by Sergei Katz
As it happened, the herbalist was already working in the garden, cropping some bush that looked like a begonia.
— Good morning! — I greeted the herbalist.
— Ah, it's you, Dee. — Votina looked fresh and rested. — Last night was great, I'll be happy to do it again some time when you are up for it and have more time.
— I'd seriously love to, but unfortunately today is not a good time.
— You're an experienced herbalist, and, it seems that you are beyond beginner level.
— To be honest, I’m just a beginner. — I answered.
— You have little left to learn. Join me, in my garden. There is a whole collection of different herbs and plants there, and your skills will quickly improve with practice. As you are aware, much can be learned from practice, if it interests you, — The herbalist winked at me.
Nobody refused free stuff – unless you were a fool. I simply ignored the protesting cry of my bird and began to look over the herbs in the garden. It took around an hour to discover how and what to pick. There were lots of new plant names to learn, instructions on their use, and what, how and where to apply them. Eventually, I exceeded 100% of the Beginner herbalist level and crawled into 1% of the level of a Practitioner.
— Well then, — the face of the herbalist showed her approval, — I told you that you had little left to learn. — Votina tenderly laid her hand on my shoulder, and said: — Grand Masters can sense such potential abilities a mile away.
— Are you a Grand Master herbalist?
— Yes, I am! — Votina smiled. — I am a Grand Master herbalist. Also, I am a master in agronomy and cooking. Dee - you show great promise as a student and if you continue to develop the agility of herbalism, then you will be able to achieve the reputation of Grand Master as well. Do you know why I have mastery in these three disciplines?
— No, — I shook my head.
Naturally, I guessed the answer, but my intuition insisted that I keep silent.
— Each of them helps me in the development of the others. I find new herbs, grow them and cross breed them with other herbs, so I get another new herb, and then I find a way to use them in cooking. Whenever I find a new way of using a plant or herb, then it improves my reputation as an herbalist. Soon I plan to become the first Grand Master in this world in all three disciplines. Would you be interested in becoming my student?
A pleasant odor emanated from the herbalist, and for a moment I remembered her naked supple body in my arms. As if guessing where my thoughts had gone, the herbalist straightened her dress modestly, holding her hands on her hips. Then, as if trying to restrain her emotions, she sighed: — You will be leaving soon, so it won’t happen today.
Sadly, she was right. So, I decided to return to the previous question.
— Okay then, what do I need to do to accomplish this? — I asked. — If it's going to take a long time, then I will have to forego it. I'm leaving the village today.
— It won’t be quick, — the herbalist grinned. — You will only stop being my student when you have achieved mastery in the craft. You don’t necessarily have to be in the village, and you will return only when all three abilities reach the level of Craftsman.
— All three? — I asked.
— Yes. Now I am going to teach you the skills of agronomy and cooking.”
As had happened before with Trickster, I was asked to close my eyes. My mind was filled with a slide show of how to grow plants and herbs. I tried to repeat this in my mind again and again. After this was over, I then went through a similar learning experience when it came to cooking skills. I opened my eyes.
You have discovered the “Agronomist” ability. Beginner level (1%).
You have discovered the “Cooking” ability. Beginner level (1%).
— Well, now you are my student, so don’t let me down. I expect great things from you. Study all three subjects at least to the level of craftsman, and then I will be happy. Not everybody is destined to be masters and even fewer become Grand Masters, but to achieve the level of Craftsman is quite respectable.
My menagerie was behaving in a lively manner. Firstly, the Moon Flower seemed to rejoice that I knew the basics of agronomy, because there was no reason for it to be pleased about my newly found cooking skill. At the same time my Totem was in full swing circling around me, issuing forth a birdlike war cry. It seemed that he was expecting me to provide him with a higher quality of food on the road. The cheeky bugger - it’s not as if I hadn’t fed him well before!
— Why is your bird being so loud? — The boy was surprised.
— Alex is here now, so I will help both of you prepare for your journey, — said the herbalist.
— Us? — I turned to Alex. — Are you leaving the village, too?
— Yes, — the boy smiled, — I have no choice. I have to find a Wandering Stone. Dee, can I ask you to accompany me on my journey? I'm sure that you have your own plans, but after what happened yesterday, I'm not sure I can manage on my own.
I glanced at my Totem. The Copper Winged one looked like a kitten left in the rain. Apparently, he was seriously afraid that after he woke me up early in the morning, I could change my mind and take Alex with me in his place.
— I must ask my Totem, — I winked at the boy and turned to the bird. —Well, Copper Wing, are we going to help the boy?
Understanding that he wasn’t under threat, my Totem began to wave his beak up and down in consent, doing this with an incredibly serious look on his face. Unable to keep their faces straight, Alex was the first to laugh, followed by the herbalist. I held out as long as I could, but after the explosion of laughter, the expression on the bird's beak became so bewildered that I started laughing too, so I stroked my Copper Wing affectionately.
— Nobody is going to leave you behind. Just try to be aware of other people’s feelings in the future, okay?
It was clear that my Totem was happy, and not in the least bit offended. The falcon leaned on one claw and nodded nobly.
