The urge to go back to the pond persisted no matter how much I tried to distract myself. The fact that I would drown long before I reached the light didn't deter my curiosity in the slightest. There was no way that I could feasibly swim down there and back without needing to take a breath.
There is another way.
With a start, I realized that I already knew the solution to my problem; a transformation potion. While I never had brewed one before, the knowledge of its creation came to the forefront of my mind.
I spent the next few days gathering the necessary ingredients, scouring the outskirts of the forest for each component. Some of them were easy to find, while others proved to be more challenging.The process was only made longer as the only time I could search for these ingredients was at night time when they wasn't any travelers about.
Some of the ingredients needed special preparation before they were able to be used. I spent days tying up herbs and drying the in the sun, grinding plants into paste, and painstakingly simmering concoctions for hours. It was as I was stirring one of the last few ingredients when I realized that I was missing one key ingredient; a fish gill.
The river wasn't close enough for me to get there and back in one night. Even if I somehow managed to accomplish it, I didn't have the means to obtain it. River fish were dangerous creatures and I am weak and frail. I didn't have a weapon of my own, and I could easily die from just a swipe of its tail.
Who said you needed to get it yourself?
Fetch Quest
Niamh is in need of a few ingredients to brew her potions. Gather 10 [Elf Root] and bring it back to her.
Rewards: 50XP, 10 [Gold Coin], 1 [Lesser Health Potion], 1 [Lesser Mana Potion]
Accept Quest?
Y/N
I realized that I could edit the quest interface I reached out mentally and the quest changed itself according to my wishes.
Fetch Quest
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Niamh is in need of a few ingredients to brew her potions. Gather 10 [Elf Root] 1 [Fish Gill] and bring it back to her.
Rewards: 50XP, 10 [Gold Coin], 1 [Lesser Health Potion], 1 [Lesser Mana Potion]
Accept Quest?
Y/N
If only getting someone to accept the quest was simple as that.
"That's too far away for me. Reject."
"Isn't this a beginner village? Why is this NPC trying to make me kill a level 5 mob? Reject Quest."
"Only 50XP? I can get the same amount of XP in half the time. Reject."
I started to lose hope that I would be able to get the fish fin. It had already been about a week since I edited my quest. Not many travelers visited my hut and much less were interested in getting a quest with such low rewards.
I stared at the traveler Ayanna apprehensively as her eyes unfocused, presumably reading the quest details. Her shoulder length brown hair fluttered in the wind occasionally slapping her in the face but she didn't seem to care. She had on simple leather armor and wore a beige shirt and brown trousers underneath. The most visually appearing thing about her outfit seemed to be her sword.
The pommel of the sword held a small blue crystal that seemed to shimmer when the light hit it. The handle of the sword was carved from a light colored wood and the guard was carved into elaborate curves. The white sheath was painted with intricate spirals and patterns with gold paint.
"I accept." I stared dumbly at her for a moment until it sunk in that she actually accepted my quest.
"Really?!" The human traveler narrowed her eyes in suspicion at my outburst. "Thank you, traveler. Your help is much appreciated." I smiled at her placidly, hoping that she would ignore my mistake. The traveler stared at me for a minute before turning away and heading into the forest without saying another word.
I watched her go, resisting the urge to celebrate my (tentative) success prematurely. There was always the chance that she could cancel the request down the line. I stood there for a while, fidgeting in place before the inactivity got to me. I needed to do something to quell my expectations.
I began to idle away by brewing random potions that I had no need for and reorganized my shelves. As there was not much for me to do, most of the day was spent gazing into the forest waiting for when she would come back. Every time a traveler came from the forest, I would get excited only to be disappointed when it wasn't the one I was waiting for. I almost gave up all hope when she didn't return until many hours later.
It was moments right before the sun set when I saw her figure emerge from the trees. I restrained the urge to rush to her and waited patiently as she approached me.
"Greetings, traveler. Welcome to my humble abode. How may I be of assistance?" Ayanna held out her hand and with motes of sparkles, a fish gill materialized into her hand.
"I have the fish gill that you needed." I reached out to accept the fish gill and smiled as it disappeared into my inventory. I hope I don't look too enthusiastic.
"I don't know what I would do without your help, traveler. Many thanks." She grunted as her eyes unfocused. She waved her hand in the air, dismissing the prompt and looked back at me.
"Yeah, sure thing." A whole minute passed and she gazed at me. I felt the urge to scream in frustration the longer she continued to stare at me and not go away.
"Are you in need of anything else, traveler?" Don't you have things to kill, or something?
"No." Ayanna continued to stare at me unabashedly and I wanted to cry. Why me?
Finally she turned around and headed back into the forest. After she left my sight, I waited a few long moments to make sure that she was really gone and I fervently made my way to the fire pit outside my hut.
I retrieved the fish gill from my inventory and examined it closely. It was still wet, and I needed it to be dry before I could use it for my potion. The fish gill needed to be carefully dried and ground into a powder. I pulled out a small piece of cloth from my storage and wrapped the fish gill in it. I carefully stoked a small fire and placed the gill nearby so that it could dry faster.
I stayed up throughout the night to supervise it, occasionally flipping the gill making sure the fire stayed at the optimal temperature.