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  For some reason, the old man looked ashamed and started coughing, then continued his story, now barely audible:

  "Every woman asks the witch-doctor for help giving birth — healing elixirs, herbs, painkillers. That sort of thing. The prescription for birthing has been known since the beginning of time. It's always one and the same. First, a decoction of meadow heather, so the seed takes and turns head-down in the womb when the time comes. Then, a drink of wild honey, white chamomile and Saint John's wort, which gives her the strength needed for the birth itself. Women need many things to cope with childbearing, and I can prepare them all. But Belle asked me for something else entirely: wolfsbane, red mandrake, and enough strong sleeping potion to knock a mountain titan off its feet. Where did a poor browbeaten village woman get the money for such expensive elixirs? It didn't fit with her story. And though I’m not certain why she needed a sleeping potion, wolfsbane is known not just for its stupefying effect, but also for the fact that it stops shapeshifters from changing form. And that was when realized something was amiss and started keeping an eye on the young woman. But still, I didn't give Belle up to the villagers, because she was behaving herself. Also, wolfsbane must have meant the girl didn't want to become a beast even at the very height of the full moon. But the birth of her child was approaching inevitably. She'd never hide the truth from the midwives, so Belle fled together with her nephews."

  Having said his fill, the old man fell silent, staring with chalk-white teary eyes at the nearby forest emerging from the fog. I asked the witch-doctor when he'd last seen the runaway.

  Check for Umar Bonesetter's reaction failed

  "Listen here, nimble one," the village witch-doctor cringed, upset. "If you don't wish to help me gathering plants, you can't expect me to help you. For a young buck such as yourself, it should be easy — you can gather everything you need in the blink of an eye. But for me, with my injured legs, having to wade through the swamp gathering blackberries and currants..."

  Mission received: Plants for the Witch-Doctor 1/3

  Mission class: Class-based, training

  Description: Gather five bunches of Swamp Currant, Swamp Blackberry and Swamp Horsetail for Umar Bonesetter

  Reward: 160 Exp., Herbalism skill +1

  So, that was how I was supposed to level Herbalism! Instead of wandering through the dangerous forest at night, shivering at every rustling in the bushes and constantly fearing an encounter with a blood-thirsty monster, I could have just walked up to the witch-doctor and leveled Herbalism in training quests. On the other hand, how could my goblin have gone to the human village earlier, knowing that he would have been instantly sent to respawn due to his low Charisma and -20 penalty to human reaction? Also, I wouldn't have managed to come during the day and, at night, people tend to sleep, so the gates of Stonetown would have been closed!

  I looked in my inventory. I had the plants I needed and in sufficient quantity, so I was free to just complete the first witch-doctor mission right away. However, I only needed to gather a few more plants to reach Herbalism level seven, so it would be stupid to waste the free level-up. There was still time before the ogre and naiad would arrive, so I found out from the old man where to go to reach the nearest swamp and headed off to gather plants. It wasn't far, and also the mission was very simple — the plants he asked for grew densely nearby so, twenty minutes later, I returned with my Herbalism skill already at level seven.

  Umar Bonesetter was still sitting on the log, speaking peacefully with the wood nymph. I walked up and handed the old man the plants he requested in silence.

  Mission completed: Plants for the witch-doctor 1/3

  Experience received: 160 Exp.

  Herbalism skill increased to level 8!

  "Good! What took you so long?" the old man exclaimed joyfully, stashing the bundles of herbs in his rumpled and dirty sack. "Alright then, I'll answer your question, as promised. I last saw Belle on the same day the undying came, packing our village to the brim. It was some time in the middle of the day. I’d be more exact, but I don’t remember. She was standing by the dock and gathering water from the river in birch-bark buckets."

  I felt like a light-bulb switched on over my head. That was it! River. Boats. How hadn't we guessed that right away?! Based on the way the wood nymph turned toward me with her eyes burning in enthusiasm, my sister was thinking the same. But then, she froze, grew sad and wrote me out a private message.