— Okay, let's go and buy some provisions, and while we’re at it you can tell me where we are going, — I said to Alex. — To be fair, I had no particular plan in mind, but there is still one unpleasant task that I need to get out of the way before too long ... Okay, I'll tell you about it when I have to.
So far Alex had been more useful than I was on the journey. He and the herbalist knew what we needed to take on the road better than I did. Healing ointments and bottles filled with elixirs. Some were antidotes to poisons, and others temporarily strengthened individual agilities. Some improved vision, especially at night. There was an ointment that drove away monsters for eight hours at a time, but it was only used by those that didn’t have access to my protective guard spells. However, the ointment was effective against animals but not against all humanoids. On the contrary: a humanoid with a good scent of smell could track down anyone that had applied this ointment.
Alex didn’t have much money, but the herbalist supplied him with everything he needed anyway, for example, arrows, clothes that fitted his size, and so on, and she gave it to him free of charge. I paid her for everything that I bought, but at a much lower price than the cheating trader would have charged me. I bought a two man tent, and a lot of seasonings for meat and fish. At the same time I acquired a special magic notebook. I wanted to use this to record and sketch every creature and plant that I came across. With the help of a simple phrase and gesture, the notebook activated automatically and sketched and recorded everything that I was seeing - very useful.
— Most importantly, you can pass on information to others. It would be a shame if you came across something new and didn’t make a note of it, — the herbalist summed up, copying a dozen rare herbs, plants and flowers that I had come across in the forest into my new notebook.
“How odd. The notebook has not got any bigger, but the number of pages seems to have increased.”
— You noticed that? — The herbalist was surprised. — Few people immedi
ately notice such a thing, and that’s why it costs twenty silver coins, but you will get your investment back very quickly. Quite often different trades need plants with a certain effect, and they are ready to pay for such information. You will be able to get an order from a Guild for a plant that produces a particular effect.
At this point we said goodbye to Votina.
Outside the village, I again asked the boy where we were going to first.
— To Yaga the Fortune Teller, — the boy sighed. — Last time my visit there ended in tears, and I'm afraid to even imagine what could happen this time.
— Don’t worry. This time I'm with you. By the way, where does she live?
— Not far, a couple of hours walk from here. She will definitely give us a quest to accomplish, and hopefully, we'll manage to complete it today, I really don’t want to return to the village and have to see all those sympathetic faces.
We got there in less than an hour. The beasts of the forest generally gave us a wide berth. In fact, we fought only with one bear, who had decided that we should give way to him, and the three of us disagreed. Frankly, my Copper Wing was looking for an excuse to show me and Alex what he was capable of, and the bear was unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thanks to my Totem, I collected two trophies from the bear: a claw and a fang. Alex immediately took the claw for himself and quickly made a knife out of it by fastening to a piece of branch. It looked like his Craftsman skills were way superior to mine. Whatever he did, his knife looked the part.
We stopped in front of a forest dwelling.
For some reason or other, on the edge of my consciousness, Yaga’s name rang a bell. Now, looking at the hut, I remembered Slavic folklore, when no children’s fable was complete without an appearance by the Old Woman named Yaga.
The hut stood on two red pillars resembling huge chicken legs. It had a door and a window, but it still reminded me of the old folk stories.
— What does she look like, this Old Woman Yaga?
The boy's eyes widened and he began to look around; making sure that nobody was listening in on our conversation. My Totem landed next to us quietly.
— Do not call her old woman, and in particular don’t call her Old Woman Yaga, because she does not like it. One time a drunken hunter called her that and she turned him into a frog, and he spent a week croaking away in a glass jar. The whole village presented themselves before Yaga and begged her to forgive him. You can call her the Fortune Teller, or just Yaga, but always address her with respect and maybe then we won’t have any problems.
The door creaked open, and a fragile old woman with only one large front tooth appeared in the doorway, wearing a strange patchwork cloak. The old woman looked extremely colorful.
— Finally, you are here, my little darlings. Come on inside, I've been waiting for you, and if we don’t do everything we need to do quickly, then we may be too late.
Alex rushed inside the Fortune Teller’s house as a fast as a hurricane. I followed behind him at a gentler pace, for some reason my Copper Wing was in no hurry to enter the house.
— So, your birdie doesn’t want to join us. Is he really so shy?
I looked at my Totem; he moved his beak as if to tell me that he wanted no part of this. Personally, I had no inclination to go into the house either, but I didn’t want to leave Alex alone.
— All right, wait here then. — I told my Totem, and the Totem nodded his acceptance.
— Forgive me, Madam Yaga, he's just a humble bird.
The old woman burst out laughing.
— He's smart, not humble. Come on in, I won’t do you any harm. You need me, and I need you.
I followed Yaga into her home. It was exactly like I remembered from the fairy tales: a table, a cooker and a bed. In the corner was a half-meter-long black cat. Perhaps that was why my naturally curious Totem wasn’t inclined to go inside.
We sat down at the table, and the old woman poured hot tea for us.
— Well, Alex, — she began, — you want to find out where the wandering stone is right now, am I right?
The boy nodded.
— What are you prepared to sacrifice to obtain this information?
The boy visibly tensed, and I felt that I needed to come to his rescue.
