…or, Iason Chasin’
Professor Bryony had me carry a large reinforced cardboard box out the back of the building and down a dirt path towards the edge of the trees. She wasn’t just making excuses to give me a hard time. Thing had to weigh more than she did.
If I hadn’t been heading to her next class anyway, she probably could have picked a better person to be her little helper. I’m not exactly a ninety-eight pound weakling, but I’m not exactly a barbarian with rippling muscles, either.
“That shack right there, that’s our meeting point,” she said, pointing to a lean-to log cabin to the side of the path. “Let me just run up and get the door unlocked.”
She padded ahead, opening the door with an iron key on a large ring. Evidently this shack had been built or at least modified for her purposes; the lock and knob were set low enough for her to use.
“Just set that anywhere,” she said. “Carefully, though!”
“What’s in it?” I asked, setting it down gently. There was an earthy smell, and it made muffled clinking sounds when I set it on the loose floorboards.
“Just my gifts for the class. You’re lucky it’s not a larger one,” she said, studying a clipboard. “Most people take this during the summer session, to avoid mucking about in the snow. Though, of course, it’s a completely different class depending on the time of year. I’ve tried to convince the dean to split it into three separate courses so that students could take each one and get credit, but there’s some budgeting reason that won’t work.”
“You know, I hadn’t actually figured on the snow,” I said.
“Oh, an hour of cold never killed anybody,” she said. “The key is to keep moving. We’ve had more close calls in the summer class, with the thunder and wind, than we’ve ever had in the winter time.” She picked up a large white sheet and handed it to me. “Be a good lad and tack this up outside, won’t you? They never seem to find the place without it.”
It turned out to be a banner which said “Field Herbalism Here”, in messy red block letters. The rest of the class began to arrive shortly after I’d hung it.
The first was a tall, long-legged girl with a crossbow on her back. She had the sort of lean build that often gets taken as a sign of elven ancestry, but as far as I could tell she was pure human. It was hard for elfbloods to get that kind of height. She poked her head through the door a little timidly.
“Where’s the teacher?” she asked.
“Right here,” Bryony said. “Name?”
“Matilda,” the girl said. “Mattie. Douglas.”
“Welcome aboard, Ms. Douglas,” the professor said, extending her hand upwards.
The next person to arrive, to my surprise, was Kira.
“Glad you could make it, Miss Kira!”
“Ms. Andrews,” Kira corrected her, with a demure smile.
I wasn’t the only one who thought so, apparently.
The other students arrived one at a time. In order, they were a short blonde girl named Carol Stevens, a spiky-haired boy named Thomas Zachary, an elf boy named Iason, a really drop-dead gorgeous platinum blonde girl called Hannah Collins, and a plain brunette named Sarah Miles.
Iason looked like he might have had one half-elf parent. At the very least, he was unusually buff for a full-blood. He wore his hair neat and short, parted on the left. It was longer in the back, cut into a sharp point. He started giving me the eye in a very obvious way almost as soon as he arrived.
I thought Thomas might have been, too, but less obviously.
There weren’t a lot of rippling-muscled barbarians in herbalism classes. Considering that field herbalism had a higher challenge rating than even some combat classes, though, I didn’t think it was a completely unmanly subject.
“Well, that’s everybody,” the professor said, after she’d greeted Sarah and shook her hand. “Mr. Bowman, if you’d open the box, please, and hand the contents around.”
I did, and it turned out to contain eight flowerpots with Argenti violets in them. I pulled them out one at a time and handed each person a pot, which they accepted, mostly with awkwardness.
“These are my gift for the class,” the professor explained. “One for each of you. A little bit of color for your rooms. You can leave them here in the shed along with your book bags and things, and pick them up after class. We’ll be doing a bit of hiking today. Our goal will be to familiarize ourselves with the area we’ll be doing most of our work in. We won’t be meeting here by the forest every day, though. I’ll let you know when you need to show up someplace else. There will also be some extra credit opportunities, for anybody who doesn’t mind going out at night, as some plants can’t be acquired properly any other time.
