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Book 3: Chapter 17: Herblore Class

Then on cue, he received a new skill level in Concealment.

Well, he might be a screw-up as a leader, but he always had his skills.

He couldn't change what had happened with Tamya and Len. She made it clear that the bridge was burnt. The only thing he could do from here on out was to learn from the experience, move forward, and try to keep it from happening again.

Straightening, Arthur exhaled as if to rid himself of his guilt. As he took in a clean breath, he caught a spicy scent in the air. His stomach rumbled in approval.

He had been hesitant about going into one of the kitchens to grab a bite before as there were things in there that could be weapons, like knives. But that silver mystic who had seen through his stealth class hadn’t stopped him from walking where he wanted.

Perhaps he was being overdramatic. Did it matter if word got back to the council that he’d been out and about? They already knew they couldn’t control him.

Following his nose, he found the delicious spicy aroma coming from a vendor who had set up a cart in an alcove, too shallow to be considered an official lava cave. The booth had a smoking grill with several battered peppers roasting upon it. Despite the alluring smell, no one waited in line for a meal.

"What is this?" Arthur asked, walking up.

"Stuffed peppers," the man replied. "We have meat, cheese, or rice. Or you could get all three for a copper."

The peppers were quite large and stuffed. That was a lot of food, but Arthur had his storage space. He figured he could take some back to Cressida as well. She wouldn't be leaving Joy's side anytime soon.

"I'll take two of the combinations," he said and stood back to watch as the vendor dipped a couple of the already stuffed peppers into the batter and threw them onto the grill. Then the man skewered the nearly cooked-through peppers with small wooden stakes.

New Counterfeit Skill obtained: Perfectly Roasted

Remaining Time: 71 Hours 59 Minutes 59 Seconds

New skill gained: Perfectly Roasted (Cooking Class)

Due to your card’s bonus traits and your existing Cooking Class, you automatically start this skill at level 5.

Arthur's eyebrows rose. That was a valuable skill to have for anyone interested in cooking. Judging by the time limit left, it had come from a Common card.

Thanks to his Master of Skills card, it was now his. He hadn't had a lot of time to level his skills since Brixaby's hatching, but this would go nicely with his cooking class.

The vendor, completely oblivious that his valuable skill card had just been copied, took the cooked peppers by the ends of the skewers and wrapped them in wax paper before handing them to Arthur.

Arthur quickly stuffed those into his Personal Space. Because time did not move for items in there, they would come out just as perfectly cooked as they had been when they went in.

The second set of three peppers, he reserved for himself. Eagerly, he bit into one he thought might be stuffed with cheese. The taste exploded in his mouth—greasy and delicious, and satisfyingly spicy. And there was another surprise. He received a boost.

Thanks to an infusion of fire peppercorn flakes, your Fire Resistance has temporarily been increased to level 4. This is a temporary effect and will result in a negative point-temporary backlash once the effect wears off. You will then be more susceptible to burns.

Time left: 4 hours 59 minutes, 59 seconds.

"Is there a problem?"

The vendor was watching him closely, and Arthur hesitated before saying anything. "I have a body enhancement card," he said, "and I just received a minor boost. Would you happen to know why?" He phrased his words carefully because asking for details on someone else's craft was, well, an easy way to get himself chased away from the vendor's booth.

At least, in the Wolf Moon hive.

So he was surprised again when the vendor beamed wide. "Oh, so you saw that little fire resistance boost? Normally that goes right over people's heads—they still get it though."

"You know about that?" Arthur asked, then added, still in complete shock, "You cooked it in on purpose? How?”

Mentally, he was reeling: And you're okay with me knowing about this?

"Oh, of course," the vendor said, "though it's more of a happy side effect than anything else. Comes from these—hold on." He started rummaging around underneath the table where he kept his supplies. Then he pulled out a glass jar filled with ground peppercorns.

"Fire peppercorns," the vendor said, proudly, "they grow them at the 5th bubble, along with the rest of the minor herbs. See?"

