“Then, we shall see you again when you return!” the wolf told her. “Do hurry. My friend is very ill and needs the cure!”
“Wait for me!” She told him. She recast [Spirit Armor] and [Fox Form] and went over to where Tik-Tak was hiding in the bushes. “Wait here,” she told him. “I’ll be back very soon.”
With that, she shot back off into the forest. She may not have liked the wolf very much, but at least she had some idea of how to finish his quest—even if it was based on considerable luck. There were probably other ways for people to learn more about the Veil Ants, but if she hadn’t overheard the Herbalism lesson, would she have been able to finish the quest?
Back at the village, she quickly morphed back into human form and ran over to Miss Povari’s Tree. Winded, it took her a minute to catch her breath.
“Good heavens!” Miss Povari blinked at her. “What are you in such a hurry for? Is everything all right?” Guin looked up and saw that the children gathered around her feet were also staring at her.
Nervously, Guin laughed and put her hands to her face in a cute, childlike manner. “Sorry! I want to get some exercise! But I was wondering, Miss Povari, could I have a Milaou flower?”
The young woman furrowed her brows. “Why on Uldarin would you want a Milaou flower?” she asked, quite reasonably.
“Because...” Because an arrogant white wolf in the forest gave me a quest to find it. Shit. “It’s because I am interested in studying more about the properties of the flower! If you won’t give one to me, could you teach me about where they grow?” Her reasoning was still pretty ridiculous; she hadn’t thought that far ahead when she arrived. Cursing herself, she had to admit that asking someone for a poisonous flower was not a good way to go about things; she should have asked for more information first. The young teacher’s face confirmed the sentiment.
“I can’t say I approve of a while studying such dangerous things,” MIss Povari told her. “But if I teach you more about the flower, will you got to seek it out?” Guin did not answer, and Miss Povari let out a sigh. From her bag, she pulled out a single Milaou flower. “This is all that you should need, and a single flower should not do too much harm even if misused. I can respect your desire to learn, so I shall tell you that the Milaou grows only in spirit forests, like White Fox Forest, usually among Seitbloom; some suggest that they aren’t even different flowers and that the Milaou are merely Seitbloom that have been cultured by the spirits in the woods. Why they would do such a thing is unknown to the likes of me, but it is said that they are rather attached to them. Stories tell many a tale of foolish mortals being hunted by the spirits of Milaou they have picked and even being eaten by those spirits. Be careful, child; it would be wise to stay out of these woods!”
Happy that her mistake didn’t impede her progress, she took the flower pot and bowed. “I thank you for your wisdom, teacher!” Gently, she placed the pot in her inventory. She wasn’t sure how Miss Povari would handle it if she saw Guin go straight into the woods, so instead, she left toward the village first.
Once she was comfortably out of the way, she cast her abilities and ran towards the woods. Once she reached them, she took fox form and shot into the forest.
When she returned to where the others were, Tik-Tak had been dragged into being the center of their attention. The poor little fox looked rather lost as Lili seemed to be lecturing him on something. His little eyes light up with a tail wag as Guin reappeared, prancing up to them.
“Guin!” Tik-Tak shouted, running up to her. “What took you long?” he demanded to know, then in a small voice added: “I think these guys are crazy!”
Before she could answer, Ororos sauntered over to them. “Well, well, the girl has returned so quickly. Have you brought what I asked? Or... Have you given up?” He showed a toothy grin. Sick friend, my ass.
Snorting, Guin took human form and pulled out the Milaou flower. “Is this what you were looking for?” she asked him.
Ororos’s grin faded as she set it in front of him. He sat on his haunches with a sniff and looked at her.
“...I have met several candidates thus far into my duties as a member of the Court of Harbingers—a few, even, to whom I have given this quest—but you are the first have gotten one of my quests correct on the first try,” he told her, his eyes glinting. Guin smiled and thanked the universe for the coincidences that had led her this far.
“The fates helped me this time,” she answered, attempting to sound humble, but she wasn't sure it translated.
“The fates indeed,” said Jeek, the Red Rabbit. “I wonder, though? Will your luck hold out? It just so happens that I, too, am looking for something. My friend told me a story about a treasure that some mortal man left in the forest cave up in the hilly area to the north. He said that it was in a box, a box filled with shiny treasure—but the most important among the trappings wasn’t shiny at all. It was valuable like gold but made of wood—though it didn’t look like wood. Wrapped in leather, it was, then in cloth. Would you find this item for me?”
