Sassy Snake stories have been a big part of roleplaying for this mission. Although there's a few roleplays left, this is the last Sassy roleplay for this mission.

However, it's a pretty lengthy piece - and a good story to boot!

 
Linger, Icy and I head back to camp. I pull Icy over to one side to talk to her privately.

"Icy," I say. "Are you still interested in learning herbs and using them to heal with?"

"Sure, yes I am."

"Have you discussed it with Bristle?"

"I have."

"And what did he say? Was he in favor of it?"

"Yes," she says, "he was and I am sure he still is."

"Are you aware that it is not a step to be taken lightly? It would be next to impossible to change your mind once it has been made up."

"I have decided that this is what I want to do. I will follow you and do all that you say I should do."

I smile at her. "So, are you saying you would like to be my apprentice? There is a lot of hard studying goes with it."

"I am willing to study hard. I want to be your apprentice."

I smile at her again. "Perhaps you say that not realizing how hard the path is you that have to tread, but if you are determined, I will do the very best I can to help you. I was trained to be a master healer, but I was sure that I wouldn't get any apprentices because of my defects in ability. Had to leave my realm to find one." I laugh and reach out to take her hand.

"Sassy, I will gladly work with you and study under you and be your apprentice."

"That being the case, I think I have a gift or two for you."

Her eyes light up with excitement. "A gift! For me?"

"Some gifts to help you in your apprenticeship and your work."

Icy suddenly seems to calm down and watches me carefully. "Why are you so serious all of a sudden?"

"I am serious and solemn because this is a solemn occasion, and the gifts I have to bestow on you are of a serious nature." I say. "I suppose now would be the time to change your mind if you wish to because once I have made the step of giving you the gifts, there will be no turning back. From here on, your steps must always go forward and there will be no turning back. I want you to take some time and think it over and if you still decide to go on, I will give you your gifts."

I walk to the other side of the camp and start putting things together, packing them up to give her some time alone to think. She comes to me shortly thereafter. She looks at me and I can tell she has made a decision.

"Hast thou made a decision, Icy?"

"I have. I want to go forward, step by step. Even though I don't know what lays ahead for me, I am sure that this step is the right one."

"Art thou sure then? This is what you want?"

"Yes," she whispers. "Yes, it is what I want. I will serve you diligently and obey you faithfully."

"Very well," I say and a slight smile escapes. "Come over to the fire with me then."

We walk to the fire and I strike a sacred pose.

"Throughout the ages, it was vitally important for master healers to take on apprentices. These masters would teach, train and help their apprentices with all that they could until the day should come when their apprentices would become master healers and the circle would continue unbroken forever. I formally accept you, Caramel Ice, as my apprentice and I vow to help you, train you, and teach you. As tokens of this pledge, I freely offer you these gifts."

Icy stands quietly and looks deeply into my eyes.

"My first gift is this." I draw a crystal dagger. I present it to her and Icy's eyes gleam at the sight of it as it flickers in the firelight.

"A knife?" she asks. "Oh, Sassy, I am not sure I could use . . ."

"This one you will be able to use. It is not a weapon nor has it ever been intended to be used as one. As a matter of fact, you must take a vow with me before you can have it for your own. It comes with certain conditions and requirements."

"What kinds of conditions and requirements?"

"First, you must always treat it with respect and honor. This means keeping it sharp and clean at all times."

"Honor and respect."

Blood must never stain this blade. Under no circumstances should you ever use it to fight with, even in defense of your own person or those of others."

"No blood and no fighting, right?"

"Right. This is a valuable tool of your trade. You must display it with pride on your belt in a place of pride. Never allow anyone else to touch it or borrow it. This will be your dagger and yours alone."

"My dagger for my work. Got it."

"Do you vow to follow these conditions?"

"I vow to do these things."

I hold the dagger out to her.

"Place your hand just below mine on the hilt of the dagger. Touch the tip of your thumb to mine. Now close your eyes."

She does as she is bidden. Icy seems like she's sure she almost feels some vibrations or something as she holds her dagger.

