The Silver Knife

Chapter 4

It was dark, quiet, cold and misty everywhere. Fog covered every inch of open space. Only the tops of the magical greenhouses and the turrets of the dorm towers were visible above the thick blanket of mist surrounding everything. Two hooded figures, one carrying a lamp, were walking towards one of the greenhouses: Greenhouse 4. The lamp bobbed in and out of view as the two of them scurried along the rather twisted pathway to the greenhouse. 

Every greenhouse had a different pathway, twisting and turning in different ways. None of the greenhouses, except Greenhouse 1, were on the ground. All of them were situated deep within luxurious magical flora and they floated in mid air and had to be reached by a ladder of vines, or they were held up on huge trees having an ecosystem of their own. Greenhouse 4, however, was one of the most magical greenhouses and along with Greenhouse 7, was built solely for harvesting potion ingredients.

Professor Bloom was standing inside the colossal greenhouse (and by colossal I mean colossal). The two figures entered and they blew out the lamp. Some distant birds were giving the first cries of the morning, as the two of them threw their hoods back revealing their identity. 

"Today we shall be harvesting Tether roots. And yes, this is becoming an advanced lesson rather than a detention session....." Professor Bloom chuckled. "But, I honestly couldn't come up with any practical way of punishing rather than having your hands stung-"

"Stung....?" Lilith said a bit unsure. "Are you telling us we aren't wearing gloves? What are Tether plants anyway?" She asked rather quickly. Professor Bloom gave her a smile.

"One question at a time, and yes you won't be using gloves. Tether plants are used in medicinal draughts and are used to cure wounds and cuts. The use of Tether plants in medicine started when a Healer accidentally used Tether roots instead of Belladonna. It turned out that Tether roots cured wounds faster than Belladonna and therefore have been used in medicine ever since. But harvesting the roots is a bit of a pain. The plant has teeth in their flowers and leaves hence the name 'Tether'. They also give out a glow which can harm your vision, because if you look at the glow, poisonous fumes from the plant can infect your eyes. It is a mechanism of protection that the plant uses to protect itself from predators." Professor Bloom replied with a slight chuckle.

"It has the what now? So you are telling us to rip the roots of an overly vicious plant-animal thing which can sting and bite us at the same time? Okay Professor, if this is not punishment then I do not know what is." Eden said in a very solemn and nervous tone. 

"Now, now, you get to learn about it. Right, so, how would you know which one is the Tether plant?" Professor Bloom asked a bit softer than before. He didn't want to hurt his students during the detention, for he knew that they weren't to be blamed. 

"Um..... From the glow....? But will that be any useful, there are a lot of magical plants that can glow." Eden said thoughtfully. From the information Professor Bloom had given them by far, it was the only safe way, that is unless someone wanted to volunteer to have their fingers ripped off.

"The glow can be a way, yes, Mr Crestbreeze you are not wrong. But, even the Venomous Sicilia has the same coloured glow as the Tether. The way to identify the plant is by looking at it's stem. The stem has some spots, which somehow look like overgrown mould. Whereas the Venomous Sicilia has a smooth stem with no such spots." Professor Bloom said. 

"But...wouldn't we need to move close to that....? That is not safe is it....." Lilith asked, visibly a bit shaken at thought of having her fingers ripped by something like a monstrous plant. 

"Ah well, handling magical plants is never safe Miss Sapphirus. But as an extra dose of precautions, we usually hold back the plant with a stick and then harvest it's roots. The best time to harvest them is during the early morning, before the sun rises, which is why I asked the two of you to come this early." Professor Bloom said with a slight smile. "Now, let's get working!" He said clapping his hands together.