— Tell me, please, Madam Fortune Teller Yaga, is that cat your familiar?
— That's right, my son, — the old woman smiled, pretending not to notice that I had interrupted her.
— And what’s this beautiful beast’s name?
— My beloved familiar is called ...
I noticed that the cat purred at the word “beloved”.
Yaga continued: —... His name is Ba ... — and then she coughed. — His name is Bast!
When the old woman pronounced the name, I was still looking at the cat: its eyes were rounded, and there was a shocked expression on its face. The cat proudly rose to its feet, straightened its tail and headed out the door.
— Where are you going? — The Fortune Teller’s voice had a note of concern in it.
But it was already too late. The cat opened the door with a paw and jumped out of the house. I turned to the frustrated old woman.
— Maybe we can help you solve the problem with your Familiar? — I asked the old woman who had not yet recovered.
Yaga nodded in silence.
— Alex, this is down to you, — I decided.
The boy rose happily and jumped out of the hut chasing after the cat.
— You’ve conned him, haven’t you? — The old woman sighed.
— Forgive me, Madam Yaga, if I have offended you. It’s just that you, your house and your cat remind me of something from my past. Also, I understand why you dislike being called a grandmother ...
Anger flared up in the Fortune Teller’s eyes.
I continued calmly: “You know it’s also true that I know your real name.
Her anger was replaced by fear.
So, I asked her: — Can I give you some advice?
The old woman nodded warily.
— First of all, you must find a way to change your appearance completely, say to that of a young maiden.
— Oh, my dear chap, that's a great idea. And what else do you suggest? — Hope shone in Yaga’s eyes.
— Change your name completely, and not just by one or two letters. You need to change the way your home looks, and agree with the cat about a new name that he would have chosen for himself. Everybody knows that you have a cat, but few people remember about his existence, never mind recall his name. Hell, I can’t even remember what he is called myself.
— Thank you for your advice. I'll give you a simple quest to accomplish, and if you complete it on time, then I'll tell you something about your future.
— By the way, grandma ...
The Fortune Teller’s eyes flared up again, but then she pulled herself together and smiled: — Ignore me. I just do it out of habit.
I nodded and asked: — So how did you become a Fortune Teller?
— I sort of fell into it by accident, — Yaga sighed. — My house fell on top of the head of the previous Fortune Teller and because I was the closest person, her gift was passed on to me.
— How did you appear in this world?
— I have no idea, — the old woman sighed. — Okay, time to move on. Take on the quest, I have lots of things to do.
You need to complete the quest before 12:00 pm today. You need to get close to the Odd-Looking Elf and take from him what he is making at the time of your arrival.
— Where exactly can we find this Odd-Looking Elf? — I asked the Fortune Teller.
— Alex knows exactly how to find him. Now get out of my house before I change my mind, and before my old habits come back to haunt me.
I ran away from Yaga’s house as fast as my feet could carry me.
Already on the run, I shouted out to Alex: — We don’t have much time! We need to collect something from the bizarre looking Elf before 12 o’clock lunchtim
e.
The boy had been playing with the cat that had been delighted with the attention, suddenly quickly jumped up to his feet and ran after me.
CHAPTER 17:
NEW ACQUAINTANCES
The three of us moved quickly through the forest. Ahead of me, Alex and the Totem were playfully wiping out enemies that we had come across before - my help wasn’t required at all. They had become close friends, and had some sort of a challenge between them to prove which one was the “coolest”. To this day, I have still have no idea of what the rules of the game were, but they, apparently, were quite comfortable with what was going on between them. At the same time, they were working together as a team: when the boy fired off a good arrow, my Copper Wing rejoiced with him, and vice versa.
Since I wasn't needed in the fight anyway, I decided to create a new “Wild Magic” spell. I really didn’t appreciate how fast the Yeti Crab had got to me. Also, his master’s speed of movement during the battle, when he was roughly equal to me in strength, had been very impressive. So I needed a new control spell, which I could apply anywhere and anytime: preferably something that could slow down my opponent. However, I needed something from nature to create a “Wild Magic” spell.
We stopped again. When Alex and my Totem were busy fighting a grey bear, I looked around, deep in thought. There was nothing but trees and bushes, branches, moss and mushrooms surrounding me. Of course, I could weave the tree branches together to keep the enemy out, or at least to slow them down, but it’s rare to find trees in the steppe lands, meadows and fields. It was even worse in populated areas. Then I noticed Alex, who was fighting the bear, had slipped on the grass.
It dawned upon me: “There it was, problem solved!”
Grass was growing pretty much everywhere, and where it didn’t grow there were usually no trees or bushes either. Even in a city there was usually a park or an area of grassland. Now all I had to do was to actually create the spell. To begin with, I chose a hummock where there was a lot of grass towering around twenty centimeters above the ground. The first thing I tried to do was to draw a thread of mana along the outer edge of the hummock, connecting the blades of grass. About ten minutes later I realized that this approach wasn’t going to work. Naturally, this experiment was easier for me than the very first time I tried it with the mushrooms, but the grass was still too short and too numerous, so clearly this method wasn’t going to be effective.