Then, to Arthur's shock, he pinched a little bit of the ground pepper and extended it out to him. Arthur held out his palm and the man dropped several dozen of the flakes in.

"Give it a taste," the man said.

Shocked that the vendor was being so open about this, and a little suspicious because of it, Arthur reluctantly sniffed. Yep. Pepper. Cautiously, he took another taste.

His fire resistance timer refreshed.

"I add it into the batter as an ingredient. It's good stuff. Not my secret sauce, though," the man winked, and Arthur suspected that his "secret sauce" was actually his card which showed him exactly when his peppers were roasted perfectly.

It was a sly diversion that he could appreciate. It let this man's competitors drive themselves crazy trying to find the perfect combination of herbs… when it was a skill all along.

"I appreciate the information," Arthur said, "I do a little cooking on the side, too, when I can. 5th bubble, you say?"

"Yep, follow this hallway to the end, and turn right. You're in the third bubble now."

Arthur had no idea what he was talking about, but his new Deception skill alerted him that it would be a stupid idea to let the vendor know he was completely new to the hive. That would cause uncomfortable questions.

Thanking the man again—and tipping him another full copper, which the man looked pleased by, but not utterly surprised about—Arthur continued the way he pointed while munching on the peppers. Sure enough, each one was perfectly roasted.

As Arthur walked, he tried to figure out what the vendor had meant by bubbles. He only understood once he finally looked up. He had been paying so much attention to the interior caves, which were all smaller, ancient lava bubbles, that he had failed to take in the complex as a whole.

Guess I need a few more levels in my heightened awareness skill, he thought, amused.

Instead of layers like in the Kingdom hives, the mesa itself was carved out from old lava bubbles so large that they hadn't registered to Arthur. Not until he reached the end of one and saw the gradual downslope of the ceiling to the connecting hallway before he reached the next. And, on top of the ceiling, written out in faintly glowing stones, was the number three.

The following "hallway" was still so tall that fully adult dragons could still fly through, and exited out the other side, he saw a glowing number four on the top of the ceiling. Not hard to guess that he had just entered the next bubble in line. And that the next one after that would be bubble five.

Upon walking into bubble five, he noted that the air felt more humid and slightly cooler. Most of the smaller caves he saw were lit with artificial card light, and he heard the gentle babble of water echoing off the cave walls. There were still a few residences here and there, but it seemed this place was focused on growing things.

It made sense. Since the Free Hive had such a high population, and no exterior trade to speak of, they would need a lot of it.

Speaking of, he wanted to know how the hive managed to keep its dragon population fed. Arthur had been doing some of Whitaker's paperwork as part of his "training." The man's record-keeping was a mess, but Arthur had come across the amount that Wolf Moon hive spent on animals to feed the dragons for a typical week. It had nearly bowled him over. Local nobles had entire estates dedicated just to the feeding and raising of cows, sheep, and goats all shipped to the hive.

And Wolf Moon was a small hive.

The Mesa Free Hive must have another bubble dedicated to animal husbandry. Something well away from anybody else… and with a lot of air purification cards.

He let his nose guide the way to the herbs. It was difficult to pick out something individual with all the smells of growing things around him, but Arthur had been working in kitchens for years. The smell of rosemary was distinct.

That scent led him to a deep, but narrow cave. The ceiling was brightly lit at the top, with dark, rich soil on the bottom. In fact… he knew the coloration of that soil.

"Is that dragon soil?" he blurted, kneeling to get a closer look, half horrified. He hadn’t been this close to the stuff, outside its pure form thanks to Brixaby, since he was a child.

"Don't touch it, boy! Not unless you want to burn your hands, or grow extra fingers on them."

The voice came from an elderly woman who was tending to a row of sage plants not far away. She gestured with her head to the side wall where several tools and supplies were hung on hooks.

"If you're here to help, grab a pair of gloves."

Her gloves went up past her elbows and were stained dark with the dragon soil.

