#hickory

panel -1: View of canyon we see the party lowing themselves into the canyon at a wooded clearing. The words, Fwip, Thok and Screech appear, indicating that this nrominaly bucolic scene is disturbed by blood shed. Rosalia: "NICE SHOT!"

panel 0: Willow pokes over a cliff, bow in hand. Rosalia: "You see really well for someone whose eyes are always covered." Willow: "What was it?" Rosalia, to herself: "oh, maybe not." Then to Willow: "Just come down and see."

panel 1: The two look over a dead rat with an arrow sticking out of it. Rosalia: "It's some sort of Rodent of Unusual Size."

panel 2: Hickory jumps on top of Rosalia's shoulders.

Hickory: "Not just a giant rat! It's a Remy!"

panel 3: An image of a hand casting a spell on a rat, and a diagram showing how a rat would fit within a wizard's hat. Hickory: "It's said the ancients encoded knowledge in rats which they would wear like hats"

panel 4: An image of a linguinoid and a rat sniffing soup in a large pot. Hickory: "The rats would pull on their hair and puppet them around for certain tasks. Remys were used for cooking!"

panel 5: Hickory explains to Willow and Rosalia, while Aster climbs down the rope. Behind Hickory, there are projections of a soldier and a merchant with similarly extended hats. Hickory: "There were also Romus and Remes, for war and commerce, respectively, but apparently they died out..."

panel 6: Aster: "ridiculous... If this tale is true, then why did they stop using them?" Larkspur continues to climb down in the background.

panel 7: Bottomlit Hickory: "Ah, that's the sordid thing."

panel 8: An image of a sleeping person, being worked by a rat to write two forms at the same time. Hickory: "Some people would never take the rats off... the rats didn't seem to mind."

panel 9: A progression of images showing a rat digging into a human head. Hickory: "After a while, they would carve into their homes to stay long term. Did you know the brain has no pain receptors?"

panel 10: Everyone is spooked, save for Aster, who does not seem impressed.

panel 11: A view into a rat hole, with the appurtenance of a small kitchen. Hickory: "Because Remys knew how to make the most nutrition out of their foods, they were the ones who survived when the memory-rats were purged. All that is to say..."

panel 12: "This guy is packed full of nutrients, fats and proteins!"

panel 13: showing a highted view of Giant rat Stew. Hickory: "Now eat up!"

panel 14: A pulled out shot, showing an ominous castle looming in the background, just around the bend. Hickory: "If the background mana is high enough to support a remy, then the dungeon we're looking for must be near!"

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Verdant Vanguard hub

panel 0: Static

panel 1 (Play): Hickory in cold weather clothing, with a bowl with ice mephits in. Show falls in the background, the Cooking it up with Hickory titles is faded in the background. Hickory: "Ice m-mephits b-biting at your nose? Why not b-bite back?"

panel 2 (Record): blurry, from the inside of a bag, filled with miscellania, we see two blurry figures. The taller blob speaks: "I don't know, Aster..."

panel 3 (Record): Aster has picked up the camera and is examining the aperture. Aster: "Aren't you a little curious about this box?"

panel 4 (Record) Aster: "He's always asking you to hold it after all." Lark in the background responds: "Well, a little, of course. But I don't like rifling through his stuff even if he's busy being..."

panel 5: wide shot of them pointedly not looking at each other. An image of a gruff cowboy hangs between them.

panel 6: Aster: "...a cowboy?" Larkspur: "...I guess, yeah. I suppose he's committing to that."

panel 8: short static

panel 9 (Play): Hickory splayed lute in hand, ready to jam. He is sitting in front of a huge billboard, festooned with detail. Hickory: "So out look kiddo, you got the coolest momma on the block!"

panel 10: static

panel 11 (Record): Aster is casting a spell on this view, turning to LArkspur and commenting: "As far as I can tell, it actually is some sort of recording device."

panel 12: Aster: "Honestly, it's pretty ingenious..."

panel 13: short static

panel 14: (Play) Hickory half on top of wok, which is shaking and clattering: "Of course, most aficionados say that you have to steam them live!"

panel 14: (Play) Hickory is thrown off, an enraged fail snail appears from wok

panel 15: static

panel 15: exploded view of camera in the background, showing all internal components. Aster and LArkspur are hurriedly and excitedly figuring out the camera. Aster: "Finally, the timing gear spins the three scribe cylinders in sync when in replay mode. Larkspur: "and the piezo fork is configured by the same driving tape!" Aster: "Exactly!"

panel 16 (Record): Aster blushes and turns away: "Yes, well... The question is: Where did Hickory get this?"

panel 17: a panel focusing on the camera in Aster's hand. Aster: "A piece of thaumomechnical craftsmanship like this could go for around 700 gold."

panel 16: (view from cube.) Larkspur: "MAybe we've been underestimating him." 

panel 17: short static

panel 18 (play): (Hickory from panel 9) Hickory, shedding tears while shredding: Cause maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves meeee....

