A double request

Jay woke up the next morning a bit later than normal, though without a headache that greeted most men around him. He and the soldiers had gotten offered to stay in one of the shags that was not in use.

As the others still kept sleeping and snoring, Jay climbed out of his hay bed and went to the door of the small shag. Just when he stepped out through it, some of the workers also left their shags and Jay heard them cussing while some where still a bit tipsy. He greeted them and decided to at least help prepare some breakfast.

Half an hour later he once again sat around the fireplace with the workers and even Private Cosley.

The other two had seemingly drunken a bit too much, as they only woke up when Jay and the Private had long finished and went to wake them. While not looking too well, they still managed to get ready within the next ten minutes as the group had to travel back soon. Jay and Cosley had even arranged a lent horse from the foreman, so the soldiers didn't have to walk.

Thanking the workers of Althers Mill and promising the foreman to bring his horse back in the next days, Jay and the soldiers saddled up. In fear something unsightly might happen, Keeshan and Ashlock had to share the normal horse while Cosley rode with Jay. Like this they descended the long main road down towards Stillwater.

As only Jay's mount was no normal horse, they had to take some rest stops in between, but Jay wasn't sure if the soldiers didn't profit more from that than the old horse. Thanks to their mounts, the four men still managed to arrive in town only somewhat after noon.

Knowing the soldiers had deserved some more rest, Jay and the Corporal left them be and went to report to the magistrate.

Solomon welcomed them back and first of all thanked Jay for his great contribution. At exactly the moment when Keeshan stated he had a lot to report, the notification Jay had already awaited once they passed the towns border appeared withing view.

***

Quest:

'Corporal Keeshan (4)' cleared!

Escort the soldiers back to Stillwater and report to Magistrate Solomon

2500 XP

***

Glad there was no further part of the quest-line, Jay excused himself while mentioning that he dearly needed a bath and something to eat. The two men thanked him once again but then Keeshan continued his report.

Thinking that it probably would take him a while, Jay left towards the Inn.

The moment she spotted him entering, Brianna came walking over and greeted Jay. To his question if he could rent a room to clean himself she shoved him her own key and even asked if he needed some "help". Jay thankfully declined as he really was feeling dirty with all the blood from his hunt still sticking to him.

But a warm lunch was something he gladly would share with her…

Not even an hour later, Jay once again exited the Inn for a stroll through town. With his belly full from the stew he got served and feeling fresh from the short bath, he had no interest to leave Stillwater and look for the Murlocs what was still on his agenda.

Instead, he looked around in town to see if there were other quests or tasks he could get, as well as get to know the layout better. The day was still far from over and idling around was not something Jay was good at, at least as far as he could remember.

Walking a few couple of yards along the piers he soon reached the first alley leading to the deeper parts of the small town. Jay took that path and came along some smaller and old houses until he reached a not that wide square. It wasn't even paved, but around it some few stores could be seen.

One in particular he took notice of, as it was a restaurant called "Femmel's Specialties". Jay had no idea what those specialties were, but for a restaurant only to keep existing, it must be something very good.

Most adventurers or travelers looked only for a cheap stay on their travels and either ate there or even cooked on their own to keep the expenses low. For a restaurant to exist in a backwater town like Stillwater where the inhabitants were hard pressed earning their expenses, it really was something else.

The other shops were a butcher, a bakery, a jeweler and a miscellaneous store. Jay checked on the restaurant first, but even though a delicious smell reached him from inside, the door was still locked so he couldn't enter. Sadly there was no menu for him to read, but Jay made sure he would check on this one before leaving Stillwater.

Leaving from there to the next best shop, Jay found out the jeweler had closed a while back. Once he tried to enter, he found a sign stating they were going out of business.

As he stood there looking inside through the dusty windows for some seconds, a passerby told Jay the shop closed after the Craftsman's family vanished some month ago. The magistrate had ordered to keep it as it was, in case they came back. The shop was still theirs after all, though no one had high hopes for it to happen.

Upon inquiring, Jay learned that this had been not a single case. The town had once been inhabited by over three thousand citizens including the soldiers, but after the last war and this region getting more or less abandoned, a lot of them left.

