, sir. How may I help you?"

Martin gave a reassuring wave of his hand. “Don't worry ma'am, I'm not here to buy. I'm just with her," pointing to Namo. He nevertheless gave a cursory glance around the shop, which had all manner of hanging dried plants on the walls, salves on shelves, ground powders in small pots, and decoctions arranged in artful displays along the walls of the shop. The thief picked up a phial and read the label to himself: “Cerulean mallow extract: improves virility and stamina". Raising an eyebrow, he decided that he had had enough examining the products in this particular store.

“Oh, hi there Maa'ko! Did you find your friend? I take it they didn't want to meet me, huh?" She said. Martin was unsure whether she was joking.

The man attempted to be careful about what he disclosed. “It didn't go how I had hoped. Don't worry about it." Even that felt like too much.

“Aw, shucks. I'm sorry to hear that. You know, you never told me what you went to do with your friend."

“I said don't worry about it." He was eager to sweep the altercation under the rug. “Anyway, how are things going here? It sounds like you were having a productive transaction. Don't let me interrupt."

“We were, but… um…" Namo tried to recall what they had just been discussing. “I'm sorry, what were we talking about again?"

The herbalist attempted to recollect the conversation. It appeared that, between the two of them, their short-term memory was found a bit lacking. “Oh, it's no matter. So you said you'd like to do an exchange?"

The faun woman nodded enthusiastically. “Yes please! I'm sure anything from what you're sellin' could be useful in my travels. If I can help ya expand your inventory too, then that would be just super, too!"

“Oh, bless you, dear. It's not every day that I find someone so interested in herbal remedies such as you, anymore." She turned to Martin. “What about you, young man? Do you find value in the practice of botany?"

“Sorry ma'am, but I don't know all that much about herbs and spices."

Despite the dismissive remark, the old herbalist laughed. “Ms. Namo here says you've been traveling together and that she hopes to infect you with her enthusiasm."

Namo stammered an interjection. “Mrs. Goro, please! That was supposed to be a secret!"

“Well, she has a long way to go," Martin said, unimpressed.

Now it was Namo's turn to hurriedly change the subject. “Well, um, anyway, so you were saying you'd be willing to give me this, um, swordvine, right?" She gestured to a pouch on the counter adjacent to the plant-laden cloth they had been discussing earlier. Martin peered into the open pouch. The powder within didn't much look like swords or a vine to him, but he supposed it was probably just the way it had been processed. With a repressed sigh, he mentally remarked that he was miles out of his element.

“Gladly, dear. And while I'm at it: I know it will cut into my bottom line a bit, but I can't help myself. Please, take some of this beggar's-peach tea as thanks for sharing your time with me." She produced a small wooden box from beneath the counter, about the size of a coffee mug. “It's got a lovely flavor, but beyond that, it's a wonderful muscle relaxer and sleep aid."

Namo let out a small gasp. “Oh goodness! I've heard of beggar's-peach before but I've never seen it. Where do you find it?"

“I found the leaves for this up near Sugarloaf Mountain; if you came from the north then you would have seen it along the road from Darcyville. It would have been on the right as you approached town."

“Hmm… I don't remember seeing it. Did you, Martin?"

Martin did recall the mountain she was referring to: it served as a focal point while he had tuned the faun out during their travel southward the previous day. The man nodded in understanding. “Yeah, I think so. You were talking about plants or something when I first noticed it."

“Sure, that sounds about right, I s'pose." She took the container of tea and gave one of the bags a deep sniff. “Oh, wow, it smells so yummy. Thank you Mrs. Goro! I'll be sure to tell my friends in Benuun about ya, if they don't know about ya already. Maybe they'll make the trip up to see what ya have for sale! I'm sure they'd be happy to learn about all the plants you've seen and the places you've been!" Namo took the tea and swordvine powder and made her way to Martin, who had returned to looking around the store.

“Sure thing, dear. It was such a pleasure to meet you, and I wish you all the best on your journey. And if you're heading south and going by the lake shore, remember to watch out for the pink-spined nettle. It grows thick and the rash it leaves is unpleasant, to say the least!"

Namo's ears gave an excited, reflexive wiggle. “Yes, I certainly will. Thank you for the warning, and your generosity!" She waved as the pair exited the store, leaving the dilapidated, sleepy street behind them as they meandered back toward the center of town.

The pair walked in parallel southward along the side of the corduroy road, not going toward any place in particular. The transaction with Mrs. Goro complete, Martin's thoughts once again turned to the circumstances surrounding the woman with the silver dagger who had upended the honest life he had led: Fadina Afzal. He had been observed engaging in his little clandestine charade, and now knew that if he continued his inquiry it would likely only lead to his demise. The thought gave him pause. Despite that near inevitability, however, part of him felt like he needed to investigate further. Too many sleepless nights and moments reliving his past had gripped him for him to just let this lead go. Martin didn't consider himself a defiant person, but with all that Afzal had done, he refused to just resume his way of living previously. Still, his only potential ally in this campaign may as well have been across the planet—

“Hey, Maa'ko?" Namo interrupted his thoughts, halting abruptly on the side of the corduroy road forming the main trunk of the Central district. “So… what're ya gonna do now?"

