Five days have passed since the Shawling family left their former home. The scenery around the two carriages began to change, shifting from a tall grassy field to a dense forest.
'Ravenroot are pitch black in color and grow near the base of trees. They are often mistaken for a fungus due to their similar appearance to mushrooms on the surface. The root itself however is underground.'
Albert recalled the section in his plant life encyclopedia as they approached the imposing mountain range.
Although he wanted to leave the carriage to go searching for this particular herb, he knew under the watchful eye of his mother that would never be possible. That meant the only time he had to search was during the period of time when the party set up camp. He could also opt to search at night, however without a reliable light source, his efforts will most likely be fruitless.
Lael let out a whistle. "The Lacie Mountains sure are impressive no matter how many times you see them."
"Maybe it's because you're getting old Lael." Cleo teased with a grin.
"You're the same age as me though?"
"Don't sweat the small details."
Eve, who was still leading the front carriage suddenly stopped forcing Chris who was following closely behind to also stop.
"What's wrong, Eve?" The older man asked.
Hopping off her carriage swiftly she began to unpack the party's camping equipment.
"Let's set up camp a little earlier today."
Lael raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "Why? The sun is still high! We have many hours of daylight left."
It definitely was a bit early to set up camp and as his father pointed out, they had plenty of time before the sun sets.
"Look Lael, it might not bother you because you're a man, but we have women here too!" Cleo interjected with a mocking expression.
"What's that supposed to–"
"The stream here is slightly deeper, meaning we can take some time to clean ourselves off," Eve explained softly, cutting Lael off. "It's been five days since we've bathed, and I'm not too fond of smelling like sweat and grass."
'So that's why…'
"That's a great idea Eve! I'm also tired of smelling like sweat," Alise chimed in with a happy smile.
Indeed, the prospect of a proper bath after days of travel was enticing. One might wonder why the party didn't simply use magic to produce water. Alise had often used magic back at their old home for such purposes, but producing a large amount of water consumed a significant amount of mana. Although it was true that mages could utilize any element in its basic form, elemental compatibility was also a factor, and none in their party had a particularly close affinity to water. Producing enough for cooking, cleaning, and bathing was simply out of the question.
'This also means I have some time to go search for Ravenroot!'
He smiled to himself as he glanced at the forest near the mountain base. To think he would have such an opportunity so soon!
"Mom, can I go explore the forest a little?" Albert turned to his mom pointing towards the trees.
As Alise opened her mouth to deny her son's request knowing the potential dangers her resolve wavered as he looked at her with pleading eyes.
'That's–that's not fair!' She thought to herself.
How could she refuse a face like that?
In the end, Alise relented, though not without a few conditions.
"Make sure not to wander too far off," she cautioned, "And absolutely don't touch anything you see or hear. The plants in these forests could be poisonous."
"Don't worry mom, I understand." Albert gave his mother a quick hug before dashing towards the forest.
The young mother's lips curled showing a tired smile.
"That boy of mine…"
***
In the forest near the base of the mountain range, Albert was currently kneeling down beside the base of a tree, quickly inspecting it before moving onto the next one.
Surprisingly enough there wasn't much vegetation along the forest floors, only a thin layer of fallen leaves covering the soil like a thin blanket. There were no weeds, much less any sight of mushrooms to his disappointment. The only mushrooms he found grew on the trunk of the trees itself which definitely had no relation to Ravenroot.
Continuing down along the forest edges, the sound of dried out leaves crunched beneath the soles of his boots.
With a soft grimace, Albert realized this task was going to take time. The encyclopedia had warned that Ravenroot was rare, especially to the untrained eye. Albert, despite his military training in tracking, was no expert in herb hunting.
"Let's try scraping away the leaves first." Albert muttered to himself.
Going back to the first tree he inspected he carefully swept away the fallen leaves in a one meter radius.
No luck with the first tree. Not allowing himself to give up, Albert continued to scan tree after tree carefully clearing away any leaves potentially blocking his perception until finally after what felt like an eternity of searching, Albert's heart skipped a beat as he spotted something white among the fallen leaves near the base of the seventeenth tree.
'There's a mushroom!'
Excitedly, he dug it out, only to be met with disappointment. It was just a normal mushroom.
'Curses!'
Albert threw the mushrooms down disheartened. They appeared similar to mushrooms on the surface but it didn't mean normal mushrooms wouldn't be growing on the forest floor. In fact the ratio of Ravenroot to mushrooms was actually quite small. It would be incredibly lucky if he found one on his first try.
Gathering his resolve, Albert studied the tree where he had found the mushroom. There had to be something distinctive about it that he could use to narrow down his search.
Rubbing his hands along the trunk, Albert noticed that this tree had more leaves on its branches, blocking out more sunlight. The base of the tree also felt damp, indicating a higher moisture level.
'Maybe that's a clue,' he thought to himself.
With this new insight, Albert adjusted his search strategy. Instead of inspecting every tree, he began to focus on those with more leaves on their branches and a damp base. This narrowed down the number of trees he had to inspect significantly.