“There are just a few safety rules we need to observe when we go into the forest. The first and most important is to remember that we are guests. That’s not actually a safety rule, exactly, but if you remember that, you’ll have a better chance of remembering the others. Most of these rules will apply more later, when you start to split up and do things on your own. When we’re moving as a class, the rule is stay on the path when we’re on the path, and if we go off, make sure to keep me in sight. If you’re not sure if I’m in sight or not, ask.
“For the rest of the time: keep your weapon handy, but don’t be too quick to pull it out. You’ll want to be ready to defend yourself, but you’ll also want to remember that your classmates may be creeping around on the other side of a tree from you. Don’t eat or even taste anything that hasn’t been positively identified, and since this is a one hundred level course, I’ll add a ‘by me’ to that. If anybody or anything tells you that you’re trespassing, or words to that effect, you need to apologize, politely excuse yourself, and start walking back towards West Campus. If you’re not sure which way that is, ask respectfully.”
“What do you mean, ‘or anything’?” Sarah asked.
“I mean anything,” she said. “Elves, giant owls, stags, trees. Chances are, anything that pipes up to tell you that you’re on its land will have either the legal authority or the ability to kick you off it, and there’s no guarantee that’s all it’ll do. So, don’t ask questions and don’t argue. Just be nice and respectful, and go. Some of you might learn where the elven hall is before the semester’s over, but you don’t want to go looking for it. They haven’t killed a trespasser yet, but they’re uncommonly good at putting arrows through parts that’ll keep until you get to the healing center.
“Now, the rest of the rules: if any folk about my size or shorter tries to offer you food, politely decline. If they ask for food and you have some, share. The entire forest is officially a no-smoking area, but if you see me pull out my pipe, that means it’s okay. Now, today you don’t need to bring anything. Most days, you’ll need to bring your satchels and the required tools, as well a pad and something to write and sketch with.”
She pulled some sheets out from behind the class roster on her clipboard and passed them around. They were maps of West Campus, showing the path that ran past the shack. It split into a large loop a short ways into the forest. Other paths branched off from it, but most of them seemed to disappear before too long.
“This is the main path,” she said. “You’ll see the smaller paths that connect to it. They aren’t mapped in full because you don’t want to rely on maps too much once you’re off the main path. We’ll just be walking a circuit of the main path today. I’ll point out a few sights of interest.”
Despite the length of her stride, Bryony set a brisk pace for the group as we headed down the first leg of the path. The ground sloped away to the west, which gave it the feeling of a descent into a cave, particularly as the branches overhead grew close together. The leaves had only started to turn colors.
“If you’ll take a look to your left, you’ll notice moss growing on the north sides of the trees,” the professor said as we hiked along. “If you take a look to your right, you’ll notice it growing on the south side of them. Important lesson: in the forest, where there’s no sun to tell it otherwise, moss grows wherever it feels like. Don’t rely on it to navigate. Now, if you’re out in the open and you come across a tree with moss growing on the south side, you might want to stop and collect some of it. That’s contrary moss, and if you can get it to work for you, it’s a good way of reversing the effects of other ingredients.”
Though he was hanging at the back of the group, Iason’s voice found me near the front. Full-blooded elves had magic in their voices, and that was one of the things they could do with it.
“You have a nice ass,” he whispered. He had a slight accent.
I didn’t have any way of responding to that—on a couple of different levels—so I ignored it for the time being.
On the one hand, Marlot was right and an opportunity was an opportunity. On the other hand, I’d never had a shortage of opportunities with guys like Iason. I didn’t have any regrets about how I spent my summers, but they had always been a separate deal from the rest of my life. Now that I was at college, living in a co-ed dorm and with at least one girl interested in me, I really didn’t know how to feel about an elf boy hitting on me.
Professor Bryony kept up the pace, and pointed out side paths that would lead into deeper woods or into clearings. There were a couple of places where wooden bridges crossed streams or ditches, and she mentioned the different herbs and fungi that could be found by the water or in the shadows.
She didn’t go into too many specifics, because we were covering so much ground. Hannah and Sarah both required frequent reassurances that they weren’t expected to remember everything she pointed out once, and they wouldn’t be tested on it. Iason and Thomas lagged at the back, whispering. Thomas seemed a little giggly. Kira was very quiet, and seemed to be taking everything in. We didn’t see any wildlife more interesting than birds and squirrels.
