Sothoryos VIII
[Quest: Snake Hunt]
[Rank: Bronze]
[Description: Snakes are very common in Sothoryos. There are poisonous ones and those without poison. However, each one of them is a danger. Even without poison, their bites can bring diseases. The quest is to annihilate fifty snakes, no matter what kind they are.]
[Reward: Purple Serpent Sword]
[Quest: Herb Collector]
[Rank: Bronze]
[Description: Food and medicine are indispensable when adventuring through dangerous places, but they can be mistaken for death. Collect five edible plants that can be used as medicine. [Images available]
[Reward: Can of Food x5, Flask of Water x5, Book of Medical Knowledge]
[Quest: The Eternal Spring]
[Rank: Silver]
[Description: The Land of Eternal Spring, is something that has existed in Sothoryos for many, many years. No one, except for its inhabitants, has ever entered such a place. Enter the Land of Eternal Spring and obtain your well-deserved rest]
[Reward: Knowledge about World I, Merit Point x1]
It had been a while since Jon had taken his last quest. He had been aware of the dangers of the Green Hell, and he didn't feel like he was in a good state to concentrate on doing quests. Now, after having rested for a few days at that lake and continuing on his way, passing and avoiding Ah'Kazan, he felt that it was the right time to look at the system quest board.
In the system window, there were three quests, arranged side by side. Jon thought about each one so he could read the content of each one. And when he was done with that, he decided to take all three at the same time. The third quest was something he would have to do anyway, while the first and second quests were things he could do while moving and advancing south.
The rewards were also things he needed if he wanted to move on. His food had run out days ago, and he could only gather water from the lake. He knew a few things that could be edible, all thanks to the book that contained the description of some things from Sothoryos. However, he had never decided to try. Because, while some snakes, crocodiles, and fish were said to be edible, he didn't know how to do it properly. Jon suspected it wouldn't be as simple as killing a snake, removing its skin, and cooking the meat.
He was afraid of getting poisoned. Or getting sick.
So, receiving food from the system was much safer. And if he could learn about plants and medicine, all the better.
. . .
He didn't know how much time had passed since he accepted the mission, maybe more than four hours, but he had only been able to find one plant out of all the ones the system had shown him. Jon cut them from the large bush, letting them fall and looked at them for a few moments. It looked like a fruit, but it was hard and had things that looked like thorns. And along with its red color, it actually looked dangerous.
Jon opened his book and looked for the image, in case it was there. Within a couple of minutes, he found it. In the book, it appeared cut in half. Inside, there seemed to be red seeds.
"Its name is... Bixa? A little strange... it says it contains vitamin C, carbohydrates and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus and iron. It can be used to prepare poultices that help in the treatment of skin infections. It is also prepared as an infusion with antiseptic and healing use. It is ideal for treating hepatitis and vomiting by taking it as an infusion," Jon was completely lost. He didn't even know what all those things were. But he understood that it could treat vomiting, which wasn't a bad thing.
"I'll really need that book of medical knowledge. If all those terms refer to things of the body, then it should go there... I think..." Jon sighed a bit before placing the fruits into his storage, before cutting up some more that were on the bush. When he looked at the progress of the [Herb Collector] quest, he noticed that it showed that he had obtained one out of five.
"Mm, looks like they have to be different. It doesn't matter if I get several from the same plant, it will only count as one."
Jon braced his hands on his knees as he stood up. He looked around, expecting to find more Bixa. There were two more bushes further away. These were larger, perhaps two or three meters taller, compared to the one next to him. He walked leisurely and, when he reached them, he cut the branches and let them fall, then kept them safe in his storage.
He frowned a little though.
"If I recall correctly, the storage doesn't keep things for that long. After all, food will rot, according to the system," Jon scratched his head a little, not knowing how long the plants would last inside the storage.
"That's a problem, since I don't know when I might get sick or hurt. And I don't have any healing potions," Jon tried to think of something, but nothing came to mind. He felt a little annoyed, but he couldn't do much.
So, knowing that he couldn't do anything about that problem, Jon continued on his way, reading the book every so often, when he found some plant or bush that looked a little different from the normal ones. There were several of them, which turned out to be poisonous when reading their descriptions.
When he thought that there were no more useful things nearby, he blinked and opened his nose a little, smelling.
"That's strange..." he murmured, smelling a sweet, woody, warm and persistent smell. Jon felt curious about that. He had never smelled anything like that while traveling through the continent. It was always the humidity, the smell of wood and, many times, the smell of his sweat. It was the first time he smelled such a pleasant smell, almost so much that he started to get hungry.
Jon looked around, hoping that this smell came from a fruit, but there was nothing. He didn't notice any animals nearby either. He walked a little further, noticing that there were only trees and thin, long trunks, coming out of the ground. He walked over to them and brought his face a little closer, sniffing. A smile graced his face as he felt the smell was stronger.
"Is it the trees?" Jon tried to find something that looked like the trees and the thinner trunks, since they all smelled the same.
"Oh, yes it is!" Jon felt excited.
"Let's see... Cinnamomum verum, also known simply as cinnamon. Its bark is a grayish brown color and has a perennial cycle. The leaves are oval and pointed, bright green on the upper side, with five reddish nerves. Its flowers are white or greenish yellow and covered with hairs... It seems that it does not have fruits, but the important thing is the bark."
"It can be cut and processed to obtain a species called cinnamon. It can relieve colds and digestive problems... It is useful for infections, abrasions on the tongue, even as a muscle relaxant..." Jon became more encouraged as he read. There were many things he didn't understand, but the ones he did, looked like really useful uses. It even said that you could take it with tea or infusions. Although, it also said that you had to be careful not to use it in too large quantities.
Jon closed the book when he finished reading and put it away, only to unsheath his sword and begin cutting the bark off a tree. This would probably last longer, and with the method he had written in the book, he could use it properly after he put it to dry. And what caught his attention the most, was that if he burned it, he could keep bats away.
He was lucky enough not to encounter those bloodsuckers, and he had no intention of going after them. Unless it was a mission, of course. But, now with the cinnamon, he could keep them away if they came to him.
"Today's my lucky day," Jon muttered happily, hacking away at the bark again and again. He had plenty of trees around, so he could collect plenty of it. Maybe he'd even take some branches with him.
When he was done, after more than half an hour of hacking, Jon decided to keep moving. He still needed to find a good place to spend the night.
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