Rockroot

by Cornelius Hankins, public domain

Rockroot is an incredibly versatile, hearty plant (so hearty it is, in fact, named for its' roots tenacious ability to burrow through solid rock without qualm) used across Ostelliach.

Significance

Rockroot is used in many ways, including:

• As the base of a variety of dishes including casseroles, starchy stews, and lunchkits for road travel

• For a clear liquor that is plain immediately after stilling but incredibly versatile for mixing with other flavors such as berries or fruits

• As a medical and magical ingredient, including in unctions and potions (typically through straining the liquid it produces when smashed or by grinding the shoots/eyes). This is especially useful in burn treatment, but a slice of raw rockroot applied to a sting or splinter is known to draw the foreign body out of the cut as well.

• Aiding botanical efforts; a plant cutting shoved into a raw Rockroot will often sprout, drawing upon the nutrients and moisture of the Rockroot tuber like a self-contained growbox

• Removing rust; Rockroot contains a natural compound that removes rust, especially valued in locations where humidity and salt (like coastlines) seek to erode metal as quickly as craftspeople can remove it, so many will keep a barrel of the plant harvest around when it's time to clean the shop and rub the raw tuber slices on their tools

*clink* Good Soup

If Rockroot was Ostelliach's national vegetable, then "stone soup" would be its national dish (which is no coincidence, given that stone soup is made primarily with Rockroot). Rockroot takes on different flavor profiles depending where it was grown (and the rocks it burrowed through to do so), so every tavern in the land serves some variant of stone soup that is always a surprise based on the regional variant of Rockroot. In general, however, you can always count on it to be hot, dense, and filling.

Item type

Consumable, Food / Drink

Rarity

Rockroot is primarily farmed commercially at Mother's Gift, but is found in a natural distribution across nearly every part of the continent. It is highly appreciated, but not especially rare so to speak. If Ostelliach had a "national vegetable" it would be Rockroot.

Base Price

5 cp