#14 - Curious Keys

As Nova pushed her way inside and shut the door behind her, she froze in complete shock. Whatever she was expecting it wasn't this. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the sunlight glittering throughout the room. Sunlight? How was there sun in here? She assumed it was magical but it looked so real as she stared up in wonder. Not only that but the room was covered in beautiful lush plants and flowers all around her. Vines clung to the walls, and various pots of countless plants and ferns and everything in between cluttered the room around her.

It was so jarring, to have been in the stairway to suddenly feeling like she was literally stepping outside. It smelled amazing, she had always loved the scent of nature. The sunlight still fascinated her and if she closed her eyes she could almost imagine a breeze. Then she remembered why she was here. The bronze key! She wasn't here to just gawk at the amazingness around her, there had to be something special inside!

Noticing three large pots of exotic looking succulents in front of her, she stepped forward cautiously as she read the plaque before them. "Alowort, huh?" She mumbled. Nova loved Herbology but there was still so much she had to learn! The name sounded vaguely familiar, and as the aloworts wiggled a bit she realized they seemed to sense her presence. Their golden fang-like thorns were a bit intimidating. Apparently she was supposed to pick a glass box and get a cool ingredient! Yet the warning popped back into her mind -- they bite. 

Nova really didn't want to get bit. Once she had tried to pet a stray cat and it hadn't ended well. So she was cautious. Leaning forward she eyed each individual plant, trying to find which one seemed the most docile. All three were moving, but one of them looked a bit more sluggish than the others. Carefully she blew some air lightly on it, and it reacted with a slightly bigger sway but nothing that seemed territorial. The other two seemed a bit more agitated.

"Okay alowort...please be nice, I just need this little box here!" She said softly, not sure if the alowart even understood her, but hoped her voice was soothing enough not to rile it up. Slowly and carefully she reached forward, taking her chance and grabbing the glass box.

Nova chose alowort #1.

To her delight as she pulled the glass container out of the alowort's pot -- it didn't bite! "Aha! Thank you!" Nova said with glee. Tilting the box in her hand she tried to get a peek of it's contents with no avail. The mystery would have to wait a little longer, but at least she was successful getting one! The burst of adrenaline at claiming her prize gave her enough confidence to try again.

Setting the first box aside she stepped forward again. Both remaining aloworts had calmed, neither showing more life than the other. She tried her first strategy again, blowing some air on both of them but this time neither responded. It wasn't going to be so easy this time.

Nova took her time as there didn't seem to be a time limit. She really wanted to get this right, not only because of the danger of getting bit but also because it was her first time. Just the thought of succeeding excited her, and to see what these mystery ingredients were!

After a few more moments of studying she noticed the slightest of differences between the two aloworts. One seemed to have a bit more thicker of roots digging into the soil. She wasn't sure if that meant that alowort could sense more, but at this point it was all she had to go on, but she knew it would probably come to pure luck too.

"I just need one more," Nova whispered as she bit her lip in anticipation. Turning to the alowort with slightly thinner roots she waited no longer and attempted to lightly scoop up the container in it's possession.

Nova chose alowort #2.