The group descended towards what resembled a tiny boathouse nestled against a forgivably shallow enclosure of rocks. A bowed overhang covered a pair of narrow docks, against which a smattering of canoes and tiny wooden boats—all severely aged—were moored. The inner walls of the shack were covered with thin wooden shelves and loaded with countless rusted tools. The boathouse rested adjacent to a small, square-shaped building that looked large enough to contain a bedroom and a kitchen—judging from the crooked metal chimney sticking out of the northwest end. The shingles were dilapidated, peeling, yet kept tightly together through the improvised interweaving of twine. A narrow dock hung along the southern front face of the structure, connecting it to the inner lid of the boathouse. Several splintery posts shot up out of the water, supporting the entire structure from some unseen foundation. Hanging from a metal hook nailed into one of these posts was a bright lantern with a flickering fire, and its glow shimmered across the rippling waters on all sides.
The three touched down, and once their flapping wings stopped, the world grew deathly quiet. This far into the Quade, there were little to no ocean waves. If Rainbow Dash didn't know better, she'd have guessed that she was instead standing along the shores of a lazy river. The water trickled limply around the foundation of the wooden structure, and the tightly moored boats rubbed up against each other with a persistent grinding noise.
“Not exactly a honeymoon getaway, is it?” Bard remarked.
Wildcard gestured.
“Heh...” Bard smirked, trotting across the creaking dock. “Nopony asked what you were into, mofo.”
“Does... does anypony even live here?” Rainbow stammered.
“Reckon it wasn't mosquitoes who lit this here lamp,” Bard said.
With a flash of lavender light, Twilight Sparkle floated in and out of the building. “Nopony's inside, Rainbow Dash,” she said. “But I did see a burning stove and the two freshly made beds.”
“How do you even have a slumber party in a place so small?” Pinkie Pie asked, muzzle scrunched.
Rarity cleared her throat. “The water here is quite shallow. Well, this entire so-called Quade is shallow, but here it's especially so.” She gestured at the boathouse. “Canoes and kayaks that small could easily navigate the streams, but I have no earthly idea how anypony could even get here.”
“Maybe they're flown?” Twilight remarked.
Bard squinted over. “Conversin' with the mare friends?”
Rainbow jolted slightly. “Uhm... not coming up with any better ideas than you are, quite frankly...”
Wildcard peered in through a smoky window, then leaned back to gesture at Bard.
Bard glanced at him. “... ... ...do the two beds have mattresses?”
Wildcard nodded.
“Hrmmm...” Bard adjusted his hat. “Then t'ain't Luminards.”
“Huh?” Rainbow asked.
Bard paced across the creaking dock. “Them monks are so ascetic, they'll sleep on flat wooden boards. All part of atonin' for our forbearers' sins n'all. Whoever owns this here boathouse, they ain't one of 'em.”
“Then... did somepony move in here or something?”
“If so, it was a long... long time ago,” Bard said. “Darned if I know.”
“But I thought that... that—”
“Darlin', we ain't ever been to the Quade before,” Bard said. “Only breezed by it once or twice. Everypony knows about the Luminards, but very few actually show up in these rocky waters to write poetry 'bout the zealots. Ya feel me?”
“I'm certain—in Bard's estimation—he could write quite the ballad too,” Rarity muttered.
“Heehee! I'd pay to hear it!” Pinkie chirped.
“Darling, give it time. You may have no choice with the likes of this caterwauler.”
“But caterwaulers are so cute before the cocoon stage!”
“Ugh... Pinkie—”
Just then, water splashed sharply below them.
“Something's coming!” Twilight exclaimed.
“...!” Rainbow spun with startled expression.
Schiing! Wildcard twirled to face the noise, unsheathing his nightsticks.
“Hey... hey!” Bard held a hoof out, steadying the griffon. “Relax, buddy. This here be pacifist territory, remember?”
Before Wildcard could reply, an equine shape emerged slowly from the water in front of them. Dribbling all over with murky liquid, a stallion climbed onto the deck, one sopping wet hoof at a time. His upper face was obscured by a pair of goggles and a snorkle. He blew water out the pipe while bags bulging with fish hung off his flanks. Gripped in his right hoof was a jagged spear, against the end of which were multiple fish, skewered and still quivering.
