[SP-F01] Fragments of Soil | «Earning a Living: Forager»

[Scar 0]

The silence in the clearing was overwhelmingly quiet, in a way that made the rustling of the grass seem like deliberate sounds. The light that came through the trees was neither bright nor whole, as it was covered by the branches that were full of leaves and the faint digital shimmer that indicated this specific part of the floor. Jack entered the space that was revealed by the disappearance of the smoke that was coming from a campfire. The air was sweetened with the smell of roasted herbs.

In the middle of the camp stood a wagon, its structure half buried in moss and covered with vines.

He stopped and with his eyes he tried to grasp the whole picture that unfolds. His gloved hand was on the blade of his sword in a very light and casual manner, not in a threatening sense, but just by habit. Skilled observation always comes first, followed by reaction.

After that, a woman emerged.

Her clothes were a fine paradox, forest greens and earth-toned browns, both looked like they were made of natural materials but the fact that they have been lived with and not freshly made was apparent, as though she existed in the space that lies halfway between the wild and the civilized. "So, it appears you've found me," she uttered, her voice having a melodic quality that was neither of greeting nor of rejection. "I tend to move around quite a lot, but someone always finds me. I suppose you are looking for some herbs?"

Jack's expression didn't shift much. He studied her eyes, sharp and bright like cut emeralds. "Not quite," he replied evenly. "I heard you could teach me more about gathering. The real kind, not just system-level scavenging."

That earned him a raised brow and the faint curve of a smile. "Most simply expect me to forage their materials for them, but few truly care about the process itself," she mused. "You surprise me."

She took a small, polished compass out of the pocket of her dress. Its metal part was shining under the sun, very old but quite well maintained for its age. "You may borrow my compass," she said, "Dark magic has made it capable of locating an incredibly rare item called a Demonic Shard. Should you find one, and bring it back to me, you will prove yourself worthy of my teachings. Take care, and may good fortune travel with you."

Jack took the compass carefully. The needle was turning twice before it stopped and pointed to the thick forest on the other side of the camp. He followed the point of the compass with his eyes but his face gave nothing away, though his brain was already calculating the routes. The system behind this NPC was way better than the average one, too smoothly for it to be just basic quest logic.

"I understand," he answered in a low voice. "Retrieve the shard, return, and earn your trust."

Giovanna's mouth was almost smiling, with a trace of both amusement and approval. "Precisely. Have fun, Jack. Though the forest looks young, it is far from it, and it doesn't like people who walk through it without a reason."

While he was heading for the forest, the firelight, moving with the wind, was behind him and it was highlighting his figure with the colors of summer and shade. In his hand, the compass was barely noticeable, but it was doing the same thing as the steady beat of his heart, waxing and waning with it.

Every cluster of earth that was underneath his boots was telling the same thing, that truth was, like any other harvest, dependent on patience and the readiness to get one's hands soiled.

***

Spoiler

Scar | HP: 140/140 | EN: 32/32 | DMG: 8 | MIT: 4

WC: 622