Kerii had spent the entirety of her day doing requests. The first one was for a young woman named Seheda Linas who wanted help training. Apparently, the young mercenary had been rejected form the combat academy three times already due to her incompetent physical abilities. The Wood Elf felt bad for her. Seheda seemed like a delightful person and the passionate look in her eyes screamed feelings of determination, but she was slow when it came to running, and likely weaker in other aspects of combat related training as well. She did not know how to pace herself, so she tired rather quickly. On top of that, the gray haired mercenary was more than a bit clumsy. She stumbled on a number of obstacles that Kerii had no problem avoiding, and at the very end managed to trip over a log and fall on the ground. The girl needed to build spatial awareness and increase her proprioception. Only then would she become more aware of her surroundings and improve her balance.

Seheda was not the only person Kerii was able to help out that day. Dacol Lubex also put out a request for the mage to fulfill. Although she was hoping that he would crop up with some more information on the spirit, he seemed to have other plans that called to his attention. And by to his, it thusly went to the mages as well. Kerii's task was to distribute flyers. It was a menial task, but for what minimal work she had to do, it paid well. That combined with the reward she got from helping Seheda Linas earlier that same day, Kerii racked up a bit of a profit for herself. In fact, after all the days she had been questing she was earning quite a bit of money. The elf was often rather conservative for how she spent it. Most jewels she earned she stowed away to pay for rent, food, and other necessities. She already had plenty of clothing and didn't really see the need in purchasing decorations to clutter her home. When Kerii did end up spending money on herself, it was mostly to get a good book to read.

Kerii returned home after all that questing and soon found herself nestled quite comfortably in the warmth of her own bed. She shut her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Upon waking, Kerii honestly didn't know what she should do. Training was always an option, but so were quests. Seeing as how she wanted to solve the mysteries Dacol Lubex and Inspector Nilan both presented her with, she supposed that she should at least head on down to the guild hall to check and see if there was a request posted. If she saw one that interested her, she would take it. If there weren't any, she would spend the day training. Actually, come to think of it, the elf already had plenty of money. The only way that she would take a request was if it was in relation to the odd plants or the riverside spirit.

WC: 514/2000

Kerii got up to get ready for the day. She stepped into the shower and hummed to herself. The elf could have sworn that she heard a knock at the door, but didn't hear it again. Thinking it was just her imagination, she just continued on with her day. She dried herself off and threw on a clean pair of clothes. As she walked over to make herself a cup of coffee before officially starting her day, she caught something out of the corner of her eye. Curious, she turned and saw a letter was slipped through the slit at her door. The Draken walked up to it and picked it up. Her name was scribbled across it in sloppy cursive, but it was legible enough to read. Relieved that it did not seem to be one of Carnil's notes, she carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. Her eyes skipped to the bottom to see who it was from, and much to her surprise, it was from Inspector Nilan. Kerii eagerly began to read the rest of the letter.

Dear Kerii,

Sickness and disease has begun to spread across Orchidia. We believe it to be due to some sort of plant initially, but it seems as if living beings can pass it on to each other. As of right now, only animals are being affected. As I'm sure you know though, a lot of diseases often start off with animals. Due to how contagious they seem to be among mammalians, I fear that they will spread to the humans as well if not taken care of soon. I have issued a quarantine on the most affected part of Orchidia, but I fear it won't matter for much longer. I need you to meet me in the middle of Acacia Road as soon as possible.

Sincerely,
Inspector Nilan.

Kerii set the paper down and hurried out the door, completely foregoing that cup of coffee she wanted so badly earlier. There were more urgent matters at the moment, and the excitement of being able to pursue this mystery of plants had already given her more energy than caffeine likely would have alone. The elf rushed out of the dormitories and made her way down to Acacia Road as quickly as possible. The whole way there, the elf couldn't help but wonder what kind of sickness or disease Inspector Nilan was talking about in his letter. He was not specific. The most he shared with her was that it seemed to be primarily affecting live animals at the moment. Which kind other than mammals, she did not know. Inspector Nilan didn't detail a single symptom, nor told Kerii where Orchidia was currently quarantined. Though, to be fair, his handwriting was rather sloppy. The ink was dragged across the paper and smeared in a few places, signifying that he was in a bit of a rush. Perhaps he simply didn't have time to tell her everything. She would soon know what he meant though, for she saw him standing in the street just like he said.

