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Gladiolus

Summary:

Tommy didn"t plan to go back to the Dream SMP, not after running away to be with Lady Death and becoming her successor. Yet here he is, wandering the lands in search for the field of gladiolus flowers. As according to book he read, that was the only place he could find it bloom.

Lady Death said he didn"t have to search for it. Saying that the burden of his mission lies within the original sinners who caused the curse he carried. Tommy had still went on to look for those flowers anyways, but not without a heavy promise to ask for Lady Death"s help when he needs it.

Tommy knows it"s weird. To go looking for a long dead girl"s favorite flower after she had placed a curse on him. But at the same time, if Tommy doesn"t get her those flowers. He fears the guilt will eat him away as it did his tears.

OR the light novel edition.

Tommy just wants to find a flower to lift a curse, but everyone and him makes it 1000% difficult.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Chapter 1: ❀

Chapter Text

The SMP hasn"t exactly changed much; at least aside from what Tommy had already known.

 

He can still never be too sure though, it had been a while since he stepped foot in it. Lady Death had told him not to expect much. The power of her domain that they lived in had drastically manipulated time to her liking.

 

What feels like a single year translated to a single month outside the realm"s of Death.

 

Three years he had spent in Lady Death"s domain, meaning three months had passed since then. If that"s the case, then Lady Death may have been right not expect much. But you never know, sometimes a lot can happen in a short amount of time.

 

Tommy ought to still expect nothing much though, he doesn"t plan on staying long. Find enough Gladiolus flower for a bouquet and be on his merry way, that was it. And with the way he lived a chaotic, eventful and shameful life; his stay is bound to start an uproar.

 

Sometimes, life will gravitate you to more mess if you allowed yourself to live a messy life.

 

That was one of Lady Death"s sayings, unfortunately she hadn"t been aware how much of a luxury that is to him at the time. Mess will always come find away to barge in his life, whether intentional or not. Whether he wants it or not. Guess he"s just one of those very unfortunate people in the world. And what better way to showcase this then the curse that follows his every waking life.

 

The very curse that had Tommy searching for that field of Gladiolus flowers. Armed with nothing but the book of flora, a compass, several daggers that hid within his red cloak and little Shroud: The spider he had saved from a pillager not long after Lady Death had taken him in.

 

Shroud had long been out cold. The day in and day out pace Tommy had been going for had left the spider incredibly exhausted. Falling into an immediate deep sleep the second Tommy started a fire and set the sleeping bag down. Literally, like flick of a switch and suddenly Shroud is off dreaming about mushrooms. Perhaps Tommy should start taking breaks at day and leave traveling to the nights.

 

Shroud might appreciate that; he"s always favored the gentle night over the blinding day.

 

But that would be a detriment to Tommy"s own well being. It"s already common knowledge that the night brings out hoards mobs.

 

Zombies, Skeletons, Creepers and good heavens maybe even phantoms if Tommy is stubborn enough to endure sleepless nights if it makes his journey efficient.

 

Shelter is also needed and small caves quickly became Tommy"s best friend. Two days have slowly faded to darkness and he found another small cave to settle down for the night. He did his usual routine of making a campfire; Followed by covering the entrance with sticks and shrubs to hide them from the mobs. Shroud settled far into the dimly lit corner of the cave, getting his eyes away from the fire as possible.

 

Meanwhile, Tommy basked in the warmth of the fire, using the light source to document his journey in his journal. Sprawling out his compass, his book of flora and a map across the stone floor. The blanket his items lay on serving as way to keep his items clean, while getting a chance to make the floor as a makeshift desk.

 

While beautiful and bright with evergreen life, the absence of the Gladiolus still persists. And in place the field was lined with rows of sunflower. I should consider harvesting the seeds, sunflowers would make a fine edition to Lady Death"s garden.

 

Tommy had settled his journal and feather pen aside and picked up his map. Marking off explored areas with a small red X before choosing his next destination. It was really kind of Lady Death to give him this map, then again what can you expect from someone who never wanted him searching for those flowers in the first place. The map serves as a way to make his search more efficient and fast. Proving useful when it acted as Tommy"s guide of where and where not to search for the flower.

