"Yes!" She cheered jumping and pumping a fist into the air.
[Subclass Skill: Alchemy Leveled Up]
"I was really worried for a second," she said exhaling in relief, she placed a hand on her chest to calm her anxiety and excitement at the creation of the Swamp Balm.
With the Swamp Balm in her inventory, Yvlena was ready to return to Bavga and complete the second task.
She hoped the Bone Witch would be appreciative of how much work it took Yvlena to acquire the ingredients for the Balm, especially since its creator was unable to do so herself.
"I wonder what the third task will end up being?" Yvlena muttered.
She packed up the alchemy kit and rose from the Manor's grass to begin her journey back into the Verdant Woods and to the Avaresh Swamp.
"I'll need to get more Spider Silk too, I've got to make that rag and figure out who that room belonged to,"
----------
Her summons were once again by her side as she walked towards the Avaresh Swamp. With the Purifying Elixir in her inventory, Yvlena wondered how quickly she would be able to create it.
"Should I do the third task then the Verdant Lake or the Verdant Lake first?" She asked herself.
Her foot stepped in something wet and squishy as she thought about it. Once again the girl was met with a feeling of sinking into the Swamp's sludge.
"Ah!" Yvlena screamed nearly falling into the murky swamp water. "Ugh! I forgot about the swamp water,"
Luckily her boots were still water resistant and she would not need to brew a certain potion for now.
Her obvious frustration caused her summons to jump to her side pulling her out of the water before she could sink any further into the swamp from her mistake.
"Thanks, I really need to watch where I'm stepping!" she said as she walked towards the broken docks.
On stepping on the wooden surface she once again almost trips over a hole her boot had gotten caught in. She caught herself before she could hit the ground and sighed in annoyance.
"Might as well fix a few more of these holes, once the road opens up again people will need to come through here," Yvlena said. However, she did not know who would want to visit the Swamp Witch.
Bavga seemed like a rather solitary figure.
[Repair a small section of the docks?]
[Wood x60]
[Yes/No]
She hit yes and began working on the docks with the pieces of wood gathered from the manor. Yvlena lowered herself and manifested a hammer from her inventory.
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She began fitting the wood into the holes and working along the section until it was complete.
[Avaresh Swamp Docks 3%]
Yvlena pulled herself up from fixing the various holes and made her way to the witch's hut ready to face Bavga with questions once more, maybe the witch would know something about the previous Harvest Guardian?
The hut's door swung open, and from the depths, Yvlena smelled the faint stench of something old and damp, not quite the same smell as before.
she wrinkled her nose, wondering if the Miasmic sickness had worsened with no one to check on Bavga, worry pinched at the elven girl's heart. Would the witch survive or would the Miasma turn her into something else?
Wood creaked as Yvlena and her summons followed the glowing plants down to the Witch's hearth where she met Bavga again.
The witch looked as surly as ever but from her expression, Yvlena understood the Hag did not expect her so soon. Bavga's lips twitched in the beginnings of a smirk but kept her face neutral.
"Ah, you've returned, and if fortune favors me, with the balm as well," Bavga said, her thin lips curled into a smirk unable to hide her doubts any longer. "Or did you disappoint?"
Yvlena glared, all sympathy for the NPC nearly vanishing at the sound of the taunts.
"I got your balm," Yvlena said retrieving it from her inventory. "You're welcome," the exasperation in her voice was clear to anyone who heard it.
[Bavga is grudgingly impressed]
[Quest Complete
The Second Task
Bavga's illness grows more severe with each passing moment, luckily a way to soothe her pain exists.
Collect the Swamp Balm's recipe and craft this healing balm for her.
***
Rewards
Sprout Snare x5
***
Moon Points x1000
EXP: 700]
[Yvlena Acquired
***
EXP: 1460/1750]
"Many thanks, you may once again ask me a question child," Bavga said to Yvlena.
The elven girl watched Bavga pry the lid off the balm and stick two claw-like fingers in. She winced as Bavga began smearing the balm over what seemed like blackened patches all over her skin.
"I would like to know about the Harvest Guardian before Rael and I. I know they were an aristocrat but that's just about it."
Bavga raised an eyebrow, frowning.
"And what makes you think I know anything about your predecessor girl?"
"You knew Rael," Yvlena said immediately growing suspicious. "Had you known nothing, you would say so as you did with Viseli,"
Bavga chuckled.
[Bavga is impressed with your wit]
"I'm beginning to like you," the hag said relaxing in her chair. "I did know her, Lilian was her name. And from the destitute house of Flores, she was cast out by nobility due to her class as a dark summoner,"
"A dark summoner? Was she evil?" Yvlena asked.
"A Harvest Guardian should know that dark does not mean evil," Bavga said drawing her lips in a slight sneer.
"Right! My apologies but the nobility must have thought that right? That's why they kicked her family out,"
Bavga met her with a blank stare.
"I will say this, the dress you wear now reminds me of her," the Swamp Hag said.
"You cared about her didn't you?" Yvlena said in a soft tone.
"That's neither here nor there," Bavga said but Yvlena saw through the witch's nonchalance, underneath her sour tone was a spark of something. Nonetheless, Yvlena had enough information to take to Laurent at the library.
"How does one become a dark summoner anyway?" Yvlena asked wondering if it was a special class. It couldn't have been evil if Lilian was a Harvest Guardian, it was naïve of her to think good and evil would be binary in a game like this.
The same gods that once ruled in prosperity through their death called forth the Miasma.
"You didn't want to tell me about her because you still care about her in some way but two generations of Harvest Guardians...I just mean you know she's gone I understand how hard that can be," Yvlena said tripping over her words.
She didn't need the NPC to like her but Bavga stirred pity in Yvlena's heart. Too many people within the game had lost someone.
"I suppose you would know, long as I live I do not covet the longevity of elves. You will know loss very soon,"
Yvlena gave a short laugh.
"I already do, I'm here because of it,"
Though she was talking about playing the game, Yvlena knew Bavga would interpret those words to mean her calling as the Harvest Guardian.
The witch made a noise, small and contemplative, as if she meant to say something but decided against it.
"The third task awaits,"