. . . I came across a small river, winding idly through the landscape. My legs ached from the journey and the tranquil, idyllic setting called to me. I sat down beneath an oak tree to rest. As I lay against the thick trunk, I began to take note of my surroundings. A strange tree caught my attention, a plant with red back, its low branches hanging out over the waters. These branched were covered in rock-like growths, from which hung misshapen fruit. A strong wind suddenly rushed through the glade, nearly taking my hat. It dislodged two of the fruits, sending them crashing down. The first smashed into the ground, splitting open with a squelch and emitting the pungent odor of rotting meat, spilling out a thick pulp the colour of pomegranate seeds. The other hit the water, the shell splitting open. A goose broke free, honking wildly to escape its confinement and taking off low across the water. I had heard tales of this strange plant, but I had never imagined that the stories were true.

Observations of Clemence d'Auvergne, Bard of the Silver Branch, on the Barnacle Goose

"AAAAHH!!!! STOP IT! STOP CHASING ME!!!! WHY IS IT HISSING NOW?! ARE GEESE SUPPOSED TO HISS?!!! AAAH, THE GOOSE IS AFTER ME!!! KATHALIA, DO SOMETHING!!!!!

Observations of Marie DeCygne, Bard of the Bronze Branch, on the Barnacle Goose

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The Goosefruit Tree

Goosefruit, or Barnacle, Trees have long, reddish branches that extend far over waterways, extending from a solid trunk. A typical tree will grow no more than 5 meters tall, averaging around 3. A typical branch holds about 4 rock-like barnacles, from which misshapen green fruit grows.

Barnacle Trees grow several (typically around 4) rock-like pods of each branch, which in turn produce misshapen fruit, vaguely resembling a goose hanging from its bill. When ripe, these drop to the ground. Those hitting the ground smash open, decaying instantly with a pungent smell of rotting flesh. Fruit that hits the water opens, revealing a creature virtually indistinguishable from a mundane goose within. These geese take flight. Come winter, a barnacle goose will fly along rivers and coastlines. It will attempt to bury itself in soft soil next to these waters, becoming the seed of a new barnacle tree.

Barnacle wood, rough and rocklike, is worthless as a construction material and typically burned after its fruit-bearing years. Goosefruit is a popular food, described as a gamey, somewhat sweet meat similar to non-magical goose.

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Val's Notes:

The barnacle goose is an amusing oddity of Medieval bestiaries, a mixture of fanciful creation and a geographically limited study of a real migratory bird. Recorded by a 12th century Welsh Priest, the mystery of where the local geese went and came from was a mystery. Conflating barnacle encrusted driftwood with the geese of similar colour, Gerald of Wales created a rather delightful leap of logic to determine the answer to the great mystery, coming to the conclusion that these particular geese grew on trees like fruit!

Image in link: https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1JH4fEU1.....le-goose-1.jpg

This was a subject of heated debate in Catholic Europe, as, if a goose was a fruit, it could be eaten at Lent, but if it was a bird like a duck, it could not be! (Another Lenten dietary oddity is that, according to the Catholic Church at one point in the 1th century, beavers are fish, so that French Canadian trappers wouldn't starve to death)

The Barnacle Goose and its bizarre ovine counterpart, the Tartary lamb, are just too delightful for the medievalist in me to omit, so they have a small, but cherished corner in Kroashent's world.

I agree with Marie though. Geese are evil.

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