 

Three red X littered the wide map now, slowly pushing Tommy to consider searching near the SMP. If the flower will allow it, Gladiolus can never withstand the dropping temperatures of the tundra biomes. Finding the full warm sun of the south more befitting their natural growth.

 

Technoblade had settled his syndicate base and house in the tundra; and does Tommy need to say more about SnowChester? The name says it all. There"s also Las Nevadas too but Tommy found himself extremely indifferent towards it.

 

Oh well then, Tommy is quite relieved at this actually. This could ensure a certain fixed focus on his mission, and it"s not like he wants to meet his former ghosts of the past. No, that would be too much trouble and drama. And it certainly wouldn"t make Lady Death any happy if he allowed himself to get in trouble like that.

 

He wouldn"t want that now would he? The thought upsetting the only person to grace him with kindness when he was nearly swallowed the dense foggy marsh of blue wisps. It made him feel icky in the inside, he"d rather choke on wolf"s bane than let a frown settle on that smile.

 

"But you"re fixated, on the candy tuffs."

 

Tommy found himself humming "Overgrown garden." with no audience again. A somber lullaby Lady Death would sing to him at nights sleep and fatigue had refused to put him to slumber. Later down the line is where Tommy would also learn that she had heard it from a traveling bard. BeetleBug was the name they go by. What a nice name.

 

He would then proceed to sing the entire song in his best whispered voice. Well, that"s not entirely true. Tommy had only listened to the song just enough to hum the tune. Lyrics still came to his mind as he would slowly remember them the more he sings, but often than not he would break out into soft humming when his mind had blanked the last second.

 

Even so, no matter how much he forgets the lyrics. If the song leaves him a deep sense focus and calm, then the win had still belonged with him. With that thought in mind, Tommy had continued searching for a new destination that could nurture the Gladiolus flower.

 

 


 

 

Daylight walks might not be Shroud"s favorite hobby in the world, but if it gurantees the safety of his master then he wouldn"t mind risking a dent in his natural cycle. See, daylight was not a huge issue for a spider like him. Unlike the other mobs, spiders don"t set fire the moment the sun rays touch their skin.

 

However, there"s a reason spiders never attacked during the day unless provoked. For a long time, spiders had housed the darken caves as their main home. And due to that darkness, sight had remained a redundant sense and all their strength and energy was spent on enhancing their other more useful senses.

 

Putting more focus on the vibrations and movements to detect their prey. Leaving their eye sight greatly impaired. Not to be mistaken that spiders are blind, they can still see but it"s nothing compared to the eye sight of a normal two leg.

 

Shroud however, was a different case. He didn"t know how it happened; just that all he heard was a massive boom and then he was outside. He was so little back then, barely reaching the 15 inch size of a normal spiderling. Hence why his memories often go blank during this period of time. What he does remember though, the one two senses that proved that this incident had happened. Was irritation among his legs and the sight blue.

 

Blue that he would soon realized belonged to that two legged that would eventually become his master. Monsters that his kind often speak ill of. Trading horror story after horror story about the two legs tradition to harvest their eyes and strings for personal greedy use. Once it quickly settled for Shroud that the being that picked him up was a two leg.

 

He somberly accepted his fate when he was placed in what he could only feel as a cave pocket with no way out. For days he had awaited for slaughter, for his eyes and strings to be plucked from his body for this two legs greedy means. Yet time after time, the two leg did none of those things. Instead, he was left with mountains of insects and a bowl of water.

 

The action of the two leg was met with heavy skepticism. Leading to Shroud stubbornly refusing to eat what was given. He will not put a trust in this two leg. Every action must meant an ulterior motive.

 

Oh how ironic it had been when he now stands by that same blue eyed two legs. Vowing to protect them from any danger and harm that comes their way. All provoked by his inevitable hunger and thirst. One trust lead to another, then another and another, and soon Shroud had started eating whatever the two legs had given him at the daily.