Martin took a couple more paces, then turned around to look back at the woman. Her ears drooped slightly and she was clutching one of her fingers with her other hand, as if she were afraid to hear his answer.

It seemed they were both thinking about the same thing.

“I…" Martin sighed. “Honestly, I have no plans. I might just stick around here for a while." He wasn't even sure if he believed the words himself. He wasn't sure if he wanted to believe the words himself.

“You're not gonna head back up nort'?" She tilted her head in a display of curiosity, and the pair continued walking to find shelter from the hot sun.

Martin shook his head. “Nothing for me up north." Then, without even realizing it, he muttered, “maybe I'll head west. Hell, cross the Tychean Sea. Swim it, if I have to."

“S-swim across the sea?" The faun replied, incredulous. They had passed beneath the shade of a tree: a willow, large enough to provide ample shade to the side of the road, but ironically, not a local species, nor one that formed the backbone of Fordham's economy. Namo retreated under the shade of the tree and sat, smoothing out her skirt as she did so. Martin joined her in the shade, but remained standing.

Martin looked Namo in her eyes, her warm, inviting eyes. Her mouth, slightly agape in a pursed triangle, painted a picture of earnest curiosity—a sentiment that she seemed to carry along with her like a treasured stuffed animal. Martin found his normal reticence disarmed by her sincerity. He sat down across from her, dust on his jeans be damned. “My former master and employer is out west. I want to visit her, because I haven't seen her in nearly three years. But I don't have enough money to hire a boat to take me across the Tychean Sea. So, well, I guess I'll have to swim it."

“Aww, that's so nice of you to want to see her again. She must have been a good friend… but, no offense, ya gotta realize ya can't possibly swim across the sea!" It seemed she hadn't picked up on his sarcasm.

“Well, it's either that or stay here. And as charming as this place is, I can't imagine it has a whole lot to offer me." He paused as sounds of a commotion broke out down the street. It seemed as though a pair of men had gotten into a disagreement. Judging by the invective being hurled about, Martin surmised that the propriety of a romantic partner was under scrutiny. “So here I am. Trying to figure that part out."

Namo leaned forward, excited, placing her hands on the grassy dirt between them and thrusting her head toward Martin's. “If you're still tryin'a figure that part out, why don't we keep travelin' together? I gotta head sorta in that direction anyways, and we can do it together! Maybe you'll figure a way to get across the sea along the way!"

Martin reeled back by Namo's sudden movement to maintain the distance between them. “Well, I just… why? Why travel with me? I tried to rob you."

Namo, still hunched forward, smiled and gave a characteristic ear wiggle. “The key word there being tried, mister! Besides, it sounds like ya feel bad about it." She leaned backward again. “But really, despite how ya pretend to be grumpy and uninterested most of the time, I think you're a lot of fun to talk to. I can tell you don't judge me and you haven't called me dumb when I forget stuff or ramble on about stuff I like, like some of my family did, um, does…" she looked a bit sullen, but only for a moment. “And also! If we travel together, maybe I can, um, share my love of plants with you!"

The man had a hard time taking Namo at face value, but her expression was one of pure guilelessness. It seemed strange that she would want to travel with him, but he lacked the energy to complain. “Well, it's not like I have anything better to do."

Namo jumped up from her seated position and did a little giddy hop, but Martin interrupted her. “But! I need to know more about your plans. Where's your ultimate destination? Are you trying to circumnavigate, err, I mean do a loop—“ he corrected himself preemptively to avoid using a word Namo likely didn't know “—around the continent?"

“Ultimate… destination?" She considered his words for a moment. “I haven't figured that one out yet. But for now, I'm gonna visit Benuun next! I have some friends who live there and it would be nice to meet up with them. And maybe see what I find along the way, don'tcha know?"

Benuun. That was the faun settlement that Ms. Joplin had told him about the night before. Apparently, the mayor of Fordham was engaging in some sort of diplomatic trade negotiation with the people there. It would be interesting to hear about it from their perspective, if nothing else. It would also technically put him closer to the last known whereabouts of his master, even if they'd still be separated by hundreds of kilometers of sea. “Benuun… yeah, OK. I'll join you, if you don't mind."

“If I don't mind? Oh, Maa'ko, I'd love it!" She laughed. “Oooh, I can't wait to introduce you to Uno'opan and Uyutuk! I knew that we'd be good travel buddies the moment ya said your favorite plants were corn and wheat! Uno'opan's favorite plant is also corn. She's a lot like you, in some ways!"

Martin rolled his eyes. “Not this again."