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Verdant Vngaurd hub

panel -2: Fig stands watching a Hickory who is crouched, composing a meal with many components: "Hey Hickory, I've been wondering..."

panel -1: close up on Fig: "You know how you can make anything within a certain price/size?"

panel 0: Hickory: "Like this?" He creates the title, Cooking it up with Hickory

panel 1: Fig: "yeah... it's just that..."

panel 2: Fig, exclaims suddenly, as if this is a question he's really been iotching to ask: "Why don't you just use that to make food!"

panel 3: Hickory: "Oh, that's actually pretty-"

panel 3.5: (Fig spins around, Hickory in back): Fig: "I mean, I get that you don't want to only rely on magic, but--" Hickory: "um..."

panel 4 Fig spins around to face Hickory again: "Or wait, is *that* it!?" Hickory, literally overshadowed: "uh, maybe?"

panel 5 (Fig is fired up, image of 'Hickory' foods -- food with little Hickory faces) Fig: "Everything you make has a Hickory theme right? So, maybe the food tastes like Hickory!" Hickory, trying to calm him down: "Well that's not really..."

panel 6: (Larkspur comes in from the other side) Larkspur: "I've been theorizing that the created matter is inherently magical and can't be digested by mundane biology." In little text, Hickory indicates "you too!?"

panel 7: (then Willow appears. Hickory becomes squished as everyone crowds into frame. Willow: "Wouldn't you just get hungry again when the stuff disappears?"

panel 8: Just as Rosalia has wheeled in a chalkboard with her advanced theories of Hickory magic item formation, Aster interrupts from off-panel: "ENOUGH!"

panel 9 The background showsHickory pondering orb in foreground and a dark citadel in a canyon in magic void, loomed over by an obsidian tree Aster: "Hickory taught himself to create by studying the hard magic illusions from ancient imperial magic that even I don't fully understand."

panel 9: Aster, view of his eyes, showing his glowing irises: "To ask him to turn that hard study to something so trivial as food, especially when cooking is something he already takes joy in, shows a comical lack of respect for this powerful, perhaps even dangerous breed of magic that hasn't seen the light of the world in centuries."

panel 10: Aster, with the slightest of smiles: "right, Hickory?"

panel 11: Hickory, squished between Larkspur and Fig: "mhm"

panel 12: The group backs off of Hickory, apologizing, but Hickory is more focused on thinking to himself: "That wasn't it though... I actually did try it a couple days ago."

panel 13: Hickory winces as he remembers a vision himself looking tired as music comes from his stomach)

Hickory (thinking): "But everything I make reverberates with the music of its creation -- for hours. It's usually not an issue, because you only hear the music when the object is touched. But when it's in your stomach..."

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Verdant Vanguard hub

panel 1: Wide shot of the whole party eating

panel 2: Rosalia, with a little arrow over her indicating: [elf, but grew up alone in the woods]: "Honestly, that was pretty good. Could you make more sometimes?"

panel 3: Larkspur, gesturing towards the open door towards the cauldron: "Oh, don't worry, we found a whole cauldron full of the stuff." Hickory: "Nice, Yeah -- I can't really make elf pudding. My imitations have never come out this good."

panel 4: Larkspur: "Oh? What are you missing?"

panel 6: Hickory: "The Coagulant!"

panel 5: background showing te process of treating with light acid and cooking and grindingm with an elf in profile in front of roses in the bottom right corner. Hickory: Most elf pudding is made with rendered elf hair as the coagulating agent. That's what gives it such a unique texture and keeps it shelf stable for so long! (background text: and that's why adventuring elves are famous for their long hair!)

panel 6: Aster, astonished: "We've been eating hair?"

panel 7: Hickory: "Actually, I don't think so!" Aster: "thank goodness."

panel 8: In front of a hypothetical elven anatomy diagram with X's across it showing the eliminated candidates. Hickory: "The rich umami taste, its location in this strange long-inhabited castle, this afterglow feeling of warmth and calmness... Yes, there's only one other viable source of Type-5 mercollagen that fits this...

panel 8: Hickory, with a wide grin, reaches how conclusion: "The placenta!" A hypothetical placenta hovers above him.

panel 9: Wide shot of total disgust from the other VV members.

panel 10: The storage room, in shadow. The Cauldron has been put back in darkness. Narrator: "They resolved to only take 1 lb each, in case of emergencies."

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internet find

panel -4: an old covered cauldron with cobwebs, with light falling on it for the first time in years. WE see a human shadow cast by the light upon the cauldron.

panel -3.5: Interior view of cauldron, looking up.

panel -3: the lid is removed, revealing Willow and Larkspur, looking down at the camera.

Larkspur: "What is it?" Willow (passive survival check success): "Looks like food"

panel -2: Lark watches as Willow, with a ladle of the cauldron substance gives it the ol' sniff test. Willow: "Doesn't even smell rotten... But I don't know if it's safe"

panel -1: The cauldron's lid rolls away, revealing the door where they came through. In this brightly lit room, Hickory is making a stew at a camp fire.

panel 0: The Cooking it up with Hickory title hovers over Larkspur, Willow and Hickory as Willow approaches with a bucket of the substance. Hickory, excited: "Elf pudding!"

panel 1: Hickory examines a dollop of the substance close in the foreground, Aster the half-elf reads in background. Hickory: You found elf pudding!? Wow! I've read recipes but I've never truly made any myself.

panel 2: Aster: "*elf* pudding?"

panel 3: Hickory, oblivious to the implications of a food called elf pudding, cheerily replies: "mhm"

panel 4: a beat panel, heightening the contrast between these two crazy characters. What's gonna happen guys?

panel 5: Aster: "Like, was it made by elves, or..."

panel 6: Hickory: "Oh, the name! Yeah! It's made by elves, but they call it Hsepa Balliem or something. The name 'elf pudding' was coined by the other races due to the association and its long shelf life." Aster: "don't interrupt me."

panel 6: Willow: "So it's safe to eat?" Hickory: "Yup!"

The first two-parter, and the first time I had to draw all the members of the Verdant Vanguard (sans Barbar). This is based off of a real elf pudding cauldron we found in a real dungeon, and why we ended up being relatively restrained with pilfering the stuff (1985).

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