 

Soon enough, the more he grew, his little cave pocket was left feeling like a narrow mine cave created by an inexperienced two legs. And when he thought he was to be place in a new cave pocket more suited to his large size. The two leg had allowed him to roam their habitat of marble and pillars. So these are the living conditions of the two legs? Shroud is beyond surprised. Time had continued to pass by like it was a passing wind and Shroud had every reason to repay this two leg for his good deeds, and possibly the other two leg that the blue resided with in the marble caverns.

 

And he did, joining his master in the search of a "flower" and vowed to protect him in anyway he can. So when his probably master declared an early morning walk nearby is a must, Shroud was panicking. He couldn"t see a hint of blue in the dark cave, or a hint of heated light source either. Forcing Shroud to go off on his own, without his master anywhere to help guide his path. Shroud fell back to using his most heightened senses.

 

Every space of the earth near and far from his feet bursted into an array of shapes. Giving solidity and life to his otherwise red desert. And from there his senses had guided his way into the forest, reaching deep enough to feel the trees change in formation, back to the same trees him and his master walked past before finding the cave.

 

Shroud hadn"t gotten far; and apparently so did his master as the frantic spider manage to find that hint of blue and he"s running heartbeat. Right in the middle of being threatened by the very same shape that left him alone and cracked; and now that same shape is threatening harm upon the two leg that kept him from shattering.

 

 

Tommy didn"t thought it would go this far. Wandering off nearby to hunt some food only to get ambushed by pillagers certainly wasn"t an uncommon occurrence. Albeit a massive nuisance as the chicken he had plan to harvest ran away at the sign of danger. With a mild annoyance etching his mind, Tommy pulled a shield out and blocked the incoming arrows. Momentarily giving himself enough time to switch his hunting dagger for the wolf.

 

Just one cut on the skin and that was it; but then Shroud came ambushing to their left. Choosing to attack the man carrying the weight of the pillager flag on his back. Baring his sharpened, saliva dripping and feasted; all while the pillagers watched and listen to their party member helplessly fight and wail. Lasting up until Shroud had ripped the head off the body, never minding the blood he was drenched in. Ceasing the flag bearers pain and cries.

 

"What the—?!"

 

"How is this possible?!"

 

The two survivors fought their own fears, wanting to just pull the trigger of their crossbow with their cold trembling hands. Tommy also knows that they wonder in horror; how someone like Shroud could grow to the size of a full grown ravager.

 

"Honestly, I don"t know either." Tommy casually said, it"s true, he really didn"t know how Shroud got that way; when all he did was feed him and let him roam around Lady Death"s Temple. The two pillagers looked behind them, expecting to see the blonde brat that had the gull to talk back to them, only for them to be met with a birch tree. Both didn"t knew how it happened, but by some miracle Tommy manage to stand next to Shroud.

 

 

 

Wait, how was he able to get there in the first place?

 

The pillagers didn"t see him walk, they just heard what sounded like a wind passing and suddenly; Tommy was patting Shroud by the head "Thanks for the save Shroud."

 

He"s even praising the beast; rightfully so because Shroud"s attack gave Tommy the perfect distraction to land a hit on the pillagers "You should really treat that scratch you know." Tommy turned back to the pillagers and pointed a finger to his neck. Bringing the pillagers attention to their own, and with that attention brought a stinging pain in; followed by the cold trickle of blood "If you want to live the next day that is."

 

And that was the final blow for the pillagers. That gremlin dared to hurt them?! Tommy watched the inexperienced"s eyes morphed from sheer confusing; to sudden realization; then a blinding rage at having his pride chipped away by a mere kid, at least in his eyes.

 

The inexperienced aimed their crossbow right between Tommy"s eyebrows, ready to pull the trigger to show this pathetic boy who"s really up top. All this brat did was scratch them on the neck; not even far enough to stop their breathing. Who in their sane mind would think that would be enough? This is child"s play!

