<div align="center">(http://www.medievalfantasiesco.com/Weddings/ElvishCostume.jpg)</div><br/>Phera had heard of the rumor at the last mutual feast concerning the lottery but paid as much heed and hope to it as many did. Thankfully she had enough to focus on and it did come at a time she was somewhat distracted for the season was late autumn. The perfect time for gathering gea-pah flower petals, somewhat beautiful in their own regard the petals were far from a vital ingredient of any of the salves Phera knew. What the elf did know however is when crushed the petals and then added them to to olive oil, the resultant mixture was perfect for preserving all plants sames prone to drying out, rotting or simply loosing their potency over time.<br/><br/>Any self respecting herbalist would be gathering them now. Without it some ingredients simply were not worth gathering unless one had the means of mixing the salve there on the spot. There was discussion concerning the sensiblity to cultivate the plant but it was only talked of in passing, most agreed with the belief that messing too much with the natural layout of the woods caused more griefs later and Phera was no exception.<br/><br/>The flower was valuable enough that generations ago royalty inquired if the services of a splinter fraction of the Archarians would be useful in accompanying the herbalists during this time. Sensible suggestion from royalty perhaps, however the herbalists wouldn't hear of it. To herbalists the time for gathering<em>gea-pah </em>was more a time for informal competition and an opportunity for the novices to gather something which could be bartered for mentoring time by those more proficient in the craft.<br/><br/>There was only one problem. These plant was as a creeper found on one particular tree which happened to be about places favored by a rather aggressive creature.<br/><br/>Will-o-wisps.<br/><br/>Those creatures were cruel. Usually they would favor marshy areas and leach the life of those bogged down in mud, they were smart too and often used their enzymatic lights to<br/>trick younglings into following them to their doom. They could be so agile. Mages could kill them, perhaps some of the Archarians could bring one down but the herbalists had another trick. Only recently was it accidentally discovered that will-o-wisps despised certain noises of a particular pitch, much like how fingernails over slate could be intolerable to many, a certain sharp whistling sound of a particularly high pitch would scatter these cruel creatures, perhaps not for long, but for long enough.<br/><br/>The arrows Phera were made specifically to create such a whistle during its short flight, and already she had let at least half dozen loose. Retrieving them in the woods this thick was impossible so mentally the elf constantly estimated her remaining gathering time by the whistling arrows she had left.<br/><br/>**<br/><br/>Two days later Phera had reappeared in the settlement with a prodigious haul, her entire backpack overflowing with compressed petals. The elder herbalists couldnt believe it and immediately accused her of gathering so much to jeapodise the health of the plants for following seasons. To the accusations Phera smiled and opened the back for inspection. Only leafs of certain sizes returned the gaze of the inspectors - enough to prove they came from non vital plants of the flowers.<br/><br/>A haul this big meaned a few things, one of which included half being given to the royal herbalists, something Phera hoped to see rewarded.<br/><br/>A quick stroll to a natural meadow which what the elves concerned the start of the palace was met with a priestess of the mist eyeing her curiously.<br/><br/>"Hail Herbalist Phera, if your business is with royality then its none of mine but if it is of the haul master Eldron mentioned you managed then your timing is excellent indeed. Rumor of a venture into other lands is unheard of and the royal stewards are in a frightful way gathering supplies to stock so. If your pack is full of gea-pah<br/>petals I hope you dont mind if i escort you into the palace personally for i fear you may otherwise be bowled over in others rush to see this time managed formally"<br/><br/>Phera agreed and soon with the Priestess by her side the herbalist was strolling through the palace...<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>