"As masters have given their apprentices daggers like this one, so I, Sassafras Arnica Snake, give this dagger to my apprentice, Caramel Ice. Take it and use it with pride, honor and respect."

Icy slowly takes the dagger from me. She gently and lovingly rubs the tip of her finger on the blade. I hand her a scabbard and Icy sheathes the dagger and hangs it in her belt with pride.

"Here is another gift. It is a belt pouch. May it hold many herbs and fruits. I have placed a few of what I feel are important ones in there. Hang this on your belt. Also, there is this. A small steel skinning knife. You will need that for skinning fruits and for cutting some herbs."

"Thank you, Sassy. I accept these tokens and vow to be the best apprentice I can be for you."

"I am sure that you will do fine. The next step is for us to go to my secret garden. There are a few more steps I would like for you to take; but we have a bit of time for that."

Icy smiles and we settle back and relax a bit. I am sure that Icy will work out great. I hope that she will be up to the next steps.

I help Linger and Icy pack up the camp and get ready for moving on.

"We go to tavern now?" asks Linger, a bit of excitement in his voice.

"Um, not quite yet. I have a little something I want to do first. I think I would like to pay a visit to my garden."

"Why do dat?" he asks, a bit deflated.

"Oh, I have my reasons. Everyone ready to go?" They both nod their heads yes and we start out.

On the way, I am lost in my thoughts for a bit. I am a bit startled when Icy asks if I am all right.

"Yes, sure. You know, I have been thinking about something. It has to do with why I am out here. I was just wondering if I were doing the right thing."

"Wot you mean, Sassy?" asks Linger.

"Well," I say with a sigh, "it's kind of like this. I came out here to kill rats because they killed Grelva, right?"

"Sure, that's right. Are you having second thoughts about it now?" asks Icy.

"Yes, I am. I am a healer and not a fighter. I have fought before but mostly that was to defend myself or others. I am not sure Grelva would want for me to fight and kill. She was such a gentle spirit; I think that that might corrupt the memories of her if I allowed my emotions to run away with me."

"Does dat mean we not going to tavern?" asks Linger.

"No, not exactly. Our meeting place is still a good one but from there on, I'll have to give this a lot of thought."

We keep walking until we have reached the garden. I stop by the entrance.

"Linger, I want you to wait right here. You are not to enter the garden until we come out, no matter what."

"But suppose you is in trouble?"

"I don't think that it will happen. If it does, then I will come and get you. I want to be alone with Icy for something very important. It is really important that we are not disturbed or bothered by anyone, do you understand?"

"Me understand, but me don't like it. Suppose your snake friends come, what me do?"

"They shouldn't, but here. Stand here and stretch your whip across the entrance and no snake will cross it."

"Wot you do in dere?"

"I'll explain what I can to you when I can. Are you ready, Icy?"

"I think so," she says and under her breath she adds, "I hope so."

She follows me into the garden and I take her to the middle.

"I have brought you here Icy, to help you to your next step of training to be a healer. There are three tests of differing degrees of difficulty that you must pass before going on. Remember, that should you fail it will not be held against you and you may take these tests as often as you need to or you want to. Remember also that sometimes we learn lessons through pain and suffering and these are useful in our instructions at times. Is all of this clear to you?"

"I understand what you say. The bit about pain and suffering gives me pause for concern, but I suppose that it is intended to do that?"

"Very well, when you are ready we will proceed."

"I think I am ready. Let's do it."

I stand up straight and face her. I strike a dramatic pose.

"Ever since time immemorable, before our history was written down and in the ages beyond time, master healers have tested and challenged their apprentices. I also must do as I am required to do. These challenges may be hard, perhaps at times you may think that they are impossible, and perhaps pain will be part of them; they are designed to test your qualities of inventiveness, courage, speed, agility and your intuition. Should you succeed in passing these tests, I will bestow on you the mantle of a doser."

"Doser?" Icy asks, "What is a doser?"