  "Somehow, the timing isn't coming together. This means Belle must have run from Stonetown BEFORE we killed the first wargs. The death of the shapeshifters couldn't have been what spooked her. She was already gone."

  I answered my sister, also in a private message:

  "It seems she didn't know about the death of the eleven wargs, but fled anyway. Her due date must have been growing near, and she was afraid to be revealed. Or maybe she left later and the old man simply didn't see her for those few days. But taking a path down the river really does suggest itself — I mean, we didn’t find any footprints on land, and a boat would be the simplest way for a pregnant lady to get far away from the village."

  "Have any boats disappeared from Stonetown recently?" I asked Umar Bonesetter directly, to which I got another indignant facial expression from the old man, and a second quest about engaging my main skill for the witch-doctor:

  Mission received: Plants for the witch-doctor 2/3

  Mission class: Class-based, training

  Description: Gather ten bunches of Mountain Lily, Common Holly, Saint John's Wort of the Field, and Fire Poppy

  Reward: 320 Exp., Herbalism skill +1

  I read the description and froze briefly. I hadn’t seen any of these plants in my last few days of gaming. In fact, other than Fire Poppy — I had never seen any of these flowers at all. Naturally, I asked the old witch-doctor where they grew. The old man's answer was not at all to my liking:

  "As a goblin, you should know better than me. Far as I know, whole fields of these poppies grow next to the village of Tysh, somewhere beyond the graveyard of burning skeletons."

  That was absolutely unacceptable. Even riding the Gray Pack, getting to Tysh and back would take much more time than we could afford. Well, here goes nothing! I decided to offer the old witch-doctor another option:

  "Listen, Umar Bonesetter. Even though the plants you want don't grow right under our feet, they are still very commonplace. There's plenty of them in the neighboring forests, and you can easily find them yourself or send someone else out after them. Instead, I’d like to offer you the true wealth of an Herbalist — I've got hundreds of the rarest plants drying on the second floor of the Cursed House — White Lily, Shaggy Currant, Goblin Berries, Wolfsbane, and Colorful Mandrake. And near the stairs, there’s a way down into a cave with a stream. Down there, you'll find Red Stinker mushrooms, Cave Morels, Black Moss and lots of other stuff you'd never find on the surface. Let's make a deal — you can have all these riches for yourself, and I don’t have to stomp the wet road to Tysh in the rain."

  By the way the old man's fingers were shaking, I could immediately tell that my offer was extremely interesting to the witch-doctor. Yet he was still hesitating:

  "So, you want me to go to the Cursed House? Come on... You're undying, Amra, so you will be fine no matter what. But what if some monster living there eats me alive?!"

  "Don't you worry about that, old man. Last night, I killed the creature that was murdering its inhabitants. It was called a Midnight Wraith. Now, it's all safe."

  Successful check for Umar Bonesetter's reaction

  Experience received: 40 Exp.

  Trading Skill increased to level 12!

  "You better not be lying, big-ears..." the old man grumbled, upset, trying to hide his joy and impatience with all his might. "Alright, I agree to the trade."

  Mission completed: Plants for the witch-doctor 2/3

  Experience received: 320 Exp.

  Herbalism skill increased to level 9!

  Mission comple
ted: Plants for the witch-doctor 3/3

  Experience received: 480 Exp.

  Herbalism skill increased to level 10!

  The witch-doctor considered the goods I offered valuable enough to immediately complete two steps of his quest?! Say what you will but that was unexpected. I smiled ear to ear in satisfaction, but my joy wasn't long-lived:

  "No, no boats have disappeared from Stonetown. All three of them are still at the dock. Go check for yourself."

  It seemed to me that the old man was really glad that he'd managed to put me in a bind with his answer and trade such banal information for a whole load of valuable plants. And indeed, Umar Bonesetter was quite pleased with himself. He even explained the reason:

  "Understand, goblin, the run-away lady was very kind to me, so I don't want anyone finding her, much less pestering or threatening her. So, as long as you don't have any more questions for me, I'll be on my way — I'll need to get a cart for your plants."

