Leo looked at Trevor with curiosity. "What do you mean?"
Trevor sighed and pointed to his potions.
"I need some herbs to keep making potions. Normally, I would hire adventurers to do this, or just buy from a merchant. But I can't do that now because I'm busy selling the potions myself." He paused, eyeing Leo carefully. "So if you can do it for me, I might even employ you in the future."
Leo blinked. "So... I need to find these herbs for you?"
"Yes. Specifically the Glimmer root." Trevor held up a finger. "It's the root of a plant that emits a faint glimmering light. The stalk itself is useless, but the root can be used to make healing potions. I'll give you 10 Starcoins for every root you can find."
Leo's eyes gleamed.
Each Starcoin could buy him a meal. Ten Starcoins would last him and Daphne two whole days. If he could find just five Glimmer roots, they'd be good for ten days.
His heart beat a little faster.
"Where can I find Glimmer roots?" he asked.
"Valkyr's Forest," Trevor said solemnly.
The gleam in Leo's eyes died instantly.
Valkyr's Forest was the massive woodland bordering Solhaven, the city they lived in. It was full of dangerous monsters — creatures that could rip grown adults to shreds without breaking a sweat. Worse still, some of the beasts within could wield magic. Magical beasts, they were called.
Leo would become food for those things in a heartbeat.
Trevor must have seen his expression shift, because the old man raised a calming hand.
"I know it might seem dangerous, and it is. But the Glimmer roots grow on the outskirts of the forest. There shouldn't be any magical beasts out there. Any regular beasts that wander too close to the edge should already be killed off by the city hunters." Trevor's gaze was steady. "You'd only have a problem if you ventured in too deep."
Leo thought about it for a long minute.
The money could change everything. It could put food on the table — real food, not scraps and stale bread. His eyes drifted back up to Trevor's face, searching for any sign of deception. Any hint of ingenuity behind those calm eyes.
He found none.
"How many roots do you think I can find?" he asked.
"If you're looking for about an hour, you should find around fifteen. They tend to grow in clusters, close to each other," Trevor replied.
"How often do you set up shop here?"
"Very often." Trevor tilted his head. "Are you going to do it?"
"Yes," Leo replied without hesitation.
It was a gamble. But it was a gamble based on the impression he had of Trevor — an honest man just trying to sell his wares. And Leo had bet on worse odds before.
Trevor's expression turned serious. "Remember. Go with a goal. Don't be greedy. And whatever you do — don't risk your life."
---
Leo went back to the shack to prepare.
He didn't have many possessions. In truth, he had almost nothing. But he did have one knife — a dull, chipped thing he kept to guard against the world. He knew it wouldn't do much against any real beast, but it was better than bare hands.
He pulled the knife from the sole cabinet in the room, moving carefully. Daphne was still sleeping on the thin mat in the corner, her small chest rising and falling with slow, peaceful breaths.
He didn't want to wake her.
More importantly, he didn't want to tell her what he was going to do. She would worry. She always worried.
The knife slid cleanly into the folds of his clothes, and he slipped out of the shack without a sound.
---
He headed toward the outskirts of the forest.
The shack that Leo and Daphne lived in was deep in the slums — the lowest, most neglected part of Solhaven. It also happened to be the closest area to Valkyr's Forest. The Mercenary Guild had its headquarters nearby for exactly that reason. Proximity to the forest made monster subjugations more convenient.
Leo walked through the narrow, grimy streets until he reached the city walls that stood between Solhaven and the wilderness beyond.
The gates were open. It was daytime, after all, so there weren't any guards at the exit.
Most of the soldiers were stationed at the inner wall — the one that protected the nobles and their gleaming estates. The crown didn't care about the commoners enough to waste manpower guarding the outer gates. They only kept enough men on standby to slam the gates shut if a monster breakout ever occurred.
Leo walked through the gate without anyone sparing him a second glance.
---
The outskirts of the forest weren't immediately beyond the wall.
The land right outside the city was barren — scorched and scarred from battles fought against previous monster breaks. Nothing grew there anymore. Just cracked earth and scattered stones as far as he could see.
He would have to walk about a mile to actually reach the trees.
By the time Leo got to the edge of Valkyr's Forest, it was blazing hot. The sun had just started to dip past its highest point, beating down on him without mercy. Sweat ran down the back of his neck.
He pulled out a bun — the one he'd bought with his very last Starcoin — and gobbled it down in a few bites. His hands were a little dirty, so he wiped the crumbs off on his worn trousers.
"Let's do this," he muttered to himself. "At least fifteen."
A satchel was strapped to his side, ready to store whatever herbs he collected. It was old and threadbare, barely holding together at the seams. Practically garbage. But it would have to do.
He stepped into the forest.
---
The shade hit him immediately, and he exhaled with relief. The canopy overhead filtered the sunlight into soft, scattered beams that danced across the forest floor.
Leo looked around for any sign of glimmering light. The grass here grew tall — almost waist-high in some places — and it completely obstructed his line of sight. Finding anything in this mess was going to be a painful, tedious search.
He pressed forward anyway.
After about five minutes of aimless wandering, pushing through the thick grass and scanning every patch of ground, he finally caught it — a faint shimmering light flickering in the undergrowth a few feet away.
His pulse quickened.
He walked toward it and knelt down. There it was. Exactly what he was looking for.
The plant was about half a foot tall, its thin stalk exuding a soft, ethereal glow. It looked almost magical, pulsing gently like a tiny lantern buried in the earth.
Leo took out his knife and started prodding at the soil around the base. The dirt was surprisingly soft — loose and loamy — so he was able to dig out a small trench with just the blade. Then he gently gripped the stalk and pulled.
The root came free with a quiet *pop*.
It was glowing too, emitting the same delicate light as the stalk above. Maybe even brighter.
Leo smiled and tucked the plant carefully into his satchel.
One down.
He looked around the immediate area, remembering what Trevor had said — Glimmer roots grew in clusters, close to each other. The advice was spot on. Less than five yards away, two more Glimmer roots were practically clinging to each other, their combined glow making them easier to spot.
He moved quickly, digging them out with practiced efficiency now that he knew the technique.
Three roots in hand. The satchel already felt heavier.
---
Over the course of the next hour, Leo fell into a rhythm.
Search. Spot the glow. Dig. Pull. Move on.
By the time he paused to catch his breath, he had collected twenty-three Glimmer roots, including the first three. His satchel was satisfyingly full, the faint glow seeping through the worn fabric like trapped starlight.
Twenty-three roots.
That was 230 Starcoins.
His heart hammered at the thought. That kind of money could feed him and Daphne for over a month. Maybe longer if they were careful.
He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked around one more time. Maybe there were a few more nearby. Just a couple more wouldn't hurt—
Then he heard it.
A low, guttural snarl.
Every muscle in Leo's body went rigid.
He turned around slowly — painfully slowly — toward the source of the sound.
Ten yards away, partially hidden by the tall grass, a wolf was creeping toward him. Its body was low to the ground, muscles coiled and taut beneath matted gray fur. Saliva dripped from its exposed fangs in thick, glistening strands.
Its eyes were locked on him. Hungry. Predatory. Unblinking.
Leo's hand drifted to the knife at his side. The dull, chipped knife that he already knew wouldn't do a damn thing against something like this.
His mouth went dry.
"I am screwed."