Shroom huntin'

[Kojo]

"Oh, Why not. This forest is completely new to me. The jungle I come from is full of plants that to everything from heal, to kill, and Mushrooms are the most unpredictable. Some are edible. some are fun and some will turn you into food for their offspring if you eat them. ANd I'm a bit of a survivalist I like knowing whether what I'm picking is going to kill me, fill my belly, or make me loose my mind." He explained.

"And if their deadly your obviously picking them for some benefit my tribe knows, well knew, all about the benefits of using poison. In fact one of my forms is used strictly for its poison, and escape, seeing as most know not to touch it." He asked he worked for no one he was his own man and he had no idea that this man had ill intentions.

[Firon]

"If you really want to know the effects of a mushroom, just make someone else take a bite and see what happens." Firon said with a sneer. Clearly, this man wasn't that good of a survivalist if he didn't actively test to make sure something wasn't poisonous. What was better, the words of a random stranger you met in the woods, or empirical evidence?

"As a matter of fact, I am picking poisonous mushrooms at the moment. Poison is both highly useful and highly valuable to the right buyer." He admitted, though figuring he wouldn't outright tell the man the intended purpose for the poisons he was looking for. "Now, what form are you talking about?"

[Kojo]

Kojo didn't actively test mushroom he wasn't an idiot i avoided what he didn't know, and well depended on good will which come to think of it wasn't the smartest thing to do. And despit the Drows obvious solution he wasn't going to start feeding mushrooms to people to see if the mushroom was poisonous. And that comment, for some reason struck kojo that this man probably didn't have good intention, and he found himself feel naive.

The man then asked about his poisonous form he had referred to. "The animal is a frog, not much bigger than one of those mushrooms, it skin secretes an extremely potent poison. Many animal know not to try and eat it. All one needs to do is rub a dart on its skin, and the dart is lethal, It's perfect for hunting." He'd tell the man, but he didn't feel like helping the man.

[Firon]

"A frog, you say, that is poisonous enough to kill with a touch? One that you can transform into at will?" Now, Firon was a lot more interested in this man. He had something of a newfound respect for him, if only because of how useful he could be as a tool. Perhaps, for Firon didn't know much of how his transformation magic worked, he could enlist this man's help to get a near unlimited supply of highly potent poison?

"You are much more interesting that I first thought. My name is Firon, what name do you go by?"

[Kojo]

"A little more than a touch but if it secretion get inside of the body undiluted, it stops the heart. Only thing that going to save you then is divine intervention or really powerful healing magic." He explained. Firon finally gave him his name and was now very interested in Kojo. After his suggestion of testing the shrooms on others and then his interest in the his frog's toxin made him a little uneasy. But still he was polite. "My name is Kojo, and why are you so interested in poisons? First the poison mushrooms and now my toxic frog."

[Firon]

"Poisons are a common item, especially in these days." Now, back in drow society, poisons were as common as condiments in any given household, though he knew this was not necessarily the case for human society. Still, Firon knew something of the recent troubles that Avaren faced, so it was a logical that assassination would be much more prominent at the moment.

"There are those who are hired specifically to use them for political maneuvering, while there are others who simply harvest them and make a decent living by selling them for a profit." It's all about supply and demand, and the demand for poison is currently high. He hadn't really answered the man's question, but then again, he also didn't want the man to turn him down. It was usually much less of a headache if people wanted to help you than having to threaten them in order to get your way.

[Kojo]

"And there are those that simply use poisons to feed their bellies taking down an animal is easier with poison. And there even poisons that if treated correctly can do everything from relieve a headache, to cool a fever, or even become its own antidote. I've lived among the poisons I know their uses and I guess understand how the greed of civilization could see profit in using them." that very last part about greed and profit he had a hint of venom in his voice. He didn't dwell on the fact that Firon didn't tell him anything he didn't already know.

If Firon wanted Kojo's help he would have to ask Kojo, at the moment didn't quite trust Firon right now. Sneaking around collecting poison, and throwing knives at innocent cats.

[Firon]

So the man did have some understanding of poison. Fortunately, he wasn't ignorant enough to change forms into highly toxic animals without at least having the basics of poison use down to a recite-able level. Still, he seemed a bit hostile toward the idea of using them for their more regular purposes, focusing on using them for simple subsistence. How primitive.

"I suppose you could call it greed. Yet, one might argue that greed can be good. For greed builds mighty empires that allow populations to flourish and lifespans to expand several times over. Civilization triumphs because of greed, which is the primary driving force in true ambition."

[Kojo]

"Greed also destroys, and it corrupts. I could live the rest of my life in this forest without gaining a coin, and I'd die a happy man." he said he really didn't want to get into this discussion now.

[Firon]

"And others could live their entire lives gaining many coins and end up happy. As far as corruption goes, you clearly have been corrupted somewhat already by way of your race. You have clearly expressed being perfectly okay with murdering other animals to benefit yourself. It seems you only draw the line at murdering other humans, the race you egotistically place above them." Firons said, still smirking at the primitive. He may not have wanted to talk about this, but the conversation had still been brought up. Talk was inevitable.

"In fact, you are in many ways identical to the drow. As a whole, they generally consider their race superior to other animals, such as humans, thus treat them as such. Humans end up enslaved and turned into beasts of burden, much as humans would use horses. It is no better or worse than your casual killing of animals to feed your belly, for just as you place a value on the lives of other animals, so do other races place a value on the lives of other animals."

[Kojo]

He thought a moment he knew the drow was wrong. "No, I have not lost sight of who or what I am. I kill only to survive. I don't kill people without reason because I am human. Not because I think we are superior. In fact I know that with out the animals I hunt, I would die without those animals the forest itself would die. Nature is a battle for balance. With too many animal the forest would die and without it the animals would die and then I would die. I have no delusions I am as much a part of this forest's life as a tuft of grass being eaten by the animal I hunt, when I die my body will become food for everything from scavengers to the trees themselves, and I'm sure that your kind are the same, or do you not need sustenance to live?" He asked

[Firon]

Firon ignored his question, responding with one of his own. "You don't kill people without reason because you are human? Well then, since you say you kill animals for sustenance, does it lead to the conclusion that you would kill and eat and elf or dwarf for sustenance just as soon as a deer? After all, they are all just animals as well and aren't even the same species."

[Kojo]

"Why do you generalize life into races? The answer is complicated If there was no other food source? Yes, I would attack and eat your kind, but I would not hunt them, those speices that have intelligence resembling my own would never be actively hunted by me. If the animals of this forest became so scares that it became eat or die, I may even resort to cannibalism. In my life time I've never needed to worry about resorting to such horrible acts but if it was necessary to keep living I would." he looked at him seriously. "My life and the life of those I become responsible for come first."

Kojo suddenly had an idea of where this might be going. "That is not to say I wouldn't resort to other means of obtaining food. I would begin earning money through skins and meat before i let myself get to such a drastic situation, but there is no reason for me to worry about that now."

[Firon]

"Right, so in other words, you create a hierarchy of animals, putting some lives as more important than other, with yourself on top. You ask why I generalize into races? It is because you do so, whenever you make a statement such as 'your kind', or even 'species', you are essentially generalizing into races."

Firon shook his head slightly, still smirking at the man. "You share the same arrogance and inflated sense of self-importance as most of your kind. A truly unbiased hunter would kill and eat anything they came across without judgment other than their own hunger."

[Kojo]

Kojo really wasn't liking this man's play on words. "And you are even worse. I can tell by the tone of you voice and the way we speak. What makes you so different than me or any other animal of this forest. what makes you superior? If its pure arrogance and disregard for humility than I concede you are the better species. I do not believe man is superior it has nothing to do with belief it is instinct a primal urge for self preservation, and the preservation of one own species that every sane creature possesses."

He shook his head in pity. "What you describe is rabid insanity. An creature that kills indiscriminately is afflicted with either desperation, or a mental illness.and to use such an example make no sense. What is it you wish to gain from this banter. I will not change my mind about myself or my place in this world." Kojo was annoyed by these questions and was about ready to just leave if this wasn't going anywhere.