Early the next morning, Colin, having finished the latter half of the night watch, woke Kase.
Kase yawned, got up, and asked, "So what's the plan today?"
"Let's not go too far today. We need to make sure we can walk back tomorrow."
"Then let's come back here to rest tonight. We can set down our traps. We got some guts last night that'll make good bait," Kase said. "If we're lucky, maybe we'll get some rawhide. We saw that Wolf Hide and stuff is valuable too."
Colin thought about the price of Wolf Hide and nodded in agreement.
After setting the traps, the two continued their advance through the hills.
They walked and searched, but the Golden Thistle Grass's color easily blended in with the yellowish-brown ground. On top of that, the number of herbs had dwindled significantly starting today, making them even harder to find.
And right now, Colin couldn't afford to miss a single coin's worth.
After searching under the sun for several hours, he felt like he was going blind, yet he'd barely seen any herbs.
Colin crested a high slope and stumbled as he went down, falling to a sitting position.
"What's wrong?" Kase asked, whipping his head around.
"Nothing, just got dizzy from looking." Colin decided to just stay seated on the ground. "Why does it feel like someone's already been through here?"
"Maybe they have."
"But we had a pretty good haul at the end of yesterday, didn't we?" Colin opened his bag. "Did some herb-gathering refugees deliberately skip a stretch of the path and then start gathering again here?"
"I'm saying it could be goblins," Kase said with a wave of his hand. "They use herbs too."
'We'll have to be more careful, then,' Colin thought.
If there was a goblin outpost nearby gathering herbs, it would certainly explain the current situation.
As he was thinking, he suddenly felt that the spot his hand was resting on was a bit strange.
He looked down and saw a patch of moss growing on the rock his hand was on. It was identical to the rock in color and shape, but it still had the soft, spongy feel of moss.
"No way... Stone Skin Moss!" Colin said, carefully lifting his palm. "This stuff is one Gold Coin per pound."
"I bet we've missed a lot of it along the way," Kase said, scratching his head.
The two took out their small knives and carefully scraped the moss off. The patch wasn't very big, though; after they were done, they only had about half a pound.
After putting the small haul into a bag, Colin plopped back down on the ground.
Seeing that Colin had no intention of getting up, Kase also sat down. "How much do you think we'll make this trip?"
"After expenses, we'll definitely clear a few Gold Coins."
"You calculated that fast..." Kase said. "Well, that makes it worth it. At this rate, we'll save up enough money soon."
"Do you know how much it costs to go home?" Colin asked.
"I want to take a ship, so probably about sixty Gold Coins."
"That expensive?" Colin was startled.
"It took me over a year to walk here," Kase said helplessly. "I picked up this Common Language on the way. You have no idea what I've been through on that journey."
He then asked, "So how much do you need to move into the Inner City District?"
"The cheapest rent in the Inner City District is several Gold Coins a month, and that's not even counting money for food, clothes, and taxes... We'd better get a move on."
With that, Colin sighed and stood up.
The thought of his future expenses instantly refreshed him, and he no longer felt tired at all.
The two pressed on for another ten minutes or so.
They moved very carefully during this time, as they had to check their surroundings for any hard-to-spot Stone Skin Moss or other herbs.
As he walked, his head down looking for herbs, Colin suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder, followed by Kase's voice in his ear.
"Doesn't that blue flower look a little strange?"
Colin looked up. Between two large boulders not far away, there was indeed a strange blue flower. The flower's pistil was pure white, and the white spread out towards the five petals, forming a star shape.
Frost Star Grass!
He blinked his eyes. The blue flower was still there between the rocks, swaying in the wind.
It was identical to the five-Gold-Coin Frost Star Grass from the picture!
"We're in luck! This one stalk is worth five Gold Coins!"
Colin immediately ran toward the herb.
'After getting these five Gold Coins and splitting the money, I might even be able to buy a second-hand piece of Cotton Armor when we get back. With Armor, I can fight more freely against enemies without worrying about getting hurt.'
'More importantly, having gear will make taking on commissions easier.'
In an instant, the herb before him became a beacon of hope for his future.
He walked up to the herb and reached out with a trembling right hand to pinch the stem.
Just then, a brown hand with black fingernails reached out from the side and grabbed Colin's fingers.
"I got to it first. It's taken," Colin said instinctively.
A sharp voice came from in front of him, jabbering something unintelligible.
He looked up.
Colin saw a creature that looked like a hairless green monkey staring back at him.
In a flash, his mind raced.
The creature had a pair of pointed ears and scraggly black hair on its head. It was draped in a few untanned, rancid-smelling hides and clutched a bulging Beast Hide bag in its left hand.
'A goblin? This is definitely a goblin.'
Colin looked behind it.
Behind this one stood more than thirty of the same short creatures. These goblins held a wide variety of weapons—Short Spears, Short Bows, you name it. A few of them were also carrying bags.
All the goblins had dazed expressions on their faces.
The herb was growing on a ridge. A few large boulders and the mountain itself had blocked the view for both groups, causing them to run into each other only when they went to pick it.
With a SWOOSH, Kase's axe smashed directly onto the goblin's head.
Red and white instantly bloomed like a flower.
Without a moment's hesitation, Colin whipped out his Small Knife, cut down the Frost Star Grass, and snatched the goblin's bag.
The two of them turned and ran in perfect sync.
A chorus of furious squawking immediately erupted behind them. The goblins were definitely enraged.
"You're fast! I didn't even have a chance to grab it," Kase said as they ran.
"Drink the Potion, quick! We're screwed if we get hit." Colin tossed a small pouch to Kase. While clutching the Frost Star Grass and the other bag in one hand, he took out an Antidote with the other, bit the cork off with his teeth, and downed it in one gulp.
The Potion had an earthy, fishy smell, like it was made from Houttuynia juice. He almost threw up as he swallowed it.
"But this is ten Gold Coins!"
"Is your life not more important than ten Gold Coins?"
"Hard to say, really."
Just then, two arrows landed at their feet, CLANGING against the rocks before bouncing away.
You could clearly see the pitch-black arrowheads on the Arrows. They were definitely poisoned.
Kase swore in the Orc language and immediately drank the Potion.
The two of them sprinted across the uneven mountain terrain.
As he exerted himself, the wound from the White Wolf's attack began to ache faintly, but the full-throttle adrenaline rush left Colin no room for hesitation.
He carefully watched the ground beneath his feet.
The jagged, rocky cliffs were like monstrous, gaping maws, ready to snap him up at any moment and drag him into the Bottomless Abyss named Death.