"A beginning student is referred to by that name because she learns her healing in small doses, a little at a time. If you think you are ready, I can proceed with the tests. I want to make sure you are as ready as you can be."

"Are you allowed to help me any?"

"When help is needed and I am allowed to give it, I will give it. Often vague hints will be given to you to see if you might figure it out on your own. It is not my knowledge and resources that will be tested here, but yours."

"I am ready."

"Come, follow me then." I lead her to some clump of bushes with berries on them. "Icy, do you recognize these bushes or these berries?"

"I think so. Aren't these the berries that burned Linger's hand? Fire something berries?"

"You are right. They are called firebrand berries. Your first test is to pluck one and bring it to me. Do you understand what I am asking you to do?"

"I think so." She starts to reach for the berries, but my hand grabs her wrist.

"No, wait a minute. This test is not timed so you can take all the time you want to do it. All you need to do is get a berry and bring it to me. I will be sitting on that log over there. First here is a bit of help for you. The firebrand berries are named very well. If the berry is touched by bare skin of any kind it will burn it as will the bush that it hangs on. I would prefer that you not destroy the bush to get a berry. Once the berry leaves the bush, it can safely be picked up in the hand. You are free to use as many different ways as you need, short of destroying the berry or the bush, that will accomplish your quest. That is all the help that I can give you. Good luck." I say. I then go and sit on the log a short distance away.

Icy drops her hand. "How do I do this?" she wonders aloud.

"I can't help you anymore except to say that you already have all you need to do this."

Icy takes her cudgel and smacks the bush trying to knock the berry off of it. That fails. She picks up two sticks and tries to use them to pry the berry loose. This also does not work well. She pauses to think about this and what she can do. "All I need I have already?" She looks down at her belt and contemplates the skinning knife and the crystal dagger; but she disregards them as possibilities since they may be a bit too awkward for this use. She scratches her head and then she feels the ribbon in her hair. She quickly undoes her ribbon and makes a loop of it. She approaches the berry bush carefully, slips the loop around a berry and tugs. The berry pops off of the bush and she bends down and picks it up. Replacing her ribbon in her hair, she approaches me on the log.

"What have you there, Icy?" I ask with a cute grin.

"It is a firebrand berry which you asked me to get for you. Will you accept it as a token of my willingness to learn from you?"

"Learn what?"

"I want to learn the art of healing with herbs."

"I gladly accept it and congratulations on conquering the first step." I eat the berry and smack my lips. "Um, that was soo good. I think you should get one for yourself. First, however, accept this gift for passing your test." I hand her a small package.

She unwraps it and inside are a pair of gloves. "Oh, thank you, Sassy."

"They are special gloves. With them you will be able to handle the firebrand berries with no problems. I hope that they fit you well." She tries them on and they fit perfectly.

"They fit perfectly, just like a glove." She laughs as she uses them to pluck a firebrand berry for herself.

"Well done. Are you ready for your next step then?"

"Yes, I am ready."

I take Icy to a different part of the garden. "Do you recognize these pods, Icy?"

"I think I remember them, but don't remember their name."

I smile at her. "After this test, you will remember it. These are throcklefruit pods and they are not to be dealt with lightly. Back in my home, I doubt if this would be one of the tests for the training. As a matter of fact, it wasn't part of mine. But I feel you could do it. In my realm, kids grow up knowing and learning how to get throcklefruits."

"Can you tell me how to do it?"

"Not really. I can show you and I hope that you will watch me and learn. There are several dangers about dealing with this fruit and I can tell you of those."

"This sounds serious."

"It is. Watch this!" I say, stooping down to get a stone. I throw the stone at the pod and it erupts in thorns. "This is why you should be very careful in getting throcklefruit. The more you do it, the easier it gets. My first tip for you is to pay attention to the terrain. Look for stones or acorns or anything on the ground that could trip you up while you are running."

"I have to run."

"Yes, speed is key to this test. You have to get the fruit fast and get away fast. Those thorns will pop out of the pods within seconds, so you have very little time to do this."