Wildcard and Bard stepped back, giving the drenched stallion the space to put down his things. Calmly, the pony dropped his bags of fish into a wooden container, then closed the trunk with a wooden creak.
Cracking his aged limbs, the stallion peeled off his snorkel mask, tossed his graying mane, then exhaled with a shudder. He turned towards the three strangers, bearing a wrinkled smile across his light blue muzzle. “So... fliers...” His green eyes lit up warmly. “...what brings you out to the Quade?”
Rainbow Dash glanced aside at Bard.
“A-ahem...” Bard stepped forward with a smile. “Howdy! The name's Bard. This here's Wildcard. No relation.”
“Heheheh... I would have guessed.” The stallion glanced aside, his mane still dripping. “And the pretty one with the bright mane?”
Rarity smiled at Rainbow.
“I'm Rainbow Dash,” she said. “And... uhhh... I hope we're not intruding.”
“Not at all, milady. Well... I guess technically you are, but not like it can be helped. You didn't see the signs when you came in, did you?”
“Reckon we didn't have the occasion to, sir,” Bard said.
“That's cuz you flew in. Just as I suspected.” The stallion twirled his spear around and slid the impaled fish into the crate, one by one. “Most ponies get in here by dinghy, taking off from a much larger ship anchored just outside the Quade. Verlaxion only knows how you three got in. Unless, of course, you're professional fliers. I imagine you must have cloud hopped.”
“More or less, yeah.” Bard nodded. “So... uh... do you make a livin' out of fishin'?” He blinked. “Out here, all alone?”
“Well, there is more than one way to make a living.” The stallion picked off the last of the fish, then inspected the sharp end of his spear. “Especially when the surface bakes in the hot sun.”
Rainbow Dash blinked. She mouthed: “'Surface... bakes...?'”
The stallion's muscles tightened as he gripped his fishing spear.
Wildcard saw it. His wings coiled as he reached for his nightsticks again.
“Makes it hard to smell the salt in the air, if you catch my drift,” the stallion icily slurred.
“Uhhhhm... ahem...” Bard chuckled nervously. “'Fraid I ain't readin' ya, sir.”
The old stallion's green eyes shot towards him. “Come, now. Let's cut to the quick, buddy,” he said in a gruff voice. “I've got four live ones down below. What are you in the mood to buy? The younger they come, the easier they are to train.”
Rarity and Twilight exchanged glances, then sunk down through the wooden dock while Rainbow gawked at the stallion.
“I...” Bard glanced at Wildcard, then squinted back at the stallion. “...I seriously have no clue what yer tryin' to say...”
Rainbow's ghostly friends flew back. “Rainbow, he's lying,” Twilight said.
“There is no supply hold down below,” Rarity added.
“Then...” Pinkie blinked. “...why would he say that there are 'live ones' below?”
Rainbow glanced at her friends, then at the stallion. Taking a deep breath, she trotted closer.
He pivoted on his grip of the sphere and looked over.
“We're here to see the Luminards,” Rainbow said. “That's all we're here for. Same as you.”
“Is that so, pretty one?”
“The only thing that makes the Quade significant is the fact that those monks live out here,” Rainbow said. “So you must have something to do with them. We'd like it very much if you could help us have an audience with them.”
“... ... ...” Slowly, the stallion smiled. “You really are here to meet up with them, aren't you?” He sighed, then twirled the spear with amazing finesse.
Bard and Wildcard flinched.
Th-Thunk! The stallion hung the improvised weapon along a set of wooden rungs and leaned back. “Eeeugh... do forgive the 'tough guy act' just a moment ago. It's something of a test I made up several years ago. Helps weed out the riff-raff.”
“By making it sound like you're selling slaves?” Rainbow asked.
“Not too far from reality in these deep ocean currents,” the stallion said. “But the moment you didn't respond to the old code, then I figured you were something genuine.”
“Old... code...?” Bard remarked.
Wildcard tapped his buddy's shoulder, then gestured swiftly.
“Your griffon friend knows,” the old pony said, pointing with a wet hoof. “''The surface bakes in the hot sun and makes it hard to smell the salt in the air.' It's pirate lingo. Had to be sure you ponies weren't from Mudtop.”
Bard grimaced. “Land's sakes... do ya get soulless bastards from that place here from time to time?”