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<[Herbalism] has risen! (30/100)>
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Jeek, the Red Rabbit, has asked you to find something: “My friend told me a story about a treasure that some mortal man left in the forest cave up in the hilly area to the north. He said that it was in a box; a box filled with shiny treasure—but the most important among the trappings wasn’t shiny at all. It was valuable like gold but made of wood—though it didn’t look like wood. Wrapped in leather, it was, then in cloth. Would you find this item for me?” The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. This quest is optional. It can be skipped.>> < < So they are all going to give me a quest. Though she accepted the quest on the screen itself, before she could answer, Ororos shook his head. “I know of the place you speak of, Jeek, but you can’t send the child there—she’ll die! Look at her—she has no way to defend herself!” he grinned. “...but if she wants to go, maybe we could aid her? Or is she afraid?” “I will do it,” Guin told him. “Good!” said Jeek to her, sounding slightly warmer than his usual monotone. “Of course, I wouldn’t send her out there unprotected, idiot!” he said as the white wolf bit at the air over the rabbit’s head. Jeek went over to his hole and hopped in. After a moment, he reappeared with a small canvas bag and handed it to her. “Take this. Inside is a foot of mine when I was alive.” Guin nodded in thanks and took the bag. “Take this,” Ororos said, dropping a small white and yellow dagger at her feet. It looked like a— “This was made from one of my canines in life. Use it well.” Picking up the dagger, she bowed to him. “And this!” shouted Lili, throwing something down from the tree he had been in before. “It was made from the pelts of my family! Care for it well!” Guin kneeled and picked up a small cape of dozens of little furs. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as the morbid nature of the items, but she thanked them again as the quest chain updated to tell her that she was meant to return the items upon completing the quest. Waving in info away, she took a closer look at the items. The first had been from Jeek. The bag had no tooltip, meaning she needed to look inside. Steeling herself for what could have been a scene from a horror movie, she opened it. Thankfully, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. Pulling it out, she found it to be a small black rabbit’s foot. <<[Jeek’s Lucky Foot]>> << Bound - Accessory - Totem - Rank -- >> << Fate +5 >> << Reflexes +5 >> << Body +5 >> < << Required Level: -- - Rarity: Quest - Class Requirements: -- >> She had thought about ignoring the items because they weren’t permanent, but judging from this, she could learn something from them. The stats bonus was nice, too. They were decent for a level zero to have, and accessories were some of the hardest items to find organically in the game. Theirworld tried to approach the game from a more realistic direction with accessories, allowing many more than average MMOs. To keep people from being totally out of control, you were allowed two rings on each hand, two earrings, and one necklace, and then you had six special accessory slots where you could place things that did not fall into one of those categories—for example, bracelets, masks, tattoos, totems, and a variety of other things. Guin pulled up the character screen and dropped the foot into one of the slots. A black rabbit foot appeared at her side, dangling from her belt by a red ribbon. Next, she picked up the tooth dagger. <<[The Fang of Ororos]>> << Bound - Dagger - Hand - Rank -- >> < < < << Required Level: -- - Rarity: Quest - Class Requirements: -- >> After reading the flavor text, Guin gazed at Ororos with sorrow—and a bit of curiosity. His history was much more than she thought it would be. For him to have had a family that was killed in such a way, to have been a leader of a people who met tragedy, gave his character far more depth. As for the item, like the foot, it was a good item. If it were in the main game, this item would be an uncommon item, at least if only for the no-level requirement. She equipped it, and it appeared tucked within her belt. Last, she took out the small cloak that Lili had passed to her. <<[Lili’s Family Tree]>> << Bound - Cloak - Back - Rank -- >> < < << Required Level: -- - Rarity: Quest - Class Requirements: -- >> For Lili’s item, she wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry. On the one hand, people are horrible. On the other hand, the visual of the naked squirrel running around the city dressed in a squirrel suit hardly seemed a serious image. Of course, as with the other two, many people and creatures ended up dying. When she equipped the cloak, it appeared on her back, looking no different than rags. The three in front of her nodded their approval, and she bowed to them again. She went to leave, but then a question popped into her mind. Turning to them, she asked, “Mortals have done such horrible things to you—why do you treat me as if I am a friend still?” It was Ororos who chuckled. “Child, we lost our lives so many years ago that counting is pointless. Imagine if we held the rage of our past in our current hearts—the shame of it! Besides, were you the one that tortured us? Poisoned us? Turned our homes to ash? Nay, you are just a child. Allow your conscious to stifle the cruelty that rests in your bloodline.” She was expecting far more snark from the old wolf. Tik-Tak was looking up at her curiously. Guin checked the map and led them to their next location.