Icy gulps as she watches the thorns. "This is the one that could hurt, isn't it?"

"Mmmm, maybe or maybe not. Remember that mistakes are going to happen and that you can do this as often as you need to. If you watch me carefully, I'll show you how to do it. It has to be fast, so watch me carefully."

Icy nods and centers her attention on me. I draw my crystal dagger and run across the level ground to the pod. I stab the pod downward and then my hand flashes down and inside the pod and I get the fruit and am back beside her before the thorns are out.

"See how I marked that pod? There is an S on the pod and this tells me that I have the fruit from inside. Are you ready to give it a try?"

Icy silently stares at me and gulps a bit and then she slowly gets up. She carefully draws her steel skinning knife and runs toward the pod. She slices the pod and starts to reach into it for the fruit when her ears are assailed by unearthly screams of terror.

"Get away from that pod, Icy!" I yell and she scampers away. I bring my crossbow to my shoulder and shoot a crystal dart into the pod. There is a lot of smoke, and then it goes silent.

"Wh-wh-what happened?" She asks with panic in her voice.

"I think I need to show you something. Come with me." We walk toward the pod she sliced and I pause beside it. I drew my crystal dagger and split the pod open. The fruit inside is rotten and black and still smoking badly.

"What caused that to happen?"

"You used the wrong tool, Icy. The pod and the fruit inside are quite picky. I could have told you that, but I wanted you to find out for yourself. This is why mistakes are important. I used the crystal dagger to cut the pod, what did you use?"

"My steel skinning knife."

"That's right. When you use steel on the pod, well it doesn't like it very much you see. The pod prefers crystal. The fruit, on the other hand, prefers the steel cutting knife. I tell you this because if you use the crystal on the fruit, it could explode. I am sure neither of us would like that."

Icy holsters her skinning knife. "I will never learn this."

"Sure you will and I am going to help you. Here is a helpful saying to keep in mind; crystal for the pod, steel for the fruit. Crystal for the pod, steel for the fruit. Say it with me."

She joins in with me. "Crystal for the pod, steel for the fruit."

"Very good. Now don't let the mistakes make you afraid of it. You have to think before you go after the fruit. You are going to slice the pod, what will you need and what will you use?"

"Crystal for the pod. I would use my crystal dagger. I will cut a quick slash at the top of the pod with my crystal dagger and reach inside the top to get the fruit. Am I right?"

"Yes, you are right. So, let's see you do it then. Pick another pod though."

Icy draws her crystal dagger and picks another pod. She takes in the land between where she is and where the pod is and when she is sure, she sprints toward the pod. She races up to it, slashes it and grabs the fruit and then runs back before the thorns come out.

"Excellent!" I applaud her. "Now, it is the usual practice to give the master the first or top slice of the fruit." Icy starts the dagger for the fruit, but is interrupted by my voice. "Wait, just a minute. Think about what you are doing. What are you going to do?"

"Skin the fruit."

"And what do you need for that?"

"Crystal for the pod, steel for the fruit. I need the skinning knife!" she says. She sheathes her dagger and draws her skinning knife. She carefully skins the fruit and then slices off the top slice and hands it to me.

"Very well done! You did very well." I say and I eat my slice. I then take my fruit and plant it where the other pod had been.

"When we take, we try to give back as often as we can. The pod that you destroyed with the steel will not be good for anything anymore, so we plant a new fruit in its place. This is the way the circle goes around."

Icy eats her fruit in silence and seems to enjoy it a lot.

I watch her eat it and smile at her. "Want to try for another one?"

"Mmmm, no, not really. Not this time thanks." We both giggle and laugh.

"Well, let's go wash our hands and clean our blades at the brook and, if and when you are ready, we can start on the final test."

Icy looks happy and excited and she pops up to follow me to the brook.

I take Icy to another part of the garden and instruct her to sit on a nearby log. I hand her a wooden box and she kind of looks surprised at it.

"This is your third and final test, Icy. After this, you will be a full-fledged doser. Are you ready for it?"