“Mmmm. Not often, but it does happen. And almost everytime, it ends in a nasty scuffle. That's why I've learned to lure such punks into a place of security and get the drop on 'em. It works. Most of the time. See this here?” He pointed at a scar situated to the bottom right of his neck. “Dayum saw-toothed cutlass gave that to me. Nearly bled out into the water. Good thing the monks around here are super good at fixin' injured ponies up.”
Rainbow glanced at her marefriends, then turned to squint at the stallion. “You're not a Luminard, are you?”
“Hah!” The stallion shook his head, chuckling. “No. Ohhhhh no no no... but I'm a good friend to them.” He raised a hoof. “One of the only friends they've got. T'is a shame, for they're good ponies... and not nearly as laughable as the whole Rohbredden Ocean would imagine them to be.”
“Why would a feller like you hang around here in the first place?” Bard glanced at his crate. “Are you their cook?”
“Pffft. Not on your life! Those ponies wouldn't hurt a fly. Consequently, they won't eat meat... any meat. Naw... me?” The stallion picked a few flopping specimens out of the crate and opened the cottage door with a creak. “I'm a Quade Guard.”
“Quade Guard?” Rainbow remarked.
“One of the oldest professions there are. Only two of us left these days. But... hey... it works for the Luminards, and it works for us.” He motioned. “Come on in. I'll fix you up something to eat.” He shuffled inside. “Verlaxion knows you must be hungry from all of that flyin'!”
Bard and Wildcard exchanged glances with Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow shrugged and stepped in while her ghost friends floated after her.
“Heeheehee!” Pinkie beamed. “I like him!”
The old stallion placed down two plates of freshly smoked fish onto the table.
“The name's Menthe,” he said. He trotted across the tiny wooden interior to where a rusted locker loomed next to the crackling stove. “And I've been patrolling these waters for... ohhhh... going on forty-two years now.”
“Whoah dayum...” Bard cooed, smiling slightly. He picked up a wooden fork and an aluminum knife and began slicing away at the fish meat. “That's one hell of a long time to be parked here among the rocks!”
“Hmmmff... I suppose...” Menthe rummaged through the pantry. “There've been ponies before me who've done it longer. My mentor, Sullivan—Verlaxion rest his soul—was a Quade Guard for seventy years before his body was sent down the flaming currents.”
“Uhhh...” Rainbow squirmed where she sat. Her friends grimaced as Wildcard and Bard dug into their meals. “The... flaming currents?”
Menthe glanced over, eyebrow raised. “Wow. You really aren't from around here, are you, darling?” He continued rummaging through the pantry. “No offense, but you don't exactly look like Frost Bluff aristocracy.”
“Huh?” Rainbow blinked.
“Mrmmmfff...” Bard swallowed a morsel and explained: “Rich ponies who live around the highest mountains of central Rohbredden. They're too far inland to enjoy a traditional funeral service, so their bodies are buried beneath stones along the mountain cliffs. It's a tradition borrowed from the wyverns.”
“As opposed to...?”
“Uhhh...” Bard blinked. “Being pushed on a burning pyre out to sea, of course. I'm surprised I haven't told you this...”
“Verlaxion's sleet!” Menthe chuckled. “If I didn't know better, I'd say you weren't even born in this age!”
“Yeah, well.” Rainbow squirmed where she sat. “I'm... something of an outsider, I guess.”
“No kidding.” The stallion prepared a small plate of green slices and placed it down before her. “There ya go, darling.”
“Uhmmm...” Rainbow smiled sheepishly. “Thanks. But... what is it?”
“Mrmmff...” Bard swallowed his latest bite and pointed at the plate. “Ocean mango. I hear they grow them fruit by the bucketload out here in the Quade.”
“About the only kind of fruit trees that can grow off those jagged bluffs, lemme tell you.” Menthe smiled at the mare. “It's a gift from the last time I visited the monks two days ago. I assure you, it's quite fresh.”
Rainbow gingerly reached out, sniffed a slice, then took a bite. She blinked as she munched. “Mmmmf...” Her ears twitched. “It's... it's good...”
“First time biting into one of them?”
She looked up. “A bit sour, though.”
“Yes, well... it wouldn't be a prime meal for the Luminards if it wasn't,” Menthe said with a breathy laugh. “Still, I could tell from the way you were nearly retching from the smell of smoked fish that you don't particularly take kindly to meat. Hope this suffices. Believe me... I know a thing or two about vegetarians.”