Even the camps and some buildings had been dismantled and now Stillwater was not even half the size it once had.

What was more: in the last few month, quite a lot of people vanished without prior notice. The security had gotten tighter around the town from there on, but those who had to leave the vicinity were still anxious.

After he promised the man to see if he could find any leads and the slightly heavy talk was finished, Jay learned a bit more about the town.

Apparently the herbalist located in the west was complaining about wild boars or something trampling through their garden at night.

Thanking the pretty talkative man who was the butcher in town and had a slightly similar appearance as Magistrate Solomon, Jay took his leave. He made a detour through the back streets and had a look at the mostly old and weary houses.

Less than ten minutes later, Jay had made his way through the streets and left the last houses behind. The place he was heading to was a wooden house slightly out of town. On the well maintained road leading there coming from the piers, Jay saw it on a hill with small fields surrounded by a fence.

He got a bit surprised once he entered the spacious sales area in the building and saw the so called herbalist. Her name was displayed as Alma Jainrose through his system. Jay didn't even need to analyze her to know she was the one running this place.

One reason was that she just kept tending to some delicate looking plants and the other that she extruded the aura that she belonged there.

Once she noticed the new customer, the woman in her mid thirties with wavy black hair walked over to Jay.

"Hello, how can I help you?" AJ.

"Oh, hello. I came here looking for this towns Herbalist." J.

"Then you have found her. I'm Miss Jainrose and running this place. Now, what exactly are you looking for?" AJ.

"I was told you have some trouble with your garden and came to offer my help." J.

"Oh my, you're an adventurer? I though you might be, but then again you look a bit young…" AJ.

"Yes, my name is Jay. Here is my ID…" J.

After showing her his Guild Card to verify he really came to help, Alma told Jay about their problem.

Every couple of nights they wake up from grunting noises during the night and the next day their neat herb plantations are a total mess. Some precious plants even looked like they got eaten and it had brought them quite some losses.

Ignoring the "them" she stated, Jay asked if she had any hints but she only shook her head. They had been too afraid to have a look at night, but as it last happened the day before, there ought to be some traces.

From what she knew it had looked like a hogs or boars trail, though the size had seemed off. Her late father had told them stories of a boar that had been feared in Stillwater, though that had been too long ago. Nodding to this, Jay promised to follow the traces and see if he can find the real reason.

Her bright eyes sparkled in hopes to get rid of whatever it was, but the next moment she seemed to have gotten an idea. Jay already feared she would want to join his hunt, but it turned out to be just another quest:

Since leaving the vicinity of Stillwater had gotten a bit dangerous, they were running low on Seaweed and Bruise-grass.

One grew in the forest the tracks led into while the Seaweed obviously grew on the lakes shore over there.

Alma led Jay to the side where she presented him two pots with similar looking grasses inside. She explained to him what they were and how to harvest them after he agreed to collect some for her while he was following the trails.

Following this, the two of them went to the garden where she presented the broken fence and the completely trampled ground behind. With a sigh she looked at the neatly growing plants and couldn't help but praise her little sister.

It was then when Jay learned what Alma had meant with "them" as she was tending to their business together with her little sister. Latter was also taking so much care of the garden but had left for the marked to sell the traders there some herbs and tea.

Without prying further into their private matters as the slightly mature beauty looked like she remembered something bad, Jay left her while sending her back inside. It really was no problem to follow the traces left behind, even without (tracking).

Once Jay reached the woods a few dozens of yards behind, he used his skill to follow them while looking out for the demanded grasses. Thanks to his (Analyze) it was not much of a hassle to gather quite the amounts.

The tracks had at one point started to spread out in every direction, so Jay first of all went down to the shore. Not only was there a high chance the beast he kept looking for was there to drink, but he could also harvest the Seaweed there to finish at least one quest that day.

To his misfortune the Seaweed was the only thing he found there, though that in amounts that even topped the Bruise-grasses. The place he had arrived at in the end was the furthest west the giant lake reached.

Done with picking the grasses up, Jay left the shore and went back towards the forest.

