1.1.20 – The Weeping Grotto

The next morning I decided to head into town after a quick breakfast. The slight heat from the morning sun was a nice contrast against the cool morning breeze. Old Mill Road that leads to Hollow’s Reach was already clear of snow, most of it already melting away to create pockets of mud that would have caused a careless merchant’s wagon to get stuck.

Sacrificing a little bit of sleep to read most of the beast compendium was ultimately a good idea as I had come across several paragraphs in different beast entries about the use of beast repellant. It can be purchased from your local adventurer’s shop or your local alchemist as it was rather easy to make.

There were of course specialized repellants made for a specific type of beast, but a general all-purpose version was made of several herbs that were easily found and a type of mushroom called Tombcaps. These mushrooms generally grew around areas with a heavy presence of rotting meat, and were also found commonly in tombs, hence the name. Mixed with the right herbs, it would smell of rotting flesh to a beast’s more sensitive olfactory senses.

Of course if the area had a rare natural treasure or elemental source that draws beasts of the same type to it, this general beast repellant would not be very useful. However, for the purpose of my secret lab that should be void of anything that might attract beasts, it should work well enough.

A brisk walk to town only took less than an hour now that I’ve grown out of those baby Yoda legs and I even jogged slightly at parts that were flatter. I arrived in town just as the shops were opening up. I decided to skip Branwen’s blacksmithing shop as I had a lot more to do today and I did not want to get caught up with her grilling me. I had seen her regularly over the last few months due to the frequent purchase of materials for my experiments.

I had decided to visit Sylvia’s shop instead of the adventurer’s guild as she was someone Marta was familiar with at least. At least I know she would not try to cheat me of my hard earned coin.

I could see Sylvia just opening her shop as I arrived, she had just placed the sign outside her shop when I walked up to her.

“Oh hello there! What can I help you with?” Sylvia greeted me when I arrived. She did not seem to recognize me immediately.

“Hello ma’am, Marta sent me here today. I was with her when she came last year to sell the Glimmerwasp Nectar” I lied about Marta sending me.

“Oh wow, you’ve grown much taller. You were already quite tall when I last saw you.” I was close to 140 cm at this point. I could probably pass for a short adult if not for my boyish voice and face by the end of the year.

“So what can I do for you today?” Sylvia gestured for me to follow her into the store.

“Do you have any beast repellant made from Tombcaps? Or any of the generic type will do. Marta told me to get some.” I asked. I had mentioned Marta’s name hoping for a discount, also so she would not question what an eight year old boy was doing with beast repellant.

“Why would Marta need beast repellant? Have there been beasts wandering close to the Orphanage? It is better to let the Adventurer’s Guild or the Baron know so they can actually send professionals to take care of the problem” Sylvia asked out of concern.

“Oh no, nothing that serious, it was just a couple of wild boars that wandered too close to the edge of the forest, Marta was just concerned it might be too close to where all of us play” I lied again, hoping that Sylvia would not bring this up next time she ran into Marta.

“Oh, the repellant might be a bit of an overkill but let me get some for you” Sylvia went to fetch some from a shelf nearby.

“There are three doses here. They usually last a long time if applied to equipment or carried on a bag but if Marta is putting them outdoors, they might wash off quickly with the rain since spring is round the corner” she handed me three small vials.

“Each dose should last a week outdoors but she’ll need to reapply it after a heavy rain. Let me know if the beasts are still appearing after a few weeks. The boars could just be looking for food but we should alert the authorities if they are still spotted frequently after a few weeks” Sylvia clarified.

“Thank you so much ma’am, how much would they be?” I quickly nodded and got ready to pay as she had bought the lie and stopped her incessant questioning.

“Nonsense, how could I take coin from Marta especially if it’s to keep you kids safe. It’s on the house. Besides, where would Marta get the coin with things as tight as it is.” Sylvia quickly declined.

I felt bad at taking advantage of Sylvia and did not want the possibility of this becoming a potential cause for their relationship to worsen. Recalling the conversation that she and Marta had the last time, I quickly added “More of Marta’s admirers came by again, things are better now. At least let us pay for the material cost or Marta would give me a scolding when I got back”

“How would a boy like you even know about that? Alright then, it’ll be 15 small silvers. The herbs and Tombcaps are relatively common” Sylvia said, half shocked and half amused that I had mentioned Marta’s imaginary admirers.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

I quickly paid the required amount and left the shop. “Thank you again! Good bye!”

“Tell Marta I said hi!” Sylvia said as she waved me out the door.

I stopped by the orphanage for lunch, letting Marta know that I had mentioned her name when I stopped by Sylvia’s shop to buy some supplies and that she had said hi.