Only the Dose Makes the Poison

[Setzi Lunelle]

Pellaeon Gardens​

In order to relieve her guilt over turning her back on the Silver Jedi when they needed her most on Ziost, Setzi Lunelle dove into pursuits which would enhance her power – whichever side she ended up on, be it dark or light. The padawan was currently studying Makashi and Soresu with Darth Pyrrhus and Sith Alchemy with Sage Bane.

This left one undertaking that Setzi thought she may actually enjoy, something that didn’t quite feel like she was training for yet another inevitable war.

The human girl had been born on Aduba-3 and had grown up on her parent’s farm. She knew quite a deal about agriculture, and although not a botanist, felt that she would excel in herbalism, creating remedies or even toxins from plants.

This thirst for knowledge, brought Setzi to Bastion, specifically in Pellaeon Gardens in the Imperial Palace, occupied by the Primeval (the very forces she swore to fight against not too long ago) where she would meet [member="Warok the Defiler"], an Ewok Shaman who could introduce her to the alternative uses of pollen, sap, and plant extracts.

She had never even seen an Ewok, much less learned under one’s skilled, furry hand. As the fallen Jedi walked around the Garden’s, she wondered what he had done to earn the name of “The Defiler.” With this in mind, hopefully they would both leave this breathtakingly beautiful garden exactly way they found it.

 

[Isar]

In the midst of verdant shrubbery sat a small ursine figure. He stared at a dying plant. It was not a particularly special species of flora, but it seemed to be giving the ewok gardner a hard time. The fellow sucked steadily on his paw, muttering incoherently about devilish thorns and foolish shamans. Small drops of red littered the faces of the wilting white flowers.

Warok of Endor, or 'the Defiler' as his people called him, heard the step of feminine feet upon the grass behind him, but he did not turn 'round.

A set of hand shears sat on the ground in front of him, forgotten in his sulkiness.

"Well?" he grunted, though in truth it was really more of a squeak. Ewoks were not known for sultry baritones. He seemed about to kick the plant, then thought better of it. "You are [member="Setzi Lunelle"]?" Though heavily accented, his mastery basic was coming along nicely, more so than he often let on. Pretending to be an ignorant savage was often tempting amusement that he simply could not turn down.

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Setzi fell hook, line and sinker into the “primitive ewok” charade. In fact, she also fell for the “Oh my that’s a cute little bear” routine and found it difficult to not coo and “oh” when she noticed the diminutive alien studiously weeding Pelleaon Gardens. With excitement, she nearly ran to the small, fuzzy creature but stopped short when she remembered, yet again, that he was called The Defiler. Instinctively, Setzi checked the bottom of her shoe. Nope. All clean.

“Yes,” she replied, stooping to his level and then kneeling beside him. The flowers, while faded, were still fragrant enough to entice the brunette acolyte in closer. She noticed his shears on the ground and the driblets of blood on the limp, sepia-edged white flowers. Assuming that he was struggling to tame the branches, she asked, “Do you need some help, Warok?” There would surely be an extra pair of gardening shears in the caretaker’s building, thought Setzi. "Before we start the lesson?"

[member="Warok the Defiler"]

 

[Isar]

The ewok grunted. "No."

He gestured toward the half-pruned plant. "Once I was a shaman on Endor. I tended to my tribe's garden. The other shamans of my people, they did not understand my ways. They grew jealous and cursed me. For ten thousand moons, every plant I touch will soon die."

Warok shrugged and got to his feet. For one splendid moment, he found himself looking down at a being in order to converse. He'd gone so long through life looking up that he'd forgotten what this felt like. He changed tact abruptly. "You wish to learn the secrets of the forest? There are many that fit the description you seek. Which do you wish to learn of first? The prick of the thorn, the choking pollen, or the itching leaf?"

[member="Darth Azurea"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Darth Azurea’s eyes widened as the ewok recounted a little bit of his history with his tribe on Endor. “Does that mean these plants will die?” she asked, glancing at the nearby foliage. It certainly looked healthy enough. Was he even allowed to destroy property in Pellaeon Gardens? Perhaps this is why he was The Defiler.

But now to choose what she wanted to learn:

The prick of the thorn, the choking pollen, or the itching leaf

While the first two sounded enticing and nearly poetic, Azurea knew that she could prick an individual with her lightsaber or a vibrodagger. She could also learn Force Choke and crush a being’s windpipe.

That left the final skill to learn, and although it didn’t sound quite as desirable, she assumed it would cause the intended effect – some type of prohibitive itching.

“Why don’t you show me the way of the itching leaf first,” suggested Darth Azurea, rising up to her full height.

[member="Warok the Defiler"]