Heartstone

A Grand Discovery

They set off in the direction of the Dark Enchantress's castle side-by-side. They went south, for a while, towards the next village. But before reaching it, they turned off the enchanted path and took a lesser, non-magical trail off into the forest, one that was rough and seemed infrequently travelled.

"The main road heads to a village called Tradition and the North-Western Artery," Yaz explained. "The Dark Enchantress lives in the heart of Spider Swamp, to the East. There's no main road to her castle, probably because there aren't enough travellers dimwitted enough to go there. This trail takes us to the peninsula where Magicist Beers lives, which is on the edge of the swamps. When the trail turns south to his place, we need to keep going east, which should bring us into the swamps. It's been a while since I've come this way. I usually visit the good magicist by boat, but I think there's a trail of some kind that we can take. I seem to remember a sign."

The walk was peaceful. The forest rose tall on both sides, broken here and there by a bubbling stream or scrub brush. The sun warmed them from above, a bright, cheery ball of yellow high above in a mostly clear, blue sky. Every now and then, huge, fluffy cloud giants drifted by at play. From the ground, they seemed to move in slow motion. The day was pleasant, and birds sang happily in the boughs above. The more adept ones even managed rudimentary lyrics. Every other song seemed to be about mating, a lot like pop music back on Earth.

As they walked, Yaz patiently pointed out interesting things about the scenery as they passed and generously answered Arwin's endless questions about it. Being very old and very well-travelled, Yaz was a font of knowledge about all things Heartstone. Arwin soon counted himself incredibly fortunate to have met him.

"That," said Yaz, pointing to a bush covered in red berries, "is a mulberry bush. Eating the berries causes you to mull over things and really focus. Excellent when you need to think about something really hard. Some parents give them to their children as study aids, though there's some controversy about such things."

Arwin sampled one. It tasted a bit dusty to him. "There was a blueberry bush near where I came into Heartstone," he said.

"Nutritious, but causes depression in large amounts."

"So I gathered. Or rather, I didn't, for that very reason."

Yaz counted off types of berries on the points of his fingerbones. "Strawberries are delicious but have no nutritional value, just like straw. Raspberries will make your voice raspy. Elderberries make you older. Doesn't bother me any, I'm immortal, but you should take care. You may prefer the rarer youngerberries which make you younger. Women of all races are desperate for them, but the bushes are rare and can't be artificially cultivated. Currants have an electrifying spark when you bite into them. Nothing painful; kids love them. Chokeberries—"

Arwin's eyes widened in alarm. "I'll stay away from those!"

"Quite," Yaz firmly agreed. "Blackberries turn your skin darker, even black for a short while if you eat enough of them. Ninjas are said to use them before missions. Also popular with cosplayers, performers, and makeup artists. White berries for the same, but in reverse. Cloudberries get you high."

"Like you're walking on clouds?"

"They make you feel very happy but also slightly above everyone else as if you're better than them. People get addicted to them for both reasons. Oh! These are fun." He stopped by a bush and plucked a couple of dark purple berries. "Try them." He handed them to Arwin.

Arwin popped one into his mouth and bit down. "Ow!" he exclaimed. It felt as if Yaz had just poked him in the chest. He frowned at his companion. "Did you—?"

"No." Yaz smiled.

Arwin eyed him crossly and ate another berry. Again, a hard poke hit him, this time in the stomach. He looked at the berries in consternation, then realization dawned on him. "Ah! Pokeberries!"