The Frost Island Greenhouse is a veritable fortress against the harsh cold climate of the Island. There's a large dome-like glass ceiling designed to only let sunlight in. The excessive heat from within keeps the snow and ice from forming along the surfaces of the building. Inside there are rows upon rows of luscious green plants of all shapes, sizes, and functions. There is a section that is kept pruned neatly and away from all the other plants, which naturally leads one to believe these to be of the poisonous variety.
"Here we are. Our herbalists are quite proud of this place." Kami's escort explained as he gestured to the steaming building.
Kami had expected a fire warmed shack with a glass roof and maybe a few potted plants that had been brought from other villages. She had not expected that the Frost Village's greenhouse would make the INC village house look like a virtual back yard garden in comparison. Though perhaps she was exaggerating. She had no idea her jaw was hanging slack as she looked upon all the numerous plants.
He couldn't help but chuckle from her reaction. "Where else would we grow our food?" The question was a simple one, and the answer as obvious as the sun glinting off the roof of the greenhouse. "This is a frozen wasteland. Nothing but the trees grow here naturally. And unfortunately they do not produce fruits."
"I assumed that the bulk of your diets came from the surrounding sea and indigenous wildlife."
Kami told him. She automatically began traveling away from the fruiting plants and towards what she recognized as medicinal ones.
"One cannot live on fish and meat alone." He told her with a cautious smile. There are naturally certain nutrients that you simply couldn't have gotten from meat alone. They had to grow their own fruits and vegetables, there was no other way.
"One can try though."
Kami said with a joking smile... then something familiar caught her eye. "Is... is that maize?" They'd traveled to the medicinal herb section and she saw row upon row of multicolored ears peeking out between thick fibrous leaves. "It is!" She said happily and stepped up on the edge of the long stone planter to inspect one of the native plants of her homeland.
"We call it Kassa. It's used for multiple applications including easing labor pains, ceasing diarrhea, and relieving headaches as well." He informed her as he followed her back to the medical area.
"That's what we use it for too."
Kami said, inspecting the stalk and fruit of the grass plant. She pulled a few ears to use for a poultice base later. "I notice you don't have any growing in the nourishment section. Why is that?"
The man looked at her with a rather appalled expression. "You eat the Kassa???"
"You don't?"
Kami asked, finding it very odd. She had moved onto a row of herbs that she knew were ideal for healing burns and keeping wounds from becoming too infected. A few she was unfamiliar with, but the little cards on the shelves, though she had mild difficulty reading them, helped immensely. "It is one of the main staples of my people's diet. Whole ears steamed with buffalo butter and salt." She made a dreamy expression that told the man that she'd not had good maize in quite a while. "The kernels also pop when heated over a fire. We call it Pop-Corn."
The man couldn't help but blanch at the thought of eating the Kassa. He shook his head, "It is medicinal, surely it does not taste good."
Kami smiled as she grabbed a few final herbs. "When all this is over how about I try to prove you wrong?"
"If you insist upon it." The man replied with a grimace, really dreading the thought of it.
Kami smiled. "Alright, I believe I have what I need. If you have duties to complete I'm sure I can find my way back with little trouble."
"Go with caution, and may Nicholas be with you." He told her with a solemn bow.
Kami bowed in return and began to head for the door, but she stopped. "Do I have permission to ask some of your men to return for herbs should I need them? There may be circumstances where I cannot be called away. I would not want to order your ninja around unless I had permission."
"Of course." He replied with a polite nod. "That is to be expected."
"Thank you."
Kami said with another nod-like bow and hurried off for the exit. Without her weights it took her only a moment to leave the greenhouse.
Stumble!