Despite the instructor’s best efforts, the class period was already over by a good fifteen minutes when we finally looped back around and made it back to the shed.
“Sorry, folks,” she said, chagrined. “I keep telling them this class needs to be at least an hour and a half, but they never listen. I hope none of you have anything to be late for, this close to lunch time. On Wednesday, we’re going to meet in front of the shack and then head straight in to the first clearing and get right to it. Don’t forget your violets!”
Knowing that I was already late for meeting the others and had quite a bit of campus to cross, I didn’t stick around after Bryony dismissed us. I can move pretty well when I have to, but Iason caught up with me before I reached the pedestrian bridge.
“I like your ass,” he said.
“Uh, thanks,” I said. I had to slow down to say this. I couldn’t do the elven stride thing and take a breath to talk at the same time. “I’m fond of it, too.”
“What are you doing now?”
“I’m meeting my friends for lunch,” I said.
“Want to blow them off?” he asked.
“Not even a little bit.”
“Not interested?” he asked. He was giving me a sly, sideways grin that I think said he suspected that I had at least some inclination.
“Not just now, no,” I said. “Sorry.”
He sighed dramatically.
“Ah, well, there’s a long semester ahead of us,” he said. “I’m sure there will be other opportunities.”
“Can I ask you a question?” I asked.
“Certainly.”
“Why me?”
“You aren’t all gross, like most humans,” he said. “And I bet Zach five silver I could have your ass before he does.”
“Zach?”
“Mr. Zachary,” he said. “We were talking about you during the hike. He finds you attractive, as well.”
“Wonderful,” I said.
“You don’t like the attention?”
“I’m actually hoping to get a girlfriend,” I said. “Or at least, get some girls.”
“I’m not looking for a relationship,” Iason said. “I couldn’t say, about Zach.”
“I just don’t want to be pigeonholed,” I said.
Iason grinned.
“I’ve never heard it called that,” he said.
“I’ve really got to get going,” I said.
“Promise me something?”
“I really don’t think that I can.”
“I was just going to ask that you do not give in to Zach, either,” he said. “I would hate to be out five silver. Of course, I’d prefer to be up five silver. If you let me win, I’ll buy you dinner out of the proceeds.”
“I’m not looking for a boyfriend, Iason.”
“Just dinner,” he said. “You don’t like to eat?”
“I do,” I said. “And right now, I’m late for lunch.”
“I’ll see you on Wednesday.”
OOK!
These forest trips sound interesting, and dangerous, seems like herbalism might not be as easy credit as previously mentioned.
I must say that the whole moss on any side reminds me of a nature hike I went on as a kid. Great work as always AE. Have a wonderful day.
So there’s a little asterisk next to her name, eh.
The Talking Anything’s intrigue me. As do the ultra friendly classmates. These items of interest have a lot of creative potential.
I’m glad he has a class with Kira, she kinda interests me and I’d hate for their only interactions with her be in the dorm.
Just for the heck of it… Miauw… Ook? Mook!
So, a random question for discussion:
If a guy bets he can fuck you in the ass, and offers to buy you dinner if you help him win, is he not in effect asking you to prostitute yourself?
Classy guy, that Iason.
Khersis,I love this Story line. Bowman seems to have a bit more of an interesting story then Mackenzie did. A bit more open and his opinions on things seem to be more intriguing along with how he interacts with people. It’s very nice to see the MUniverse from a “Normal” person’s point of view.
w00t top 10 again…….poor guy, having to fend off invitations when he’s not interested…..i know the feeling. also, looking forward to lunch time….isn’t this the one where um…whats-her-face freaks out about mack?
unless he’s going to the food court, and misses out on the drama…
Haha, and people were worried there wouldn’t be any guy on guy
Who wants to bet it’ll happen before the semester’s over? (Probably with Zach, though… Iason seems like a typical Elven dick to me, no pun intended.)
‘Course, I’m still rooting for Kira over any of them, but I’m just obsessed with “Elves of color” (tee hee).
