Nevin took a deep breath, relishing the clean, crisp sea salt air that the breeze was carrying to him. This place absolutely fascinated the alchemist - while there were other places in the world where trees grew near the ocean, this stretch of the Concordia Forest stood as one of the few places where a large segment of a forest actually ran straight out to the ocean, terminating in cliffs in some places, and in others sand covered beaches stretched beyond the trees.

It was places like this that reminded Nevin of just why he traveled. Yes, running his shop was fulfilling, at least for now, he never could get away from the desire to explore, to see the various vistas that the world had to offer. There was just something so satisfying about finding plants that wouldn't grow in other places to see what they were like in their natural habitats - only here, in what was possibly the closest thing to a saltwater forest, would some of these plants ever be found.

High above him the trees loomed, their broad leaves sheltering him from the light of the sun as he trekked through the woods. He wasn't here on a true collecting run - how could he be, when he didn't even recognize some of the plants that were growing here? No, Nevin was currently exploring, carefully taking samples of the parts of various plants, trying to gather a wide selection of carefully pruned cuttings, gathering up scattered leaves, and only uprooting one or two plants that looked withered and dead.

Once he had filled his bag, then he would need to think about heading back so he could start running experiments, finding out what these plants might be good for. But not yet - he felt like he had barely scratched the surface of what this place had to offer. With a wide, easy smile, the first he had sported in months, he continued deeper into the woods.