 

Thud

 

The inexperienced turned to his boss, he didn"t care if he"s superior, they"re about to show this brat what"s up! Show some pillager pride god damnit! He turned, holding back an eye roll when he will eventually see his boss"s old legs bring him down.

 

Thud

 

Like his boss"s crossbow, his own weapon was dropped to the ground without much care. The inexperienced just stayed still, caught off guard by his boss. Not on his knees, but shriveling up on the ground, acting like a fish out of water. Clutching onto his neck as if forcing his airways to open up. A feeling that shot the inexperienced fast, forcing him on his knees and bringing his trembling hands around his neck.

 

Why was this happening?

 

Breathing suddenly became a grueling task and his body was growing weaker and weaker until he"s lying down the cold grass to calm an incoming headache. The heavy spit he couldn"t stop drooling aiming to make taking in oxygen near impossible. Did the brat do this? Impossible, all he ever did was graze their necks with a pathetic weapon. Look! Even in his weakened state, he manage to carry his head to look at his attacker, catching the sight of a small useless stiletto dagger. But not before spotting his boss; unmoving and silent. The only traces of blood were the tips, no way he could"ve slice their throats with such a shallow cut.

 

"Wolfsbane poison."

 

The inexperienced felt his body go numb, very much still alive but his mind had refused to listen to his command. Forcing him to look up at the person who caused this all; responding to questions he didn"t asked but wanted an answer to.

 

Poison. . .

 

It all makes sense now. . .

 

"Very effective innit?"

 

Indeed, very effective indeed. . .

 

 

Tommy watched on for a few more seconds, mostly just waiting for Shroud to finish off his breakfast. Three seconds more, the life in the last pillagers eyes slowly melts away by the poison. The cycle of life plays their role and the body vanished, leaving a trail of white puff of smoke dissipating with the wind. A fate that fell on the other pillager not long after the other died along.

 

"Let"s go Shroud." Tommy looked down to see Shroud"s meal disappear into the same white puff of smoke. What"s left behind stained the green grass into a dark red, reeking the smell of iron and rot. Wishing the decay smell would vanish like the body aside. Tommy settled with taking Shroud back to their camp to retrieve his supplies. By some miracle everything was left untouched. Every single item was still left inside his travel bag. Tommy was so certain that a wild animal would ravage the contents for the apple he kept with them.

 

Unless the scent of wolfsbane was strong to scare them off. To humans, wolfsbane lack any scent but animals heightened smell is a long part of their physical make up. Because of this, Tommy checked one of the pockets of his travel bag. Finding the jar of wolfsbane extract still intact, with a relieved sigh he placed the small jar back to the bundle it was in and put it away in his bag.

 

It was then that him and Shroud were finally ready for their next destination.

 

 


 

 

By the time after lunch came around, Tommy settled down an old fallen oak tree to take a rest. Encouraging Shroud to take shelter on the nearby cave if he pleases, to which he did. In the meantime, Tommy worked on restocking his poison. Pulling out a brazier, the ingredients and a dagger that needed a refill. Going full focus the moment he wore his gloves and face mask. And everything went just as it usually does. Then came time for putting the extract in.

 

Starting by always carefully opening the jar of extract. It didn"t matter that Lady Death had this jar and the other potion bottles specially made for keeping every molecule of the poison from escaping. That includes an unbreakable glass with a lid or cork to keep it air tight. Tommy will still take the lid off with extra caution just to take enough for three drops. The rocks on his shoulders would only leave when he closes the lid back and put away the dropper drenched in the extract.

 

Tommy heaved out a sigh, not even realizing he was holding his breath in for that part. Now all he needed to do was wait for ten minutes for the brewing to stop, then he could have a new batch, a new lethal dagger and a new future unfortunate victim.

 

32 pillagers, 14 evokers and 2 ravagers. That"s what Tommy"s count totaled up to if he did his math correctly. Honestly, how shameful can he get? To be so clueless and careless enough to attract more living than dead. Attracting only two zombies and one skeleton in his three day journey. Then to have such a high toll count of those who have died because of his poison. One that was already so lethal it could kill within hours, but of course the disgusting part of his mind deemed it not efficient.

