Pandora Paradox: Adelle's Mandrake Mishap

Adelle and Rhys’s adventures through the lands lost during the Catastrophe. The two of them had partnered up on an expedition.

Rhys had been tasked by his superiors to locate any lost civilizations that may have been taken by the green tide and to do so quietly and discreetly. While it was highly irregular to send off their agents alone, the Grand Empire also did want to avoid random treasure hunters, information brokers, or scavengers to follow them and disseminate information.

For that reason, Adelle had been asked by Rhys to help, to which she agreed…For a percentage of the finding.

“Alright, according to my keen intuition, we’ll be able to find our way past the jungle in one hour.”

“And according to the map I paid for from a reliable source, we’ll be in these jungles another two days, at best.”

“What? But we’ve already been out here for half a week. Between the bugs and the animals that keep stalking us, I feel like this trip isn’t worth the trouble.” Adelle folded her arms and sighed, closing her eyes as she pouted.

“Come now, you know we’ll be done soon. Besides, the sooner we’re finished, the sooner I’ll buy you a triple layer cake.”

“…With custard?” Adelle asked, opening one eye.

“And chocolate shavings, if you wish.”

“…Alright, but I still expect my cut of the find. After all, it was my source who told me about the shortcut in the first place.”

“How did you talk Oskar into giving you that information for free, anyhow?”

Adelle giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. “Well, it’s a long story,  but I did him a favor. I can’t divulge it all, but it was an all day affair involving a blind bartender, a snake oil salesman, and three baskets of apples. You see-“

“Hold on a moment!” Rhys held out his hand and pointed to a patch of shade, where a dark blue mist lingered. “The Emperor’s miasma is here…I can’t go this route.”

“True, but I can.” Adelle smirked. “It’d be more problematic for you if it was summer instead of spring, though.”

“Well, I’m just worried about here and now, and making sure we both make it out of here in one piece.”

“We will, but you should still let me scout ahead. I can feel my intuition telling me something noteworthy lies ahead.”

Rhys mulled over Adelle’s words, and saw the eager expression on her face. Travelling as a duo was safer, but separately they could cover more ground, and there was the off chance Adelle’s infamous intuition was right… “Alright, we’ll give it a shot.”

“Great. You won’t regret it, Rhys.” Smirking, Adelle slipped off, walking into the Emperor’s Miasma unscathed, as was natural for all Espers.

Rhys could only wait and wonder. He knew the mist wouldn’t spread, but he didn’ feel comfortable letting Adelle go off on her own, as the green tide often grew rather vicious threats.

An hour later, Adelle found herself on the outskirts of a lost city, the sight greeting her was that of a rusted sign and several, vine covered structures.

The flame esper was impressed by the sight before her. She had seen a few ld civilizations in her time, but for the most part the one she saw was well preserved. The rust was almost minimal, relegated to a few signs and smaller structures, while light posts, glass, and even the foundations she saw still seemed intact. Were it not for the faint remnants of the Emperor’s mist, she would have considered having others move here.

“Hmmm…I wonder what goods are to be found here.” Adelle started to walk forward, intrigued by the area. She wasn’t aware, however, that nearby a plant was blooming, its ghastly, translucent petals opening as its vines wriggled.

This, the Banshee’s Blossom, was one of the Green Tide’s more dangerous, parasitic creations.

Once Adelle was in the heart of the city, she was gleefully laughing to herself about how much loot she had found and all of the wonderful trinkets she had picked up. She had even discovered that there was a cache of dtilling equipment, useful for those who sought to make a fortune in oil.

“Wow. Rhys and I are going to have a lot to carry when I get back….Well, Rhys is, anyway,” Adelle commented to herself as she put all of her things into a pile and organized them by what she would carry and what Rhys would carry; She prided herself on making sure her pile was exponentially smaller.

As she tallied up her loot, she realized she heard a faint noise, and turned to face it. Next to her, coming straight through the cement in the ground, was a small flower with petals as clear as glass, giving off an almost silvery-gray pollen.

“How curious…” Adelle reached down, wondering how she had missed such a strange flower. She plucked it, cautiously. As an adventurer she was kept abreast of any known flowers that were poisonous, carnivorous, or malicious…Yet this plant was unfamiliar to her.

As she picked it up, she inspected it closely. Most enemy plants would have cried out or attacked, but this one did nothing.

“How very fanciful,” Adelle commented as she took the flower and placed it above her ear. She was happy to have it, when she heard another sound, one that sounded like sobbing.

Feeling cautious, she approached, to see that, near an empty plot of land was a Woeful Willow.

Woeful Willows, unlike the natural weeping willow, were trees that gained a more humanoid figure midway past the trunk, with two large branches serving as arms, and thorny vines serving as shipped.

The torso portion of the plant resembled a bride in mourning, but from the holes that resembled eyes, pitch black sap seeped out, forming tears.

Adelle summoned flames around herself, recognizing the immediate threat. It was best that she handle it quickly, before the plant attacked her or destroyed any technology nearby. After all, it had likely woke up due to her traipsing around the place.

As Adelle approached, she didn’t notice the flower was growing bigger, now having attached itself to her. The Banshee’s Blossom had connected to one of her veins, now its body was rooting with her own.

Adelle hadn’t noticed she was going pale or the graying of her hair. The painless attack by the parasite didn’t register in comparison to the worry of several thorny whips lashing her.

Throwing a ball of flame, Adelle watched the willow shriek in pain. She realized, however, that she was somehow hearing the plant, while they weren’t typically able to make any form of noise.

Disregarding it a moment, she avoided the flash of green and brown that came near her, before attacking. “Ignition kick!”

Her hit scored home, but Adelle hadn’t noticed her changes yet….The Banshee Blossom had made her oblivious to the changes in her body. Her old shoes had been discarded as wooden ones came out, with sharp, thorn heels. Likewise, a skirt of long, flowy leaves manifested around her waist, with vine stockings going down her legs, now more curvy and voluptuous. The ambient heat Adelle gave off was nourishing the bloom, which in turn fed back into her.

While the plant would naturally drain a normal human dry, the connection to an Esper made it more akin to a symbiote.

As Adelle’s lips gained silver gloss, and similar makeup around her eyes, she didn’t notice the orchid was now openly changing her attire.

A bit of vine curled around her hair and sprouted a flower, making an elegant, nature-motif ponytail before it broke off.

Likewise, the Banshee Blossom had grown large, almost appearing like a hat. As clot-like fibers began to mesh with and absorb the material that made up her top, Adelle’s chest began to gow larger and more notable, the added weight also unnoticed by her.

It was as if Adelle’s mind was being forced to ignore the ne changes to her body. Normally, she would have felt something was wrong, but her survival instinct was at a high, and the tunnel-vision that came with adrenaline kept her attention on her misery-wracked menace.

Growing annoyed, Adelle opened her mouth wide and glared. “Exceed Strike: Dragon’s Plume!” Shouting out and using fire, she watched as a burst of flame took the foe, but was caught off-guard by the silver dust in the air that came from her, and spread over the burning victim of her attack.

Transformed, taller, and victorious, Adelle watched as the Woeful Willow smoldered, burning to ash and becoming naught but charred wood covered n flecks of silver.

“Hmmm…Maybe the plant was a good luck charm.” Adelle smiled, happy to have won. “It gives off an awful lot of pollen, though. I hope that doesn’t bother Rhys too much when I see him again.”