CXXI. The Flower

"I never expected there to be a swamp in here! I'll write it right in my notebook" replied Karl, who took pen and paper.

Dag got off the horse, scaring the toad that plunged into the water, disappearing into the slime.

All three of them tied their horses to a nearby tree and began searching for the flower of Egill's almanac: the Crimson Tooth.

"Is this, by any chance?" asked Reidar, who detached a plant from the ground showing it to Karl.

"No, Reidar. That's a 'Typha Latifolia'... I told you it's a plant with red flowers and a thorny stem" Karl replied, annoyed.

Reidar threw the freshly picked plant into the pond and turned the other way, looking at Dag and grimacing, to tease Karl and his schoolmasterly tone.

Dag chuckled softly.

"Unbelievable. This is a wonderful discovery!" said Karl, leaning down to the ground as Dag and Reidar approached.

With a small knife, he eradicated a plant from the mud.