After thirty minutes of careful searching, his efforts paid off. The ratio of finding fungus had increased to one every five trees, indicating he was on the right track.
'If I keep up this pace, I'll find myself a Ravenroot in no time!'
Smiling to himself, all of a sudden he heard someone call his name.
"–bert! Albert, come back to camp!"
It was his mother. Sighing internally, he dashed back to his family.
***
Albert returned to a fully set up camp as he walked towards his mother.
"Where have you been?" She asked.
Looking down at himself, he was covered in dirt, sweat, and leaves. With a sheepish smile, he replied, "I was only taking a walk."
Alise raised her brow suspiciously towards her son. He was fooling no one with that appearance.
"Come on, you need a bath. Everyone else has already finished bathing, only you're left," Alise said firmly.
Before he could react, she grabbed his hand and led him towards the stream. Alise quickly undressed her son and pushed him into the cool, refreshing water.
The sudden temperature change caused him to shiver as he slowly adjusted to the cold water.
"So, what have you really been doing?" Alise asked her tone firm.
Albert blinked. "Taking a walk."
Ruffling her son's hair affectionately, she poured a bucket of cold stream water over his head, causing him to flinch.
'Cold!'
"If you were only taking a walk, why did you come back caked in dirt? You should know better than to lie like that." Alise admonished, her voice tinged with amusement.
"It was a really exciting walk."
Alise let out an exasperated sigh, "If you don't wanna say fine, just remember not to get too carried away next time. We wouldn't want you getting lost out here."
After finishing up his cold bath and drying off, Albert rejoined the group sitting around a roaring fire preparing a scrumptious meal.
Because they had decided to set up camp so early today, aside from taking a bath, it also gave more time for the party to fix up a more complicated meal. Although the soup his mother made was delicious, eating it every day started to get a little old.
Currently his father was busy roasting potatoes by the fire while Cleo was fixing up a salad made from wild vegetables. Eve was beside his mother preparing sandwiches made from rehydrated jerky.
A moment later, Chris returned with a full pot of water, placing it over the fire to boil. The aroma of the tea leaves soon wafted through the campsite.
"Anyone care for some tea?" The older man asked with a smile.
Alise replied gratefully. "We would love some."
Soon after the party finished their meal, Chris and Eve sat out for the first watch. Supposedly there were goblin camps in the mountains, and potential bandit groups.
When setting up camp in the open fields, their horses were enough to wake them if anything happened, however they were nearing monster territory. It was dangerous to have everyone sleep at once.
"We'll switch in four hours, make sure to wake us then." Lael told Chris.
Chris nodded firmly, "Just like old times."
"Just like old times." Lael repeated with a thankful smile.
As the rest of the party rested up, deep into the forest outside of both Chris's and Eve's perception range there was a man cloaked in all black watching them silently. The fire was still crackling slowly, a beacon of light during the moonless night.
The man only watched, before leaving silently into the mountains.
The next morning…
Albert stretched his arms slowly as he stood up pulling the tent covers open. He looked back at his mother still sleeping soundly as his lips curled into a small smile.
'I'll let her rest a little more.'
His father wasn't in the tent because he swapped night watch with Chris during the middle of the night.
Stepping outside, Lael was sitting on a log beside the stream calmly watching the flowing water. Cleo was busy sharpening her knife with a whetstone beside the fire and upon noticing Albert she waved at him to come closer.
"Morning little guy, why are you up so early?"
Albert smiled, "I slept enough." Pausing he asked, "Are you not tired Cleo? You barely got any sleep compared to me."
"You get used to it after being an adventurer for so long," she replied in a sleepy voice, "More importantly, go greet your pops. He's probably a lot more tired than I am seeing how he's adjusted to life in a town. Must be nice to be able to sleep in a soft bed every night."
Albert let out a dry laugh before walking towards his father who was yawning while sitting beside the stream.
The sun was barely peeking out from the horizon as he took a seat next to his father.
"Morning, dad."
Lael looked up, his tired eyes lighting up at the sight of his son.
"Morning, Albert. Did you sleep well?"
"I did. How was your night watch?"
Lael let out a weary sigh, running a hand through his hair. "It was quiet. Cleo and I saw nothing out of the ordinary."
"That's good to hear," Albert replied, glancing at the entrance way through the mountains. "Do you think we'll encounter any trouble?"
His father considered the question for a moment before shaking his head. "Hopefully not. Don't worry about these kinds of things Albert. Leave the worrying to the adults."
Lael ran his calloused hands down the hilt of his sword placed beside him.
"Besides, your father is strong. A few bandits aren't enough to take me down."
Albert had never seen his father fight, but seeing how much everyone seemed to trust him, he was more inclined to believe his boasting. In fact, he hasn't seen any real combat since coming to this world, luckily. Although Albert wanted to see his father fight, it would be best if they arrived at their destination without any complications.
'It would also be nice if I managed to snag a Ravenroot.'