"Yes, I am ready. What is it?"

"Your last test concerns this wooden box that I have given you. Go ahead and open it and see what is in it." I smile at her in a reassuring way.

Icy opens the box and can't believe her eyes. "Stones? All I see are nine stones. What do you want me to do with these stones?"

"Well," I explain, "first of all, these are not all stones. If you examine them carefully you will notice that they are all different; different shapes and sizes; they're not all stones. Three of these items are berries which are edible and taste delicious. Three are nuts, which once cracked, can also be eaten and are delicious as well. The remaining three are stones and should you swallow one of these, either by accident or on purpose, there will be some very bad consequences. Your test is to find the berries and nuts and bring me the stones. I suggest that the best way to do that would be to eat the berries, once you find out which they are, eat the nuts and then you will have the stones left."

"Sounds pretty easy."

"Oh," I say, "did I neglect to tell you that this final test is going to be timed." I take out a gold watch. "You will have only two minutes to find the stones. Remember, no eating the stones. You are free to use any means that you can contrive to find out which is berries, nuts, and stones."

"Wow, can you give me any more help?"

"I can only say this; a berry is always a berry and will behave like a berry. A nut will always be a nut and act like one. Stones will always be stones; they will act as such. Good luck. Your time starts right now!" So saying, I retreat to another log where I can watch Icy but give her privacy too.

Icy stares at the stones. She picks them up one by one and examines them closely. "How do I get started. I know, remember what Sassy said. A berry is always a berry and will behave like one. Now, what do I know about berries? Well, they sometimes squash when they get squeezed." So saying, she starts to squeeze the stones and on her fourth try the stone squashes and it is juicy. Icy picks it up and eats it. She moves on to the others and finds another one. She finds the final berry and eats it.

"Forty seconds gone!" Sassy says.

Icy thinks about the nuts next. "Perhaps if I hit the nuts, they might crack or split open?" So saying, she begins to smack the stones with her cudgel and soon one of the nuts splits open and she can see a brown kernel which she eats.

"One minute gone!"

Icy continues hitting the nuts and another breaks open and she eats it. The rest of them, however, do not break open nor do they show a sign that they have been hit.

"One minute and ten seconds!"

Icy takes her steel skinning knife and tries to cut the stones. The first three do nothing; but the last one shows a long scratch on it. She picks it up and smashes it between two rocks. She sees the blue kernel and eats it.

"One minute and thirty seconds!"

Icy has accomplished the test, but she has mere seconds left; she scoops the box up in her arms and runs to me.

"Well," I ask when she gives me the box, "do you think you have solved my final test for you?"

"Yes, I think I have."

I stop the watch and it reads one minute fifty three seconds. "Well," I say, "let's see whether you have or not."

I look in the box and slowly remove each stone and examine it carefully. I look at her and can't help grinning at her.

"I did it!! I did it, didn't I?"

"Yes, Icy, you have indeed done it." Icy lets out a whoop of joy and dances with glee. I smile at her and then we both laugh.

In a little bit, Icy calms down. I come closer to her. "Would you please come with me?" I ask her taking her hand.

She follows me and I lead her to a place in the garden that she hasn't seen before. It is on a small hill. There is a stone throne there and I sit in it and have Icy kneel before me.

"First, I must congratulate you on how successful you were. You performed each task wonderfully and flawlessly. Now, it is my pleasure to bestow upon you the mantle of a Doser. This is a memorable moment and one you will cherish in your memory for all of your life. This is your first step in learning the healing arts. I am very proud and I am sure your other friends will be too."

I unfold a light white mantle which I slip over her head. It has many designs on it including some crystals. "Wear this mantle with pride and honor. Here is something else you will need to fulfill your duties as a doser." I hand her a package and she opens it. Inside is a beautiful crystal and jade flask.

"This is your flask. No one may use it unless you give them permission so to do. It should go near the crystal dagger on the belt. You will use both of them quite frequently. All of the tools I have given you so far; the dagger, skinning knife, belt pouch, gloves and flask you will use them quite a lot so you need to keep them clean and in excellent order."

