Bearclaw Valley roti

The boy was defensive.

He lacked trust in what Stryx said, which was fair as they had just met, and when he - Aventus he called himself - gave Stryx some of the history to this space she was only half listening. More caught up on the insinuation that she was the student rather than the teacher in this scenario.

She would let that go. He'd see her worth eventually. Stryx was abrasive towards most people, however, even she knew when to pick her battles. Fighting with the locals wasn't on the agenda.

It has not seen use in some time, Aventus explained. Stryx nodded, peering from one shelf to the next, from one cluster of hanging herbs to another.

Do you know if any of this is usable? She made a thoughtful noise.

Then she began to pluck at some of them. We'll have to check for rot. White fuzz, or sometimes blue. If the leaves don't hold a shape but are tarry and black, they're gone. A few pieces of the collection looked more like stiff mud until she touched it, and it came apart to the touch.

Some of the pieces hanging high and away from the damp floor looked promising, so she collected these in to a separate pile for study later.