Gardeners Amongst the Gators

Gardeners Amongst the Gators is a journal recovered from a smuggling hut located in the Sleeping Mire.

## Description

Documenting the dealings with the residents of the marshlands, Gardeners Amongst the Gators appears to have been written by one of the many smugglers and drug runners operating out of the region and relying on the occupants for their herbalism skill and capabilities to generate a source of income.

## Reading

### Completed by Arnica

*[...not entirely sure how this whole arrangement came to be, though there is little denying that it has proven pretty lucrative thus far. Rumour has it that some plucky prospector went travelling through the region and happened to be set upon by a river crocodile - but by pure luck happened to fell the beast. Naturally, sounds to be a great result, but the gatorfolk that considered the beast a beloved pet and thus fell upon the prospector without mercy. Others soon came, following on the original trail in search of their lost peer, and likewise stumbled across the gatorfolk and before falling foul of the same fate, found themselves staggered at the boon that the peoples had built their village upon. Offering up each and everything of value they had in their pockets - gold, gemstones, jewellery - in exchange for a bulk measure of wandercaps, an early mimicry of a trade deal was brokered, one that would interest numerous parties...]*

*[...and it has been lucrative. The Other Hand wants some, the Lightfingers, the Arken Den, and a dozen other minor interested parties. At one point they've all tried to seize control of the region, to drive out their competitors, but each has ended in disaster, so they say. Bodies of the raiders, seemingly choked on the air, found stiff and stinking with their hand at their throats. If they are found at all. A lot has a way of disappearing out here, lost to the mulch, or the bellies of those that stir within them. So that is where we've found our place, acting as the middlemen - a familiar face for both sides, bring coin and gem into the Mire, and leaving with the substance so alluring. They all buy from us, and even with the cut taken to acquire the gemstones from various vendors in Viridell, and the other mines that the Triumvirs don't know about deep within the jungles, it works out well for us all. The cartels and syndicates get their supply, we get the pay, and the gators get their gold - not that they have much to spend it on though. I've been meaning to ask what they use it for, but I don't want to ruin a good thing...]*

*[...naturally we've tried to grow some of the wandercap ourselves. We had samples of it, and if it is mushroom or mould of sorts, shouldn't it just spread? Even Hedda, who is usually pretty good at the kind of thing, smart as she is, couldn't get it to thrive though. Something about the combination of specific silts, constant submergence and the ever-pervasive presence of the Feywild that seems to hang around this forest, she reckons. Nonetheless, until she works it out, we'll just keep collecting up beryls, jade and emeralds, as requested...]*

*[...unbelievable! The Lightfingers laid a trap for us, well, not one, but two. Firstly they tried to ambush us as we left the village, slinging bolt and dagger alike at us in the canoe, but then again at the hut. Despite it though, and with a few missing manners quite deservedly taught, we managed to renegotiate the contract with them. I've seen the way the kobold fellow looks at us though, it surely won't be long until they try it again. We'll be ready though - we've rigged the lockbox with darts smeared in silt so the wounds don't quite heal up good and proper, and we'll keep the crossbows closer at hand this time round...]*

*[...I reckon that Murdum's been pinching a little of the wandercap on the side. Admittedly, he can do whatever he wants to with his share of the coin, but only if he keeps to himself and doesn't stir up things as he's been doing. No sooner do we find ourselves bound for the hut again, pouch heavy and full from the drop-off point that he starts panicking, pointing skyward and shouting something awful about spotting a dragon. I'm not too afraid to admit that I've tried Alegrem before, out of curiosity, you know, and the blending of colours did for certain make it tricky to pick out the details as things blurred and shifted together. No, if he keeps spending his coin on hallucinogens that send him spiralling into panic then we'll have to have an intervention at some point. Can't he just do something more admirable, like Hedda and her son at the Helberg Institute? If that doesn't work, and he becomes a liability, well...]*

*[...I don't like the new fellow that the gatorfolk doing their dealing for them, honestly. Drives a hard bargain, certainly, and it is like his word means nothing, the treacherous git. And so smug too! If it wasn't for the margins we are still achieving here, I think we would have all called it a day on this long ago. I've heard that Aseo is easier to obtain and grow anyway, and doesn't, and I can't stress this enough, doesn't rely on us traipsing through a festering swamp to locate and fetch it. It is quiet out here though, like the whole forest is just holding its breath to maintain the silence. Tranquil, in an eerie kind of way I suppose, nothing like elsewhere where it feels like every other tree has either a Boggle or a Yuan-ti perched in it, waiting to strike with mischief or malice. I'll see if I can talk the others around to it...]*