Foraging

Ezekiel and his father were slowly trudging through the forest vigilant to their surrounding. This forest had beasts that could kill them easily, so they had to be careful. The village was surrounded by forests and rarely got visitors due to this.

"Hey Zeke, have you found the herbs you need?" his father asked him as he beat away some leaves that were hanging in front of his face.

"I still need about 5 more herbs." Ezekiel said as he was on the floor picking up an herb that he needed for his mission. As he was picking the herb he heard a rustle and saw some golden horns sticking out of a bush not too far away from him.

He smiled at this sight and looked at his father to check if he was aware of the antelope's presence, and saw that it went unnoticed. Ezekiel wondered whether or not his dad was only able to sense beasts that wanted to cause him harm because he had sensed other beats that were in the same range earlier.

Ezekiel shrugged it off as it was not that important, and made his way towards the bush where he saw his Gold-Horned Antelope. When he got to the bush he took the herb that the antelope had in its mouth before rubbing it on the head.

He then checked a list and described another plant for it to find before sending it off again. The Antelope was very helpful in gathering Herbs, and had gathered more than Ezekiel had. Since it was not very smart it was only able to remember one herb at max, if Ezekiel tried to tell it more than one it would forget both.

Even with this flaw it had a very good working efficiency. He was not able to put the chicken to work because it was too dumb. The Antelope could at least take some basic commands, but the Chicken was only able to be told to walk somewhere or attack something. Requesting it to search for an herb was too much.

Ezekiel walked back towards his father and saw him sitting at the base of a tree eating some jerky. Ezekiel decided he wanted to take a break as well, and sat down across from him pulling some water out of his bag and drinking it down.

"Say Zeke, what are you foraging Herbs for anyways? Your mom said that you were trying to catch a chicken to surprise us. Why are you looking for Herbs now instead?" His father said as he was drinking some water out of a flask.

"Well I originally wanted catch a chicken to surprise you, but now that you know I decided not to get one. You guys caught a boar on Friday anyways. I want to gather Herbs, so I can try learning a recipe" Ezekiel explained, as he was indeed gathering herbs for a recipe.

"So you want to be an alchemist? That is a good career choice, they are wanted no mater where you go. No matter what level you are you will be able to get a job" his father agreed with becoming an alchemist.

Since Ezekiel was never one of the stronger kids becoming a hunter was not what his father pictured for him, but since he was very smart being an alchemist was perfect.

"You still need a cauldron if you want to actually concoct pills though. Maybe if me and you mother saved on some expenses and scrapped together some change we could purchase one for you" His father said as he rubbed his chin while deep in thought.

Ezekiel waved his hands and said "Oh no, I am fine. You don't need to buy a cauldron yet, as I am not even an alchemist yet. I just want to gather herbs, so I can get a better feel for them. When you send me to school later and I actually enroll in alchemy classes that would be the time to purchase one"

His father nodded as he mumbled "If we have that much time, then we just need to save a few spirit stones every month and we will be able to purchase one."

Ezekiel sighed. His parents decided to sent him to school in the capital when he was eight years old, however normal village kids would only go to the village school where they learn basic information. Ezekiel on the other hand, had been selected by the village chief to attend school in the Capital due to his innate smarts.

The other villagers were not mad about this, because they knew that Ezekiel was very smart for his age. And if he eventually made it big, then the whole village would prosper, so there is no point getting on his bad side now.

His father suddenly rushed to his side covering his mouth with his hand as he shushed him. Ezekiel was startled by the sudden movement, but slowly calmed down. He looked into the same direction his father was, and saw two yellow eyes staring back at him from inside a bush.

His father turned to him and shouted "RUN!" and the beast from inside the bush jumped out as soon as he shouted.