Arthur hesitated for a moment. Then, with a mental shrug, he did as he was told.

As he stepped across the length of the cave, some trick of the air lessened the overpowering scent of the herbs. Instead, he caught a whiff of the dragon soil, which was much more acidic than it should have been.

For a brief moment, he was a little boy again, helping carry water buckets and dippers to the workers out in the field. In his old borderland village, the older teens and adults took on the dangerous task of working dragon soil into the deadened lands ravaged by the scourgelings.

The work was deadly dangerous. As punishment for crimes against the kingdom, everyone was uncarded. That meant they had no defense against scourge-dust, should it get too deep into their lungs, or open wounds. Also, the dragon soil itself represented a threat… though Arthur hadn’t learned that until he had been in the hive.

And what he scented now was even more pungent than he remembered as a child.

Arthur paused in the act of pulling on the gloves to stare down at the rich ground, mildly horrified. “How long has this soil been curing in the sun?”

The woman grinned at him. And though she was certainly not a young thing, she still had all her teeth. “You picked up on that fast. This soil’s been curing for six months.”

“But—”

“No more questions. If you’re here to help and not waste my time, come over here. I’ll show you how to trim the sage. Bring that pair of clippers on the wall – the ones just over there.”

Arthur hesitated again. He didn’t have a problem with helping, though he had come mostly to ask questions. He figured if this woman was brave enough – or crazy enough – to work with nearly raw dragon soil, he could be as well.

A few moments later, he was kneeling by her side and being shown what was dead and could be pruned away, and what was promising and alive. It wasn’t as easy as breaking off the dead bits. The woman insisted Arthur cut at an angle until he reached green wood and then pat the end with a bit of the raw dragon soil. Apparently, it was to promote growth.

Soon, he received a skill.

New skill gained: Basic Herbal Gardening (Herblore Class/Alchemy Class)

Due to learning the basics of this skill from a master in this class, your starting level has been increased.

You automatically start this skill at level 8.

That was useful.

Arthur was used to doing things on his own. So, he appreciated a boost when he received one.

“I came here looking for fire peppercorns,” Arthur said conversationally as he clipped. “Do you know who grows them?”

“I do. I’ll be along in that cave soon if you want to follow me over there. I figured you weren’t here to help,” she said with a mischievous smile that told Arthur she thought she had tricked him into this. Honestly, the work was worth it just for the skill alone.

And doubly worth it for the next bit of interesting information.

Arthur’s next sage bush looked… weird. “What’s wrong with this one? Is it sick?”

“Eh?”

She shuffled over immediately with a hunched back. Seeing the bush and its yellow-spotted leaves, her face broke into another grin. “Now this is more like it! It’s not sick, boy! Look at the leaves!”

“They’re not dying?”

“No, still alive. Not curled in at the least and none have dropped at all!” She looked like she was ready to do a jig. “This is a new variety.”

“A new…” He stopped, understanding dawning on him at last. Arthur glanced again at the dragon soil underfoot.

It was said that dragon soil could cause scarring burns, but also odd growths – cancers that only the healers could take care of. And on plants…

“You’re using the dragon soil to create new varieties?” he asked, a little stunned nobody in Wolf Moon hive had thought of such a thing. They were practically knee-deep in dragon soil – curing it was a logistical nightmare all on its own. Why hadn’t anyone thought of this?

She cackled. “Most of the new stuff is useless, but occasionally we come up with something good. Like those fire peppercorns you’re interested in. That was a discovery a couple of years ago—and useful as long as you don’t breed them too close. Then they’ll literally light the roof of your mouth on fire.”

With another cackle, she carefully took a snip of the new yellow leaf, wrapped it in a bit of paper, and noted it down with a stick of coal.

“What are you going to do with that?” Arthur asked.

“Testing, of course. Sometimes a new leaf yields a different taste. Sometimes a boost or boon, but those can be hard to spot.”

Arthur grinned. “I might be able to help out with that.”