  The witch-doctor stood with a creak and slowly walked toward his home, leaning on his cane. He was just seven steps away when my sister shouted out to him:

  "Umar, can you tell me anything about Belle's nephews? Or are you going to make me complete some task to get the truth?"

  The healer turned unhurriedly and frowned. Just when I’d decided we wouldn’t be getting an answer, the old man surprised me:

  "Sure, I'll tell you about those two. What's to hide? They’re Belle’s niece and nephew. The boy’s name is Dar, and the girl is called Dara. They’re around twelve or thirteen. A pair of thieves, villains, and hooligans — not much more to be said about those two young whippersnappers. If something went missing in our village, or a child was hurt, there could be no doubt it was their doing. A couple of born criminals, whose misdeeds can only be recouped by hard labor, or even the chopping block. They have no education, no discipline, and no respect for their elders. And also, the girl is no better than her brother. Completely hopeless. The villagers punished them many times: caning, locking them out in the cold, and even bringing a whipping post into the center of Stonetown... Nothing helped. When their aunt wasn't so big-bellied, Belle reined them in at least somewhat. She'd give them a good thrashing with either the rod or the whip. It was so intense that I could hear their hollering all the way at the other end of the village. Those two madcaps were afraid of her. They obeyed her. But when she got heavy, there was no longer any control. I'll be honest: I was quite glad to hear that those hooligans were finally out of our village. You can be sure no one was too upset about that."

  After these words, the old man spit on the ground in annoyance and walked into Stonetown. And at that very moment, the skies opened up, and a real downpour began. The witch-doctor, displaying a surprising agility for such a hoar-headed old man, stuck his cane under his armpit and hopped like a hare into the village. My sister and I, on the other hand, had to quickly run under the nearest wide-branched tree in order not to get soaked. There, I voiced a thought:

  "I'll be direct. It sounds like these kids were pretty rough around the edges. Perhaps, we'll be able to try and find the three of them by asking in the neighboring villages about two hell-raising youths. If not, we clearly won't get anywhere — this rain will wash away all their footprints."

  My sister was looking at me strangely — with condemnation or even pity.

  "Tim, you're really off your game today. 'Your girly' isn’t even around to distract you with her curves, but still there’s a big lag in your thinking. Even though he didn't want to, the old man gave a clear hint with his answers. You really didn't pick up on it?"

  I considered it, but was forced to admit that I had absolutely no idea what my sister was talking about. The wood nymph had to chew over the facts before it reached me:

  "Belle was seen at the dock on the same day all the players came en masse to Stonetown to kill the unique flying snake Kayervina. All three of the local boats are still at the dock, so the runaway couldn’t have used them. But there was one more boat, remember! On that very same day, a Naiad Trader you know well by the name of Max Sochnier came to Stonetown in his own boat, full of fresh and dried fish! But the naiad was forced to leave the boat full of goods and dive underwater, because PK-ers attacked him right next to Stonetown! Well, that fourth boat must have ended up somewhere!"

  "Val, you're a genius! I owe you an ice cream," I smiled, admitting the soundness of my little sister's idea. "They're not likely to have tried taking the boat against the current — it's hard for a pregnant lady to constantly paddle like that, even with two teenagers. That means we should search down-river. But we won't catch the runaways on foot — the banks are swampy, overgrown and stony, plus they’re teeming with aggressive beasts of all kinds. We need a boat. A few boats, in fact. Our whole group won't fit in just one."

  "You're being obtuse again, big-ears," said the mavka, shaking her head helplessly. "No normal flat-bottomed boat would be capable of holding our gigantic ogre. And also, you're forgetting that we are gonna have to hide as well. So, there's no reason to leave our pursuers such an obvious hint as stealing boats from Stonetown."

