"Avast! Land ho!" The loud booming voice of the captain rang out over the crashing waves and cries of seabirds flying overhead. Myouga ran up to the side of the ship and stood on the tips of her toes peering over the railing. In the past few months the mage's college in Iria was in a stir over the miraculous transformation of the wasteland once known as Srendyimor. It was all over the local papers, with sailors and traders making the first move on exploring what the island had to offer. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected a settlement of elves living there, completely isolated from the rest of the world. As a scholar and a professor, it was her duty to be fully informed on the newest discoveries and that was why she was here. …No scratch that–her real reason was to have fun and spend time as a tourist. Her next priority was getting samples of the local flora and possibly fauna to bring back home for research. Surely the creatures living on this island separated from other animal populations would have unique traits found nowhere else.
As she watched the ship coast into the harbor of Port Maeron, she saw the water was a pretty shade of blue that she hadn't seen before. Once the ship anchored and the gangplank was lowered, she and the rest of the passengers left the deck for the docks. Taking out an empty vial, she discreetly scooped some seawater into it and casually pocketed it. It was magical, so she wanted to bring some home. The elves certainly wouldn't mind sharing some with outsiders like her. The first thing she did when entering Maeron proper was to run around the place, taking in their native architecture. Oh how she wished she could record the images in her memory and transfer them into physical form! Alas, she had no gift in the art of drawing and had been specifically told to never do so as long as she lived. They were pretty, and the material used to build them was beautiful. They were made with a white stone she had never seen before and the gold was quite extravagant just for a port's overhang. When she asked the locals about it, they told her it was called 'howlite'. Myouga then was determined to get some for herself.
After the grand tour of the city, she returned to the marketplace to pick up some souvenirs. Browsing the stalls, she wanted to buy one of everything but sadly she did not have enough pockets or space in her hat to stuff them in. There was also the issue of the contents of her coin purse, but that was an entirely different matter. She finally settled on buying an assortment of animal figurines for her family and friends made from the lustrous howlite stone. A wolf for her friend back home, a rabbit for her mother, a pair of deer for her student's family in Adeluna, a bear for her father, a horse for a professor whom she was collaborating with on recording the cultures and traditions of people around the world, and a carving of a bird in flight for herself. The rest of the things she had wanted to purchase would have to wait for her next trip. Fortunately this would be much easier as she could simply open a portal to come and go whenever she liked. With her pockets full of things to bring back home, she came upon a shop selling stationery. She immediately bought several and wrote letters to everyone about what she had seen here and sent them to arrive in the mail.
Her stomach was starting to feel hungry, which told her it was past noon. Making her way to the nearest restaurant, she found it hard to choose what to pick. She settled on something simple for now, more interested in quieting her stomach than critiquing foreign cuisine. When she was finished with her meal she asked for a cup of spiced wine only to receive an apology with a sympathetic smile instead. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you're a bit too young for that." The waitress replied to her request for a drink. "Wait, what? What do you mean I'm too young? I know I might be on the short side, but I'm an adult!" The elven woman shook her head, and Myouga saw a dwarf and a halfling with tankards of mead. "Wha–hey that's not fair! Why do they get to order drinks but I can't? They're even shorter than me! Just because dwarves have more facial hair doesn't mean I'm a kid!"
The woman was starting to look a bit nervous as the arcanist brought up her lack of oversight in confirming whether or not she was of legal age. The other elves working in the restaurant were starting to take notice as well, and the female elf quickly tried to prevent things from getting out of hand. "I'm terribly sorry, but on account of virtue we cannot sell alcoholic drinks to those who have not come of age. We mean no disrespect to you of course, but we simply cannot skirt around the rules." The woman's last statement still meant she wasn't getting any wine regardless. Peeved, Myouga puffed her cheeks and balled her fists looking like she was going to have an outburst. Instead, she let out a sigh and unclenched her hands, letting them fall to her sides as she hung her head in disappointment. "Fine… It's not my fault for being small. And I was looking forward to trying it too. Oh well…" She left the establishment with her enthusiasm dampened, but it didn't last very long.
With lunch taken care of she set off to acquire some samples of the tree leaves and grass for her fusion experiments. Everything seemed to have some sort of magical glow to it. Even the grass itself was a midnight blue instead of dark green. She eagerly pulled out clumps of the stuff and pulled off a handful of leaves from the branches she could reach. Before finishing up her sample collection, she filled several glass jars with dirt from the surrounding area. Having checked off all the things she wanted to do on her list, she returned to the harbor to catch a ship bound for Iria. It had been a rather lucrative trip by her standards. She was coming back with a wealth of souvenirs straight from the island in more ways than one. She briefly wondered if the Sidhian elves would be angry if they ever found out she had taken a few jars of dirt, but concluded it was perfectly fine.
She was eager to see how the leaves and grass she had taken would influence her next fusion attempt, and needed plants from one more place before she had all the colors of the plant pigmentation spectrum. Soon, it would be time to pay an esteemed someone a visit with the fruits of her labor. "Ah~ I wonder what color would match best with this pretty shade of blue? Maybe I should go with a purple Betta this time. The ones with some red at the ends of their fins will look really nice."
