Another quest

Bythos entered the apothecary shop and showed him the quest he took from the quest board, and the apothecary said, "Right, you're finally here. I need you to accompany me into the forest to collect some herbs."

"Alright, let's go then."

The two of them headed out of the city, and into the forest near the village Bythos was staying in. As they headed further in, they came across a small little camp site that was neatly laid out on a small elevation.

The campfire in the middle was burning, so Anthony called out, "Hey, Mark, you there?"

There was a shuffle, and Marcus walked out and replied, "What is it Anton?"

"Just wanted to check on you since I happen to be here. Haven't seen you in quite some time."

"You can visit me anytime you like, I'm living around the village again."

Anthony chuckled and said, "Doesn't seem like it to me."

"Well...I just like to live here once in a while. I'll head back to the village in a few days." replied Marcus.

Noticing Bythos' presence, he continued, "Sorry, didn't notice you're here until now, you're helping him out right? Hey Anton, take care of him alright, he's a friend of mine."

"No problem." Anthony replied. After that, Bythos and Anthony headed further into the forest.

On the way, Bythos asked, "You are close friends with Marcus?"

Anthony replied, "Yes, back when we were still young and adventurous, we were once part of the same team. He was the archer whereas I was the warrior, although I may not look the part now."

As they headed deeper into the forest, Anthony told Bythos, "Since you're Mark's friend, I may as well teach you a little something. I guess I should pay you a little extra too."

"What do you mean by that?" Bythos asked.

"Well, I originally intended to just get an armed escort to accompany me into the forest, in case something bad actually happens. However the price for listing the quest is lower if I listed it as a miscellaneous quest where you're just my assistant."

Marcus continued, "So I'll be paying you the price for a copper ranked adventurer escort. In addition, I'll teach you a little of my trade. This way you can sell me any herbs you come across."

"Seems alright I suppose." Bythos replied.

"Then let's get started. There are two general types of herbs, one grows in most regions whereas the other only grows in regions with high natural concentration of magic..."

Bythos listened to Anthony giving him a mini-lecture, as Anthony went around picking herbs and showed it to him, while briefly mentioning their uses, before putting it in his sack.

"As for magical herbs, you can find it deeper in the forest. Come, I'll show you where I usually get them."

Deep in the forest, the sky is almost entirely covered by the canopy, with only a few thin rays of light sneaking through, making it somewhat difficult to see. They continued further inwards, until the area around them resemble night-time more than day, yet Anthony somehow was still able to find his way around.

Eventually, they entered an area which was dimly lit by rows and rows of luminescent plants.

"As you can clearly see, these are magic herbs. It's a spot that only I know of, but I don't usually take any plants from here, as I can't make use of it. Sometimes an alchemist from another city may request for some." Anthony explained.

It looks amazing.

Bythos walked past the glowing plants, brushing his fingers over them as he walked past, and the plants glowed brighter in return. Anthony chuckled and said, "Maybe they like you. Let's head back before it gets dark."

When they exited the area, an extremely large owl stands perched on the thick branch above them, looking over them. It started cooing at them, at which point Anthony said, "I guess we should hurry it up."

They picked up the pace, with Bythos glancing back once in a while. Then Bythos nervously said, "I think it's looking at me."

"Forget about it, you should feel glad that it's willing to let us leave. I guess next time I should be more careful in the forest, never seen that thing before."

Back in the apothecary, Anthony ground up some of the herbs he picked earlier, and started brewing. After various steps of heating and stirring and what not, he poured the contents into three flasks, and handed one to Bythos.

"This potion will help reduce the pain of any physical injuries, I figured you might need it sometime. Don't hold on to it forever though, it only lasts about a week before the potion starts spoiling."

"Thanks." Bythos replied.

Anthony then grabbed a book from his shelf, passing it to Bythos and continued, "This is a herbal compendium I made for myself in the past. I don't need it anymore as I've already memorised all of it by heart."

After flipping a few pages of the book, Bythos said, "I appreciate it, but I can't read any of this."

"Oh, I didn't expect you to be illterate." Anthony replied. After a short pause, he said, "In that case I guess I could verbally go through them then. Do you mind?"

After glancing out the window, Bythos replied, "It's still kind of early, so why not?"

"Alright then, I'll make it quick."

With the help of the illustrations on each page, Anthony stated what plant they are and what functions they have. Even though Anthony told him that the plants in the book are only those found in this region and is not exhaustive, it still took a few hours to go through everything. By the time he finished, the sun is starting to set.

"Right, that's all the information I have to give. You probably can't remember it all, so you can keep the book. The drawings can serve as a refresher for you."

"Thanks."

Anthony took out a silver coin and passed it to Bythos and said, "Here's your reward for the quest. Help me tell Mark, or Marcus, that I'll be dropping by during the harvest festival."

"Alright, I'll pass the word when I meet him." replied Bythos. Afterwards, Bythos left the apothecary and headed back. Upon reaching the village, he had dinner with the village elder and went back home, placing his newly acquired book on the table.

On the bed, Bythos started thinking about what to do next.

I should also probably take one of those monster slaying quests soon. Don't want to be doing these miscellaneous quest all the time.

With that in mind, Bythos went to sleep.