WC: 1029/2000

Kerii approached Inspector Nilan with a look of concern in her eyes. "The plants have gotten to the animals now?" she asked worriedly. Her arms folded across her chest as she awaited his answer. The dark-haired man slowly nodded his head and began to explain everything that was happening. "We thought that the beanstalk was the last of it... and then the forest was getting affected. So, we had you collect some biological samples for our scientists to analyze. What they discovered was, well, we don't even know what to make of it yet. It's bad though. Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, referring to when she felt weak after making it out of the forest. "Yeah, I'm fine," the Draken reassured. "Why do you ask? I thought humans weren't being impacted yet?" Well, technically she was an elf, but they tended to get sick less often than humans did, so either way Kerii thought that she was rather safe.

"They're not being impacted yet, but we found out that a plant has been rapidly tunneling its way through Orchidia. So far though, it has only gotten to the farmlands, and harmed the livestock there. We had the residents of that piece of land and anywhere else evacuate just to make sure, but as far as anyone can tell, only the animals were affected. It may have to do with them grazing and then passing it onto one another." That made sense, considering the plants were getting around via a root system. Perhaps some of the magic seeped out and poisoned the grass supply that the cattle ate, and then the cattle passed it onto other animals on the farm.

"What do you want me to do about it then?" There were only a handful of options. Being a healer, it was a possibility that she could ameliorate the conditions of the animals, depending on how sick they were, but she would just have to hear what Inspector Nilan had to say. "I need the livestock either knocked out or killed, to safely keep them away from people, and for the scientists to figure out what exactly is making them behave in such a manner." The elf raised an eyebrow. "Behave?" she questioned. "Yes. These normally docile animals have become aggressive. They will try to attack anyone who comes near them, including their owners. Some have even escaped their pens. I really need them dealt with, for everyone's safety." Kerii sighed. She didn't want to kill the innocent animals, but if worse came to worst, she supposed that she would. "Alright, I'll do it." A look of relief washed over Inspector Nilan. "I trust that you know where you're going?" Kerii didn't remember if she stated that she was a member of Lamia Scale, or if Inspector Nilan had just forgotten, but she just nodded her head in reply. "Excellent! Report back to me once you're finished." With that said, the detective went back to his work, and Kerii set out to do her own.

WC: 1029+506=1535/2000

Kerii couldn't think of a single illness, disease, or poison that would cause animals to behave so dramatically. There was definitely something unnatural about what was going on. There was no doubt in her mind that there was at least some form of magic at play. Usually, there would be one question to answer first, such as who, what, why, or when. In this case, all of them needed an explanation. Clearly, then "when," could have been when the beanstalk first sprouted, but who knew when it had been grown. For all they knew, an enchanted seed could have been planted a while ago and magic was used to speed up the process for whatever reason, but who planted the seed? Once the scientists figured out what exactly was causing all these strange magical mishaps, then perhaps that could lead them to figure out who did it, but what if they could only figure out the "what" if they found out the "who?" It was honestly a cycle that could not be broken until a new piece of evidence came to light. Perhaps this business with the livestock would help illuminate some things.

The Lamia Scale mage went up to the bit of farmland in Orchidia. It was eerily quiet. She crept up to the barn and peered in. The wood had been smashed, as if someone, or something, went on a rampage and tried to break out. Concerned, Kerii went to one of the sheds. Normally, it would be locked, but it was busted, probably due to whatever was driving the animals insane. She reached inside and took a hoe before proceeding towards the Forest Outskirts, where she could hear people's screams. The elf began to run until she came across some farmers running away from what looked like incredibly sick, but incredibly angry animals. They were extremely pale, as if they had the color drained right from their skin and hair. Patches of algae was suspiciously growing all over them as well. "Run, I'll handle it!" she called out to the farmers. Kerii began to draw the attention of the animals away from their owners. Happy someone came to their rescue, they quickly left, leaving the elf alone with the livestock. Using the hoe, she was able to knock them out, luckily without causing so much damage that they would die. Due to its length, she didn't have to get too close to the animals either. From what she was told, the disease was highly contagious. She didn't want to end up being the first person to get it. Before the animals had time to regain consciousness, Kerii returned to Inspector Nilan and informed him of where the animals were. After rewarding her, he promised that he would get the poor creatures taken care of... whatever that meant. She had a sneaking suspicion that the animals were going to be killed anyway for the sake of science, but who knew. Whatever happened, she just wished that they would get some answers. If not, who knew what could happen to Orchidia.

WC: 1535+512=2047/2000