Iris in the Waters
Occasionally, he would stop and nip a plant, adding it to his collection, humming under his breath as he went. It was a quiet morning, and he considered heading out to search for more herbs to stock his supply for the winter, there were plenty of Autumnal herbs in the west to gather, and he could always head to the desert to sniff out aloe plants.
Paladin reflected that gathering plants that were poisonous when not prepared for use the proper way was much easier when one had a Mandrill monkey and a lemur for companions. His hauls had grown immensely since he’d gained their companionship, and they made for interesting, deep conversations while out on forays.
He stopped as he reached one of the passages in the wall. The wall itself had become a good spot for many plants, some he’d propagated and planted himself in places. Some liked the shade, others liked the wall for climbing and grew vigorously.
He bent to check one such climber, making a note to ask Ime to bring some water to this one. It was looking slightly limp. His eyes returned to the land beyond the wall and he clicked his tongue, then howled for the Mandrill to bring a deer-hide.
It took several minutes for the monkey to arrive, dragging the hide Paladin had requested like a cape over one shoulder.
“Thank you, Ime. Care to join me for a trip outside the wall?”
Ime bared his long canines in a smile, nodding as he threw the hide over the snow-based wolf’s back and fell into step beside Paladin as the healer-fighter threw back his head and announced to the pack that he was heading out for an herb gathering foray. Of course, he might also just gather fire-wood.
He padded on for a good long while, adding to his bundle as he went. Before long, he’d come to the Lake and he stopped, gazing out over the water before his eyes dropped to the shore and he waded into the cold water, busily digging out Blue Flag bulbs while Ime gathered them into the hide.