Okay then. Steff is making a little more sense now, what with the elven proclivity for the ass and the more matter-of-fact cultural approach to sex and sexuality. That said, Iason seems sort of cocky (hurr, hurr), mostly because he made a big deal about the bet. So it goes, and we shall see what Jamie chooses.
OOK!
It seems that this: “parts that’ll keep until you get the healing center.” is missing a “to”.
You are definitely one of the best writers I’ve come across in a long time, and I read a lot. I’ve been addicted since the first, and will continue to love you and the MU universe forever more.
Hehe. I like Professor Bryony ^_^ I wish I could take some lessons with her.
Heh, so now the race is on, shall our dear Mackenzie or our new Mr. Bowman have “hot elven buttsex” first? Lol, that really sounds like a band name.
First chronologically within the story, or posted first? I sense the possibility for TWO betting games…
@7: If someone tries to have sex with you, and offers to buy you dinner, are you prostituting yourself? I don’t even want to think about what this implies about the rich guy I dated, who bought me expensive jewelry and vacations, even though we weren’t very serious and it was mostly just sex. My point: with your question, dating in general could be seen as prostitution.
—-
I loved this chapter! The field herbalism class really reminded me of a botany lab I took in college, simply titled “Michigan Plants.” (I went to college in Michigan, obviously.) It was a lot of hikes in the (extensive!) parks and forest preserves on campus, while we sketched plants and learned how to identify them and their families. Of course, we didn’t have cool magical danger to watch out for, and our prof wasn’t a shireling. (The teacher was actually a grad student with a funny, if slightly sadistic, sense of humor– during a test, he gave us a “hint” and said that if we were having trouble identifying this plant, to pick a leaf, rub it between our fingers, and smell it. It turned out to be a wood nettle, which doesn’t have any smell to speak of but does sting you pretty badly if you rub it. I realized what it was, but others didn’t, and when people starting saying “Ow!” he started laughing, and said “Hey, I’ve gotta have some fun here too.”)
I also enjoyed this chapter because my last name is Zachary! You wouldn’t think it’s uncommon, but I’ve never met anyone outside my family with the name!
so moremu does MIAUW in stead of OOK?
i’m all for it.
MIAUW
as for the bet .. i put my money on jamie.
i think our normal part elvish guy should be first anyway.
the freaky demon girl shouldn’t always be first.
besides there hasn’t been any sex in this story yet.
so its either missy getting some elven wood or jamie getting it elvish style within a week(real time) .. since time moves faster here.
at least i do hope there will be some kind of kinky stuff . just to show us that even teh “normal” guy does nasty/kinky shit.
Is it me, or does Bowman seem to have an unnatural obsession with elven blood? I mean, with his constant ‘slender=pretty’ and screening every human he meets for elven heritage is a little weird…
@7 CLoaked STranger:
Depends on when the dinner is bought. If dinner before buttsecks, it’s a dinner. Dinner after the buttsecks? Then it’s prostitution.
Though, of course, these are elves we’re talking about, so it could be different.
Though, of course, Lexy explains why elven population growth is so low >.>
Found a small typo:
I wasn’t the only one who thought so, apparently.
We never hear what he thinks. Or if we do it’s unclear to the point that I missed it even when I went back and looked for it
@Ayla, well, if said person begin to expect expensive jewelry and vacations from the other person in this casual relationship which is mostly sex, then yes, the person is prostituting themselves.
And, if someone expects to receive sexual recompense for dinner or some other sort of payment, then yes, it is pretty much prostitution.
It’s all in what is expected, not what is hoped for.
And Iason is truly a smooth operator…must be so skilled he feels no need to be charming.
Nathan
Hee. I are amoosed by Iason and Iamie. ^_^
Contrary Moss… is that an imported species from Xanth?
kinky. I wonder how Marlot will respond if he tells her.
Herbal essences—
This class has gratuitous
Sex and violets
Iason wants to take
Jamie down a primrose path but
Told to take a hike
Floral arrangements—
The flower of elf manhood
Must be the pansy
Mook!
Another excellent chapter. Am I mistaken, or is Matilda with the delving party who shot Mack in the Maze? For some reason, her name tripped a bell in my memory.