“Awwwwww...” Rarity smiled. “That's so generous of him!”
“I told you I liked him!” Pinkie said.
“You're right. He's nice and all,” Twilight said. “But it'd be even nicer if he could give us some answers.”
“We thank ya kindly for yer hospitality,” Bard said. He nudged the griffon at his side. “Ain't that right, Dubya-Cee?”
The griffon paused in enjoying his fish meal to raise his talons and gesture.
“Hmmmm...” Menthe craned his neck, smirking. “Well, good sir, if you want to know how to wield a spear so capably, all you need to do is ask.”
Bard did a double-take. “You... you understand him?”
“Pffft. I've patrolled the Quade long enough to meet my fair share of wyverns,” Menthe said. “I just never expected to see a griffon communicating with their hidden code.”
“Well, it's a mighty long story.” Bard nevertheless slapped Wildcard upside the shoulder. “And what's all this hogwash 'bout you wantin' to spin a fish spear around?” He frowned. “Y'know how long you've tried masterin' my staff, only to fall flat on yer big fat beak!”
Wildcard exhaled as he gestured again.
“Hahaha!” Menthe sat back with a smirk. “You have a funny friend, Mr. Bard. I can tell you two have been flying together for a long time. Let me guess.” He cocked his head to the side. “Bounty hunters?”
All three guests jerked in place.
“Uhhhhm...” Bard squirmed.
“Only companions as eclectic as you would make good bounty hunters,” Menthe said. “Though, I'm intrigued that you wouldn't know any of the Mudtop lingo.”
“Let's... say that certain Desperadoes follow a code much like the Quade Guard,” Bard said. “Or, at least...” He smiled pleasantly. “...we aim to be nearly as honorable... and nice.”
Rainbow shuddered slightly. She leaned forward to bite into another ocean mango.
“Well, in any case, I'm rather happy to have the company,” Menthe said. “Just what brings you out here to see the Luminards exactly?”
“Mrmmff...” Rainbow Dash finished munching on her fruit. “Well...” She dusted her hooves off and looked over her plate. “That's just the thing. I really need to speak to one of the top ranking Luminards... erm... if there is one.”
“Oh...?” Menthe leaned his forelimbs behind his back. “Hmmmff... what for?”
Rainbow glanced at the yellow beacon of Yaerfaerda out the corner of her eye. “I... uh... I kinda sorta need to—”
“She's fixin' to learn more about the Plight of Luminar,” Bard interjected.
Rainbow and her marefriends blinked.
“We... uh... heard one of them missionary groups spoutin' off scripture along Upper Shoggoth. And Rainbow Dash here—not bein' from around these parts—got mighty curious.” Bard winked. “Aristocracy, am I right?”
“Hah hah... so you two are giving her something of a guarded tour, right?”
“Reckon that's one honest way of puttin' it!” Bard nudged Wildcard again. “Ain't that right, Dubya-Cee?”
Wildcard stroked his talons once through the air.
“Yeah, well, yer mother.” Bard cleared his throat and glanced at Menthe. “I... uh...” He spoke in a low voice. “...promise we'll be on better behavior around them Luminards.”
“Well, I for one have no objection.” Menthe leaned forward, holding his front hooves together. “But it'll ultimately be up to the monks themselves.”
“Do they... not like company?” Rainbow asked.
“Oh! No! Sleet, no!” Menthe chuckled. “They love visitors. Heck... they practically eat them up!” He winced slightly, then waved a hoof. “I meant that in jest, darling. I... uh... take it you haven't visited the frozen atolls to the north.”
“Uhhhhhhhhh—”
“Ahem.... fact is, they're practicing their seasonal meditation at the moment,” Menthe said. “So... there'll quite simply be less of them around to give anypony a guided tour of the Reed. But...” He smiled. “It certainly wouldn't hurt to approach them and double-check. Hmmm?”
“I would very much like that,” Rainbow Dash said. “I guess you could say that I've been...” She lingered, glanced at Bard, then said: “...dying to get to know the Luminards more.”
“You could just point us in the right direction and we'll fly on over there,” Bard said.
“I'll do you one better!” Menthe stood up with an aged groan. He smiled. “I'll row you there myself.”
