Eftbulbs

There is ample sweetness in the blasted lands, if you only know where to look. Don't rely on your nose, however; if you can smell it, it's already too late to take some home with you.

— Bolkhyn botanist

Eftbulbs, known also as ambergum, are a reagent harvested in Bolkan from the florets of the hoary trunkroot.

Molten Sweetness

Covered in a thin sheath of overlapping grey-white leaves, this sheath is carefully peeled away to reveal the eftbulbs, small and round. They are somewhat gummy in texture, with an elastic quality when squished between the fingers, and are hard to burst. These bulbs vary in color from a goldenrod hue, to more common warmer orange and red hues, to deep brown tones.
The bulbs are only harvestable before the florets bloom as, by this time, the bulbs fuse with the floret and its contents act as nectar, attracting pollinators. As pollinators themselves tend to be rare in the region, and individual trunkroot spread far from one another, they require a powerful sweet scent which carries across long distances. It is this quality of eftbulbs which makes them desireable, both for their scent and for their flavor.

Culinarian's Choice

When used in perfumes and foods, many prefer to utilize the eftbulbs' alternative name, ambergum, as a more attractive option. Ambergum perfumes are rare and fetch a hefty price on foreign markets, and few batches are made at any given time. Not only is this reagent rare to find, it also does not keep well in storage and must be used as close to harvest as possible for best results. As such, it is rare to see stockpiles of these bulbs, or bulk use of them.
A common use for eftbulbs is in Kamini cuisine, especially in Kamini Sweetmeats, a dish commonly enjoyed by city locals and often presented to the city's visitors as both a welcome and a light-hearted trial.

A plant in the wastes needs a powerful aroma to attract pollinators from miles away.

by Strixxline via Midjourney

Peculiar Resemblance

These bulbs are very small, roughly the size and shape of the beady eyes of the granite eft local to the same region, hence the name they were given as a reagent. Despite the similar appearance, almost striking in nature, these bulbs are not among the list of reagents which may be used to substitute true eft eyes in brews and crafts, though such reagents do exist in number.

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