This class sounds great. I’m also excited to see more of Kira. She’s the More Dee!
Arf Arf!
And guys, quit it with the “from a normal person point of view” thing. You know well enough that soon we’ll find out James is anything but normal. I doubt he’ll ahve ademonic ancestor, but who knows what’ll happen?
Luckily AE bucks it from time to time to keep things interesting. Still, plain brunettes hurray!
Still, I do like the less-teenage-drama, more-teenage-sitcom thing going on here. Or just the more manly stuff he does. Or something. Liking it, all the same.
I’m rooting for Sarah Miles, by the way? The “plain” girls always turn out to be anything but plain on a second look, and they almost always have better personalities than the immediately-stunning types. Also, stereotype suggests blondes to be either bitches or bimbos, while brunettes are either “good friends” or “hsoulders to cry on” and more grounded in reality. Black hair’s either Evil or mysterious, of course. Got to lmove conventions and how many of them are common in all Western literature ever
Hawt stuff! I am loving more tales of mu! Yay MU!
Regarding tags: this chapter is tagged “Professor Bryony Swain” while the previous one is tagged simply “Professor Bryony.” Might want to make those match.
“but they’re uncommonly good at putting arrows through parts that’ll keep until you get the healing center.”
Get TO the healing center.?
So it seems our lad has banged a few boys, but is a little uncomfortable about that.
Odds seem fairly good his would-be lovers are out of luck.
As to prostitution and dating, it can get complex, but the lass should be assuming that if he is not going to put out, she shouldn’t either. Ignoring the short term entirely, if he is too cheap to show a hot chick like her a good time, what are the chances he will be willing to sacrifice to make sure her brat will have the bracers he needs?
Gnome stealthiness strikes again!
Unless they are more cold sensitive than Mack. Then again, I wouldn’t expect anyone that cold sensitive to take an outdoor class like this in any season but summer.
“Now, the rest of the rules: if any folk about my size or shorter tries to offer you food, politely decline.
Apparently they have true fae in this world, and have as much trouble with them as our myths say we did before the advent of railroads and the iron tracks that poisoned the land and sealed the paths of Faerie.
@ 20 I believe that was a reference to the professor saying Kira’s name as if she were non-human, specifically he thinks that this is confirmation that she has an appreciable level of elven ancestry, probably more than Jamie. I say more than Jamie because she didn’t call him Mr. James.
@ayla: Dating is not necessarily prostitution, even by the question posed earlier. Sex is not a requirement of a date; if Person A buys Person B dinner, Person B is not required to offer an orifice of choice for Person A’s pleasure. He or she may offer something if willing, but there is no obligation. This is a different scenario. Iason’s not going “Hey, let’s see where this goes,” he’s saying “if you have sex with me, I’ll spend some money on you after.”
…I’d probably call that prostitution.
I have to agree with telrashar on this. Also am I the only one who would be put off by someone coming on to me by saying they had made a bet with a friend that they could have sex with me?
I just like stirring the pot.
I agree with Wirth: Iason’s approach was pretty creepy.
“They haven’t killed a trespasser yet, but they’re uncommonly good at putting arrows through parts that’ll keep until you get to the healing center.”
Even with the ‘to’ added, something about the end of it seems … off, somehow. Probably just me, though. In any case, Field Herbalism seems like it’ll be a surprisingly cool course.
I thought the sentence seemed fine. To me it’s basically saying they put em places that a) wont kill ya or b) are gonna stick and be hurty painful. Or both!
Of course, what makes sense to me probably isnt very senseful to others.
Also, on a side note. It seems that my firewall/antivirus needs to be shut down every time I wanna get redirected properly to the more.talesofmu.com stories. Is there weird redirect javascripts going on?
Iason seems to be intent on building himself a nice little sexual harassment case, there.
The advice “we are guests” is usally the first rule ignored in fairy tales. A lot of trouble would be avoided if the “hero” of the story would just remember that.
Wait, so it’s okay to have bdsm, cross-dressing, homsexual relationship, transgendered, two-headed women, elves, gnomes, demons who are trying not to be demonic and flesh-eating mermaids, but prostitution is somehow taboo?
