Chapter 4: Adenium Obesium

The Combat Academy of Lombania had a library that had a wide selection of books. It was not as large as the library in Centulus, the southern capital, but it was still quite impressive.

Kuren was tucked away in a corner in the library. He hadn’t been here for quite a while. Flane had always managed to find and harass him. Today, Flane was sitting in the classroom for an hour as punishment for using magic in a spar. That meant Kuren had an hour to himself.

Currently, there was a pile of books in front of him. He was trying to read as much as he could, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to make up for the lost time. He sighed and closed the combat tactics book in his hands. He put it to the side and reached for another book. He looked at the title.

A Botanical Collection of the Mysterious and Deadly Plants within the Forests of Alurca.

A lengthy title, but interesting nonetheless. Kuren leafed through the pages, but he noticed that there was writing on each page. He frowned and flipped through the entire book. The notes in the book had the same handwriting. It seemed that a student had written all over the book’s contents.

One page in particular was dog-eared. Kuren unfolded the bookmark and looked at the page. One passage was circled in red:

Adenium Obesium:Common names include Sahi star, mock azalea, and death lily. Belongs to the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. Its leaves tend to clutter near the top of the stem, where the petals are located. There are five crimson petals on each flower. The flower contains a strong cardiotoxic poison, capable of taking down large beasts. The flower was once found near the former elven capital Adsoria. The elves once gathered its poison to coat their arrows. However, during the Start, humans invaded the capital and burned down most of the vegetation and trees, including the Adenium Obesium. Nowadays, the flower is only found in the Grimwoods.

As Kuren read the passage, he vaguely remembered learning about the Start in military history class. The Start was aptly named; it was the very first war between all the races on Alurca. The demons launched an attack against the other races, forcing the other nations to join forces. Only the elves had decided to stay out of the war. However, that didn’t stop the humans from dragging them into the war. The humans raided the elven villages and their capital. They took the elves as slaves and forced them to fight in the war. After the Start ended, neither side had won. The demons retreated and the other races quickly broke their alliance. And the elves never forgot their burning hatred for the humans.

Kuren turned back to the book. Written underneath the passage was a note:

I've been studying the poison of this flower and it is quite effective. Once the poison enters the bloodstream, it will only take a few seconds for the victim's heart to completely stop. While experimenting with this flower and other ingredients, I discovered a new recipe. This new mixture has the same effects of the poison, but delayed. The delay is easily adjustable by changing the ratio of the ingredients. Listed below are the instructions for the mixture:

1. Pour 10 mL of Adenium Obesium extract into a container.

2. Place 2(x) g of rosary pebble dust into the container (x stands for the hours of delay).

3. Mix ingredients and let it settle for .5(x) hrs.

Kuren was shocked. If what the student had written was true, this poison was extremely dangerous. He closed the book. He was curious about the other notes, but he had no interest in poisoning somebody.

Well…he was interested in poisoning one person…but the punishment for murder was death. Kuren had no interest in dying. He would accept Flane’s torment and bullying until graduation. There just wasn’t any opportunity for Kuren to take revenge on the other boy.

Kuren looked behind him to see if anyone was watching. When he knew there was no one around, he discretely slid the botany book into his bag. Even though he couldn’t kill Flane with poison, there might be plenty of other poisons in the book that would make Flane’s life a living hell. Kuren smiled at the thought of Flane bedridden, unable to bother Kuren at all.

Kuren suddenly heard the bells of the clock tower. Afternoon classes were starting. Kuren got up and started walking towards the exit, with his newfound book of poisons.

* * *

When Kuren entered the classroom, most of the students had already arrived. Flane was sitting there, obviously bored after an hour sitting the classroom for punishment. Flane glanced at him and gave Kuren a cold glare.

Kuren quickly looked away and walked to his desk. A few more minutes passed and Professor Monaco walked in.

“Good afternoon class. I’ve got good news for everyone. In a few days, we will be taking a trip to the Grimwoods. We will spending a week in the forest so that you all may obtain experience and practice. Even though the Grimwoods may be a little dangerous, there is no need to be alarmed. There will be other teachers accompanying us to make sure that there is no real danger. As long as you all follow directions and act calmly, there will be no unfortunate incidents. If anyone has any issues, please come see me after class.”

The class began whispering excitedly. The Grimwoods. There always had been rumors and stories about the dark forest. Stories of a little girl who haunted travelers. Stories of a magic beast that left corpses scattered throughout the forest. Stories of demons wandering at night snatching lone travelers.

Monaco began lecturing the class, but Kuren wasn’t paying attention. He was too focused on the idea of the trip. He had a sudden idea. His mouth curved as he realized that luck was finally on his side.

Grimwoods. A forest with a diversity of plants and vegetation. The home of the flower, Adenium Obesium.

How ironic. Flane Adenium will be killed by a flower that shares his name.