  Valeria was right again, just like always. I opened my map. The naiad trader had previously sent me his discovered map, so I could see the whole path to the ocean. A few kilometers down from the village, the nameless river made a sharp bend, curving around a thickly forested narrow headland. I zoomed in as much as possible on that part, and noticed pine tree symbols. I figured that was exactly where I should be going. I wrote out private messages to the ogre and naiad, sending them the coordinates of the place we should meet. At the same time, I asked the ogre fortifier how long it would take him to build a sturdy raft capable of holding our whole group along with the wolves. An answer came back almost instantly:

  "I have the tools with me. If there really is a good pine forest there with tall, straight trunks then, with my current skills, it should take an hour and a half to build a raft, two at most. Could be less, especially if I have help."

  "We'll be sure to help you. After all, it's in our shared interest," I promised.

  * * *

  I'd never before had the chance to see the ogre fortifier at work. Without any exaggeration, I can say it was a fantastic and captivating spectacle. Fifty-year pines fell to his ax with incredible ease. Bark and twigs flew like from a fountain. The giant carried the thick logs as if they were reeds. An hour later, Shrekson Bastard was pushing the finished raft made of heavy, tightly lashed logs into the shallows, helping the others, then finally getting on it himself.

  Although the rain had grown noticeably quieter, it was still not letting up for even a second. The sopping-wet wolves of the Gray Pack were shivering, pressed up one to the next, stumbling on the slippery logs as our craft bobbed in the water. The canines were staring longingly at the nearby shore, but still, none of them had the gall to disobey my orders. Taisha and Valerianna, hidden from the rain and cold wind under a black warg pelt, were clattering their teeth in syncopation. Tamina Fierce's children, the wolf riders Irek and Yunna, despite their unseasonably light clothing, were surprisingly vivacious and happy. The goblins were laughing and joking, not even trying to hide their joy and excitement.

  The weather meant nothing to the ogre, and I also was bearing the icy rain with aplomb, just yawning occasionally, tired after a sleepless night. But Max Sochnier felt best of all. The fish-man was finally in his element, sitting on the bow of our raft, excitedly stabbing river fish with a harpoon and occasionally commanding the giant to steer in one direction or the other.

  For the first few minutes of our trip, I was slightly worried for the sturdiness and steering of the raft, but a half an hour on, I was now fully reassured. We were traveling at an even pace, going around obstacles and sandbanks with no effort, easily snaking around all the river's curves. According to the naiad, the path to the ocean should take about six hours, so I was hoping to get some restful sleep, taking shelter from the rain under the warg pelts. But before I managed to find a
comfortable spot on the back of the raft, Max Sochnier cried out hectically:

  "To the right! Over there, in the reeds!"

  I grew alarmed, throwing off the warg pelt and looking. In the reeds near the shore, I saw a half-sunken boat sticking out of the water.

  "That's my boat! I recognize it!" the naiad continued, his bright red back fins extending in agitation.

  The fish-man jumped off the float, quickly scooping with his webbed hands and tail, trying to dig out the sunken oar-boat.

  "We should pull up on that shore and do a quick search!" I ordered, and the ogre fortifier turned the rudder sharply.

  We made it through the thick patch of riverside reeds with some effort. I even had to cut a passage in them as the ogre jumped overboard and pushed our raft on shore. Finally, we came upon dry land. I was planning to assign the wolves a mission to search for signs of the people, but before I even had time, Irek had already shot up the bank and was calling the group to come see what he’d found.

  It was a small hut, which looked to have been made relatively recently, a few days ago at most. The leaves on the branches it was made of were still green. Next to that, we found the remains of a fire pit and a ton of picked-clean bones from what looked to be a huge ruminant of some kind. The wolves came up to where we were standing, sniffed, then their fur bristled up and their tails went between their legs in fear. They scampered away from the remains of the feast. I though, took a closer look.

  Successful Perception check

  Experience received: 80 Exp.

  On most of the bones, you could see the traces of sharp teeth and raw meat fibers. I picked up a few bones to make sure of my suspicions. Yes, the predators, whoever they were, had torn their prey to bits and devoured it. But there was something else — some of the bones had clearly been boiled in a pot. When I told my companions this, their reaction was somewhat surprising: