{"id":745,"date":"2023-09-20T12:42:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T10:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/slickhaven.com\/?p=745"},"modified":"2025-10-16T15:21:43","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T13:21:43","slug":"story-part-12-the-scientific-method","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/slickhaven.com\/en\/story-part-12-the-scientific-method\/","title":{"rendered":"Story part 12 -The Scientific Method"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite the comment, which Mrs. Maria brought straight from the realm of superstition and believing in the supernatural, Benjamin\u00a0 decided to approach the matter like a researcher should: rationally, asking questions and hoping for substantiated answers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I don\u2019t know anything about spirits, but I heard there used to be a tradition around here, one of going into the forest. But to what purpose? Do you remember anything from your grandmother\u2019s recounts?\u201d Benjamin pondered. \u201cFor example, since you mentioned it was during the harvest festival, then when the people going there came back, were they bringing any seeds or seedlings with them?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, those who came back would sometimes bring a herb, or a handful of blueberries or raspberries.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Benjamin grunted nervously. The inscription he\u2019d seen in the hut had been written in raspberry juice.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse me, \u2018those who came back\u2019? You mean they weren\u2019t all?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSome would lose their way on occasion, because the forest is vast and there are no roads there. Although\u2026 that\u2019s not entirely accurate, either, as my grandmother always said that they weren\u2019t losing their way, but finding it instead. She said they were taken by the forest spirits, but that it was a good thing, that they wanted it that way,\u201d the woman said. \u201cThose who came back and brought something, they were blessed with the plants flourishing beautifully for them, and those plants continue to grow to this day. Hah, recently even too much! One of my neighbors had suuuch big spikes on her grapes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSpikes? How? Maybe those were just thorns?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNah, I saw it myself, spikes like pegs stuck between grapes. She had to cut with an axe, there was no way around it.\u201d The woman looked at her hand, which was now properly oiled and bandaged, so that she could not get rid of the healing ointment too soon. She looked at the doctor with undisguised repreach. \u201cNow look at what you\u2019ve done. How long must I wear it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cooper just heaved a sigh.<\/span><\/p>\n

A couple of questions later, Benjamin and Cooper said their goodbyes, cautioning Mrs. Maria against unnecessary work, and officially ended today\u2019s house calls and headed back towards their part of town. Evening was nigh, but Benjamin was in no hurry to get to his flat or the inn today. The herbarium and reports had already been completed, and Salina had plans so they were unlikely to share a table tonight.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not that it bothered him in any way, of course.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, the more I think, the more I get the impression that something strange is going on here,\u201d Benjamin mused. \u201cThat lemon I got from you was the size of a melon, the clearly oriental grass is having a great time in the fumes of alcohol at the inn, and Mrs. Maria over there was talking about spikes on a grape. They should not have spikes! Even the Greasy Butcher, oh, there grows a verbena in complete shade, though it requires sunlight. At first I thought that maybe there was something incredibly fertilizing in the soil, but it\u2019s more than that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re a scientist. What does the method tell you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLeaving nature spirits aside, because I don\u2019t subscribe to such things, the stories I\u2019ve heard have one thing in common: the forest. The plants of Thornwood must be unique in some way. If the locals have been transplanting those over the years, one by one into the city\u2019s flora, then perhaps that\u2019s the reason for such deviations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot all plants come from the forest,\u201d Cooper noted. \u201cFrom what I know, many came to Slickhaven through foreign traders and travelers from distant lands.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Benjamin nodded. \u201cRight. So maybe there\u2019s something in the water or air? Imagine a fertilizer so small it would be invisible to the eye, but yet still there, floating in the air. Maybe the wind brought something like that from the forest and into everyone\u2019s yard?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf that was the case, I would no doubt have many more calls about coughs and throat illnesses!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat puzzles me are the people who went into the forest but never came back, although that\u2019s probably best left to the guards. I shall concentrate on solving the mystery in my area.\u201d Benjamin fished out his notebook from his coat and immediately lost himself in it. \u201cFor my research, I\u2019ll need samples of water, soil, moss, leaves, plants\u2026 obviously from different layers of the forest, everything from the litter to the canopy, ideally collected at a similar time. It\u2019s too much work for one person, even myself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cooper moved the botanist walking blind before he fell under a parked hay cart. Benjamin didn\u2019t even register it, and after a moment\u2019s reading he snapped his fingers in exultation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know! I\u2019m going to organize a scientific expedition. I\u2019ll require at least half a dozen assistants for research and sample collection, and probably another half-dozen to ward off the wildlife.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAn expedition\u2026 in Slickhaven? That\u2019s the first.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll the better! Could you please point me to someone from the local Forestry Department?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, this may come off as a shock to you, but we don\u2019t have a Forestry Department here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u201d Benjamin was shocked to his core. The absence of such a key unit was quite an oversight. It was a miracle the city was able to keep on running at all. \u201cOkay, so who should we ask for permissions and the allocation of resources to carry out high-priority scientific research?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not in the capital. Here, the highest official is the Bloody Monarch himself, but he\u2013\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMost excellent!\u201d Benjamin interrupted him. \u201cAs a local magnate, he will no doubt want to hear about the potential benefits for his town and subjects.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor his subjects, no.\u201d Cooper shrugged his shoulders. \u201cFor his throne and lordship, now you\u2019re talking.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite the comment, which Mrs. Maria brought straight from the realm of superstition and believing in the supernatural, Benjamin\u00a0 decided to approach the matter like a researcher should: rationally, asking questions and hoping for substantiated answers. \u201cWell, I don\u2019t know anything about spirits, but I heard there used to be a tradition around here, one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[164],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nStory part 12 -The Scientific Method - Slickhaven<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/slickhaven.com\/en\/story-part-12-the-scientific-method\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Story part 12 -The Scientific Method - Slickhaven\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Despite the comment, which Mrs. Maria brought straight from the realm of superstition and believing in the supernatural, Benjamin\u00a0 decided to approach the matter like a researcher should: rationally, asking questions and hoping for substantiated answers. \u201cWell, I don\u2019t know anything about spirits, but I heard there used to be a tradition around here, one […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/slickhaven.com\/en\/story-part-12-the-scientific-method\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Slickhaven\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-20T10:42:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-16T13:21:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/slickhaven.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/woz-1024x728.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"728\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/slickhaven.com\\\/en\\\/story-part-12-the-scientific-method\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/slickhaven.com\\\/en\\\/story-part-12-the-scientific-method\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/slickhaven.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cf305e2f8d1ff0be03c19078f1ffeaea\"},\"headline\":\"Story part 12 -The Scientific Method\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-20T10:42:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-16T13:21:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/slickhaven.com\\\/en\\\/story-part-12-the-scientific-method\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1001,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/slickhaven.com\\\/en\\\/story-part-12-the-scientific-method\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/slickhaven.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/woz.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Story\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/slickhaven.com\\\/en\\\/story-part-12-the-scientific-method\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/slickhaven.com\\\/en\\\/story-part-12-the-scientific-method\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/slickhaven.com\\\/en\\\/story-part-12-the-scientific-method\\\/\",\"name\":\"Story part 12 -The Scientific Method - 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