[EVENT] Spring is in the Air

[rubycitymods]

Now is the time for growing things. Flowers are blooming all over the city - open patches of ground, between cobbles, along the broken down walls… and anywhere that a crack and spot of sunlight might offer a place to root. Outdoors or indoors, nothing short of fire will stop the quick spread and for three days at the end of June the city turns into a veritable garden from top to bottom - a burst of nature that even the imposing black cathedral cannot escape. The sudden verdant and intrusive growth does little harm, save for some minor structural damage and assault on the allergies of any hayfever sufferer, but several of the flower species are ones that have never been seen before and hold their own peculiar properties for those who might care to examine or experiment with them. ☆ A creeping plant covered in small, blue, star-like flowers centred with yellow causes faint light-headedness when inhaled closely, but brings a dreamless sleep if used in tea. ☆ A large, purple blossom resembling a rose but growing in small bunches attracts bees with its heavy scent, and clears foul odour if burned. ☆ Daisy-like flowers with bright orange petals that stain fingers when picked, their leaves curling against any touch. They clear the head when their delicate scent is inhaled. ☆ An unusual green-hued flower that grows on a vine gives off an odd antiseptic smell and works in much the same way that the smell suggests. ☆ Low shrubs with no flowers but dark red leaves and centimetre-long spikes on every branch do not look particularly inviting, but the sap found when the branches are broken or the bark is stripped gives off a sharp, tangy smell before becoming thick and glue-like when exposed to the air. Pressing two covered fingers together is not advised, as it will be difficult to prise them apart. These flowers can be cultivated if harvested, but after three days of blooming almost all of them will begin to die off. This will leave some cleanup, but will also reveal the orchard in full fruit and ready to be picked. The flowers and plants will recede quickly but remain on the walls around the city… at least until the cold weather kills them off.