 

So what does he do? Enhance the potion and turn it into venom, that"s what.

 

And to able to walk away with such a dull face no less. But what does he expect really?

 

He"s Thomas Orpheus, a boy so dreary with life that he became a dead wooden tree.

 

"I"m just apathetic, that"s all." Tommy shrugged to himself and no one else, even his voice sounded so wooden. Why should he care though? If his own words were to be trusted then it wouldn"t have mattered what he sounded like.

 

Because that"s how apathy is. You either don"t care or you do but couldn"t find your reserved energy to do anything about it. In the case of his victims, it was mostly the former. And as much as he poured a bit of time mulling over being shameful; he doesn"t warrant a scolding over something that was presence since his birth. Nor does he find the reason to waste energy on such a trivial matter.

 

Especially when the batch of poison had just finished, glowing a purple hue that marked the completion. Tommy immediately pulled all of his focus back to the potion. Carefully and slowly taking them off the brazier and punching a cork in them to seal two of them for good. The other one would be staying open for immediate use. Left hand holds the bottle of poison and right one holds the dagger, and as careful as he can, he easily slid the tip of dagger until it meets the purple potion. There"s a reason why Tommy opted to ask for a stiletto design for his weapon after all.

 

"In you go." Tommy clicked the pommel, causing the poison to be inserted inside the dagger. After five seconds of this, he let go of the pommel closing the dagger back up. What remains in the bottle gets sealed away for future use, what stays in the dagger lied the same fate.

 

Daylight continued fading to blue, surprising Tommy again for just how much cleaning it takes to make a single batch. He quickly finishes up, putting away all of his supply and got ready to find Shroud on the cave. And just when he slung the bag over him for carry, is when he heard it.

 

 

 

 

"Tommy?"

 

It hadn"t been a name he was used to hearing in a long time, as even in his stay with Lady Death. She had only ever called him Thomas, there"s also Shroud but he"s Shroud. But one isn"t crazy enough to be alarmed by a sudden noise.

 

So sudden in fact that it made Tommy pull out one of his daggers, aiming right to his left where he heard it.

 

Never has he ever felt so relieved to pull out his none poisonous blades.

 

"Puffy?" He heard himself call to her, then he looked behind her and saw a familiar green "Sam?"

 

Both were staring at him with glossy eyes, and both were slowly approaching him; and as they did the dagger disappeared from his grip.

 

"Tommy?" Puffy repeated again when she got her hands on the boy"s cheek. Caressing her thumb left and right trying to feel if he"s real. Looking at him up and down to see if he"s real and alive. Sam not so far off from the same action as she is. Tommy remained still letting them scan him all over to assure them that he"s real and not a ghost like his. . .

 

"Tommy? Is this really you?"

 

Tommy didn"t knew why his actions warranted such a reaction from them. All he did was place a hand over Puffy"s own and say "Yeah it"s me."

 

Then boom, Sam and Puffy were crying a waterfall and squeezing the life out of him. For the next seconds Tommy was utterly baffled, confused, dazed and—well you get the point.

 

"We thought you were dead."

 

Sam spoke with a trembling voice, tightening his grip on him even more. And like a sudden flash of lightning, Tommy"s memories has found it"s way to flood his thoughts. They were really sad memories too.

 

Eh, at least Tommy knows why they acted the way they did, any normal person would. Tommy hadn"t showed a sign of restraint; he just stayed put, allowing the two adults soak in the fact the boy who ran away and probably died; is alive and well. With an added wooden face. Tommy doesn"t deserve to be surprised by their presence, or how they had found him.

 

If he"s as careless as he thought he was then attracting them would"ve been a great chance.

 

What does it matter anyway? There"s nothing Tommy could"ve done about it now that it"s happened and he frankly doesn"t have the energy to care about it. He can still pray though, pray that this encounter won"t leave to trouble for the journey.