Just before he reached the first tree did he notice movement on the western side of the lake.

He wasn't sure but for a moment he thought he had seen a Gnoll.

Pondering if he should check on it he decided against it. It could have been some animal as well and even if it had been a Gnoll, he was out in the wild.

Back in the woods, Jay followed the traces once again and strained his ears. He had spotted some places where the beast had laid down to sleep and was by then pretty sure it really was a boar. But though it's size seemed to be massive, he still was to spot it.

After he had searched on for a while and saw the sun already setting and the light slowly changing color, Jay decided to head back and try to find it another day. It wasn't like he had planned to leave the next days anyways.

Twenty minutes later, barely at the edge of the forest, did Jay make out movement in front of him. It was still far from dark, but he couldn't make out what it was he saw.

Analyzing the thing once he was within range after speeding up his steps revealed it:

__________

Bellygrub

LVL 27 (elite)

* Boar * Age: ? * Gender: ? *

HP 7,598/7,598 * Mana 0/0

[Charge LVL 3]

(Stab LVL 2)

[Enrage LVL 2]

[Thick Hide LVL 2]

__________

From the size the beast had, Jay first thought it was a bull or something he was walking towards. Even only seeing it's back he knew it was the most massive boar or hog Jay had ever seen. This more than explained the massive trails and molds it had left.

Once again it wasn't his lucky day as Bellygrub had noticed Jay when he analyzed it, swinging its massive head back. What followed was a charge without warning that Jay barely managed to dodge by jumping to the side.

Wondering how such a massive thing could accelerate this fast, Jay was barely quick enough to see the over-sized boar ramming into and through the closest trees. The sheer weight was seemingly not that easy to halt what resulted in Bellygrub loosing some of it's health.

But still, before Jay was back on his feet, the boar once again started a charge.

What was more, two other normal sized boars came rushing from where Jay initially found the big one. They seemed to be his companions, what resulted in a pincer attack.

Grinning inwardly, Jay waited for the right moment, just when the two boars were less than four yards away. Bellygrub had a few yards more, but that didn't matter.

Discharging a (chain lightning) onto the two smaller ones, Jay jumped high into the air and with the help of his movement skills fulfilled a beautiful somersault midair. Just when his head faced downwards he saw Bellygrub pass bye about two feet under him with absurd speed while turning it's companions into meat paste.

Like always, the XP went to Jay as he previously attacked them. The massive boar though once again crashed into another tree, loosing a tiny bit of health once again.

This time, Jay was fast enough and closed in on it to not have it charge again. But the next moment it swung its giant head towards Jay, trying to kill Jay with its massive tusks as if to show him what the (stab) ability meant.

But to Jay this was more than welcome. He had long grabbed his sword and parried the attack what resulted in a heavy riposte with his off hand. The damage though was surprisingly low as the cut on it's flank was pretty shallow.

Ignoring the fact that [Thick Hide] seemed to protect it from most of the damage, Jay went with simply overpowering his opponent by showering it with hard attacks and magic.

Not even two minutes later, Bellygrub breathed his last and fell to the side.

The beast looked surprisingly intact aside from numerous cuts and a few burns, but the other two seemed like they had jumped into some gigantic mixer. Jay still fetched them in his inventory and then pulled Bellygrub with him as he was close to the Jainrose's house.

The moment he reached the fence around their garden, Alma came walking around the corner as she seemingly had seen him arriving.

Holding her cheeks with a wide agape mouth, everybody could tell she was completely baffled by what she saw.

Jay though only commented that it had been a good choice to not have had a look outside. As he asked if she wanted the meat or if he could take it, Alma was first irritated and then pondered a bit. In the following talk Jay learned that named and elite beast were like monsters and not edible without the corresponding skill to cook them.

A bit discouraged Jay took out he leftovers of the other two boars and asked if this was true for those as well.

With a soft smile on her lips, Alma commented that he seemingly had not much experience and asked if he was hungry. When she asked him to follow her inside and bring one of the boars, he waited until she had just passed the corner of the house.

The moment Alma was out of sight, Jay stored Bellygrub's corpse as well as the other boar, then picked the other and did as he got asked.