> Task: Apothecary Supplies
> Requester: Apothecary Apprentice Mallone
> Quest Rank: E-Rank
> Rewards: 8 Large Copper Coins
> Description: I have urgent business to attend to, and as such cannot gather a number of herbs and other materials required for my upcoming examination by Master. The list has been prepared beforehand and will be provided to the person accepting this quest. Expedience is required, as not much time is left. Please help!
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After being approved to take on the quest, Zinc received a list of materials needed. Looking through the list, the doctor could immediately identify all of the items. They were just basic items anyone can find within the mountains to the south. Zinc quickly headed over there with his pet wolf. He needed Silver as some of the items require a strong nose to sniff out. Once the doctor arrived at the foot of the mountains, he began searching for the herbs as well as the other raw materials like minerals and ores found at the entrance of caves. Meanwhile, he had Silver sniff about for distinctively-smelling herbs like truffles and stinkflowers.
Hours later, he dug out all the herbs he needed to find on the list. Silver also found the ones that needed his nose to find. All that was left were the raw materials found within certain caves. Zinc searched through some of the caves at the foot of the mountains and found a few of the items on the list. However, there was one item – Sunglowite – that he could not find no matter how much he searched. He recalled from a passage in one of the many books he had read over the course of his life that the Sunglowite grows in caves rich with sunlight. But, how is that possible? How do caves have access to the sun?
Of course, it didn’t take long for him to think of a possibility. If a cave was to have access to the sun, they must be found higher up in the mountains where there are potential openings that could lead sunlight into caves. Zinc exited the cave he was currently in and scoured the nearby mountains. Soon, he found a cave near the top of one of the mountains. There were some cracks on the surface and clear opening at the roof of the cave. Zinc took nearly three hours to rush up the mountain and enter the cave. After walking deeper into the cave, the doctor finally spotted the material in question.
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Easy pickings! Zinc smiled as he mined the Sunglowite and stored the pieces into his backpack.
Once he double-checked his list and made sure he had gathered all the required herbs and materials, the doctor headed down the mountains. Along the way, he caught a glimpse of a glistening hue of purple at the foot of the mountains. Zinc approached out of curiosity and found that it was a tree bearing a weird, purplish fruit. The doctor reached up and plucked one of the ripened fruits for examination. After a minute or so, Zinc concluded that the fruit was safe for consumption.
Zinc bit into the fruit and swallowed the overflowing juices. Sweet! And with a tangy aftertaste just like a peach. Zinc decided to name this fruit – violet peach. With a smile, the doctor decided to pluck some more to eat during the trip home and to store in rotect jars for further examinations when he got home. With a satisfied look, the doctor headed home while munching on another violet peach. About ten minutes later, something unexpected happen.
The violet peaches in Zinc’s hands started to decay and turn into an acidic, venomous mush. Luckily, Arsenic rushed out just in time to slurp up the poisonous delicacy or Zinc’s hands would have been melted off. Zinc grimaced at what had happened. He quickly brought out the rotect jars and saw that the violet peaches were similarly decayed. Even in rotect jars, these violet peaches could not be preserved. What was going on?
Zinc decided to post up a quest once he got back. Maybe one of the other adventurers might have a way to preserve the fruit and bring some back for him to research on. In the meantime, Zinc opened up the rotect jars and dumped the contents out for Arsenic to snack on. The doctor quickly headed back home to submit his report and turn in the herbs and materials before posting a quest of his own.