“You're doing fine, Mr. Wildcard!” Menthe said, sitting at the very front of the canoe. While he paddled through the water, he looked over his shoulder and smiled at the griffon. “Must say... I'm tickled pink you would be so willing to help out!”
Wildcard smiled and saluted back before once more dipping his oar into the water.
Bard sat in front of the griffon, nodding. “He's always willin' to lend a helpin' talon.”
“Maybe a little too willing,” Menthe chuckled. “Judging from that metal instrument of his!”
“Hah! Yeah... well...” Bard cleared his throat. “You shoulda seen the other guy.”
“A story best told away from the Reed.”
Bard winked. “Gotcha.” He tapped the shoulder of the petite pegasus in front of him. “How ya doin', darlin'?”
“Uhm... fine,” Rainbow said. She watched as Menthe and Wildcard guided the tiny boat through the forest of jutting rocks and limestone spires. The mist hung too densely ahead to make out anything but more and more gray water. “Really, though, Mr. Menthe... sir...”
“Just call me 'Menthe,' darling.”
“Menthe, you've been super... n-nice to us. But we really could have flown the rest of the way.”
“Don't take it personal, ma'am,” Menthe said. “But I'm partially doing this because it's my job.”
“Erm... right...” Rainbow nodded. “Quade Guard and all.”
“Now, here's one thang I'm curious about,” Bard said, leaning forward. “You done battled with privateers before, I'm guessin'.” He pointed. “I mean... judgin' from that nasty cutlass scar n'all.”
“You would be correct.”
“So, if doin' bloody battle is part of the job description, than how come the Luminards are... y'know...” Bard shrugged. “So cool with it?”
“Yeah.” Rainbow nodded. “I figured them for a bunch of deeply spiritual pacifists n'stuff.”
“And that they are, friends,” Menthe said. “It's a grave sin to hurt insects... fish... or anything else higher on the chain, if you catch my drift. That's why there's a need for the Quade Guard. They only higher outsiders.”
“Yeah, but... if you and other guards are willin' to skewer slave-traders from Mudtop, then ain't that considered committin' a sin by proxy?”
“Heheh... one thing you have to understand about the Luminards, Mr. Bard, is that their religion has been around for a long... long time. It's almost as old as Unification.” Menthe smiled over his shoulder. “And in that time, their scripture—the Word of Reed—has found itself many a loophole to work around. One of the most notable is the 'Rules of Temporal Companionship.' It's been a while since I've read the stuff myself, but I do have one part memorized after all these years... particularly Chapter Eleven Verse Two. Ahem.” He held his oar out and pontificated towards the rippling waters. “'He who willingly protects the Reed with his flesh, he is your brother. She who foals a protector with her blood, she is your sister. Preserve them as you would preserve your own soul, for by your grace alone shall their damnation be forgiven beyond the freezing veil.'”
“My my, how poetic,” Rarity said.
“If you say so,” Twilight muttered.
“Hmmmm...” Pinkie tapped her chin. “Could use a chorus in the middle.”
“So, lemme get this straight,” Rainbow said. “Their scripture basically lets you do the dirty work for them... and yet you still get to go to—uh—the Luminard afterlife?”
“Oh, there is no afterlife, per se. But more of a peace of mind that's achieved through meditation and atonement and—” Menthe stopped himself, shrugging. “Eheheh... if you're aiming so hard to find out, then I suppose it's best that you ask them. You're aiming to meet face to face with the Luminards, am I right?”
“Errrr... totally.”
“Well, all you need to know from me is that we take care of the Luminards and they take care of us. I guess it's somewhat symbiotic... more traditional than anything. Sometimes I ask myself why I've chosen to hole myself so deeply here in the Quade. But then... well...” Menthe gestured at the stone columns gliding by them like ghosts. “...just take a look.”
Wildcard's goggles reflected the karst topography sticking out of the waters.
“Reckon it's mighty peaceful,” Bard said.
“Do you see any privateers trying to peddle equine souls?” Menthe's nostrils flared. “Do you see Continentalists and Colonialists foaming at the mouth to bite each other's ears off? Do you see feuds over rice farms or lynch mobs chasing after the leathery wings of midnighters?” The old stallion sighed, stroking the waters with his oar. “No. Out here? The Luminards may or may not have achieved inner peace... but I can definitely see the number they've done on outer peace. And though I may not believe in their creed... I certainly believe in them. Enough to pledge my life to their protection.”