The last several chapters have played up the difference between human and elvish views of sex. Perhaps he was offering nothing more than a lovers gift of some kind. What you find “unclassy” might be perfectly classy for elves. The main character didn’t seem offended.
The thing that puzzles me about Kira as a suspected subterraenean elf, is that she was described as having black hair whereas Dee, Dehsah, etc were all described as black skinned with white or silver hair. Could there be another race of elf?
What a fun class – like Hagrid’s class but looking at flora instead of fauna. And yet a course we’d probably never see Mackenzie taking, as she doesn’t seem the outdoorsy type.
Those crazy elves! I had suspected that the sexual experiences Jamie hadn’t been so keen on relating to his human friends had involved his own butt getting some attention.
I hope we’ll get to visit the elven hall at some point!
OK I started to want a portal to da MUniverse for the horny elven love…BUT then I noticed, it seems on the (physically) male surface elves are horndogs.b And I dont much like my odds in underelven society.
‘if we end up finding out that Jamie “bunked” with some nymphomaniacal fem-elves, I wouldnt be shocked.
…They have a competition…for his ass…. while a little demeaning, that’s pretty hot for me. ^_^ Yay.
That sounds like a really interesting class… of course, wandering in the woods leads to lots of ‘opportunities’. The creatures shorter than Prof. Bryony offering hazardous food, I would like to see. I rather like this Professor. She’s neat…and, free food, why wouldn’t all college students be taking her classes?
Barnowk,
Jamie suspects Kira to be in small part elven, more than he himself is, but little enough to pass for human.
As for the asterisk beside non-humans in the class rosters given to the professors, since Kira is in Pellinor rather than Harlowe, she is probably not so denoted.
“I was just going to ask that you do not give into Zach…
I think you actually meant “give in to Zach” (not into)
Maybe we’re seeing a bit of the lace on the Freudian Slip there? LOL
@ Barnowl 39:
Well, she could have died her hair, she probly has human ancestry, and there’s also the possibility that white hair marks nobility in that culture. I don’t think we’ve seen the lower classes of dark elves yet. (I consider Dehsah to be minor nobility. It makes sense given the number of the family that she’s served that she might have been raised to that station, or she might have been that of that station and picked to serve for that very reason.)
@ Keltarian 40:
I don’t think Jamie’s gonna sleep with any elves for a bit. I think he’s more likely to try his luck with some human ladies. If he does come back to the elves, I think he’ll start with the females in any case. He seems very comfortable with (and possibly even attracted to) males, but I don’t think they’re his first choice.
Deshah has black hair. There was a whole section of sub-plot to the effect; specifically where Dee is hallucinating.
Well, I really liked this chapter. And once again, I really wish I was taking these classes.
Oh, and Lexy, i really liked the subtle D&D joke you put in there.
Considering that field herbalism had a higher challenge rating than even some combat classes, though, I didn’t think it was a completely unmanly subject.
That was almost as classic as the non-weapon proficiency course Amy’s taking.
Haha. Being a gay boy named Iason, who reads More Tales of MU because I really like the Jamie character… I find this episode very amusing.
Oh and great writing as always.
-I
Every time I look at the name Iason, I see IAn maSON.
@7, The CLoaked STranger
> So, a random question for discussion:
> If a guy bets he can fuck you in the ass, and offers to buy
> you dinner if you help him win, is he not in effect asking
> you to prostitute yourself?
Welcome to the minefield women are commonly expected to wander through.
And, no, I am not going to answer your question because the premise of it is wrong so the question itself is meaningless.
For your assigned homework this week: look up the (real) reasoning why prostitution is considered a crime. You can limit yourself to the American jurisdiction (or rather, the jurisdiction of the country you are living in) to make things easier. For extra credits: name a country where prostitution itself is not criminalised, and explain the reasoning.
Eri
@Barnowl(39)
The drow (subterranean elves) aren’t simply lifted from D&D. AE has expanded on what is there. She has done this with other creatures/classifications as well. I don’t recall there being a third sex (ce/cer) in D&D drow. I think there was some mention of black hair, and several different eye colors that wouldn’t be typical of D&D, as well. It also seems that they aren’t necessarily evil in this universe.