A cold wind blew as Kane ran off, letting the chilly breeze fill his lungs as he scoured the lands in search of moonshade. He travelled due south, knowing exactly where to find everything with how often he needed to perform such errands for Sage Maleagant, who would pay him every time he completed his trips beyond Thalamar's reach.
He deviated from the pathway, cutting through the grass, which crunched under his every step, scaring off crickets that added some much needed life to the otherwise empty environment. Yes, in the distance were trees and critters that sought refuge in the clusters, but very rarely did one ever see animals approach the city.
Kane took in the beautiful sight of the land mixed with the mystical blue moon sky—a sight he'd never once beheld. A thick fog obscured his vision, but when looking above the horizon, he could see the thick and fluffy clouds that covered most of the sky.
It's so beautiful, so he thought, staring in a trance, his eyes affixed on a single point. He couldn't help but smile, knowing that it was the simple things in life that he got to enjoy that most seemed to skip out on. Enjoying freedom, albeit, one that none would truly call freedom. For was it really freedom when one could barely make ends meet? When one could not take pleasure in what life had to offer? When one could not exercise any agency? When one continued to survive, though enslaved to life?
Of course, as an adolescent, such matters were not even beginning to formulate in his mind. The thought of the bounty for collecting the required herbs being tripled tonight was enough to have Kane salivating. Whatever it was, he was not going to let this night go to waste—not while he could easily acquire more than what Ephraim gave him.
Gotta get bread for sure. He smiled from ear to ear as he imagined the fresh bread he could smell every morning that endlessly remained out of his reach. Then what? Cheese? Yes, cheese! Meat as well!
Such unrestrained ambitions would continue on for several minutes until he would eventually arrive near a glowing pond—cyan at the contours, growing darker further into the centre. Around it, an unfathomable bed of sky blue flowers with orange stigmas peering out that shielded the grass entirely.
"Woah," he kneeled, gently plucking the flower at the stem. "Why's the moonshade blue today? Is it because the moon is blue?" He pulled out the parchment and read aloud, "Today, the moonshade shall be plentiful. Abundant around the mystical ponds, as always. Moonshades absorb the colour of the light the moon produces, and today they shall be blue, making them much rarer than you can possibly imagine. Collect as many as you can."
He removed one of the brown bags from his waist and got straight to work with harvesting the moonshade. Each pluck of the herb, music to his ears, as he hallucinated the coins into replacing the flowers.
"We're going to be rich!" he said aloud, chuckling as he rubbed his hands together, eyeing each flower—or rather, coin—with glistening eyes. "I'll never have to work again, and I can eat as much as I want!"
He wasted no more time, quickly harvesting the moonshade without a care for the world around him, remaining diligent in not damaging the delicate flower, however.
Several minutes would go by of him filling up three bags worth of moonshade, and yet, more remained. Once again, he opened the parchment and read through it, taking note of other herbs he needed to collect.
Lavender, rosemary, yarrow, bloodroot, and star flowers. He looked back at the remaining bags, finding that only three more remained, which was quite unfortunate for him since his instructions specified that he needed to make sure he got at least one bag of each, ideally. What if I just take all of this moonshade and then get more bags from Sage Maleagant? so he thought, holding his chin as he closed his eyes, wondering how many trips he'd have to make, and how much longer he'd be spending outside.
After much deliberation, Kane would find himself making the decision to harvest each bit of moonshade, even if it would mean spending more of the night beyond Thalamar; in turn, beyond safety. For a second, he found himself growing wary, knowing that the looming threat of the nefandites only drew closer with each second, but it occurred to him that he never really knew nor saw the nefandites before, and thus concluded that there was nothing to fear.
"Not like they could catch me anyway," he mumbled under his breath, tossing in the flowers. "I'm not even that far away, and besides, this is worth the risk." He remained silent for a few moments as he continued picking the moonshade, though at some point, he would perform the task mindlessly as he spent time wondering just what the nefandites were, and what made them so dangerous.
As he was unsuspecting, a squirrel, white as snow, would creep up next to him, tilting its head frequently as it swapped its gaze between Kane and the moonshades. Seeing as the time for hibernation was nearing its start, the squirrel began picking some moonshade as well.
Kane took notice of the squirrel, his eyes bulging and brows furrowing, lines creasing all across his face. "Hey, you," he said, grabbing the squirrel's attention that interestingly enough, looked at him. "Give me that." He reached over for the moonshade held in its mouth, which of course scared it off.
Without a second thought, Kane chased after the squirrel, finding it quite difficult to keep track of it when the thick fog helped it blend in. Of course, he was not giving up that easily, however. His leisurely life, that surely would have a different outcome by a difference of one silver coin, was one thing he was not willing to forfeit; especially not to a squirrel of all manner of creatures.
"Get the hell back here!" he yelled, mustering all his energy as he sprinted, noticing the fog clearing up, revealing the white squirrel running in the short grass. "Damn pest! That's my moonshade!"
Despite just being in his mid teens, Kane certainly proved that he was indeed fast, and at some point, he was gaining on the squirrel. Though of course, he could not keep it up forever, and eventually he was forced to slow down, until he was brought to a halt.
Breathing heavily, he held his knees, eyes closed as he took deep breaths of the chilly air. That was it. He lost to a squirrel, and now he'd be down one silver coin. A travesty beyond belief. Such were the thoughts that raced through his mind. Plagues, one and all. A seed of avarice sprouting in his head.
"Damn it," he said through his heavy breathing, before looking up to find a cave entrance. "Wow, it's so wide and dark." Indeed it was. The weathered stones and mossy trees around it indicated that he ran for at least ten minutes, for he was at the edge of the nearest forest, west of Thalamar.
The cave mouth nestled into a large mound of rock, where trees and lush bushes secluded it from sight. The stone around it was shaped by erosion of countless years that echoed a mystery to be uncovered. leaving Kane intrigued about its sudden discovery. How he'd not come across it before was something he could only wonder as he took a step forward, wondering just what he'd find inside.
He froze after one step, wondering if what he was doing was a good idea. I could just go back and get more moonshades... but what if there's something interesting in there? He stared into the hypnotizing darkness of the cave mouth. Something that could make me... rich?