“Well, I find that purdy darn noble of ya, sir,” Bard said with a smirk.
“You said there was another?” Rainbow asked.
“Mmmhmmm...” Menthe nodded. “My partner, Galloran. Young fellow. Almost a colt—more like an apprentice to me. It's currently his shift to patrol the Reed platforms.”
“So it's seriously only the two of you out here?” Rainbow asked. “Pledging your devotion to the Luminards?”
“Well, to be perfectly honest, it's not exactly the toughest job in the world,” Menthe said with a chuckle. “That cutlass fight with the privateers? My mentor and I won that fight. It takes about a generation of idiots before the riff-raff of this ocean tries something dirty again. So, for the last several years—about all of Galloran's life span—it's been wonderfully quiet. And it's not like many bad eggs are willing to swim this far deep through the Quade to make mischief.” He took a deep breath. “But even still... it helps to be on our guard.”
“Well, good thang we won yer trust so quickly, huh?” Bard said.
“I can read a lot about ponies by just talkin' to them,” Menthe said. He turned to wink at Wildcard. “Or just lookin' at 'em.” He steered the boat past a jagged cluster of shoals. “And you folks? Nah... I sense a lot of kindness in you. I imagine you'll be right at home among the Reed.”
Rainbow stared deep into the water. A rippling reflection stared back, and the pony's hoof reached up to gingerly touch her Element.
A pink face phased into view. “Dashie! Dashieee!” Pinkie hissed, smiling. She pointed up ahead of them with a bright hoof. “Lookieeee!”
“Here we are...” Menthe smiled, leaning back as he cradled his oar. “Mmmm... oh, how wonderous it all looks in the morning...”
Rainbow, Bard, and Wildcard peered up.
The sun had risen high enough so that its golden rays pierced down at the waters in sharp forty-five degree angles. The mists parted like a curtain, and the group saw that they had suddenly been walled in. The rippling bay full of granite needles turned into a canal, for two massively steep walls of earth had formed to the north and south of them. The pale-white clifffaces were covered all over in dangling moss and greenery. Lower—towards the water's edge—there were chunks of earth level enough to support fruit trees and tall grass. This happened in layers, growing thinner and thinner towards the summit of the walls—where more and more pale rock had been exposed. At last, the very peaks of the two ridges were covered with dense thickets of trees that ran the full length of the two inexplicably knifing ranges. Some of trees up top bowed dramatically over the rocky edges, with branches that stretched straight out over the distant streams below. With errant gusts of wind, loose green leaves and bright white lotus blossoms would be blown into the canyon, where they eventually formed a thin curtain of floating petals across the sacred blue waters.
And then beyond the rippling water—looming above the cylindrical shards of rock—Rainbow Dash saw enormous round platforms. Her mind instantly recalled the rusted plates that made up the Alafreon townships. Only, these platforms were fashioned out of wood. The closer Menthe's canoe took them, Rainbow realized that it simply wasn't usual lumber construction. Instead, it appeared as if the platforms were woven together, formed by countless lifetimes' worth of twine, rope, and wooden strips interspersed and compacted so densely that it took on the structural resonance of pure oak. These round platforms were supported by elaborately carven wooden beams that fastened them to the closest granite spires. It was difficult to tell where the limestone randomness of the Quade ended and the intricate architecture of the Luminards began. Rainbow's guess was that a lot of time, age, and tradition went into the fantastic establishment.
And the shocking thing was—as more and more of the mist parted—Rainbow saw dozens if not hundreds of these platforms. The woven circles grew denser and denser—like brown lily pads—all congregating in the very center of the canal. There, the largest platform of all was suspended via triply-thick spools of rope, fastened to what appeared to be an enormous shoot of reeds emerging straight up and out of the water.
“Nnngh...” Rainbow rubbed her head, wincing slightly.
“What?” Twilight turned to face Rainbow.
“What is it, Dashie?” Pinkie asked in a concerned tone.
“It...” Rarity trembled. “It isn't more chaos metal, is it?”
“I... I...” Rainbow looked up. Her eyes squinted at the center of the enormous stalk of reeds looming above her, the water, and the platforms.
Yaerfaerda shimmered brightly from deep within the semi-natural cluster of scaling brown shoots.
“...I'm not sure what it is.”