Talitha Casey examined the edges of the tarfous leaves, looking for signs of damage. Shannon and Ranko were nearby, trying to help, but Talitha had long since given up on trying to explain what Bloodlune deterioration looked like. The air was still, and she could hear many of the delicate sounds of the grove. She brushed her bangs back and looked over the low shrub for another handful of leaves.

Their chosen search grounds were along the edge of the Osteo Stock, a large almond grove north of the Barley Road. They all wore simple brown and grey shirts with long taire-weave leggings: commoner's clothes, worn to avoid attracting attention. The Osteo Stock was walking distance from Escator, but decidedly out of the reach of civilization. The last Duskman Patrol for the night had long since passed.

The sounds of night insects and the occasional hoot were ever-present, yet peaceful, like the color of the moonlit sky.

"Okay, if the plant is affected, the leaf is brown, and the edge is black, right?" Ranko Whelan's voice drifted up from the center of a clump of plants not far from where Talitha stood.

"No, it's a black leaf with a brown edge," Shannon said, pushing two branches aside to reach deep into a different shrub. "And there's one now!" she announced, snapping off the dead branch and holding it in the air triumphantly. Two forlorn looking dark gray leaves hung from the end of the crooked stick. Her face fell as she saw Talitha slowly shaking her head.

"There aren't any brown leaves on any of these plants, man," Ranko said with a dejected tone. "I've got light green, dark green, medium green, three different kinds of green that ain't even green. This one is brown, but that's mud. Gah, and now it's on my hand."

Talitha quietly walked over and peered over Ranko's shoulder. Ranko sat cross-legged in the center of a rather large roughly circular formation of tarfous plants, picking through the leaves one by one.

"Any flowers or berries?"

"Nope," Ranko replied, looking back. "But that's what we're supposed to find, right?"

"If these plants have been tainted by anything exposed to bloodlune, they will shed their flowers and fruits. There probably aren't any this early in the season, but it's possible." Talitha replied. She opened a small book and began looking through the worn pages.

Just then Kishi's head snapped up. He reclined on a low tree branch overhead, but his attention was on the Barley Road leading east. Ranko stood and noticed Shannon's attention was focused in the same direction.

Towards Wolcott's Mill.

Where Jessica and Teko had gone to explore.