"I understand," says Icy. "This is so beautiful! I will wear it with pride and treat it with respect." So saying, she clips it to her belt.

"I have something else for you." I take another package in my hands. "This one is not necessarily a part of your office or rank and you won't need it for your duties. I wanted you to wear this because it is so beautiful and so are you." I smile at her. "Close your eyes and hold still."

She does as I ask her to do and I quickly slip the necklace around her neck. "You can look now."

Icy opens her eyes and she stares in awe and with rapt amazement. "Wow! This is sooooo beautiful! Is this really mine? Oh, this is fabulous!" She continues to oooh and aaah at the sight before her. She is wearing a necklace that has gold, silver, precious jewels, turquoise beads, coral, jade and crystal. In the very center of the necklace is a solid crystal cube with the initials CI engraved on it.

I smile at Icy. "Do you like it then?"

"Oh yes, I really like this a lot!"

"I had it engraved with the initials CI for Caramel Ice. If you would like and only if you have no objections, I would like to make a suggestion. It is sometimes tradition for a new Doser to take a new name. I would like to propose the name of Crystal Ice. Do you like that?"

"Crystal Ice. Hmmm, I do like that. Will you still call me Icy then?"

"When we are informal, I will continue to call you Icy. When you are studying, I will probably call you "Doser Ice or Doser Crystal Ice."

"Doser Crystal Ice. It sounds nice. I like it a lot."

"I am glad. Well, Doser Crystal Ice, if you will come with me, I have one last thing to show you." I help her up and we set out.

We soon arrive at a quiet glen hidden by bushes. In the center there is another throne set up, this one is of wood and CI is engraved into the wood.

"This is your spot, Doser Ice."

"My spot? I am afraid I don't understand."

"Many times, especially when first starting out, you might find that you just have to come someplace and be alone with your thoughts for a while. This is your quiet place. You may come here any time you need to, to get away, to study, or just to relax and think."

"Never had a place of my own before." She goes over and lays a hand on the throne.

"Sit in it. Try it out. See whether it is comfortable for you." She does so and a bright smile flashes across her face.

"Yes, this is great! I could sit here and relax forever."

"Well, I don't know about that. But you have done a good day's work, so why not take some time and relax now. I need to go and check on Linger anyway. I'll be back soon. You just take it easy and enjoy the quiet garden."

Icy reclines in her throne and relaxes and closes her eyes. I look at her, but I know that she is just recharging her batteries, so I quietly leave her to her meditations.

I find faithful Linger still guarding the entrance. "We are all done now, Linger. Would you like to come into the garden and relax a bit?"

Linger picks up his whip. "Me come, sure. Where Icy at? What you do in dere all dis time?"

"Well," I say to him, "I was testing Icy so that she could be my Doser. That is what we call students who want to learn herbs and healing."

"Oh," he says, "me un'stan'. When we go to tavern?"

"We will go soon. Let's give Icy just a bit longer to relax and meditate and then we will start off for the tavern. Does that sound good to you?"

"Yah, dat sound good." We both smile; Linger because he will be going to the tavern and me because I have a new doser to train. It's quite an undertaking. I have been trained for it, but I hope I can teach her enough.

So, yeah, it's one of the longest single solos in AIL history, probably second only to an old Samus Xtreme solo.

Voter Ichiro was fond of the oath and the two ladies bonding, although he noted that Sassy seemed to get over worrying about Gem pretty quickly.

Sassy worked the throcklefruit into another roleplay. She seems to come back to those and her garden fairly often, hehe. It first came up during a co-write mostly with her and Todd Blackpaws but with a little Wildfall at the beginning. It's kind of cool she keeps going back to them, though.

Oh, and Icy got a new proper name- Crystal Ice. So that's nice. It's a whole new storyline for Sassy's Squad and a pretty cool one at that! This is our last Sassy bit, and next up will be a a co-write with Mary Kate, Wildfall and Blackeagle, the last roleplays with the mission for any of them.