“You know Kenny, this isn’t really our job, is it?” Humans? And that one was definitely talking in a british accent, you can’t hide that from me, who are you-

“Right, but we were sent to do it, so we will.” A second human, taller than the first, ‘Kenny’, if I believe the first one. They’re both wearing what I would describe as ‘skyrim bandit’ clothes, so I wonder what they’re here for…

“What’s the use in us going to check out mana mutants, anyways, not likes we’ll be able to excise it.” Excise?

“Marc, we are trained enough to spot if it really is an infestation of mana mutants, so it makes some sense.” Mutants?

“Yeah, but I’m not a druid, so I don’t know what’ll the difference be between a mana mutant from a monster or a naturally occurring one.” Druid… Like the ‘harmony with nature’ thing, or the Celtic thing?

Marc and Kenny, though. Very normal names, and only ‘Marc’ has an accent. What do I make of that… Ah, Cytra dear, hide please, I don’t want them to spot you.

Also, it’s probably too late for me to do anything with the information, given they are only a few dozen yards away from my plants and orb now, but they used the word ‘Mana’ a few times, so maybe I’ve been wrong for calling it magic the whole time.

Further, the words ‘excise’ and ‘mutant’. I don’t like that. Are there people in this world who kill orbs? Or maybe these druids Marc mentioned would want to kill the plants I’ve made…

That doesn’t bode well for me… I’ve spent the last week doing nothing but expanding my plants…

They’re still talking, I forgot to focus on them, shit. I hope they don’t mind me eavesdropping on them again.

“Bloody hell. Everyone knows you always keep a druid or ranger on staff, just in case of stuff like this. What kind of druid gets married to a noble, anyways?” Marc’s tone is somewhat sarcastic, I think, but I did just notice something. Sure, I heard him just fine, but his lips don't match what he’s saying.

Kenny’s responses are the same, but strangely, even when I hear them say the same words, the way their mouths and tongues move don’t match to the way the other one says that same word either. Is it some sort of magical translation thing, or is their language really that complex, and I’m the only one being translated for.

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They haven’t said anything interesting for a while now, though, they just appear to be gossiping while they walk.

“Shh… Do you hear that, Marc?” Hear what? It’s kind of quiet.

“Yeah, like they’re no birds around… We’re close to where that villager said he saw the mana mutants were, too… I don’t like this…” That elf from a few days ago was a villager, that makes sense. But that also means I’m closer to a village than I thought I would be, given the forest.

There have been fewer birds since I made the baitplants, admittedly, but not that fewer birds… As I ponder that, Kenny draws a blade that looks to be a mix between a machete and an arming sword, and Marc pulls out a similar weapon from behind his back.

They both get into sort of half crouches as they approach my clearing much slower than they had been moving before. I wonder if they know where I am? That wouldn’t be good. I don’t know how durable orbs are, but those swords look pretty sturdy.

“Ugg. s’that smell?” Marc puts his free hand over his nose, and I watch Kenny grimace.

“Not sure, definitely not natural, though.” Yeah, I feel you bud, it does smell fou-

“Smells like-”

“Corpserot and sewage. I know.” Huh. So that’s what my baitplants smell like. That’s… more disturbing than I thought it would be, to be honest. Why am I concerned with that? Aren’t they here to kill my plants?

“Kenny, look, those plants…” Yes! Check out my lovely Green Sea!

“Yeah… That’s a mutant. If I had to guess, those tall plants with the fruit are what smells so bad, the leaves are the actual plant. I’m no ranger, but the plant probably spreads by those fruits falling down to the ground…” That confirms it, at least. My plants are considered mutants. I think I made the right call to have Cytra hide.

Kenny’s incredibly bad guess does make me a little more comfortable about this, though. If they aren’t smart enough to know that they are two different plants from a glance, then they probably don’t have magi- manavision like I do, since through that lens, it’s obvious that they aren’t the same plant.

“Marc, cut off one of those stalks, we’ll bring it back with us for when the guild gets their inspector in. I’ll cover you.”

It takes them a minute or two to hack the top off of the closest baitplant to the edge of the clearing, and Kenny seemed to be watching the plants like a hawk. Marc wasn’t much braver, I could tell that taking his fingers off his nose for the time it took him to grab the plant wasn’t pleasant for him.

“Let’s head back… I don’t want to find out this is some monster’s stomping ground now…” Marc’s tone is decidedly cowardly, but Kenny nods in agreement as he cuts off a piece of Green Sea and stuff it into a small bag.

I agree with Marc, too, I think they’ve overstayed their welcome. It might just be for all the talking or excising and mutants, but I don't want them here. I can’t exactly do anything about it myself.

I don’t bother watching them go. I think I might need to do some thinking. I don’t like the talk of druids coming to kill my plants. It’s not just that either, I’m pretty sure any process that can get rid of the green sea would inevitably involve hurting me, accidentally or on purpose.

I think it’s a good sign that they didn’t immediately assume an Orb, or I suspect whatever it is I actually am, caused this, but the mention of monsters makes me look at Cytra with… I can’t make dubious expressions, can I?

She’s not a normal spider, is what I’m trying to say. That makes sense, right?