Chapter 188

The meeting had been going on for over an hour. Reports, questions, answers, and a few small disputes. Finally, Gennady stood up. With a sly smile and a twinkle of amusement in his eyes, he seemed completely uninterested in the previously discussed topics. The man was clearly lost in his pleasant thoughts.

— As you know, I went to Kas, — upon hearing this from his friend, Alexander focused. He knew about the trip from the other triumvirs' blood, but the results were a mystery to everyone. Gennady had been stingy with words, offering only vague assurances that everything was fine and then disappearing into the forests.

— Besides making connections and meeting with merchants, I visited a couple of alchemy shops.

The other vampires at the table were completely uninterested in the start of the report. There was an alchemy shop in Savoyardi too, but its assortment was more like a cosmetics store or pharmacy. The seller wasn't even an alchemist, merely dealing in ready-made products. The situation with artifacts was the same — a small shop with a selection of weak amulets and a table for ordering something more valuable. The city on the edge of the world, populated by workers and merchants, did not inspire mages to develop trade in more expensive items or settle there. The speaker took a branch lying on the table and shook it in the air.

— And here's the result!

— And what is this stick? — Leonid voiced the general question.

— Black cedar! A valuable alchemical material. It's worth a lot of money.

— And why did you burn it? — The stick in Gennady's hands indeed had scorched edges.

— That's how it is naturally. When it breaks, it creates this effect, which is why this tree is called black cedar. It only grows in the Cursed Forest.

— I take it your enthusiasm isn't just about this piece of wood? — Konstantin looked at the speaker with sarcasm, — Don't keep us in suspense.

— Well, in one of the shops, I met a group of prospectors who had just returned from Rostkov, and I followed them to a tavern. Then, the usual routine — alcohol and heartfelt conversation, followed by a few drops of each person's blood, — Gennady placed the branch back on the table, — Here on the outskirts, near the borders of the Cursed Forest, there are only four types of plants interesting to alchemists. In Zalone, where part of the mines are located directly in the forest, there are more. But four will be enough for us. The most valuable is the root of the winter fern, which is worth its weight in silver but is extremely rare, with no more than five kilograms harvested in a summer. Next is the beastwort, a lovely flower; the interest lies specifically in the flowers, not the stem, but the problem is that animals are very interested in eating the stem, so the herb is quite rare. Then there is black cedar. And last, the main source of income for the prospectors — the laying mushroom. From the name, you wouldn't guess, but it's a type of mushroom.

— I hope it's not used the way everyone here is imagining? — Semyon pointed at the vampires, some of whom were smiling, and after his words, even laughing openly.

— Alchemists prepare an extract from it, which is added to wine, and I don't know anything more. What you're all thinking of is black cedar nuts. A strong narcotic substance, requiring no alchemical or other processing, just chew and that's it. It's banned for sale, with a lifetime sentence for sellers, but don't worry, there are none here.

— No nuts? — Alexander was surprised, — Trees exist, but no fruits?

— They're not allowed to grow!

Everyone burst into laughter. The old joke from their world came to life in this one. The black cedar saplings were uprooted before the trees even had a chance to produce cones and nuts.

I've got more interesting stuff on patreon

patreon.com/Chill76