A New Bud

Inside the sleepy valley of Jays Ridge, a place that sun touched more often than rain and the rivers ran slow. There was a tea shop.

The little village of 7 Stones wasn't a particularly great village, it wasn't a must see area of magical beauty, for there were plenty of grander sights in the world. It wasn't a homeland of cultural splendour where the best cheese or authors or well anything stemmed from drawing a horde of temporary travellers every Queensday or any other holidays for that matter.

It was however, held in a certain regard by other circles of individuals that thought themselves “in the know” and the one thing that was mentioned under hushed whispers and hidden hideouts was one house.

The Tea house in question was situated close around the ring of gate stones in the centre of the village, it was made of stone, its foundation ever so slightly out of place to the rest with two floors and a tile roof of a dark brown, the stone of its walls had a dark grey gradient to a more reddish at its top and its doors that faced the stones were of a dark wood with a mesmerising grain along its span but no windows. pinned above the door read the sign "The place of ImmortaliTea" in a curved red script.

The menu beside the doors, the only thing in the place that looked like it had changed in the last century read as so.

Classic Tea's

* 7 stones Classic - a local classic of our best blends a mixture of 7 distinct types of leaf that combine together to make a complex palette.

* Millers Brew - a strong brew with a bold flavour served best with a splash of honey

* King Greys delight - brought into fashion by his highness king grey the first this blend possesses a subtle and warming touch this tea requires no additional substance and is recommended to be poured into a warmed cup for utmost enjoyment.

* Summer berry's - a fruity and saccharine this blend contains a mixture of local berries and fruits and can have a tart flavour and possesses a vibrant colour.

* Nettle tea - pale green and earthy this tea leaves tingling feeling in the mouth and is an excellent palette cleanser

* Flowers of the valley - made with the flower heads of the green this tea has a soothing touch and can be a balm for the strains of day

* More inside

Speciality Teas

* Dragons Heat - this tea stays warmed for days on end and when drunk warms the body and soul

* Sea Tea - this blend is full of the motion of the tides And apon consumption can make oneself and fluid and as enduring as the sea

* petite feuille - this brew had origins in the wild forest of long past and the spirit of it still persists in this tea, though the spirit of the wild is weaker than it once was; this brew upon consumption transforms the drinker into an animal of the forest.

* fay's folly - from the depths of the fay grove this blend contains the essence of whimsy and playfulness uplifting the drinkers spirits and lightening their step (by approximately 1/3 of their weight).

* golau hylif - this tea can be seen when all other lights go out. It glows as if a beam of light hath been stored in its leaf, when drunk can cause the drinker to glow.

* ricordi dragati - this brew has a nostalgic smell and taste (unique to drinker) and makes past memories resurface even if they are forgotten.

* Tinkers Pot - The plant of this tea is a curious thing it sprouts in obscure places and at its own volition around the farm it's Gifts are strange and never apparently useful and its flavour changes for each drinker, be warned this tea gives it's gifts for its own reasons and they are rarely the reasons one presumes.

* More upon request

The last section of the board, which of course was written in a special ink that could not be perceived or even read by those who did not already know it was there or had the sight of magic. There was no need to attract unnecessary attention, they had made that mistake a few hundred years back and it had taken decades of carefully administered amnesia inducing herbs, subtly mixed into the teas to stem that onslaught of needy could be heroes. Although admittedly it wasn't quite as effective as Val the shop owner would have liked. A testament of this fact was evident in the shadowy figures slowly closing in on the front doors this particular night.

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Val sighed, the people outside who were currently attempting to arrive at her doorstep under the veil of night,(probably attempting to look as shadowy and inconspicuous as was possible to look considering they were covertly approaching a tea shop) were quite a nuisance. She knew their type and could guess their intentions. Them approaching like this in the dead of night gave them the perfect opportunity for some seriously ominous door knocking while checking over their shoulders. People really liked doing that. And after there dramatic door knocking they most likely expected a brief yet substantial pause, maybe the sound of slow shuffling feet, and for the door to open a crack and a brooding and suspicious eye to perhaps look at them with innate distaste and a then after some secretive muttering that neither parties actually understood to be allowed in to the dark and gloomy shop and taken to where they presumed she would be stroking a cat or something. Unfortunately for the shadowy figures this was not going to happen. At the first touch of the door with a knuckle the door immediately swung inward depriving them of their much wanted dramatic knocking. And Val stood directly behind them silhouetted by the light streaming from the open door and glowering enough to make them feel it in their souls.

The not-so-shadowed figures whipped around. In the illumination of the open door four of them were clearly a lot younger than the rest and their faces that could be seen through their

enveloping cloaks looked quite nervous indeed. But the 2 looked older and more experienced (in comparison) definitely the group leaders. Yep exactly as she feared.

"Alright" Val said in a weary voice

"Which" Val sighed even deeper, she'd need a cup of a flower of the valley for this one. "One of you, is a chosen one?"